simracing nooob

[Hudson1984]

Hi all, bit new to this sim racing lark....by new I mean up until a couple of hours ago I assumed anything that involved a computer was only ever going to be a game....bit wrong there it seems!

I've been looking to start Karting however the costs involved would mean I could only really get out on track once a month, been looking around at ways to reduce training costs and sim racing popped up.

I'm sure this is a regularly asked question but is there a good middle of the road setup? i'm sure there are people spending thousands to get the best but i'm after a good bare bones system that can be expanded/upgraded as time/the mrs allows 

I want to build a new PC solely for the use as the simulator too and again this would be a middle of the road thing that can be upgraded as time goes on.

any suggestions would be great

oh and hi all

[Birel-Rotax 42]

If you have a budget of around $700 (if you are in Europe, use a currency calculator) search up parts on websites like newegg.com or Microcenter.com. They are pretty great retailers for systems, no matter if they are just parts or if you want to buy a barebones system. I recommend building a system, as you will save around $200 when it comes to the overall cost. Otherwise, just search for "(price range) gaming computer" and the results will be there. If anything else, get a dedicated graphics card, because the built in graphics of Intel and AMD chips isn't enough to be running many games on "high" or "ultra" settings.

[PiBoSo]

If anything else, get a dedicated graphics card, because the built in graphics of Intel and AMD chips isn't enough to be running many games on "high" or "ultra" settings.

An Nvidia graphics card is recommended, because of better OpenGL drivers.

[Hudson1984]

i think i'm going to try to fix my current PC and spend the cash on a better graphics card and better HDD

what about steering wheel etc is the G27 a good choice?

[Birel-Rotax 42]

@PiBoSo: I'm running an AMD 7850 on ultra graphics and my FPS is fine. I think that as long as you have a dedicated GPU, you're going to be fine. What are your PC specs?

[Clova414]

The Thrustmaster Ferrari F 430 Wheel is the best for the price $80-120...

[Hudson1984]

My PC is intel core 2 Quad, 8MB Ram, going to upgrade HD, upgrade graphics card (and case as the new one has more cooling) so with the right card it should be ok I would have thought

ah ok hadn't looked at the TM F430 wheel, I did have a play with an old Logitech gran tourismo one this weekend and that didn't feel too bad so an upgrade from there would be cool.

[KZ2_Iceman97]

i think i'm going to try to fix my current PC and spend the cash on a better graphics card and better HDD

what about steering wheel etc is the G27 a good choice?

wheel all depends on how much you want to spend but anything that works on PC is good, if you have the money a a Fanatec wheel is the best you can get, a G27 and G25 are good and and those are the best but there are lower range wheels but i won't go on for a list as there are so many it isn't funny

[Andreas.L]

I have the g27 and it is amazing!

[KZ2_Iceman97]

I have a laptop(I hook it up to my HD TV or monitor when i want to play) and the specs I have are
Processor: Intel Core i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30GHz
RAM: 4GB
Operating system: Windows 7
Graphics: 2GB dedicated Radeon graphics card
Hard Drive: 750GB
Manufacturer: Samsung
obviously my laptop isn't the best nor the worst but with these the games runs nice and smooth with no lag or frame rate and can run quite a few sims from what I have already tried and have no problems with them in any way

[IceMan11]

My PC is intel core 2 Quad, 8MB Ram, going to upgrade HD, upgrade graphics card (and case as the new one has more cooling) so with the right card it should be ok I would have thought

ah ok hadn't looked at the TM F430 wheel, I did have a play with an old Logitech gran tourismo one this weekend and that didn't feel too bad so an upgrade from there would be cool.

Your computer is just fine for the game. ... except for 8MB of RAM. Do you mean 8GB?

[Hudson1984]

....DRAT!! yep mean 8GB 

hmm maybe I should've read this post before pulling the thing apart ready to be rebuilt :/

I do want a new case though so it'll be nice to rebuild in something better.

[Capeta]

Don't buy  the ferrari Wheel

[nmpcs]

Don't buy  the ferrari Wheel

Have you had some kind of problem with the Thustmaster Ferrari wheels?
Mine has now a problem with the upshift paddle. (I think it brakes too easily)

[Clova414]

Don't buy  the ferrari Wheel

Have you had some kind of problem with the Thustmaster Ferrari wheels?
Mine has now a problem with the upshift paddle. (I think it brakes too easily)

Same here