WTB PC-quad i7 with good video and psu
 

I've been getting into iRacing but my Mac laptop just isn't cutting it.
Single core i5 was good in it's day but iRacing really needs more.

I don't know enough to build a computer.

I haven't looked at prebuilt systems in forever. Building your own is really the way to go. It's more assembly and can be done easily. If you can do simple maintenance on the Ti you can put some parts together. Check out http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc for planning as there many of them know what works best for your needs. I am also quite knowledgeable in the hardware field. With that main thing is your budget. From there we can see what is the going to be the best bang for buck. Do you just need the PC or do you also need new, monitor, peripherals, etc? Is this going to be strictly for gaming or will you be doing editing/ other intensive tasks? What resolution will you need to be pushing? What games do you normally play?

Strictly going to be for iRacing. I'm more of a Mac guy at home.

Windows XP*, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1
Intel Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2 
or higher
NVidia GeForce 7800 / ATI Radeon X1800 or above graphics adapter recommended
2 GB system RAM
6 GB free hard disk space
Microphone optional, required for voice chat


Dual core will probably be OK. Quad better. Maybe triple screens but more likely I'd get one of these. ://www.oculus.com/rift/ Single scree to begin with.

USB 3
HDMI

I think if you can fix a car, you can build a computer. It is simple, just watch some YouTube videos.

If you don't think you can, message me. I could probably put one together for you for a small fee. I have to take mine apart every year so I can clean my water cooling loop, so I'm still pretty well versed with computers.

Just don't know what components to get.
Right now I'm chasing down an internet connection problem. Grrrr.

Budget? I could list a good set of components for you with your given budget. Also keep in mind the black Friday deals around this time, so you should be able to get a very competent desktop around this time.

^^^^ This.

I have also built many PC's for friends, anything can be built but it depends on budget. I am sure MINIz could also do this, but once you set your budget, someone who knows PC's could go onto a site like Newegg and do a build sheet with all components listed, send it to you so you know exactly what your getting an how much it costs. Then last part would be just to order and build it. Hard part is just finding the best combo of parts for bang for buck, but once bought, putting it together is fairly easy.

Also be mindful of what your including in your budget - just the tower? mouse/keyboard? Monitor ? - What size? Or are you going to be hooking it up to your TV?

Lastly laptops have gotten a lot more powerful in recent years especially if you look at brands like sager/clevo. New they will cost a arm and leg but used on craigslist you can find decent deals. I have had my Sager P150HM for two years now and can still play new games on high settings - I also found it on craigslist, for me there is no need to go PC with the power that my laptop gives.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac...765745231.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv...746563838.html

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/sop/4751249810.html

Most of the time the bottle neck is going to be the Graphics card.

No matter what your budget it, $500 - $1000+ PC's will always be faster but won't have the portability and ease of having everything together already with factory support.

I'm interested in this. I've been planning a build for months now, but haven't gotten very far. I'd like to switch to PC gaming from xbox360.

I've been messing around on pcpartpicker.com, might be worth a look. Several example builds on it.

Those Iracing performance points don't seem that hard to get to though.

I spent 10 minutes putting this together.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xZb4Jx

The parts are all between mid-grade and high-end. I also didn't read up on how well everything overclocks, since you didn't mention if you knew how to deal with that. The things I would worry about in my build is whether or not the HD is reliable or not. I also picked a generic case from a reputable brand. The power supply is also from a trusted company, but I am not sure if Seasonic is still a top tier brand. Still, this build should last you 3+ years with joyful iRacing use.

I will probably look harder over the next day in case I decide to update my desktop to play more iRacing. It is ancient and nearing 8 years old now.

I was thinking keeping it to 800 or less.
Thanks! I'll do some research.

Need to find my copy of Windoze.

I've always seen some machines on CL in my area, all over $1000.
I wouldn't know what to look for. It could boot up in front of me and die an hour later.

Check out Tom's hardware as a good site. They do budget builds and I'm sure they can find a $800 computer for you.

It is easy/quick to use pc part picker for choosing parts so good for that. With that build however if he does not plan on OC (unlikely as this will be his first build) then there is no reason to get an aftermarket cooler, nor one as expensive as the Noctua. The stock heatsink will suffice. With that and the deals now it may be possible to move up to an i7. Also if no OC then no reason to get a Z87 board, since the 9 series is out now too. The H97 will be fine. Ram is fine and the SSD as well. It's not a monster machine so top tier SSD won't matter. I'd suggest throwing in a mechanical drive for other storage. Case is a good budget case. As for the GPU it really depends. There are some good deals now on the 290/X right now so you can jump on those. There is also the GTX970 from Nvidia. I'll look into the game to see if it pairs better with different drivers. CD is fine if needed, but I just use a flash drive to install OS. With that I would HIGHLY suggest 8.1 as your OS. I've used both 7 and 8/8.1 and prefer 8.1. If you miss start menu then get Start8. But the under the hood fixes and performance are worth it. Plus it will be supported longer. Seasonic is still a solid manufacturer but with the current deals any solid 500W psu will be fine. Get a modular one though, much easier and shouldn't cost more. I'll throw a system together tomorrow for what I would but right now. Also what resolution are you gaming at?

Good info! I read up a little and agree with you. Totally forgot that there is a stock heatsink included with the CPU. I also agree the Z97 is overkill if you're not overclocking. I've always been an ATI guy, so I'm not familiar with nVidia stuff.

No comment on the OS. I haven't played around with the new Windows.

I've been pondering building a system lately too, and I used this site a bit several months ago. Problem was that I forgot the name of the site and was trying to remember it just yesterday. Thanks for the reminder! :biggrin:

Guess whatever my monitor will support.
But I'm really leaning towards an Oculus Rift. But would need at least one monitor. As large as practical.

Someone has a good build thread on iRacing.
http://members.iracing.com/jforum/po...t/1834039.page
Too large to post here.