Another racing Sim thread - PS4 or PC

[G321]

Hi all, After seeing videos of the pro's over the last couple of weeks I'm thinking about a budget racing sim setup.
From what I've read the Logitech G29 seems reasonable for the money and a playseat seems in budget. I'm looking at either Iracing or Asseto Corsa but the question is what format would be best? Obviously a PS4 would run the games without question or would I be better off buying a gaming pc? looking at a budget or around £600 for a gaming laptop or desktop pc. Any suggestions welcome on what to look for as I'm not 100% up on computer specs but understand the basics. Laptop would be best as it's portable and I'd be hooking it up to a 42" TV in the garage

[skinny]

I dont know what the graphics will be like on a £600 as i don't do PCs. However obviously PS4 is AC only, no iRacing, and no mods. Also less choice of steering wheel.

That said, I'm happy enough with my PS4 running AC, dirt rally, gran turismo, and F1 2017, with my T300RS wheel. And it's obviously a much cheaper route in.

[Matt..]

I built a PC for sim racing a couple of days ago. It's my first go at playing any type of computer game for 15 years!

I built a basic PC, added a big cheap screen (AOC CQ32G1), and got a Logitech G29.

I'm playing iracing. Just solo testing right now until I am safe enough to let me self loose on public practice/races.

iracing is old so doesn't need a powerful machine. It's expensive though as it's subscription based and you buy tracks/cars.

G29 is good, though seems to have just gone up in price. Probably due to everyone getting into sim racing now!

For sim racing I would definitely get a PC and not console.

Edited by Matt.. on Wednesday 1st April 14:51

[G321]

Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking PC is the way forward as it's more versatile to mods and other sims. Just need some recommendations on machines now, is it worth looking at second hand or refurbished?

[Matt..]

You can easily build a PC. You might already have some of it already, eg. a Window licence, keyboard/mouse.


eg. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/rKJk8M

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/

[G321]

Matt.. said:

You can easily build a PC. You might already have some of it already, eg. a Window licence, keyboard/mouse.


eg. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/rKJk8M

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/

Looks interesting, however having never built a pc I would be concerned about spending all that money and not being able to get it to work!

[hiccy18]

G321 said:

Looks interesting, however having never built a pc I would be concerned about spending all that money and not being able to get it to work!

A valid concern, although if you're careful PC's have never been easier to get up and running. £600 won't get you a decent gaming PC though, you will need to up your budget somewhat. To give you an idea of what would make a good "bang for buck" gaming PC try looking at:

i5 9400F
B365 motherboard, preferably with four memory slots
16GB or 8GB DDR4 RAM, preferably dual channel
GTX1660 Super
at least 240GB SSD
case
PSU (half decent 500W+)
Windows

That will play pretty much any game on the market at 1080P with all the eye candy and a decent framerate.

[Matt..]

hiccy18 said:

A valid concern, although if you're careful PC's have never been easier to get up and running. £600 won't get you a decent gaming PC though, you will need to up your budget somewhat. To give you an idea of what would make a good "bang for buck" gaming PC try looking at:

i5 9400F
B365 motherboard, preferably with four memory slots
16GB or 8GB DDR4 RAM, preferably dual channel
GTX1660 Super
at least 240GB SSD
case
PSU (half decent 500W+)
Windows

That will play pretty much any game on the market at 1080P with all the eye candy and a decent framerate.

This is mostly what the machine I built is. I just have a 1TB M2 SSD.

The link I put above is similar but AMD based and just over £600 (without Windows).

It all depends what you want to play. If it's iracing then a machine like this is in reality more than you actually need.

[Matt..]

G321 said:

Looks interesting, however having never built a pc I would be concerned about spending all that money and not being able to get it to work!

It's incredibly easy.

You just plug a few parts together, put it in the case, turn it on, and install Windows. It's much easier than you likely think it is.

You can use a company like PCSpecialist to buy a ready made one if you want, but it will cost more, and probably take longer to arrive.

I would definitely advise hurrying up and deciding though, because it could get harder and harder to get kit. Everything is also rapidly getting more expensive.

Edited by Matt.. on Wednesday 1st April 16:56

[G321]

Some interesting things to think about. It would only be for racing sims as I have never been interested in any other games. The list of parts in the post above, I assume that's everything required to build the actual PC? Just add windows 10, keyboard and mouse? Plus monitor but I am using a tv for that

[Matt..]

Yeah that’s all you need to build it. There aren’t many parts!

I got the H18 version of the case as it has better cooling options. There are many case options available though.

There are lots of graphics card options for the 1660 Super as well. I got a Zotac one with 4 Displayports.

You can add extra cooling if you want, but you could get that later. Eg a different CPU cooler (you get one with the CPU as standard), and perhaps a front fan for the case.

Also if you need WiFi you may need a pcie card.

[G321]

Matt.. said:

Yeah that’s all you need to build it. There aren’t many parts!

I got the H18 version of the case as it has better cooling options. There are many case options available though.

There are lots of graphics card options for the 1660 Super as well. I got a Zotac one with 4 Displayports.

You can add extra cooling if you want, but you could get that later. Eg a different CPU cooler (you get one with the CPU as standard), and perhaps a front fan for the case.

Also if you need WiFi you may need a pcie card.

Yes would definitely need WiFi. This is the issue for me as I don't know what I'm looking at, I might not know what else I might need.

[bluezedd]

G321 said:

Some interesting things to think about. It would only be for racing sims as I have never been interested in any other games. The list of parts in the post above, I assume that's everything required to build the actual PC? Just add windows 10, keyboard and mouse? Plus monitor but I am using a tv for that

If you are certain you are going down the sim racer route for PC, there is a racing bundle for sale on humblebundle at the moment that I thought was a great deal. Might be worth getting a steam account and buying it in prep for getting yourself a PC. It has a few for the main games for super cheap in the bundle.

[Pachydermus]

Matt said:

I'm playing iracing. Just solo testing right now until I am safe enough to let me self loose on public practice/races.

I wouldn't worry too much about joining public practice. There are so many muppets in there usually that nobody will notice if you do anything daft.

[G321]

After looking at various options and having certain components out of stock, I have settled on this. Will this build be suitable for Iracing and Asseto Corsa? Is there anything I have missed?



https://www.ebuyer.com/lists/EFBE6ECCAC25D0C74F657... &
https://www.ebuyer.com/863788-crucial-p1-500gb-3d-...

Edited by G321 on Saturday 4th April 16:06

[G321]

Well that escalated quickly!
Asking basic questions 2 weeks ago resulted in buying all the parts and building a gaming pc. First impressions of Assetto Corsa seem pretty good, just need a lot of practice!

[craste]

Defo get AC it drives and feels much better than PC2.

[SAS Tom]

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for setting cars up to handle better etc but it doesn’t sort out the fact that the cars don’t drive as they should.

I guess it depends what you can live with. All games drive differently so you have to familiarise yourself with them. Currently I’m swapping between Dirt Rally 2.0 and WRC 8 and it takes a stage or two on each to get used to it.

[skinny]

PC2 has lots more uk tracks. But i didn't like the handling, the complex steering wheel options, or the graphics on the demo when i tried it.
I love AC despite it being a little plain. The feeling on the steering wheel is great, and a good car selection on the ultimate version (or once you've bought the packs you like).

Have started to play a little dirt 2 also, after it was free to download on PSN. doing the historic challenge - 95% of the time I'm crashing out, when i make it to the end im generally winning on the standard (80%?) AI difficulty. Probably need to slow down a bit and accept coming top 3 and then gradually work on my speed. But where's the fun in that

Edited by skinny on Sunday 12th April 21:26

[skinny]

Can't go wrong for that.
Alfa GTA and 33, Escort RS1600, lotus 72, bmw m3 gt2, Corvette C7R, SCG P4/5 are particular highlights for me.