Questions about racing wheels

I got a couple of questions about racing wheels. I was thinking of getting one, but I've never had one, so I'm starting from no baseline of experience. I'm currently playing with a cheap Gravis Gamepad, and that is understatedly not an ideal medium for Grand Prix Legends, ICR2, or GP2. I've seen stuff ranging in price from Cdn$80 to Cdn$240 (a Microsoft forced-feedback model with a couple of full games included). I am actually fascinated by the FF feature, and therefore I am leaning towards this Microsoft model (despite my personal feelings against anything MS). But at the same time, I've heard people purchase a FF device and return it immediately because they couldn't stand it. Here's the questions that I have: (1) I'd like the purchase a USB version, because I'd like to be able to keep my Gravis online to play games like Unreal and Quake where precision is less important, but I don't want to have to unplug the Gravis for the wheel and vice-versa. I believe USB wheels are around the corner, so I'd like to go that route. I'm using Windows 95B, with the USBSUPP patch, however the boxes on existing USB joysticks says that I need Win98. Is this real or is just BS? Why would I need Win98 when I have the USB support installed on Win95? (2) Should I worry about getting the USB version, or should I just buy a regular joystick port version and switch among them? (3) I don't suppose the USB versions would work with the older DOS games like ICR2, or GP2? (4) Give me some suggestions besides the Microsoft wheel? Yousuf Khan -- To send me email, remove the "nospam"'s from my address.

There is an interesting article in the December 98 issue of Car and Driver magazine on racing wheels. Really! There is! Compares 8 wheels, ranks, quotes street prices, the whole works. Rick in Dallas >I got a couple of questions about racing wheels. I was thinking of getting >one, but I've never had one, so I'm starting from no baseline of experience. >I'm currently playing with a cheap Gravis Gamepad, and that is understatedly

Quoted text (12 lines)

>not an ideal medium for Grand Prix Legends, ICR2, or GP2. >I've seen stuff ranging in price from Cdn$80 to Cdn$240 (a Microsoft >forced-feedback model with a couple of full games included). I am actually >fascinated by the FF feature, and therefore I am leaning towards this >Microsoft model (despite my personal feelings against anything MS). But at >the same time, I've heard people purchase a FF device and return it >immediately because they couldn't stand it. >Here's the questions that I have: >(1) I'd like the purchase a USB version, because I'd like to be able to

keep >my Gravis online to play games like Unreal and Quake where precision is less >important, but I don't want to have to unplug the Gravis for the wheel and >vice-versa. I believe USB wheels are around the corner, so I'd like to go >that route. I'm using Windows 95B, with the USBSUPP patch, however the boxes

Quoted text (15 lines)

>on existing USB joysticks says that I need Win98. Is this real or is just >BS? Why would I need Win98 when I have the USB support installed on Win95? >(2) Should I worry about getting the USB version, or should I just buy a >regular joystick port version and switch among them? >(3) I don't suppose the USB versions would work with the older DOS games >like ICR2, or GP2? >(4) Give me some suggestions besides the Microsoft wheel? > Yousuf Khan >-- >To send me email, remove the "nospam"'s from my address.

>There is an interesting article in the December 98 issue of Car and Driver >magazine on racing wheels. Really! There is! Compares 8 wheels, ranks, >quotes street prices, the whole works. Ended up getting the expensive Microsoft Force-Feedback Sidewinder wheel. I think I really made a good choice, despite my limited experience with other wheels. This looks much sturdier, and is angled more like car wheel than a bus-driver wheel. And the force-feedback can be left on to act like a centering and resistance device, even in games that don't support force-feedback like GPL. The only problem I now have is that all of a sudden my old Gravis gamepad no longer works and my printer no longer works. Any ideas? Yousuf Khan