PC PC building & spec check

I cant wait to get my hands on the Occulus Rift or its competitors in the comfort of my own home, virtual reality headsets are going to be a dream for us simulator fans!

Same here, I'm hoping that the oculus rift isn't going to cost too much.

I find it a little unfortunate that they're bundling the Xbox controller as that really isn't necessary and adds ~$50 to the cost. I assume a little less than the price of a console. The iR camera seems to be not as good as HTC's Lighthouse and might have trouble if there's a wheel in the way...?

But depending where you put the camera it wouldn't matter

Now that I think about it, I see what Ryzza5 is getting at, it's a bit of an odd camera design since it seems (hard?) mounted onto a stand. I think something smaller you could clip on top of a TV or monitor just like the TrackIR would make more sense considering most people will be sitting in front of a monitor anyway.

Still plenty more things we as consumers need to find out about the release version of the Occulus though, can only sit and wait

Yet another option
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=29&v=GADtniiZL9c

This is doing my head in

You could always duct tape it somewhere were nothing is in its way

Nice Q&A sesh here

Going to drop a link to this playlist of 'Scrapyard Wars' video, where some PC geeks up Canada way compete in building the best gaming PC possible for a very low budget. There's every chance you can't stand these guys, but at the same time you might enjoy it and learn a thing or two about joining the PC crowd on the cheap.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8mG-RkN2uTyuEutQa79RZ0Q5u5gteUci

The most recent video went up today and is not yet present in the list. If you get that far.

my last pc build was only $600 and played all games. now days go very much over board. the current pc when it was buit got in the top 2% in fire strike when i first built it all for under $1500 all in 2 nd had bits. PC's dont have to be expensive. These guys show that well

Here's a cheap build video for tempted console gamers

im after a new monitor - I want a 27 inch (no triple monitors for me), but dont know what to get - should I got for a TN display 1ms 120/144hz or an IPS 5ms 60Hz?

Theres too many choices and im not sure which is best for sim racing (low response or a prettier IPS display) - i dont play any other types of games, just PCars and AC - and I also use it with my PS3 hooked up for GT6 (so dual input is a must, but most have that anyway)...

IPS panels often reflect too much light, so it's worth considering where the nearest window is.
TN are cheaper, more responsive, and more cost effective. If you get into Photoshop or graphics/web design then there is a case for IPS but from what you've written I don't think you'll really need it.

These days there's more to shop for such as traditional 60Hz vs higher (only useful if you can get > 60FPS), 1080p vs 1440p ultra widescreen, FreeSync (AMD) v GSync (nVidia) (wish they would merge/defragment), etc - although that all sends the cost up higher than some spend on their TV.

For racing I don't think you'd care about having much more than ~75Hz. Higher rates may suit FPS games more.
I'm still on my first 1080p monitor from a number of years ago. A BenQ E2420HD. Bought it mainly for its inputs (2xHDMI + DVI + VGA - I have multiple PCs + a console connected) and the rest of its specs were on par back then.

3yo builds a computer... sort of

It seems that many Oculus Rift players may benefit from purchasing a second camera for improved tracking. However, it appears that running more cameras eats up more CPU, so keep this in mind if you are building a system.

In contrast, the Lighthouse system for HTC Vive does it's own computations onboard.

I have a DK2 and find for the limited movement in sim racing that one camera works well how ever i can see the benefits in other applications.