Hi

I've not played in LFS in absolutely ages and I'm really looking to get back into it.

I think I stopped at the start of 2004 while being involved with the Boomerang Rapido team (which I think has changed name, disappeared etc long ago) anyone from back in the day still here?

If I'm going to get back into this I probably need to go out and buy a desktop PC. What sort of thing am I after now days? I'm an IT manager but I really haven't got the faintest idea regarding graphics adaptors or the home range of processors. Is LFS S2/3 heavy on use? I'll be playing on a 32" screen so I guess I'll need a decent resolution

Secondly, I'll probably need a new steering wheel. My old MS FF wheel probably still works but there must be better, which one to go for? Ideally I'd like to be able to use it with my PS3 or Xbox too.

Sorry if these have been answered elsewhere, I searched but found nothing

and Hello

Quote from Dangerous Dave :

Secondly, I'll probably need a new steering wheel. My old MS FF wheel probably still works but there must be better, which one to go for? Ideally I'd like to be able to use it with my PS3 or Xbox too.
and Hello

i think the g25 and g27 can work with the pc xbox and ps3.
you can also research the porshe fanatec wheel.

I think only the Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo S wheel works with all platforms.

p.s I remember Boomerang Rapido

Yep, rings a name

Well, what has changed... most would say "too little," but it should be a quite decent package for you considering you were gone for 5 years. First you'll probably want to get S2 for an additional £12, though that said, S1 racers (and demo racers) can now race on S2 servers, as long as the content "allowed" on the server is fitting for the corresponding license level. The different server tiers have been unified, so to speak.

Quite difficult to give a summary actually. It's been so long...

Hello

Quote from Dangerous Dave :

If I'm going to get back into this I probably need to go out and buy a desktop PC. What sort of thing am I after now days? I'm an IT manager but I really haven't got the faintest idea regarding graphics adaptors or the home range of processors. Is LFS S2/3 heavy on use? I'll be playing on a 32" screen so I guess I'll need a decent resolution

LFS is mostly CPU dependant, you don't really need the newest (and most expensive) generation of GPU's, you should look for at least 512mb of ram since you are planning to run pretty high resolutions. I'm also not really up to date with graphic cards but I'm sure somebody with more knowledge will give you some advice if needed.

Quote from Dangerous Dave :

Secondly, I'll probably need a new steering wheel. My old MS FF wheel probably still works but there must be better, which one to go for? Ideally I'd like to be able to use it with my PS3 or Xbox too.

If you want to get a wheel that works on the xbox, ps3 and the pc there is just one on the market right now (at least that's the only one I know), the fanatec porsche 911 turbo S wheel. There are quite a lot who do work on PC/PS3 check the logitech g25/27 or if you want to go a little cheaper I would look into the logitech dfgt.

Thanks for the help so far, I've had a look at those three wheels, the G27 looks awesome but I'm not so sure about the £322 price. Found the G25 for £119.99 which looks perfect. Not so fussed about Xbox, I think I'll stick to Gran Tourismo if it ever comes out.

Is there much in the way of difference between the G25 and the G27?

Also, what sort of graphics adaptor should I go for. I'm happy to spend a bit of cash on this but not OTT, I'm a bit better off now days than the student who managed to get a 2:2 at university (It would have been a 2:1 if it wasn't for this game!!) but I've still got 101 things I should be spending my hard earned on

There is really not too much difference between all the 3 linked logitech wheels:

DFGT: is the starter wheel, no H shifter, no leather, only 2 plastic pedals (brake/throttle).
G25: H/Sequential shifter, sturdier 3 pedal system (clutch,brake,throttle).
G27 (which is brand new, that's the reason for the higher price): RPM indicator, got rid of some shifter problems but also scrapped the sequential mode.

edit: Regarding the graphics-card, what kind of motherboard you've got right now? If it is pretty old the chance is big that you've only got an AGP slot, whilst most of the recent cards on the market use the newer PCI-E standard. So either you would need to update the motherboard too or you will have to search for older (probably overpriced) AGP cards.

Quote from troy :

There is really not too much difference between all the 3 linked logitech wheels:

DFGT: is the starter wheel, no H shifter, no leather, only 2 plastic pedals (brake/throttle).
G25: H/Sequential shifter, sturdier 3 pedal system (clutch,brake,throttle).
G27 (which is brand new, that's the reason for the higher price): RPM indicator, got rid of some shifter problems but also scrapped the sequential mode.

edit: Regarding the graphics-card, what kind of motherboard you've got right now? If it is pretty old the chance is big that you've only got an AGP slot, whilst most of the recent cards on the market use the newer PCI-E standard. So either you would need to update the motherboard too or you will have to search for older (probably overpriced) AGP cards.

That's really useful. The G25 looks the one then, I'll get it ordered.

Now the small matter of the PC and it's graphics card. I guess I'm going to have to read up on that

My combo still runs above 30 fps on a 32 car grid in 1920x1200 resolution with 4xFSAA and 16xAF:

Asus P5B Deluxe mbo
Intel E6600 Core2Duo
GeForce 8800 GTS 640 mb
2 gb of DDR2

I've put together a pc for a cousin of mine recently, and prices on everything have dropped drastically.. as long as u get some decent 9 series GeForce (or an equivalent ATi card) with around 1 gb of ram on it, a decent CPU and 4 gb of ram.. ur set for the next 5 years of LFSing.

A good processor will get you further that a good gfx card in LFS.

My C2D E8500 (3.16Ghz) and ATi HD4670 get me well over 100fps with a full grid. My benchmark (full grid of AI on South City) is around 75fps.

I'd also suggest Win7 Pro, I think I am right in saying it is the cheapest of the win 7 range that has that XP virtual machine thing capability, so one way or another you got more things covered from old stuff to new stuff.

I've run 7 since the early part of this year and I have to say it's been fine. All my other machines are XPPro, as I was a Vista refusnik, so I am definitely not saying Win7 is fine lightly! It really has been fine, unconditionally.

Stay well away from Win7 upgrades though, a fresh install is the only sensible choice with this one.

You picked a pretty good time to be doing all this really.

Oh and Q6600(or a little better) quad is probably worth a quick look over at least (not needed but it's nice to have a little extra in hand for future). 4Gb ram is also pretty reasonable about now too.

Have fun, and I hope it helps.

Personally i propose You to buy AMD Phenom II on AM3 Socket, Intel 775 socked is dying, while Phenom II X4 is a good and cheap processor. Recently i've build a computer for my friend with AMD processor, it's working great.

Personally I have C2Duo E7300 O/C at 3,6GHz, LFS is working great, never below 60fps.

Welcome back Dave, nice to see you're still OK.
Seeing you brings back memories of old Boomerang Rapido days, which then turned into dEmporium Racing (later stopped). A few of those drivers then formed multi-sim RSC Motorsports (also stopped, am I jinxed?)
Since found a nice family of friends with T7R

The G27 is an evolutionary improvement over the G25 (got one), but not worth it for the price differences you found between them.

If you're buying a new PC, I'd say nearly all are capable of running LFS, you just need to invest a bit more if you're planning on super resolution. You might consider triple monitors, which LFS is about to support in next official patch.

blahblahblahblah
BUY INTEL!

WINDOWS 7 IS SIMPLY VISTA WITH A NEW COAT OF PAINT TO RID VISTA OF THE VISTA NAME!

"XP MODE" IN WINDOWS 7 IS A STUPID IDEA AS YOU NEED A PROCESSOR THAT SUPPORTS VT, AND ARE YOU REALLY USING AN APPLICATION OLD ENOUGH THAT IT WON'T RUN FINE IN NORMAL WINDOWS THROUGH COMPATIBILITY MODES?

MOAR MARKETING WINS GETTING PEOPLE TO BUY THE "XP MODE" CRAP AND THE "OMG 7 IS SO DIFFERENT TO VISTA!".

BUY S2 (AND PRE ORDER S3!)

G25/G27 FTW! I LOVE MY G25 IT HAS DRIVEN ME A LOT AND SOON I WILL BE MODDING IT!

BUY A MAC!

/THREAD!

Haha
Well, do as me - stick with the old XP, it works and I won't change it to W7 before they force me to do it. XP is everything I need, I don't need some fancy-pancy looking stuff, I like how XP looks.

I don't think anyone finds that amusing anymore, Dustin.

Dangerous Dave, I've not upgraded my PC for a few years now, and I can still max out LFS single screen, or run it quite well in triple screen mode (although I don't have enough graphics horsepower to use FSAA at those crazy resolutions). So if a Athlon X2 BE2350 coulped with an X1800XT can do all that, anything modern should find LFS a breeze. Big name modern games are a different story, of course.

For a very brief list of changes, you could check out the patch list of the online LFS manual (which is probably new for you too).

Hey, longtime no see

omg, it's da d dave welcome back, man! enjoy your stay

hi, there

that brings up some good memories

epic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HEM4OLCtAU

Wow, some old faces still about, really good to see you all here Vykos, Jug and P1lot I remember racing in the depths of darkest Birmingham all those years ago, looking forward to getting on it again!

Right, so a decent PC, 3 monitors and a G25. Visa me up.

With regard to the 3 monitor patch, do they all need to be the same size? The machine will be in a games room so was thinking of a couple of 22" or similar screens and a 32" TV centrally for the Wii

3 monitor (really it supports up to 11 monitors) patch is already out - check patch Z22.

Quote from (The Stig) :

Hey, longtime no see

Oh ye like u would've ever seen.. haha.

Quote from Shadowww :

3 monitor (really it supports up to 11 monitors) patch is already out - check patch Z22.

Jut wondering if it works well with different sized screens? I guess it'd be ok?

Quote from Dangerous Dave :

Jut wondering if it works well with different sized screens? I guess it'd be ok?

With SoftTH you can use different resolution for the middle monitor and for the side monitors. Except the side monitors have to be the same resolution afaik.

Quote from Dangerous Dave :

Right, so a decent PC, 3 monitors and a G25. Visa me up.

And don't forget an S2 license BTW what made you come back to LFS?