rec.autos.simulators

With the current advance in technology upgrading is mandatory every now and
then. I got my P3-450 almost 2 years ago now, i upgraded it several months
later with a GeForce SDR. This system is running near the end of it's
lifetime. It's fine for GPL, but just not enough for N4, and wayyy to slow
for WSC (if i see the screenshots).

Right now i've got a 500 Euro reserve here, which will be about 700 Euro
when WSC is being released. I'm going to upgrade to a nice +-1,5 Ghz system
then. Maybe even a new wheel (ActLabs), because my 3,5 yo Thrustmaster T2
(yes, nostalgia) has been suffering a lot.

So that's quite a lot of money for a simple student... But how does the
'working-class' cope with this? Are you actually as nuts as i am? I just
work more to pay for this all during the evenens at a crappy McDonalds. But
you, you have to convince your wife that you really need your new equipment
for, as she might call it, 'that stupid for children intended game of yours'
(try to explain to a female what is cool about simracing, not possible). My
mum is 53, and doesn't understand it. Although she is so kind to start up
the Forum-GPLL server every afternoon which is located in her office;)

So the question is, how do you cope with the investments your hobby
requires. How much money have you invested or are you planning to invest for
WSC or N4 for example? Do your relatives get angry when you pay 125 Euro for
a cool Lan-event?  And if you look at the time you invest in it? Do you ever
get complaints when it's 3am and you are still in Vroc (for GPL that is)?
Just wondering, how an *** handles this all.

Svend

Hopefully this setup will run stuff for at least a couple years
because any more frequent upgrades than that will lead to the expenses
of a divorce.  :)

Paul the Cat  =^..^=

"We've been sleeping all our lives --
At last we can open our eyes."
             -- Carly Simon

My company provided me with a home PC, and I even persuaded them to equip it
with a voodoo 3 card!

They also provided an ISDN connection, which is handy for VROC.

Sometimes I even do some work on this PC...

I normaly tickle the wifes fancy a little to help convince her i realy need
my upgrade.....though i would doubt this approach would work with your mom,
and may even get you locked up for a short spell :-)

But to answer your question..for me i can always say that the running costs
are much less for the sim than it would be for the real cars and track days.

--
Cheers Ginger.......................(GPL, Bowt NetterToDo)

well look at it this way, take a reasonable approahc and you can
always argue that for the price of a haircut or a coat or a dress or
whatever you get HOURS AND HOURS of enjoyment...she usually doesn't,
works for me all the time, something like "your pocket money is to
buy clothes, shoes and hairstyles, my pocket money is for games...."

iQA/AwUBOp4tQghv7FFac7/nEQKTPgCeIbLO4o6qiqZuLEzk76L5xAgFHhEAoONb
PAokdTcfbAc9+T8lZZl5uClo
=/tyk
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

I also used to think that running a PC is safer than running a car. Then I
discovered VROC and realised I'll die at the virtual wheel after one of
those heart-pounding adrenalin rushes that only really good racing can
supply :->

Andrew McP (working in famine relief... well, there'd be a local famine if
I didn't turn up to work and fill the shelves ;-)

PS The best advice to a student is give up the PC for a few years! Study
hard, get a great job, then spend the rest of your life buying the latest,
coolest hardware. (Not a GeForce3 though, obviously... *nobody* is that
rich ;-)

Of course, when I was a student I blew half my money on Space Invaders &
Defender. There's probably a lesson to be learned in there somewhere :-)

Andre

"The physics model in the final version of 4x4 Evolution will me much better than it is in the demo" - David G Fisher

| On Thu, 1 Mar 2001 05:54:08 +0100, "Lister Storm"
|
|
| >Just wondering, how an *** handles this all.
|
| Never get married, never have kids and you can do what you ***y well
| like.

Seriously though, there's a lot of overtime available where I work.  I'm
a mechanic for a car rental company.  When I feel the need for an
upgrade, I'll just do a couple 7 day work weeks.

--

Fester

"The Job of Sex"

LOL!  I guess I'm just blessed -- my wife would rather have me at home
"driving" on my computer, rather than out running around doing
who-knows-what!  I'm also blessed in that my wife has hobbies and
interests of her own, so she doesn't require that I constantly
entertain her -- and we actually share in each other's interests to
some degree (she tries to look interested when I show her new things,
even though she really doesn't "get" this whole sim racing thing).  

It can be a pricey hobby, but one of my wife's sorority sisters has a
husband who races Sprint Cars, so in comparison, my computer-related
expenditures are minimal (and my wife is glad for that).  I try to
purchase things that are NOT cutting-edge, and I wait until prices
come down before making a purchase.  I never buy the "fastest" CPU or
the latest one on the market -- I always shoot for the top end of the
"midrange" if possible, and I find I get a good useable lifespan out
of my systems with minimal investment.  Ditto graphics cards -- I tend
to hit ebay a lot and buy stuff from the people who MUST HAVE the
"cutting edge" stuff -- that's how I snagged my TNT2 Ultra last year
for $45, and I picked up my GeForce256 a couple of months ago for $65
from the UBid auction site.  I'm never "cutting-edge," but my system
usually qualifies as "above adequate."  

As for the late-night racing sessions, yes, I do take a lot of grief
over that, but if you play with headphones and the lights out, you can
always tell your wife that you "fell asleep on the couch" when you
come to bed at 3:30 in the morning!

;-)

-- JB
   F1CS2K Rank Handicap 59.118
   http://www.racesimcentral.net/

LOL!  I'm just guessing here, but I'd have to say "probably not."
Sorry!

;-)