My pain cave is nearly finished, and I just got an “old” gamer PC from a friend that I would like to use exclusively for Zwift.
I don’t know much about computers and some help would be much appreciated.
I am using a Wahoo Kickr Core Trainer, and a Jetblack HR Monitor.
Here are the computer specs:
Motherboard Acer IPSB-VR Rev 1.01
Processor Intel I7-2700K
Ram 8GB
Graphic card MSI GeForce GTX770
Two hard drives, maybe SSD not sure
It may not be ideal but it’s worth a beer pack and will me so much better that my old laptop.
Righ now I need to buy a screen, a wireless keyboard with touchpad and something to connect the home trainer to the computer.
-Could you guys give me some advice on which wifi/bluetooth card to buy to be able to connect the home trainer and heart rate monitor? This is the point I’m worried about
-For the screen, is there something to know or I can pick the cheapest 27" on amazon? I want to get rid of the table and to install it on the wall. Same for keyboard.
It’s a rather low-spec machine for Zwift due to the age of the CPU. Might be acceptable if you run Windows and Zwift from an SSD. If it doesn’t have an SSD you can get a cheap one and throw away the hard drives. Assuming it’s a standard case and PSU it could be upgraded fairly easily with a new motherboard.
If you’re a Facebook user I suggest joining the ZPCMR group, and download the PDF files if you would like advice on component purchases. You can find them in the Files tab in the group. The files will probably answer your questions and should be read before posting questions in the group.
Personally I use USB WiFi and Bluetooth in my system and that works fine. I have the Bluetooth dongle on an extension lead so I can put it under the bike. That seems to give the best signal strength for connecting Play controllers. If you shop for a Bluetooth dongle there is advice in this zwiftalizer video.
Assuming you have a usable PCIe slot and you want to get a Bluetooth/WiFi card almost any of the Intel chipset cards will be a safe choice. The cheap ones are usually fine.
I know this computer is old, but it will be an improvement from the laptop I’m using.
I joined the facebook group and will read the material. Just got out of the local computer shop, they sold me the Gigabyte bluetooth card for cheap and a 27" screen that will go on the wall.
They have 30€ SSDs so if there is’nt one in the computer I will upgrade it.
