Widescreen Gaming Forum

The 'Play & charge kit' I guess plugs into the front of the wheel, and then into a USB port on the PC/360. I highly doubt that you can then play the wheel via USB though... but I could be wrong.

Well I hadn't seen the Play & Charge kit, though that must have been what the guys saying you could play while charging the batteries were talking about. I don't see why you couldn't just get that instead of the receiver because it's just a way of connecting to the PC directly while being able to simultaneously charge the batteries. It's cheaper than the receiver too, but I wish you could get it without the battery.

[quote]The 'Play & charge kit' I guess plugs into the front of the wheel, and then into a USB port on the PC/360. I highly doubt that you can then play the wheel via USB though... but I could be wrong.

Well I hadn't seen the Play & Charge kit, though that must have been what the guys saying you could play while charging the batteries were talking about. I don't see why you couldn't just get that instead of the receiver because it's just a way of connecting to the PC directly while being able to simultaneously charge the batteries. It's cheaper than the receiver too, but I wish you could get it without the battery.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=136748#136748

[quote][quote]The 'Play & charge kit' I guess plugs into the front of the wheel, and then into a USB port on the PC/360. I highly doubt that you can then play the wheel via USB though... but I could be wrong.

Well I hadn't seen the Play & Charge kit, though that must have been what the guys saying you could play while charging the batteries were talking about. I don't see why you couldn't just get that instead of the receiver because it's just a way of connecting to the PC directly while being able to simultaneously charge the batteries. It's cheaper than the receiver too, but I wish you could get it without the battery.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/#comment-]

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/e3-2006/e3-2006-microsoft-usb-wireless-receiver-and-other-hardware-info-172902.php

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If you would like to buy a new wheel and If G25 is too expensive for you, buy a Logitech Driving Force GT. It's a new, better version of DFP and it cost 50% less than G25 and it works with pc too. Remember, If you don't want FF, you can turn it off in the profiler ;)

I've been researching this one lately and am rather impressed by a video review I saw on YouTube, but more significantly this demonstration on YouTube playing GRID on the PS3 in cockpit view on the San Francisco course. Do you think it would perform as well with the PC version of GRID though? This is one YouTube video that actually looks pretty good when you put the viewer in high quality mode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGavrgZfLj8

In the above video, playing GRID looks effortless with this wheel despite one review I read saying DiRT and GRID are both hard to keep a straight line with due to the way the FF jerks the wheel (even if set half strength) and lack of power steering effect in the game. I can always turn FF off if I feel it's too hard to keep a straight line with it on. That reviewer did say it was much easier with FF to low though. However, one thing about this wheel is some say the pedals are a bit cheesy like the Momo ones (pots coming loose).

One thing I like is it works with older titles like NFS U2, NFS MW, etc, at least the DFP does, so I assume this would too. One thing that's odd though is there are no drivers for it on Logitech's site. I've read that some are saying the DFP drivers work for it. According to the YouTube review it seems to automatically calibrate itself even when plugged into a PC. This makes me wonder if plugging it into ANY USB port has this effect via perhaps firmware driver in the plug or device itself.

I've found it for around $116 online, $136 shipped. Considering the best I can do on the 360 wireless set is around $91 for wheel and receiver before even getting any optional Play&Charge kit, which would put it at around $104 and result in sourcing the parts from different vendors, this is looking like a better option. I really like the way this wheel rotates easily and has ball bearing construction. The only thing I wonder about is support for current and future arcade racers on PC platform. The YouTube review indicated a few of the buttons wouldn't work, but there were still 14 that did.

Anyone here used the Driving Force GT on PC race games like NFS U2, NFS MW, NFS Carbon, DiRT, GRID, Test Drive Unlimited, etc?

That wheel does look rather nice. The official 360 wheel is slightly hard to turn and overall it looks like its a larger wheel which I like, the 360 wheel is a little on the small side so I find my self driving with one hand almost all the time.

Yeah the 11" diameter and low spin resistance allow you to turn it with your finger tips according to the YouTube review on it. I just noticed Fry's has it for about $130, so I might just go drive down and pick one up. They say it can be refunded within 1 month with no restocking fee if it doesn't work out.

Walmart has it for the same price but I'd rather not support them. I also saw the Xbox wireless one at Sams' Club for about $78 but then I'd have to mail order the wireless receiver (and P&C kit if I wanted one) and it's not likely as good a wheel or even as good of game support. The pedals are the only thing about the 360 one that might be a bit better.

I also noticed after further reading that although the guy doing the YouTube review for how the DF GT works on PC said 3 of it's 17 buttons didn't work on PC games, there were also some PS3 users saying the horn button on the steering column doesn't even work on Playstation. So realistically there's only 2 buttons that don't work on PC that do on PS.

Interesting to note is that some claim the FF actually works better on the DF GT than on the G25 and it includes the red dial on the fly adjuster for brake bias, traction control, etc, in GT5. Sadly this adjuster doesn't seem to work in any PC games, though I doubt many games are designed to allow such settings to be adjusted in real time while driving like GT5.

Some are saying the ideal set would be the DF GT wheel and G25 pedals. I guess it depends on whether you insist on having a clutch. Here's a couple more videos, one drifting in GRID that shows how easy the wheel is to turn, the other a rally in DiRT showing you can in fact keep the vehicle straight even on bumpy terrain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybCggWttCtY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA6O8SUEOp8&feature=related