Cool. Bummer about the monitor though. I'd at least contact them and if they can't replace it at least get your money back while you start looking for a replacement.

Always worth it to get the warranty paperwork started at least. Stops them from having more time to make up random crap to stop you from being able to exchange it. Look forward to seeing how you like the set up and the increased frame rates!

Question,
I am using an older 21" Dynex TV for a monitor, would I see an improvement with switching to a proper monitor?

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Paul

TV's have terrible input lag. A proper monitor would have a much faster response time. But then, if you don't notice the lag now, it might not be negatively affecting you anyway.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

I really have no idea, I have always used a fairly limited and sketchy setup, so not sure if it has any affect.
I don't generally notice any issues, seems to run ok, just wondering what the improvements are if I were to switch.

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Paul

When it comes to games, get a monitor. Unless the TV was designed for gaming it probably has a pretty poor refresh rate and, as Scott said, input lag. Consoles games are designed with this in mind, but iRacing is not one of those. The biggest difference you'll see is that everything will be smoother, and your ability to react will improve.

Not that you need more tools to make you faster...

I recently upgraded my computer since my FPS was dropping from 50 in solo mode done to 20-30 when on the track with others. I couldn't believe the difference in getting FPS back up to over 125. I see so much more and I find I am able to react faster, most times now it is the difference between catching the car before a full out spin with the new computer and always spinning the car with the old computer.

So, I bought the computer first and noticed a huge difference. Last night I bought a new monitor with a 1ms response time (not sure of the true lag time) and I couldn't believe the difference again that just a monitor could make. Besides the graphics are so much more vivid and bright I am now able to see more detail on and around the track to pick up on reference points.

I never realized how much I was missing out enjoying iracing, the expense for computer and monitor was well worth it! The monitor was on sale too at Best Buy which made the deal even better!

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Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

What did you get for a Computer?
I need to get a monitor.
The reason I posted this was because I heard what you and Jay were saying last night.

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Paul

After trying to get a good deal through work on a new computer I abandoned that idea when they couldn't make something for me for what I wanted to spend. Originally I only wanted to upgrade my current computer, new power supply and video car but, soon realized that it was too old and not worth it. I then needed to come to grips with spending more money, alot of people told me in the past that if I spent $500 I should be able to get a killer gaming computer. Well, if that is true I haven't been able to do that even pricing things up online. Of course the $500 things was a few years ago and I know prices change, especially with the CAN dollar right now. After being extremely frustrated that I couldn't get what I want for $500 the computer software guys here at work said why don't I start looking on kijiji for someone selling a gaming computer. Sometimes you can find a good deal and sometimes people what almost what they spent to build the thing a few years ago. The trick was to be patient, so I was and after looking every day 2 computers came up. Both were asking $1000 for them and I wasn't prepared to up my budget that much but I figured I would make what I thought was a reasonable offer and see if they take it. The first guy declined my offer of $700, The second guy dicked me around after settling on $800 and then never responded back to me on the day I was supposed to go pick it up. After that the first guy emailed me back and asked if I could raise my price at all so I responded with, sure, I could go as high as $750. He accepted my offer and I picked it up the next day.

The specs are:
CPU: i5-3470 @ 3.8 GHz
Mobo: ASRock Z75 Pro3
GPU: ASUS DirectCUII R9 290 4 GB DDR5
SSD: Mushkin 240 GB
HDD: 1 TB
RAM: 8 GB of DDR3
PSU: 725W Thermaltake TR2
Case: Cooler Master 431 Elite Plus
Windows 10 OS

The seller ended up being some really young guy who was into gaming and just wanted to upgrade again.
The new computer loads up Nurburgring in about 1:30min compared to the old one which took 5min.

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Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

That was great thinking Brian! Your specs are pretty close to mine (you have a better GPU) and I paid double ($1400) three years ago.

CPU: i5-3570K @ 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4
GPU: XFX Radeon HD7970 3GB
RAM: 8GB DDR3
PSU: 750W CORSAIR CX750
Case: Thermaltake Overseer RX-I

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

For what it's worth Paul, I have a similar setup that I'm happy with now.

HP Pavilion 500 computer from Costco ($500 or so last year):

23" LED monitor 1920 X 1080 with 5 ms refresh
i5 processor 3330
8 GB RAM
ATi 1 GB video card
325 Watt power supply

Recently, I purchased
2x 23" LED monitor 1920 X 1080 with 5 ms refresh ($149 ea)
AMD R380 4 GB video card ($300)
750 Watt power supply ($120)
HDMI cable ($10)
Active DisplayPort to DVI cable ($40)

With everything turned up, I was getting about 50 FPS through the three monitors. Moving that iRacing graphics bar that balances quality and speed one notch, I am locked at 84 FPS. Not too bad.

If I were to do it all over again, I would have considered building a system or buying a 'gaming' computer. But like you, I wanted to do it on a reasonable budget. I had to modify my case to fit the new video card. Everything fits, but it was tight with all of the wires coming from the new power supply and the size of the video card. I'm glad I didn't get the 8 GB 12" long X 5" wide AMD 390 video card...it wouldn't have fit!

I had to do a lot of research and I had a lot of help from Ken, Scott and Ryan. But I felt like I spent WAY too much time on it...and it made my head hurt...but I had to be sure that I was ordering stuff that would all work together as desired.

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Jay Barthelotte

I will likely grab a monitor, but won't spend anymore money, my computer is "ok", I get a bit of lag at the ring at the start of races, but it works ok otherwise. I don't really know what I have to be honest, its quite basic, as is my setup, kitchen chair, and my wheel is clamped to a stack of books on my desk.
I'd love to have a better setup, but I have no room, and I also have a crashed race car that needs to be fixed..

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Paul

I know the feeling Paul on setup, I'm still using my wheel clamped to a computer desk and using a chair with wheels on it. Good thing the carpet gets a chair groove worn in so it doesn't move around too much...lol

I have put working on Race Cars off until early April, that doesn't mean I have more time for iracing, it means I have been told by my family to finish the RV trailer project sitting in my garage for the past 2 years that it is time to complete it for this summer. I really enjoy the Tuesday evening racing with the league and hope to continue that but anything beyond that is limited because if I have time for iracing then I have time to work on the trailer. Plus I want my garage back.

Just for reference, the new computer with single monitor with all graphics set to full eye candy will still get me 275-335 FPS. I have chosen to cap it to 125 FPS to reduce load on the video card and I have turned down a few details like pit objects and crowds, don't really care to see those in high detail.

Derek is heading to Daytona next week, he is bringing back a new ABS module for us to install in the #51 car. This should help us not lose days off our lives every time we touch the brake pedal in the new race car!

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Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports