Racing sim hardware

[vobler]

Not racing sim hardware as such, but I found something that could help a few guys wanting to race/play games with a Laptop.

Its some kind of docking station with a performance graphics card.
As I understand it, it attaches to the PC via the expresscard slot.

http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=11426

[Romus]

Not racing sim hardware as such, but I found something that could help a few guys wanting to race/play games with a Laptop.

Its some kind of docking station with a performance graphics card.
As I understand it, it attaches to the PC via the expresscard slot.

http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=11426

Looks like a good product, but feels more like a product that's never gonna be sold.

Have you found any resellers? I remember when that was first hyped, about two years ago. I thought I would buy it for my laptop and play LFS with it. But the launch was delayed and I bought a proper gaming PC a year ago. Now it was finally "launched" in May this year, but I still cannot find any shops selling it. I tried to find with Google, idealo.de, pricerunner.co.uk, but there seems to be only previews or some rare reviews about it.

[Gnomie]

I read about the XG station a while ago too, and I think this kind of product could be a terrific thing in the future! It sure has potential. Especially now that laptops seem to get smaller and smaller, it's hard to fit powerful components inside. (especially GPUs) So a solution with a small, light laptop with good RAM and CPU, and an external GPU which you plug in when you get home, would be a terrific idea in theory!

Today I got my Rinoseat!! :yahoo: I've only played for a few hours, but my first impression is terrific. It's just so incredibly comfortable! There's loads of more things I must try (you can adjust almost everything, like wheel height/distance, pedal tilt, seat back tilt +++), but I've kept it in the same setting all day and it feels perfect. I read a review somewhere where the guy said it feels like floating on air, and I agree! Actually I was surprised at the comfort -- it looks kinda thin and flimsy, but it feels soft while still giving you great support.

A very cool thing is how the most powerful vibrations of the wheel (like, when you cross a sharp curb or hit a wall) get transferred down the wheel tube and into the seat itself, so you can feel it in your legs. It's a subtle effect, but it's there, and it feels great.

Right, now I'm off to do some more driving! See you on the server tonight.

[Romus]

I've updated my post about my cockpit:
http://www.deadmen.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=222617&postcount=72

[Gnomie]

Wow, impressive cockpit! That looks terrific.

I've had my seat for about a week now, so you can expect a "review" soon-ish. These days, when I'm supposed to be studying for final exams, it's suddenly gotten very tempting to do all kinds stuff other than studying.

[Doorman]

I've updated my post about my cockpit:
http://www.deadmen.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=222617&postcount=72

That 'book style' foot rest is the in thing at the moment. I'm thinking of upgrading my setup to that. :lmfao:

[Gnomie]

Time for a review of my Rinoseat.


Shipping
I was very unlucky with the shipping. I made the payment on September 3rd, and I didn’t receive the seat until November 20th!! Apparently there was a big problem with the whole shipment (60+ seats), so they had to send me a new one. Once they sent the second seat it only took three weeks to get here.

I can only assume that my situation was a one-off.  

Packaging and assembly
The seat was packed in a compact cardboard box. Each part was wrapped in plastic or cardboard for protection. The box also includes all you’ll need for assembly, including tools. A nice gesture!

Assembly was not very difficult, but I took my time since I wanted to get it right. The instructions were OK, but with some ambiguities. If I were to do it again now I could probably do it in less than 15 minutes.

Disassembly/storage
My room is very small (10m^2) so I have to partially disassemble it after use. This is very easy! After removing a couple of screws it will fold like this:
Unfortunately you’ll need to use tools to tilt the seatback. I think this could have been done with some handles or something instead. It’s not a big deal, though.


Build quality
The seat it covered with artificial leather. All the seams are high quality and seem very well done. The metal parts have a nice paint cover, and all the welds and joints appear solid.

Use
Now, on to the fun bit. Is it comfortable to use? The short answer is yes. The long answer is yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

I was totally amazed at the comfort!! It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly does it, but the whole feel of the seat is extremely good. The mix between soft cushions and still good support works very well indeed. Once you’ve adjusted the distance to the pedals correctly, the base of the seat will provide excellent support to your thighs. Also the way the seat is constructed, a lot of your body weight is held up by your legs, so there’s less weight on the seat itself. Since your body weight gets distributed over a large area it feels like you’re “floating on air”. (I stole that expression from some other review. ) Together, this means that even after long hours of racing I don’t get tired at all.



I’m using the Nixim mod, which requires me to use quite a lot of force when braking. I was slightly worried that this would cause the whole structure to flex and bend when I’m driving. However this is not the case – it feels very stable and solid.

Some words about adjustability: I was a little concerned about whether or not the seat would be big enough for me. I’m quite tall (2 meters) so I was wondering if the pedals could be shoved far enough away from the seat. (The pedals are connected to the seat base by a metal tube) And indeed they can! The distance from the seat and the pedals can be selected from about a million different positions, so this should work for everyone. Moreover the height/distance to the wheel, the angle of the pedal base and the seatback angle can all be adjusted as you please.

Now on to some of the negatives. Some people have expressed concern that the wheel isn’t supported all that well. And it’s true – the wheel support will flex some when you’re driving. This has both a negative and a positive side to it. Some people might think that it feels a little weird that it moves around like that, but on the other hand it means that the vibrations from the wheel get transferred into your seat. So when you hit a curb or something you’ll actually feel a thump in your legs. While subtle, I think this effect adds a little bit to the immersion, but the wobbliness of the wheel is a tradeoff that not everyone will be willing to make, I suppose.

One minor thing at the end – the legs are quite “pointy” and leave quite deep depressions in the linoleum on my floor. I’ve fixed this by placing some thin plastic discs underneath the legs, so it’s not really a problem, but anyway.. it’s the sort of thing that could easily be fixed by the manufacturer.

Overall
All in all, the Rinoseat is just what I was hoping it would be. The quality is great, and it can be adjusted to a lot of different positions to fit your fancy. It’s small and can be stored easily, but even though it’s small and looks kind of flimsy it’s very comfortable and stable. The only exception is the wheel support which flexes a little more than some might like. Personally I don’t think this is a problem, though, and all in all I’m very happy with the seat. It’s a little bit on the expensive side, though, but the value is great still.

I’m even thinking about making some extensions on it so I can use it for flight sims as well, which shouldn’t be too difficult considering the modular nature of the construction.

[Romus]

Nice review. I'm gonna send the link to my brother, because he would like to start simracing but doesn't have room for a permanent cockpit.

Could you have some soft of clamps on the table that you could use to give extra support for the wheel so that it would not wobble? I think my streering accuracy improved somewhat when I got the cockpit so strong that the wheel does not move more that about 5mm even when the action is hottest. You could then get bass shakers to get extra immersion to the chair. (I've considered bass shakers, but can't imagine they would bring anything that would really make the experience better.)

[Gnomie]

Yes, that would probably be possible. If it were bothering me much I guess I'd try that, but for now at least I'm happy with how it is. A bonus is of course that none of the vibrations get lost to sound or anything -- it's all either going to your hands, or your legs. I guess clamping it to the table would change that..

[vobler]

I have been toying with the Vista speech recognition a few days now and I am impressed. Not as a tool to dictate e-mails and forum post, but as a sim command tool.

Both LFS and iRacing can be controlled by it and it is quite simple to use. So in LFS if someone logs on I just say "press F6" and a Hi message is sent. If I say "press F9" it shows my tire display and so forth. But sadly I cant get it to dictate a message after I say "press T". But of cause I can say "Press h" and "press i" to "type" a message letter by letter but that is cumbersome. But to use it as a virtual button box is very nice. So for exsample if I need to enable repairs in LFS I say "Press F12, Press down, Press down, Press right, Press F12". Simple and without taking your eyes of the track!

If you have Vista take half an our to set it up and train it and try for your self.

[Gnomie]

That is really neat! I didn't know that was possible. I don't have Vista, but I'd imagine this could be pretty useful for those who do. Nice find!

[delankster]

:yahoo: wa-hey !! vista is actually good for something !!! :yahoo:
great find m8, have a new install looming and might even take the plunge !!:D

[Anonymous]

I'm going to a car boot sale tomorrow. One of the items going is my Logitech Driving Force Pro because, as Ron says, I never use it.

If anyone wants to make me an offer (including postage costs) before 11pm tonight I'll keep it back for you otherwise it goes to the boot sale tomorrow.

[Gnomie]

I'm not sure a car boot sale is where you'll get the best price.. if I were you I'd try eBay or something.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure a car boot sale is where you'll get the best price.. if I were you I'd try eBay or something.

Can't be bothered, too much hassle.