Hi all, My name is Paul Knapp and currently racing in the UK Clio Cup and looking for help from you experts out there. Im racing at brands GP on the 11th oct and want to get a sim setup as it all helps I need the stuff ASAP My question is what do I need: 1/ whats a good wheel 2/ whats a good pc 3/ monitor what type 4/ game seat 5/ rf1 or rf2 needs brands GP and the clio new clio would be ideal All help really appreciated Thanks Paul here is the car: View attachment 14273
Hi Paul, Honestly with your timeline and requirements the best thing you could do to prepare for Brands is to do a few sessions at Base Performance at Banbury (I have no association with Base). Looking longer term, I would recommend rF2 (although not all BTCC tracks are yet available), and the rest comes down to how much you have/want to spend. For some very rough figures, starting with nothing (no wheel etc) a high end pc will be about £3k, them you need a good set of triple monitors, a wheel and pedals, a base to mount it all on etc. You could get all the above from about £1k for a very basic setup or you can go all the way to about £12k for a full pro setup. I hope the numbers don't put you off, and to jump ahead of all the other thread posters who will reply and say my prices are too high, here are some rough figures below. Monitors : £200 each up to £2000 each for a projector Wheel and Pedals : £200 all the way up to about £5k (Bodnar and DSD gear) PC : £300 up to £5k (graphic cards alone can be several k) I know lots of people who run rF2 on a single screen with a middle spec pc and a basic set of wheels ands pedals, however if you are racing in the UK Clio Cup, for the same price as a few sets of tyres you can invest in a good setup. Hoe this helps.
I am looking for something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjqaIeJgFYw its mainly for practice and playing with the setup
5 screens is not necessary, with 3 screen you can cover all you need and with 3 projectors you can cover 180 degrees. The video you showed has some pretty high end gear, for 2K you would not be able to get that level. Some prices that I have just grabbed from the web: T500 Wheels and Pedals : £475 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaste...e=UTF8&qid=1410863054&sr=1-3&keywords=t500+rs G27 Wheels and Pedals : £225 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Fo...s_vg_h__3?ie=UTF8&refRID=031V2JYRTYX1VHV7ZM5Q BenQ 27in 2ms monitor : £160 each - http://www.amazon.co.uk/BenQ-GL2760...TF8&qid=1410863135&sr=8-3&keywords=monitor+27 Decent Spec PC : £720 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ankermann-P...863343&sr=8-3&keywords=gaming+computer+gtx680 The above gear may or may not be optimal, they are just some rough prices. Let's say that you went with the T500, the pc and 3 screens, that would set you back £1650 which would leave you with some left over for any additional bits you may want. With this spec you would have a reasonable system that would run 3 screens for you. The basic rule of thumb with rF2 is that the better graphics card you have the happier you will be, so you could send the extra cash and upgrade to a GTX 690 4GB graphics card, some faster memory etc etc. From one real world racer to another, I would suggest you try another system (a friend or maybe someone from this forum who is local to you) before deciding what you want exactly. For example, I am involved with real world racing and our 3 screen rig uses the T500 wheel and pedal set. Originally the idea was that team drivers would use the system to learn tracks and play with setup etc, but the reality is that even with the best spec pc and screens and a decent cockpit, the retail wheels that are available (we use the T500) do not have enough fidelity and force and feedback that a real driver is used to, so our drivers actually really only use the simulator to get miles and time on each track before we get to the race weekend. We have recently tested the Bodnar wheel (as used in professional simulators) and the difference is night and day compared to the T500 so we will be purchasing this soon so that our drivers can actually do some setup work rather then just re-familiarising themselves with the track.
The trouble with the setup in the video is a lot of the stuff isnt off the shelf, he would of spent months if not years tinkering and getting help off forums. The thrustmaster 500 is a good wheel set I would recommend that, a pc could be bought ready made on overclockers.co.uk try for nvidia gtx780ti if you plan on 3 screens. Cockpits come in all shapes and sizes but you just need one that doesn't woble and that you fit in. Also a 3 monitor stand. You don't need mega expensive monitors, 24-26" x3 would be great at the viewing distance.
I bought my wheel here, good price http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Thru...g_Wheel_for_PlayStation_3_4168044/version.asp
This pc came in at £1150 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-002-OG Intel i5(k) Windows 7 home premium Nvidia gtx 780ti Leaves around £500 for screens and seat which isnt enough but you could grab a used seat.
Why 3 monitors and not oculus? If some of the guys on here have ditched 3 monitors for OR.......... Also Fanatec have V2 out of there TotR clubsport.
The only 27" monitors I would consider for simracing are the following (no particular order): 24": - ASUS VG248QE - BenQ XL2411Z 27": - ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q (brand new king, current be-all end-all of gaming monitors, but expensive) - BenQ XL2720Z
Have a look here: http://www.teamredline.co.uk/partners/ The Ok-Yo in the UK has some better pricing deals than those Amazon listed. For PC, I'd honestly suggest having a look at my specs (little icon under my avatar) and just bump up the GFX card, it'll be cheaper than some crazy pricing (that makes no sense) previously posted and you'll be set. T500 is the best overall wheel package without having to piece together pedals, wheel, etc. With Fanatec you'd have to wait for the CSW base v2 to become available and also separately purchase pedals and the actual steering wheel. It'll also come up to 2.5 times the price of the Thrustmaster T500. rFactor 2 has rFactor 1 tracks, a lot of them at similar poor quality but why go rF1 when you can get rF2, if you'll have the same looking track right? rF2 has more in-depth simulation aspects than rF1 plus a huge aspect, force feedback. rFactor 1 had very poor FFB especially on front tires... which you don't want when trying to run a Clio in real life!
I don't know about the V2 but I have the Elite,which is basically the clubsport V1 with a cheaper wheel. I had G27 previously and much prefer the Elite by far. I also now have the V2 pedals which I would recommend because of the load cell,it would suit you far better than a potentiometer pedal set. You could get a combo deal on fanatec website,maybe not get the GT wheel as I hear it is quite weighty and slows down the wheel?but the F1 wheel is great I hear.
Get rF2, don't bother with rF1 anymore. T500RS is the best overall package. Pretty much just about everything stated in Tim's post. In rF1, I could tune the endless, directly connected to physics and tyre slip angles (rather than just whatever happens to be relayed from the steering column and being stuck with that) FFB parameters in the controller file to make certain moments of slip/grip loss be 10x more informative and obvious than in any other sim, but I'll just leave it at that.
Whatever tweaks you may make still doesn't compare to what can currently be felt from tires, especially the front. It was well documented since F1C days. I'll just leave it at that.
I think Tommy Østgaard is racing in the UK Clio Cup and he is racing rFactor2 also, maybe he can help you. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomhah
The new fanatec is well worth the $$$$ if you can afford 1,I would buy the new csw wheel base v2 and the universal hub so you can use the same rim as you race with. It takes virtually any rim on the market. There sequential shifter is also very good, there pedals use a load cell more of a felling like the real thing. But there are way better pedals out there if you want to check them out as well. www.derekspearedesigns.com www.hppsimulation.com www.cxcsimulations.com http://www.h-engineering.net/support/sim-pedals-pro/ http://www.protosimtech.com there are a few to look at there are more out there will let you find them lol or others to post up. good luck finding what you want. PC wise i would go with an i7 and a 700 series graphics card nvidia 3 gig or more card.. Gaming rig will all come dwn to what you like and how comfortably it is. GO with rf2 its the best.... hope this helps you out cheers coops
