Racing Simulator Rig

[jrelliott24]

I am building a gaming rig strictly for racing simulation games. The computer will be a standalone device attach to a racing simulator chair so the options of playing anything else other than maybe a flight sim would be weird because of the seating position and lack of other peripherals. I would like to build something for around $1000. I've got $650 to spend right now so I was hoping to buy everything but the GPU and then buy that in a few weeks. I would love to see some suggestions for a complete build. Really I would just buy now whatever rounded out to about $650 or so then get whatever was left over to buy in a few weeks. I don't need any monitors as I have a 32" Samsung flat panel mounted to the rig now. I don't need anything else other than just the tower. Eventually I might want to do triple screens as the rig I have hasn't released their triple screen mount yet. The games I would like to play are iRacing, rFactor2, Project Cars, Asetto Corsa, and other new upcoming sim titles. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[smorizio]

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388577
190.00
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388088
189 when you buy the cpu at the same time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131830
189.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220558
43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244
15.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
70.00 with rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011
80.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145420
119.00 data drive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726
90.00 after rebate boot drive.

to save some money you could drop down to the i5-3540 $`149.00 at micro center and then a cheaper mb. have to look at the mb to see if it has all the usb ports you need to run the gaming wheel.
save 20.00 using an antec one gaming case.
you can put in the ssd latter.

 

[deathengine]

Just to give you a quick and dirty idea

YOu could do an i5 2500k for around 220
Asrock z77 extreme 4 mobo for around 130
4GB ram around 40
750 watt corsair Psu around 105
case around 70
hdd 100

If you want to run 3 screens though, you may want to budget more$$ for the video card.

On the other hand I dont know how really how graphically intensive those simulators are, so you may get away with a cheaper i3 system which will leave you some more cash for a better GPU. Or if you are not interested in overclocking, you could save a few bucks on the non k-versions of the i5 cpus.

 

[jrelliott24]

Thanks for the responses. This is my first ever computer build ever so over clocking and doing crazy things is not really a big goal of mine. I looked at the Project Cars Forum as the game is still in beta form and these are the minimum specs they list.

**For all new users who are wondering if their system is powerful enough to enjoy C.A.R.S., here are the recommended minimum system specs to run the C.A.R.S. development builds:

CPU - 3.0GHz Dual-Core, 2.4GHz Quad-Core
GRAPHICS - nVidia 9600 GT 512Mb, ATI Radeon HD 4750 512Mb
MEMORY - 2Gb RAM (3Gb-4Gb recommended)

Here's the recommended from rFactor 2:

MINIMUM:

CPU: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 or 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon x2
Memory: 2 GB
Video Card: nVidia 8600 GT or ATI/AMD 3850
Video Memory: 256MB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
DirectX: 9.0c
Storage: 4 GB

RECOMMENDED:

CPU: 3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or 3.0 GHz AMD Athlon II x2 or better
Memory: 4 GB+
Video Card: nVidia 250 GTS or ATI/AMD 4870 or better
Video Memory: 512MB+
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista 64bit, Windows 7 64bit
Storage: 4 GB+


And here's iRacing:

Computer

Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
Intel Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2
or higher
NVidia GeForce 7800 / ATI Radeon X1800 or above graphics adapter recommended
2 GB system RAM
6 Gb free hard disk space
Microphone optional, required for voice chat

 

[jrelliott24]

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388577
190.00
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388088
189 when you buy the cpu at the same time.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131830
189.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220558
43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244
15.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
70.00 with rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011
80.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145420
119.00 data drive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726
90.00 after rebate boot drive.

to save some money you could drop down to the i5-3540 $`149.00 at micro center and then a cheaper mb. have to look at the mb to see if it has all the usb ports you need to run the gaming wheel.
save 20.00 using an antec one gaming case.
you can put in the ssd latter.

I have the Logitech G27 wheel and pedal set but it only requires one usb connection and a wall plug. Thank you for your suggestion.

 

[smorizio]

the intel core chips are 775 chips or two rev behind the ib chips. any of the newer ib or sb chips are going to be faster then the min rev needed.
RECOMMENDED:

CPU: 3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or 3.0 GHz AMD Athlon II x2 or better
Memory: 4 GB+
Video Card: nVidia 250 GTS or ATI/AMD 4870 or better
Video Memory: 512MB+
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista 64bit, Windows 7 64bit
Storage: 4 GB+

as ram is cheap most 8gb ram is around the 40-60 price point.
for video the 560ti or the 7770 will be faster then the min spec
the 6850 for the price is not a bad card.
if the 660ti comes out it be a better deal then the 560ti or the 7770.
shaved a little off by buying a 500g hard drive or cheaper mb. (mini atx) and one good video card.

 

[jrelliott24]

the intel core chips are 775 chips or two rev behind the ib chips. any of the newer ib or sb chips are going to be faster then the min rev needed.
RECOMMENDED:

CPU: 3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or 3.0 GHz AMD Athlon II x2 or better
Memory: 4 GB+
Video Card: nVidia 250 GTS or ATI/AMD 4870 or better
Video Memory: 512MB+
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista 64bit, Windows 7 64bit
Storage: 4 GB+

as ram is cheap most 8gb ram is around the 40-60 price point.
for video the 560ti or the 7770 will be faster then the min spec
the 6850 for the price is not a bad card.
if the 660ti comes out it be a better deal then the 560ti or the 7770.
shaved a little off by buying a 500g hard drive or cheaper mb. (mini atx) and one good video card.

Ok thanks a ton. I mean even if I went with an i3 and a decent video card I should be pretty good don't you think? Thats saying I never do triple screens.

 

[smorizio]

the 560/770 should be able to do two screen fine. with an i3 or a g chip without losing frames or bottlenecking. if you want to go with three screen i would up your build to an i5 cpu.

 

[jrelliott24]

the 560/770 should be able to do two screen fine. with an i3 or a g chip without losing frames or bottlenecking. if you want to go with three screen i would up your build to an i5 cpu.

Ok what do you think about this combo? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.956620

 

[smorizio]

looks like a good deal for a cheap gaming rig. just pick up a heat sink that has a metal plate on it and not one with the plastic legs that come with the intel stock cpu coolers..there easy to snap or not fully seat causing a cpu to run hot.