Gary R.

Here is the latest Guide to NVidea settings - http://members.iracing.com/jforum/po...t/3192704.page

reno808

you will be like 4 turns ahead then what we would actually see you.

reno808

damn looks like have a long night ahead of me. time to buy redbull.

Gary R.

I'm easy to find, usually over to the right facing you... look for the dust cloud.

User 52121

Do you have ALL the graphics on? Shadow volumes, 2-pass, etc?

Gary R.

I believe all options are selected, yes. Will check tonight. Also will take a screen shot showing the variance between FRAPS and iRacing's reported FPS, quite substantial IIRC...

dizzyj

suggest the X51 vs the laptop just for cost? or for performance reasons. Would kinda be nice to have a laptop, even tho they are some $$

reno808

you should load your graphics card..... i have a program that does a "stress test" after seeing how disappointing the FPS where i opt to go against it

Gary R.

Yes, the X51 is a small format desktop, not a laptop.. go here to look at Alienware laptops - http://www.alienware.com/Landings/laptops.aspx

One thing I would do if buying a laptop for gaming is to get a good cooling pad to put it on, long racing stints will heat that up.. a lot.

User 52121

Downside to a laptop is that it's not upgradeable. What you order today, is what you will have until it's time to throw it away.

At least a desktop (not sure about the "small desktop format", that might be different?) you can upgrade it over time. My old E8400 system lasted me a LONG time. I built it in 2007, and only last year transferred it to my son for his own sim rig. It was still more than adequate. Over time I updated RAM, updated the graphics card, etc. and made it last quite a bit longer. No way even a "top of the line" laptop from 2007 would have lasted me as long as my desktop.

Gary R.

Jim's right, I built my current box 5-6 years ago using a great case with tons of cooling (5 120mm fans). It's on it's third motherboard and second power supply, about 4 video card upgrades in that period also.

User 52121

I only updated the motherboard and processor last winter as a Christmas present to myself. Moved the E8400 down to my son and bought myself a board and i5 processor. Moved the hard drive, case, CDROM, and video card over to the new build. Total outlay was only a couple hundred bucks.... mobo, proc, RAM was maybe $400? (Memory is fuzzy on that...) But until then, I was on all the same hardware as what I built in 2007, all I updated was the graphics card periodically.

ProCoach

My mistake. Alienware (now owned by Dell) 14, 17 or 18 laptops.

The big one has two, TWO GT780M's with 4 GB of VRAM EACH!

Yes, it's future-proof...

dizzyj

understood. I guess the question is how often does iracing get updated? would a kick *** laptop work for a few years? or a few months?

last time i built a machine laptops were significantly less powerful then desktops. Guess im asking if these gaming laptops are nearly as powerful as their desktop equivalent, or are there any other reasons (multiple monitors) etc to not get one.

User 52121

iRacing releases updates quarterly.

A really nice laptop probably would work for a few years. But then you'll be tasked with buying an entire new laptop, vs. just upgrading an existing desktop. Guess it just depends on how you feel about that.