Category: Gaming Technology

Logitech G29 Price Dropped on Amazon

~ Jeff Kendrick ~ 2 Comments

 

I’m not sure if this is a mistake or how long it will last, but here is the Logitech Driving Force G29 steering wheel at the lowest price I have seen to date.

On the other hand there are some pretty good prices on Logitech G27 wheels on eBay that can save you a few bucks. One seller in particular, 4surpluscity, is refurbishing used G27 racing wheels, restoring them to like new condition. The G29 has more buttons but it does not come with the H-pattern shifter. To get the shifter you will have to buy it separately.

These refurbished G27 wheels are listed on eBay in good condition which means they might have minor scuffs but no cracks or other severe damage. Both the G27 and G29 are made mostly from stainless steel and leather.

The seller, 4surpluscity, has excellent 99.1% positive feedback on over eighty thousand transactions. Paypal is the only payment method accepted. The seller offers free shipping and has sold about 400 of these G27 racing wheels.

As more people have been joining iRacing in anticipation of dirt track racing, I have been looking at these wheels. The demand is up a little bit and the eBay prices have risen slightly. However, the brand new Logitech G29 on Amazon is the lowest price I have seen on that wheel yet. The new wheel is very tempting if you’re in the market. The only downside is the lack of H-pattern shifter. The truth is, I have my H-pattern shifter for my G27 in a storage box and I don’t think I ever even plugged it in. It’s just a little bit too much if you’re using a desk and the paddle shifters work fine.

It really boils down to two things:

  1. Do you think you will use the H-pattern shifter a lot? Then get a G27 from eBay unless having a brand new wheel is important to you.
  2. Is it important that you have something brand new? Then get a G29 from Amazon. If you know you’re going to need an H-pattern shifter, you’ll need about $60 extra.

Either wheel is a great choice in direct drive wheels. If you’re looking for G27 or G29 setup help, I have a page that will help you with iRacing here. If you happen to be running Dirt Rally, take a look at this page. Although the pages are specifically for the Logitech G27, the wheels are pretty much the same and the pages should help you get your wheel set up properly. The G29 software, however, is different from the G29 software.

The Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset

~ Jeff Kendrick ~ Leave a comment

This is the best money I ever spent on any gaming gear I ever bought. The Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset has great sound going both ways — through the headset and the microphone. I thoroughly tested mine, listening to music, making recordings with the microphone, and asking people on iRacing, Discord, and TeasmSpeak how it sounds.

The microphone is what really stands out about this headset. Most manufacturers put in a cheap microphone. I guess they figure that the end user can’t hear himself so what does it matter right? It matters to me. That’s why I tested this headset so thoroughly.

The headset comes with a one-year warranty but it’s well made and will last you for years. The microphone is detachable so you can simply unplug it and set it aside if you just want to use the cans to listen to music or something. The cable is eight feet long and is terminated with standard 3.5 mm mini jacks that plug straight into your computer’s headphone and microphone ports. No need to use a USB port.

The Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset is absolutely the best low- to mid-range headset you’re going to get. If you’re looking for a headset now and you’re thinking about one of the $10 to $15 jobs, take my advice. The Fatal1ty is not expensive by any stretch. Spend a little more and get the Fatal!ty right here right now. You won’t regret it!

If you’re looking to go a step above this inexpensive headset, I can also highly recommend the Sennheiser Game One PC Gaming Headset. It is a little bit better than the Creative in every area including build quality, comfort, and sound quality. Of course, you will pay quite a bit more for all that quality.

How to Roll Back NVIDIA GeForce Experience 3 to Previous Version

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If you’re like me and you were annoyed as hell with NVIDIA for version 3.xx of the NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software, there is a way to roll it back to the previous version.

Some people may actually like the new version, but I found it intrusive and annoying. First, NVIDIA forces users to log in just to update the driver. Get out of here. Secondly, when you open your game, you’re presented with some overlay icons at the bottom, and an utterly annoying banner sliding in on the upper right urging you to press ALT-Z to record your game or whatever.

I think the icons can but disabled, by the horrible sliding banner can’t be disabled and that’s the biggest problem I have with this software. I tolerated NIVIDIA’s despicable intrusions until I found out that if I open my game and then remember I need to do something on the desktop and immediately minimize the game, the horrible banner is still stuck there on the upper left and won’t slide back out. It’s stuck there, covering up my all important buttons in the iRacing simulator: Garage, Options, and Quit.

So if you feel the same way about this bloatware that NVIDIA has foisted upon its paying customers, you can let them know if you want to. In the meantime, you can roll back the software and still continue to receive your driver update notifications without putting up with NVIDIA’s irritating logins and icons and banners that you never wanted in the first place.

Here’s the video that tells you how to roll it back. If you’d rather read the instructions in a regular text format, view the video on Youtube and click More at the bottom.

Oculus Rift Available for Pre-Order, Ships March 28

~ Jeff Kendrick ~ 1 Comment
Oculus Rift High-End Virtual Reality System
Oculus Rift High-End Virtual Reality System

Oculus VR has begun taking pre-orders for the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset today. Many speculated that the price would be in the $300 to $500 range, but it’s currently priced at a hefty $599. The ship dates start on March 28, so spen $600 now and you can have your high-end virtual reality headset by April or May. Let’s hope you have enough computer to run it. Read on.

This is enough to make me step back and wait to purchase the headset. The price will fall quickly, and I like to take a “Wait and See” stance on new technology like this. The Youtube videos shot using Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 look great, but I want to hear from more people who have actually used the consumer version before I start looking at laying out that much for it, and building a new PC to boot.

The system will include the following:

  • Headset with integrated headphones and mic. That’s too bad. I already have a high-end headset and microphone system and I’m very happy with it. Oculus VR is going to have to convince me that their headset is at least as good as my Sennheiser, and I don’t think they can do that.
    Oculus Rift Remote
    Oculus Rift Remote – What is the actual size of this thing?

    Excellent audio is very important to me. If I’m forced to use an inferior set of headphones or an inferior microphone in order to use Oculus Rift, I’ll pass. The word is that the headphones are light and of excellent quality. That’s good. I can’t find any information on the microphone, and if I have to sound like I’m swimming in a barrel of slime when I use the Oculus Rift, that’s a deal breaker for me.

  • Sensor
  • Xbox One Controller 😆 useless.
  • Something (a game, I presume) called Lucky’s Tale, for which I have no use.
  • Oculus Remote. It appears that the remote only exists so you can buy more junk from Oculus VR and/or Microsoft.
Oculus Rift System Requirements

If you want to experience high-end virtual reality with Oculus Rift, you’re going to need something like this:

  • Processor: Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
  • System memory: 8GB+
  • Video card: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater
  • Video output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
  • Input: This thing is going to take up 3 (three) of your USB 3.0 ports plus one USB 2.0 port. So you are going to have to free up four USB ports. Good luck. USB hub sales will now go up, I’m sure.
  • Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or newer. Sorry Mac and Linux.

Many people will need to spend $2500 or so on a new system, plus $600 for the Oculus Rift. Over 3 grand just to play in a virtual world. Again, I’ll take a “Wait and See” stance.