ddrueding
Fixture
Here is my current worksheet with parts and links. Something similar to this is being sold as a package for $25k+. This doesn't include the frame for everything. Fortunatly, I have a fab shop at my disposal 
RFQ: DIY driving simulator
- Thread starter ddrueding
- Start date
ddrueding
Fixture
It is for entertainment. There will be at least two of these, and you can race against your friends.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Why not a Core i7 920 on an Asus P6T Deluxe? You already spend the premium for the DDR3 memory. The performance would be comparable and you would have the latest platform available, given a path for upgrades instead of a dead end like LGA775 is. And you need more than 2GB of RAM for the Flight Simulator X if you ever plan to use it under Vista (it only uses ~1.6GB under XP, but beyond 2.2GB in Vista).
Also, why an Antec Twelve Hundred if you only have one hard drive? The Three Hundred would fit all your parts nicely. Air flow would be just as good too.
Last but not least, since it's only a gaming system, Vista 64bit should be mandatory. There's no DirectX 10 for WinXP Pro. For a system of that caliber, the sluggishness of Vista wouldn't be felt. I know : I've been running on Vista 64bit on a slightly less powerful system for the past two months.
Also, why an Antec Twelve Hundred if you only have one hard drive? The Three Hundred would fit all your parts nicely. Air flow would be just as good too.
Last but not least, since it's only a gaming system, Vista 64bit should be mandatory. There's no DirectX 10 for WinXP Pro. For a system of that caliber, the sluggishness of Vista wouldn't be felt. I know : I've been running on Vista 64bit on a slightly less powerful system for the past two months.
ddrueding
Fixture
All great comments, Coug. And by the time I get aproval for this project (another month or so), Gigabyte will likely have a motherboard that supports i7. In the meantime, this can be a price placeholder. I picked the twelve hundred because of airflow and looks; I'm tempted to get the skeleton instead for presentation purposes.
Your point of Vista-64 is well taken, and will be done. Thought I must admit, my Q9550 with 8GB of RAM was significantly faster in XP-64 than Vista Ultimate 64.
Your point of Vista-64 is well taken, and will be done. Thought I must admit, my Q9550 with 8GB of RAM was significantly faster in XP-64 than Vista Ultimate 64.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Re : XP64 faster than Vista64
Did you configure the indexation so that only revelant folders are indexed? Also, omit to index the "My Images" folders as there's a bug between the picture viewer when the system is trying to index the image that's being viewed. Disable automatic updates and tell the OS to only notify about updates, so that you can choose when to install them. Disable Antivirus and every background protections. They are ineffective anyway. Just start a system scan at the end of the day and make an image of the installation in case of a major f*ck-up.
On your XP64, try opening multiple video windows (like 4 or 5) and start them all at once. Repeat the experience under Vista. Tell me afterward which one is the slowest for multimedia content.
I still prefer XP over Vista for everyday use, but in your particular case, Vista is more appropriate.
Did you configure the indexation so that only revelant folders are indexed? Also, omit to index the "My Images" folders as there's a bug between the picture viewer when the system is trying to index the image that's being viewed. Disable automatic updates and tell the OS to only notify about updates, so that you can choose when to install them. Disable Antivirus and every background protections. They are ineffective anyway. Just start a system scan at the end of the day and make an image of the installation in case of a major f*ck-up.
On your XP64, try opening multiple video windows (like 4 or 5) and start them all at once. Repeat the experience under Vista. Tell me afterward which one is the slowest for multimedia content.
I still prefer XP over Vista for everyday use, but in your particular case, Vista is more appropriate.
ddrueding
Fixture
Here is Gigabyte's board. Thanks for the tips on Vista optimization, I'll roll them out on future machines.
Stereodude
Not really a
You're apparently getting paid way too much money at your job.
ddrueding
Fixture
You're apparently getting paid way too much money at your job.
Correction: My boss obviously knows how to have fun.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
My coworkers get pissed at me when I just bring in extra stuff from home. That's the only way I get anything fancy or even interesting.
ddrueding
Fixture
I brought in pretty much my entire office; chair, monitors, stereo, art, even keyboard and mouse. I sold it to the other employees as me setting the precedent that they, too, could bring in their own stuff.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
The people I work with don't even have stuff. They take home the old lab PCs and chairs and crap when we're ready to get rid of them.
Stereodude
Not really a
Are you getting a tax donation on your contribution to your job? I would have had them buy you what you wanted. If and when you decide to move on you'll have a heck of a hard time getting them to remember that all the stuff in your office is your own brought from home.
ddrueding
Fixture
All the stuff was from my home office, so it was deducted already. I'm the one that manages the inventory system, and my stuff isn't tagged, so it's pretty clear.
sechs
Storage? I am Storage!
Ah, but did you deduct it correctly? It could be difficult to explain why your home office equipment is not in your home office....
ddrueding
Fixture
Probably not, but considering I currently owe the IRS ~$25k, that is rounding error.
There is another reason why most legitimate businesses do not want employees to keep anything of value at work. Your private property is probably not covered by their business insurance. I know that theft, loss or damage was specifically not covered by one of my employers. That was just about anything that did not have a corporate barcode tag. Many years ago I recall there was a rash of RAM memory thefts at night.
ddrueding
Fixture
I actually offered to sign the equipment over to the company at no charge; I'm going to be there for a long time, and I want a nice place. The policy we settled on was that you cannot bring in personal stuff that can store data, but everything else is OK.
sechs
Storage? I am Storage!
After penalties and interest, that might be a different story.
ddrueding
Fixture
Fortunately, that is after penalties and interest.
Nice project, so your estimate w/o shipping is $7280 per station? Man that is just staggering but I bet we all have that in our current machine if not more.
Do you have a thing for Aquos? I used to before I viewed the current options and prices, now I have a LN32A550, it's no 52" but same resolution and only around $~825 ballpark. Maybe you want to stay above the 40" lines though to get the 120hz refresh rates? I don't have a problem with 60hz on a LCD but for gaming dedication maybe it would be best. I am also not sure if the HDMI inputs can do 120hz 1920x1080 on single link?? Think about that one, I'm not sure but 120hz would be a very nice thing to have.
As far as seats go for the price range you are looking at in the $600~1000 please take a look at some Herman Millers. I have a Mirra and love it and the Aeron is very popular too in businesses.
http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/1,1592,a10-c440-p8,00.html
For sound what about upgrading to something non computer specific? You need any old amp that will do optical or 5.1 analog in, I would consider used too. All you want is the power. After that pick your fave speakers, five bookshelf models and a separate powered sub. Some low end home theater stuff has to be better than many computer specific speakers and there are tons of people upgrading older components to get the latest 7.1 etc so old 5.1 is plentiful.
Do you have a thing for Aquos? I used to before I viewed the current options and prices, now I have a LN32A550, it's no 52" but same resolution and only around $~825 ballpark. Maybe you want to stay above the 40" lines though to get the 120hz refresh rates? I don't have a problem with 60hz on a LCD but for gaming dedication maybe it would be best. I am also not sure if the HDMI inputs can do 120hz 1920x1080 on single link?? Think about that one, I'm not sure but 120hz would be a very nice thing to have.
As far as seats go for the price range you are looking at in the $600~1000 please take a look at some Herman Millers. I have a Mirra and love it and the Aeron is very popular too in businesses.
http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/1,1592,a10-c440-p8,00.html
For sound what about upgrading to something non computer specific? You need any old amp that will do optical or 5.1 analog in, I would consider used too. All you want is the power. After that pick your fave speakers, five bookshelf models and a separate powered sub. Some low end home theater stuff has to be better than many computer specific speakers and there are tons of people upgrading older components to get the latest 7.1 etc so old 5.1 is plentiful.
ddrueding
Fixture
I have a thing for AQUOS just because I've had better experience with them than the others I've tried. They likely won't be the final choice, but they are a good midrange placeholder until I find one with a smaller (unmarked, all-black) bezel.
Those seats are not normal seats. They are professional-grade honest-to-goodness racing seats made of composite materials (check the link). I like the Herman Millers, and am sitting in my Aeron right now.
I think those speakers in particular are really a nice fit for this project. They are small, mountable, and incredibly accurate and powerful; Klipsch actually sells them as regular speakers as well. In addition to having a great frequency range, the subwoofer is way oversized. The plan is to have two of these per station (front and rear, in a 4.2 configuration), having two of those subs should shake the whole building.
Those seats are not normal seats. They are professional-grade honest-to-goodness racing seats made of composite materials (check the link). I like the Herman Millers, and am sitting in my Aeron right now.
I think those speakers in particular are really a nice fit for this project. They are small, mountable, and incredibly accurate and powerful; Klipsch actually sells them as regular speakers as well. In addition to having a great frequency range, the subwoofer is way oversized. The plan is to have two of these per station (front and rear, in a 4.2 configuration), having two of those subs should shake the whole building.
Yeah, first time a couple years ago I when I first saw true HD coming from god knows what source on an Aquos set I was stunned. Now I see normal DVD on such a set and it looks so embarrassingly bad.
For sound I really like to have that center to anchor voice but that seems out of the scope for this and Klipsch are more than just decent speakers.
For sound I really like to have that center to anchor voice but that seems out of the scope for this and Klipsch are more than just decent speakers.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
Do those Klipsch have horn tweeters? I hope you like the sound quality of a stadium.
ddrueding
Fixture
Funny how certain people keep saying that, and I find it not to be the case. Maybe it's an audiophile thing? I have had a fair number of mid-range speakers before; everything from base level Samsung theater-in-a-box to midrange Onkyo stuff, to the stupidly overpriced Bose gear. The quality of sound from these is as good as any, and it sounds good over a broader range of volumes than any of those. Yes, the boss' $800k home theater sounds better, but that would be stupid.
Yeah they are horns but they sound OK. Least I think they do, but I'm one of those people that can't really tell the difference of a MP3 at 190kbps+ to CD or HD quality DVD audio. We had an older set of these on the shelf and could rock half the store with them though, they aren't making up the power output figures. Loudness and a couple subs is more likely to fit the bill for this project anyway.
sechs
Storage? I am Storage!
You probably need a new accountant, then.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
You definitely want to throw in a PS3 with GT5rologue, it will slate the thirst until the full Gran Turismo 5 is released next year. That will get you two player split, there's also Motorstorm 2 for up to 4 player split screen action.
Also, one of these chairs:
http://www.cepro.com/article/d_box_introduces_pair_of_new_motion_chairs/K20
Purely for future drooling possibilities, four PS3s hooked up to deliver GT5rologue at 4K resolution.
http://www.ps3daily.co.uk/20081120/gran-turismo-5-gt5-in-4-times-the-resolution-of-full-hd/
Note there is a typo in the article, they could do either 3840×2160 @ 60 fps, or 1920*1080 at 240fps.
rologue, it will slate the thirst until the full Gran Turismo 5 is released next year. That will get you two player split, there's also Motorstorm 2 for up to 4 player split screen action.Also, one of these chairs:
http://www.cepro.com/article/d_box_introduces_pair_of_new_motion_chairs/K20
Purely for future drooling possibilities, four PS3s hooked up to deliver GT5
rologue at 4K resolution.http://www.ps3daily.co.uk/20081120/gran-turismo-5-gt5-in-4-times-the-resolution-of-full-hd/
Note there is a typo in the article, they could do either 3840×2160 @ 60 fps, or 1920*1080 at 240fps.
ddrueding
Fixture
I almost bought a PS2 just for the GT action; I didn't want anything else, just that. It pisses me off that they don't have a PC version.
ddrueding
Fixture
The GT5 is interesting, but that projector is awesome. $100k for 4096 x 2160 (8.8MP) @ 10,000 lumens, just a lens for it is $10k. Farking awesome.