Launching my iRacing career

[DriverRick 0]

Hello everyone on the forum;

I have been driving sims since 1994 when "The Need for Speed" was released for consoles (currently using a PlayStation 3 and GT5). Have never raced anyone other than the field served up by the software itself. Built my own rig from 1" steel tubing, welded to form a rigid chassis (single screen), but now want to switch to a PC based rig and will build another (larger) chassis and add all the appropriate gear.

 

It occurs to me that there must be quite a few readers of this forum in the same position and as a start I have been reading through the posts and comments in this thread. I'd be happy to share what I did to produce my own rig with anyone who is interested. I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, though, as I need to learn PCs (I'm a Mac user), Windows (last time Microsoft O/S I used was Windows NT in 1995), and then of course iRacing, perhaps SimVibe and Sim Commander, and of course all the video and sound stuff that goes with this.

 

Does anyone want to suggest to me how I should go about doing all this? Is there a specific order I should tackle the project in? Seems obvious, for example, that I should start with the PC and Windows as everything else gets layered on top of that, but perhaps I'm wrong about that and maybe you think it would be best to begin bt upgrading the wheel and pedals on my existing rig (Logitech GForce)? 

 

 

[Paradox 92]

There is a MAC version of iRacing available: http://www.iracing.com/mac-os-x-version-of-iracing-com-now-available/

[woz9us 2]

If you can afford it, a PC will be less hassle when it comes to hardware drivers and other software.

[Darin Gangi 1,074]

Hello everyone on the forum;

I have been driving sims since 1994 when "The Need for Speed" was released for consoles (currently using a PlayStation 3 and GT5). Have never raced anyone other than the field served up by the software itself. Built my own rig from 1" steel tubing, welded to form a rigid chassis (single screen), but now want to switch to a PC based rig and will build another (larger) chassis and add all the appropriate gear.

 

It occurs to me that there must be quite a few readers of this forum in the same position and as a start I have been reading through the posts and comments in this thread. I'd be happy to share what I did to produce my own rig with anyone who is interested. I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, though, as I need to learn PCs (I'm a Mac user), Windows (last time Microsoft O/S I used was Windows NT in 1995), and then of course iRacing, perhaps SimVibe and Sim Commander, and of course all the video and sound stuff that goes with this.

 

Does anyone want to suggest to me how I should go about doing all this? Is there a specific order I should tackle the project in? Seems obvious, for example, that I should start with the PC and Windows as everything else gets layered on top of that, but perhaps I'm wrong about that and maybe you think it would be best to begin bt upgrading the wheel and pedals on my existing rig (Logitech GForce)? 

 

Hi Rick, welcome to our forums !  

 

I think you should start with a PC. Paradox pointed out that you could run iRacing on your MAC, but then you are limited to just iRacing and would have problems trying to run any of the other titles that are blossoming on the PC. 

 

If you are committed to PC racing, then figure out what your budget will be and either get a pre-built PC, or put together one yourself which is the more affordable route if you are tech savvy enough to do so. You can use the DFGT or is your wheel a G27 ? You can start out and even upgrade to decent set of pedals and progress from there. Or if you have a G27, you can modify the pedals. I would also get Win 7 over Windows 8.1 as I've heard it's better for gaming in general and personally think it's more user friendly. 

 

A lot depends on your budget too. 

 

Hope to see you on the track soon !

[wilson_c 19]

There is a MAC version of iRacing available: http://www.iracing.com/mac-os-x-version-of-iracing-com-now-available/

There is, but no, just no.  I have a few Macs.  I do all my work on Macs.  So if I'm partisan in this, it's toward the Mac side and even I couldn't bear it.  The graphics have to be turned down because GPU options in the Mac world are limited and very over-priced.  The wheels that will work don't have FFB support, so you're driving entirely without feel.  iRacing on a Mac seems more likely to turn people away from frustration than get them hooked.

 

That said, I did limp along with a 2011 i7 iMac running in Boot Camp mode for a few months.  That worked well enough.  I still had to dial back the graphics, but at least I had FFB on my wheel.

[DriverRick 0]

Hi Paradox, woz9us, wilson_c and Darin;

 

First off, many thanks for the advice and help! So nice to see that this community is committed to helping its members like this.

 

I guess I wasn't clear in my ramble above: I have resolved to bite the bullet and use a PC with Windows 7 on it as the engine for my rig. I'm even more of a Mac bigot than wilson_c is, though, and am not a fan of Microsoft's products at all. But even to a neophyte like me, it's obvious that most of the software titles are PC based and the SimVibe products are only available on this platform (if I want to add Buttkickers).

 

As for my existing wheel and pedals, they are a Logitech Driving Force GT set. I was thinking of upgrading these to a Thrustmaster set (not yet sure of which model), and adding a shifter (although I suspect that I'll only use the shifter when "playing" as opposed to racing). Anyone care to comment on that part of it? In other words, does anyone use a shifter instead of the paddles when racing?

 

And given all this, it does seem that the obvious first step is to get the PC and Windows and start learning them well enough to load up some software and set up some devices and their drivers. So unless someone yells "NO" at me, that's what I'm going to do.

 

Thanks again for your help.