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I have a newer style mac.... Powerbook I think.. I'm wanting to look into what I'd have to buy to get a iracing system going. I know I'd have to buy a wheel, and I currently have one of those 36inch flat tv's....(a product of not wanting to screw around with a converter box) I know some of the club members use this sim system and am wondering what kind of initail investment I'd be signing up for...

thanks

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http://greenjacketracing.blogspot.com/
1987 Mustang GT Track Car-
1999 Toyota Tacoma
1988 BMW 735i 5 speed
1989 BMW 325i running like German Junk
2004 F-350 Super Duty (NC taxpayer owned)

IIRC, iRacing doesn't support Mac OS, but will run on a Mac with Windows installed..at least that's what the Macfolk have said.

From the iRacing FAQ:

What kind of computer will I need?
In general, the simulation is designed to work on most home PCs currently available in stores. You may also choose to upgrade to a mid-range, dedicated 3D video card.
The minimum specs for a PC are:

System Requirements
- Windows XP or Windows Vista or Windows 7
- Hyperthreaded Intel CPU, AMD Athlon 64 CPU, or any dual-core CPU
- 128MB Pixel Shader 2.0 (ATI 9700Pro or nVidia 6600 or better); 256 MB Pixel Shader 3.0 (ATI X1600 or nVidia 6800 GT/GS or better recommended) graphics adapter
- 1 GB system RAM
- 3Gb free hard disk space
- Steering wheel and pedals required
- Microphone optional, required for voice chat

Internet Browser Requirements
- Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer 6, or newer
- Javascript enabled
- Cookies enabled
- Flash Player

Internet Connection Speed
- 56K dial-up at a minimum, Broadband (DSL or Cable) highly recommended. Satellite broadband excluded.

Will the iRacing.com simulation work on an Apple Mac?
The simulation will not work on the Mac Operating system, but it will run on a Mac that has Windows XP, Vista or 7 natively installed, provided the Mac hardware meets the simulation's minimum requirements.

I run iRacing on a 2002 Dell 4500 with an old AGP NVidia 6800GT card, displayed on a 32" Samsung HDTV. I can run it at 50fps on medium settings. Since it's an HDTV, there's no point in telling the vid card to render any better resolution than 1368x720. I use a Logitech Momo wheel, but probably should use a G25 so I can have better steering travel (900-degrees for the G25 IIRC). I imagine a current year entry level PC could run similar graphic specs. IMO, this setup runs perfectly well, no graphical hiccups, no lag, etc.

I pay a 6-month contract of about $60. I've been on iRacing since January, and I still suck...Maybe I should take the hint? It's definitely not a game, and requires practice. I view it more as a training aid than a game, although it obviously lacks the proprioceptive input of feeling the car understeer, oversteer etc...

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Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

Great... thanks for the information

I guess I'll start looking on craigslist for used PC's, as I've heard that Macs running on PC operating systems can be problematic.

It would be nice, for us computer non experts, if you could buy a mainframe package from iracing. I'd rather pay the money and KNOW its going to work....

Now starts the cost analysis, how many days of real driving do I have to give up to simulate driving....

_________________
http://greenjacketracing.blogspot.com/
1987 Mustang GT Track Car-
1999 Toyota Tacoma
1988 BMW 735i 5 speed
1989 BMW 325i running like German Junk
2004 F-350 Super Duty (NC taxpayer owned)

Running bootcamp on an intel mac should give you no problems at all.

Of course, you said powerbook, and an intel mac would be a Macbook (or Macbook Pro).

That said, you can probably do it just as easy with a used PC and not spend much more (unless you have a copy of Windows sitting around).

Scott

Now that Road Atlanta is available, I thought those that have driven there would appreciate this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0skUqlGDyU


On the computer subject, I would guess for well less than $500 you could build/buy a decent iRacing PC. I'm using an old Athlon64 4400+ with a modern mid-line (~$200) video card, and it works great. This is using 1920x1200x32 video too.

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Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2