Suggestions for getting Sim setup

[Steel Sails]

I want buy a sim setup. Looking to learn a few new tracks before I try them out in my FF.
budget 2-3k. I ave a fast enough desktop but will need a graphics card
can someone
regards
Paul

[GrahamLoughead35]

I bought a logitech G27 racing wheel with pedals and manual shifter and it was around $200-$250. I then got a subscription to racing

[Steel Sails]

Thanks
do you run it it a chassis?

[Jamesbe]

How deep into the rabbit hole do you want to go?

I have about 4k into my system but I use it a lot in the winter. 1080gtx graphics card oculus VR which i feel is a must for proper sim now.

I have the fanatec wheel and pedal setup, it is far more realistic than it should be haha. Force can be adjusted to exactly the same as your own car if you wish.

[Sports Car International]

I have been looking also for upgrades.
In the back of Sports Car a company is listed.
Do not anything about them.

www.rimcotech.com

Michial

[Keith Carter]

This will help point you in the right direction for wheel brands... Fanatec has a direct drive offering now too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHyN57lZwEQ

[Brian C in Az]

How deep into the rabbit hole do you want to go?

I have about 4k into my system but I use it a lot in the winter....

Can you be more specific?
Too many of these threads have little bits and pieces of information, but as in your reply, there aren't any complete answers.

I am also interested in a complete system. I am just starting. The reason I don't have a system is because of lack of currect information of what to get and how to start. I see some use a tower computer, some use an Xbox or PlayStation.

For those of us with no experience and limited knowledge of hardware options and choices, can you tell us what hardware you have and what you would do differently (better) if you were doing it all over again?

Thanks

[Keith Carter]

Hi guys,
There are many sources online that specialize in sim racing like InsideSimRacing (http://www.isrtv.com/). They have an entire section of the forum for people getting started in sim racing. I'm afraid here, you will get nothing short of opinion. Any console platform (XBOX or PS4) is going to fall short of a real sim although Assetto Corsa has been ported over to both and will get you some level of satisfaction if you're restricted to only consoles. The only platform that will get you the configurability and access to user community mods is the PC platform. It seems like there are an infinite amount of configurations as far as gaming PCs go. Lots of RAM and CPU cores are good, but the bulk of the heavy lifting is done by the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit or more commonly known as graphics card), but essentially you would want to go by the RECOMMENDED requirements of the sim you plan to run as a minimum to future proof your investment for the next several years. If you plan to go with a VR headset or triple screen setup, you need a killer graphics card (Nvidia 1070 or 1080) on top of that to be able to power the environment without nauseating lag that will make you want to throw up. Something else to consider is that any modern sim bases their force feedback on belt or direct drive steering wheels which are your higher end wheels. Any steering wheel that is gear driven (like most Logitech wheels) will give you fits trying to get it to feel right, but they will still work.

The top three players in the sim racing genre are: rFactor2, Assetto Corsa, and iRacing (in order of my preference)

The top types of steering wheels are direct drive, but those are starting in the $1k range just for the wheel. The top contenders for the mid level wheels are Thrustmaster and Fanatec, but Logitech is always a good entry without spending lots of money.

There are buyers guides for all sorts of hardware and a discussion forum on the link I entered above. The people there are obsessed with sim racing to a much higher degree of anyone you will find here on ApexSpeed, but please share what you end up going with and come back and run the league with us once you get set up! I'm still able to run rFactor2 with a PC I build several years ago and had updated the graphics card to be able to handle several cars on the screen at the same time. Depending on how computer savvy you are, you may be able to tweak a lesser computer to run any of the top 3 sims ok, but if don't know your way around computers that well you're best off getting something that has a lot of horsepower that can run all graphics maxed out with minimal tweaking.

You can spend minimally and constantly struggle with performance issues or you can go to the other extreme and spend literally $10-20k on a dedicated sim system with all sorts of bells and whistles on it. That was the rabbit hold Jamesbe eluded to, but there are many options and nobody can really tell you precisely what you need to get in the form of a forum post since hardware specs are constantly changing unless someone has recently gone through the exact same experience and budget you're after and has an itemized list. It just takes a bit of homework on the web to know what you need based on the budget you're hoping to spend. http://www.isrtv.com/ is a great place to start though. Good luck!

[Jamesbe]

Can you be more specific?
Too many of these threads have little bits and pieces of information, but as in your reply, there aren't any complete answers.

I am also interested in a complete system. I am just starting. The reason I don't have a system is because of lack of currect information of what to get and how to start. I see some use a tower computer, some use an Xbox or PlayStation.

For those of us with no experience and limited knowledge of hardware options and choices, can you tell us what hardware you have and what you would do differently (better) if you were doing it all over again?

Thanks

Here's what I have in a nutshell.

PC with 16gig of ram nvidia 1080 graphics card, SSD drive for windows, HD for large storage, gaming motherboard with Intel i7.

Using oculus for VR, I find it the most immersive.

Wheel and pedal setup is Fanatec bundle, forget the name but its about $1500usd?

I have a obuto seat / desk which uses a racing seat and steel construction, works great to transfer vibrations to your body making it feel even more real.

I usually play assetto corsa I like the feel the most.

[Steel Sails]

I ordered the Fantec Forza Motorsport prepackaged bundle. It’s their club sport line. For a cockpit I ordered the Next level ultimate v2
regards
Paul