RedRider

Thanks guys. Yup, probably will start with G27. Fairly inexpensive way to figure out if I like racing. If I do, then I'll spend the money on upgrades.

Well if you're both getting a paycheck, then I really don't see why the wife should have any say in what you spend yours on. Except legally she can. Most states are 50/50. Having been there, done that, my advice for the younger guys who are still single is to STAY SINGLE. Date all you want. Unless you are dying to have kids of your own, there is literally zero benefit to marriage (for the guy) that you can't get from dating, but a whole lot of potential downside. Once you are married and kids are involved, you lose your veto authority in your life. She could be working when you get married. Doesn't mean she'll stay employed. This is the sad reality today. I got off lucky. Leasing is often a financially superior option for the use of depreciating assets. ;) Your value increases with age. Invest in yourself!

I hear ya on the money part. And I thought flight sims had some expensive hardware... man, the sky is the limit with racing. Part of my problem is I'm a big proponent of buy once, cry once. I just bought the warthog HOTAS after using x52 for 2 years, and I'm kicking myself for not just getting the warthog from the beginning. I didn't save money in the long run. Unfortunately, it looks like the Open Sim Wheel is the warthog of the racing world. But cheapest I can find people building them for is about $1k. And that's not including pedals. I read you definitely get your money's worth, but I'm worried I'll find out I prefer flight sims to racing. I'm a pilot by trade, but I also like fast cars. Can't drive mine fast legally, just like I can't fly my airplane like I can in DCS... LEGALLY. Hrm... priorities, priorities. Sims sure ain't cheap!

What size is your 4k monitor? I figured a 4k monitor would be best for DCS, but that a really big screen size would be necessary to take advantage of the extra pixel density. TrackIR with a 50"+ curved screen TV sounds like it would be perfect for DCS. Just wish the input lag would come down some more on the TVs... Thanks for your input. I'm interested in iRacing as well... I know it's subscription, but the idea of scheduled/managed race events appeals to me. I have to admit, the truck simulator strikes me as a boring idea. But I can't knock it if I've never tried it!

Anybody big into sim racing as well? I'm considering getting into it, but before I dump money into peripherals, was curious if any of you had experiances, positive or negative, to share. Seems like the racing community is much more robust. Lots more support from hardware/software developers. I suppose that's due partially to cars being less complicated than military aircraft. I'm kind of on the wall regarding triple monitors vs a 50"+ 4k tv, and from what I've read, sim racing does better with triple monitors, which is sort of making me lean that ways. Thoughts?

Don't get married. Problem solved ;) I was married, no kids. I paid the early exit fee (not cheap, but lump sum beats alimony) and now I spend my money on whatever I want. Not having to pay for her stuff equals a LOT more money for my hobbies. Got a new Obutto R3volution on the way. Considering jumping into sim racing as well (another hobby with ridiculously expensive peripherals). Didn't have to give anyone puppy dog eyes. Only way to live, in my opinion.

Keep your i7 930. Spend the money on a nice graphics card. The game can't use the processor you have effectively as it is. I was in a similar position -- I've got an i7 920 from 2009. After reading up in the forums on the topic, I kept the processor, OC'd to 3.6 Ghz, got a nice 256 GB SSD and a pricey GTX 780 video card to replace my old ATI 5870. The graphics card now allows me to turn up every setting to max @ 1080p and I keep a pretty constant 40-50 fps. The only effect of the SSD on performance was a bit quicker load time, but with only a SATA 3 controller on my motherboard I'm kind of handicapping the SSD. Still, I can't see this game performing any better than it is for me now. Upgrading the processor/motherboard would be a waste right now for me. That's with only 6 GB ram. My two cents... Maybe if you run multi-monitors you might need more, but then I think you're looking at SLI maybe. That's the direction I'm thinking I'll be heading.

Your eyes are wandering all the time with a smaller screen, assuming you use TrackIR. It's just the method by which they wander that's different. So eye fatigue is pretty much moot. I can see the whole screen in one glance, much like I can see outside my real-world cockpit in one glance. 4K will give you better pixel resolution and will shrink your cockpit environment. I'll likely buy a 4K solution when a reasonably affordable version comes out. Until then, I don't think this is a bad solution at all. Hell, 1080p Tv's are cheap these days. Something else to consider... at this scale, the cockpit is actually much closer to real-life dimensions. I can tell you it's much more immersive; first time i loaded a mission I was like "holy shit". I imagine 3 would be better than one, but I don't have the desk space for it. Either way, I love this game. Makes me want to learn how to program, so I can go work for these guys or develop modules for DCS World. Is it strange that I enjoy flying a sim better than my military aircraft? :thumbup:

Had to google that one. Thought it was some new mod or something, LOL.

Wife out of town for at least two months? This is what I did. Old 24" dell is to the left. Living room 46" LCD on the desk. It's pretty much fantastic. Pay no mind to the naysayers, 1080p is fine for this game. For some reason I had to use the HT receiver as well. Without it DCS looked like it was upscaled or something... all pixillated and stuff. With the receiver it looks as clear as the windows 7 desktop. I dont know what the receiver's doing, but after a day of troubleshooting, I dont care!