LWilliams170 0 Report post Posted August 31, 2014 Hi guys, I honestly didn't know this community existed, and I'm so glad I found it!!!! Little background info.. I'm from the UK (Wales), I currently have a track car that I have taken out a few times, now looking to prep the car to race here in the UK... (will upload some photos at the bottom for those that care ) I am hoping this sim will improve my skills Will give some specs of the car to if anyone wants to know... I love sim games, whether its flying, driving, survival... but obviously as my hobby is cars then I am going to love racing sims even more. A quick question for you guys is sim racing big in America as I never heard of it over here, I stumbled across it sometime last week and have been researching since. I have played on forza a lot but never with a wheel, I use XO Seven Headphones to enhance my gaming experience. Now that I have found this community I would really appreciate someone to help with what I purchase for the sim, here's a short list of things I want (please advise if I am getting something wrong etc..) First, I was going to buy the asus g750 jm (around £850 not sure in dollars) laptop, as I wanted to be portable for going around to my brothers house, camping at track days etc... Now today I was thinking and it would be better to go for a desktop. as I have just bought a rig. and I also know you get more for your money with a desktop. I haven't had a look at any desktops yet but will do in the future... this will be purchased in the next month or so... I also have a xbox one and forza 5, so after trawling though the unlimited options of wheel to then find xbox only accepts 2 was frustrating, so I am picking up the thrustmaster tx next weekend along with a playseat, can't remember the name but it was around £250... I know the tx's pedals are pretty poor and I will be looking to update them in the future... I was hoping some one will be able to give me advice on this? Not sure what to do with the gear stick at the moment, may leave it as standard for now and upgrade that later too. Last but not least is the screen... I know I will probably get flamed for this but I want to run a tv screen and look for very low input response time (I read a lot on this today and still don't understand exactly everything fully). I don't mind spending up to £1500 on a screen, most probably be around 50+ inches and 4k and 3D if my budget stretches The sim I am looking to use at the moment is iRacing as it seems the best... I will look into getting others as I love touring cars. I am also looking to get accessories, but not sure on what I need at the moment. I know I need a button box and was hoping some one could help with this too also any other accessories that I need or is advised please (A) I hope that someone took the time to read all that and please help Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lopsided 345 Report post Posted September 1, 2014 Welcome to the money pit. lol The guys here will help you spend money, don't worry about that. Computer - Sincerely, go with a desktop. They are very easy to build/assemble, you can upgrade components in the future and since you mention 4K and 3D, it would be highly advisable as it would give you the ability to upgrade, add an addt'l GPU and overclock in the future. You will quickly find that as games evolve and become more demanding (or you simply discover new titles you'd like to run) we often find ourselves regularly upgrading our equipment, much easier with a desktop. If mobility is an absolute necessity go with a case that makes transportation easier... I have seen them with handles before. But if you haven't seen a full size ATX case (that's a reference to the kind/size of mobo it will house) then make sure you pay attention to the measurements of the case you chose. They are surprisingly large if you haven't seen/had one before. Screen - Let's say you go with a TV instead of a monitor, it isn't the size of the screen that places the demand on your computer/equipment, it's the resolution - you've probably realized that. The higher the resolution the more GPU you'll need to run it. And while I have no desire to flame anyone for their own personal choices, I would simply ask why TV over monitor? Is there a specific need or do you simply want to connect your system to any TV that's handy? Screen Response or Lag Time - When you are racing you can turn on the graphical steering wheel in game, while moving your actual wheel you will notice some delay/lag between your movements and what's on screen. That can be an issue if it's great enough. An instance would be - trying to catch a slide. If you respond too late, due to lag, you'd probably find it far more difficult. Accessories - Sim racing accessories are ever increasing and the toy store is brimming with add ons for the enthusiast. It won't take long for you to discover plenty of things you didn't know you needed! lol An Ole Ladies Advice - Use the Playseat rig and TM wheel to "taste and see". Make sure you really love "play racing" and have time to enjoy it. If you do then upgrades and accessories will be a worthy investment. But most importantly... hold on to your wallet, there will be no end to the ideas of how you can build and upgrade a rig, computer etc. I remember when I thought a $500 racing wheel was expensive. LOL Bailey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LWilliams170 0 Report post Posted September 1, 2014 Thanks bailey for welcoming I thought more people might have done so... Thanks for the recommendation on the case, I will look into that.. I do think I will have go at building one my self, I just dont want to mess up a $1800 build . I will sign up to a pc building forum for some help/advise also . As a general rule is it most likley to be better if i build one myself rather than have one built, buy one from currys, pc world or somthing? I like the tought of the tv screen, as I can move the rig away and still watch films etc, also I like the idea of having no bezels and I was hoping that a bigger screen would help me run a higher field of view... Would you be able to explain your set up to me as I have had a quick look and it looks amazing the accessories etc... whats the screen next to the wheel? Would you not say the playseat evolution is a good rig then? and also the reviews I have seen on the tm tx are saying its as good as the t500? Thanks for responding though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lopsided 345 Report post Posted September 1, 2014 Probably the holiday weekend dear, you'll get plenty of help here. I don't want to over simplify building computers but "basically" once you know your budget and needs it's a matter of picking components that go together.. certain CPU's for certain motherboards, big enough power supply to run it all, right case and cooling to squeeze it all in. The actual assembly is easier than a model kit. Installing software/drivers and tweaking it is far more likely to cause grey hair! lol And of course you aim to balance the graphic card and CPU power to avoid serious bottlenecking which is simply mating two unequal components and hitting the ceiling with the weaker one. But this advice is plentiful so don't sweat it. Another advantage to building it yourself is that you will get way more power for less money. And if you chose an Intel K processor you can do a very easy over clock with out needing to become a guru. Even those of us who do it the "hard" way will admit to how easy a modest over clock can be. And of course when it comes time to upgrade the graphics card or add a hard drive it will be a piece of cake to you since you built it originally! Ok, on to rig.... sorry but I haven't personally tried the TX so I could only regurgitate what we read. But I did have a Playseat EVO several years ago. At the time I got it new for $269 and felt it was a deal, very comfortable seat for me (6' tall) and I drug the thing in and out of the corner to set up in front of the TV back then. Eventally I got a G27, which was my first clutch and I had to modify it as I was knocking my ankle on the center post. The post and today's price are two drawbacks, and to some degree, the difficulty adding peripherals, like a keyboard mount or button box. It was compact am movable though. My needs changed thru the years and I wanted to race in the evening, the same time hubby was watching TV, hence, I added a monitor and made it stationary so I could add more bells and whistles. lol The little screen beside my rig is a very cheap tablet, paid under$70 USD. It's an Android tablet and I use it for a number of things, primarily with racing apps that permit me to see more info. without putting it on my monitor. So I can view tire temps, fuel, laps complete, delta and sector times at a glance without crowding my cockpit view. I also use it in conjuction with software that is running on my desktop like Afterburner. That software monitors GPS temps, framer ate and more... very useful to me when I am over clocking. Some other apps will allow you to use a tablet for a button box as well, so there are plenty of ways to save money upfront and add/upgrade slowly. ROCCAT is just one that comes to mind but it is terribly handy in convenient was too... like having a Web page open that has settings I want to use in a game and not having to exit the game screen to see them. You're doing the right thing by looking and asking. I'm on my 3rd rig but then I've been at it a while, plus I went from console & Gran Turismo to PC and that changes things too. My current rig is t-slot and has proved to be very easy to change around and adapt but I had fun even when I had a coffee table and chair. Sad thing about Sim racing is we can never go try out equipment or even see equipment in person in most cases. We end up reading others reviews and hoping we chose wisely. :/ Hard to know sometimes if wheel A would be worth the extra cash over wheel B. I know when I was picking monitors I ordered 3 different ones, tested side by side and returned the two I didn't want, just got to find a retailer that allows returns without to much expense. I did the same thing recently with a rim, wanted to try a 320mm even though I'd read about the larger size being slower. It was and I returned it but I got to see for myself so it was worth the shippping. lol Bailey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
serrasalmus 257 Report post Posted September 1, 2014 building a pc is easy. if u can change your brakes or change your oil u can build a pc...the hardest part is setting the cpu into the socket as its the most delicate part...just make sure you havea static strap since its your first one so u dont forget to ground your self and mess up something Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ricky Davies 326 Report post Posted September 1, 2014 If your going triples then 3 (PC MONITORS) a few use x3 24" asus. If you want a single monitor then a tv would be cheaper unless you want smaller then 32" then you can pick a cheap one up but i found any pc monitor above 32" is more expensive then a 32" tv. CHEERS! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LWilliams170 0 Report post Posted September 2, 2014 Thanks for the advise guys have been researching hard now for the last 2 days and have come up with this spec: (will be changing 1 or 2 things plus I want to ask a couple of questions on the overclockers forum then I will start buying http://www.techbuyersguru.com/2000build.php Will just play on xb1 untill its finished Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
