Best of 2006 The SimHQ Staff pick the winners from this past year Page 5

By SimHQ on January 25, 2007 in _commentary, hide

Hardware – Component

AMD FX-62 processor

64-bit goodness that set the next bar for processing power. SimHQ review link.

ATI Radeon X1900 series graphics card

Runs as sexy as their would be spokeswoman / model Ruby, and allowed ATI fans a chance at running two at a time (finally!) and avoid NVIDIA envy. SimHQ review link here and here.

Intel Core 2 Duo processor

Rising to the challenge of the FX-62, Intel answered with a powerhouse of performance. SimHQ review link.

NVIDIA GeForce 7900 series graphics card

What could be better than a card that handles 2.0 shaders as beautifully as a 7900 card? Another in SLI mode, of course!

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 series graphics card

First to embrace DX10, it gives a lifetime until one will have to upgrade (ten months) when Vista comes out.

WD Raptor 150 SATA drive

One fast, fast drive. Expense is it’s biggest drawback.

2006 Winner

Intel Core 2 Duo processors simply doubled up the votes over everything else at a blinding fast speed.

Hardware – Peripheral

Logitech G25

You have to ask yourself, should I feel funny about having a leather wrapped racing wheel and an H-shifter attached to my PC table? Well, do ya punk? Odds are, as a sim racer, you don’t and never have, regardless of what Dirty Harry says. This is a racing wheel and pedals and gear shift for grown-ups. The manufacturing standards are high, the clutch pedal make it a real stand out, and if you have ever wanted to wind through the H-shift gears, here’s your chance. Go for it! SimHQ review link here, here, here, and here.

Matrox TripleHead2Go

Got three monitors? Now you only need one gadget to merge them into one big display (or two, or three) seamlessly! SimHQ review link.

Ideazon Z Fang Gamepad

The hand sized mini-keyboard that makes fragging even more second nature, even if one is a lefty! SimHQ review link.

TrackIR TrackClipPRO

Smart idea that eliminates the annoying hat clip or the chance of going to the store with a reflective dot stuck to one’s forehead. Not that this has ever happened to me… lately. SimHQ review link.

2006 Winner

No pushing in the clutch on the straight away, the Logitech G25 turned inside everything else for the win.

Console – Peripheral

Logitech DriveFX Racing Wheel

Force feedback by any other name still rumbles in one’s hands. SimHQ review link.

Microsoft Racing Wheel

Who knew the same little company that made FSX also made stuff for consoles? Reliable, wireless, and with force feedback.

A Lawyer

For those who bought a Wii, plaintiff’s lawyers, who needs ’em? OK, maybe, but in this case, not a good enough one. Dart, get off the soap box, now.

2006 Winner

Though the gag vote pushed hard for our own Magnum, the Logitech DriveFX Racing Wheel wins the tie as it actually works as advertised.