Input lag can be a problem. It's more likely to be a problem for a TV than for a monitor. You can probably find out the lag of your TV by just googling model name with "lag" - someone probably measured it. Otherwise measuring is not trivial and requires additional hardware. The effect of the lag is that you are seeing everything with a bit of a delay (sometimes as much as 0.1 of a second or even more). It's not super-bad for just driving, because your brain adjusts for it to some extent, but it makes catching a slide almost impossible, and close passes in races more likely to end up in crashes.

Besides that - Fanatec V2 plus clubsport pedals is a good set up. Notorious for their poor assembly quality (I got load cell go bad in brake pedal and screws back out inside the wheel), but warranty service is good enough for it to not be a deal-breaker.

 

All of the above is good info. Interestingly I didn't end up with a bad load cell but ordered an extra one for $8 due to their "suggestion" during ordering. This was the only thing like that that I can remember, but there were some fasteners missing from at least one of the items I purchased. Frustrating, but able to be rectified at the local hardware store. As to the backorders, they seem to be close but a little optimistic on new launches and backorders (at least for the US it seems), however I received my preordered V2 months ahead of schedule and I've only preordered/backordered four or five products.

More to Max's first point above, the money spent on the Fanatec gear will be compromised with an average PC and TV. You really need fast hardware to take full advantage of a good wheel setup, especially if you plan on racing people online. Same slope to a track car or the kids toy with the water... Once you spend the >1k on the gear, it will be super easy to justify the >1k on the PC, then the >1k on the screens, then comes the carriage seat

 

Ah yes, the slippery slope.....

I'm not that interested in online racing; I don't relish the aggravation of trying to compete with "kids" a few decades younger than I am! But I do enjoy sim racing and I want equipment that is of quality construction and won't frustrate me because it doesn't work well which has been a problem with the cheap stuff I've used in the past. I'll have to think this through and decide on a price point that matches my anticipated level of involvement.

I really appreciate you taking the time to give your input and suggestions and continue to welcome comments from everyone.

 

I don't know Mike, once you rep some noobs, you'll be addicted!

 

I showed my wife this picture and she said "no way"....time for some bribes.

 

Probably true, Nick....

The other complication here seems to be that due to short supply much of the latest Fanatec gear can only be ordered "by invitation" meaning that you need a special code which you can only get if you've been a previous customer. Kind of leaves new customers in limbo. I wonder if Fanatec has been studying Porsche's marketing philosophy?

 

I think that the best wheel you can get for the price you want to spend is the fanatec clubsport v2.

The only problem is the supply of it.

The other one could be a thrustmaster T500 rs which is usually very reliable as it comes with a very good quality big single motor but of course the wheel is made of rubber and the pedal set is nice but really not as nice as the clubsport pedals.

you could also consider buying a fanatec gt3 rs and clubsport pedals if in stock and if you want it quickly as it does not feel too bad and wait for the clubsport but it will probably be out of use after some months it s all plastic.

The input lag could be approximately found with a free software that you can find on google but you need to have two screens connected to the same pc and one of them should be one with very low lag to compare for example with a tv screen and its basically a timer that when stopped will show a difference in ms between them.

Or you can google the model of your tv and search for input lag as suggested but every different model could be different even if on the same range for example the same brand and model but in different size could be completely different.

You also want to activate game mode on the tv to get no post processing that will slow it down.

and when most brands say 400hz or something like that it s not the real hz they accept from a out source but post processing built in the tv. you should look at native hz which is usually 60hz and maybe some newer models offer 120hz.

I bought one of the best 55" from sony and the input lag was very low but find some website that compare some of them.

if you go for pc screen most are ok but some gamer ones are really good as benq or the latest but expensive asus republic of gamers in 27".

you can also consider a hd projector in 1080 the ones I know not too expensive and with low input lag were some benq and acer.

I tried many solutions like triple screen and projector but at the end whent with the bigger tv because the ease of use no fan noise no image distortion and use less resources than 3 monitor.

except if you want to build an ultimate machine pc with 3 monitors I would consider a big tv maybe 55" or 65" and if the price is not too bad even a curved one or a ultra hd as some games allow that too.
But choose it carefully because of input lag and other gaming specific issues.
some tv have what is called ghosting which will make for example the white lines painted on a race track leave a kind of shadow around them.

have a look at playseat or rseat for the cockpit.

 

For the pc I would say the different solutions are to build one to your spec or find a shop that build one to your spec that s usually the cheaper solution if you know what parts you want but takes more time.

Buy something like alienware as it s really good but very expensive because of the brand.

I would consider one of the very latest asus republic of gamers pc maybe choosing one of the best configuration available with ssd and gtx970 as they are probably a good compromise between price and performance if you don t go too extreme and they also look nice and more compact as a console.

 

Question: I always find sims to be somewhat unrealistic when it comes to how the car handles with over/understeer (spinning out VERY easily). Does one of these expensive wheels correct that?

 

You can get things very dialed in and it takes a lot of time, effort and patience - I've not yet invested the time but will probably next winter. I use them for a bit of fun more than anything. Also good for learning the lines and trying different lines out on new tracks or tracks you haven't been at before.

I don't online race, just play around with a spare 30 minutes to an hour or so here and there.

 

Maxi, thanks a lot for your feedback. I did find a rating for my 46" Sony TV thanks to MaxLTV and your suggestions. It has low input lag according to the Leo Bodnar test (less than 25ms) and was rated as being well suited for high end gaming. Since I already have the TV, I think I'll try using it for some of the same reasons you mentioned. I also agree with your suggestion regarding the Clubsport V2. I think I'll try pairing it with an Xbox One for starters and see how that goes. Since all of the Fanatec items I'm considering will work with both the new consoles and PC I can always change over later. I just need to figure out how to be able to get my hands on the Fanatec stuff.

 

If you go multi monitor you should ideally run 1 GPU per monitor. Three GTX 970s would be great....three Titans even better! If you don't want to build your own machine (very easy), check out Origin computers. They have amazing service. I use their machines for all my 3D work.

www.originpc.com

 

I'm looking for a nice setup. Anyone have one for sale?