u/Any-Surprise5229

I have literally never been a keyboard player. I'm almost 50 now, first computer was a TRS-80, then a Vic-20, C-64, Amiga 500 then I switched to console with PS1,PS2. Had a few PCs in the middle, a PII and an Athlon Thunderbird, then a P4. Went back to consoles with Xbox, 360, skipped the PS3 but got a PS4 and eventually 5.

I got back into PCs a couple years ago and built my 12900k with 7900gre, which now has a 9070xt. Everything we owned was 2nd and 3rd gen intel so I went on a building spree and now the oldest is an i5-8500 on one of our TVs.

I have arthritis and recently went through a course of steroids on top of my weekly meds because I was constantly having wrist pain. I never connected the dots but I spent the last couple evenings re-casing my travel PC and didn't play any games...and my wrists didn't hurt. I tested the theory last night and did some light gaming for an hour or two and lo and behold, my wrists hurt this morning.

My dad has had carpal tunnel surgery so I am probably a candidate myself. Up until a few years ago I was pretty hands-on, have been in industrial maintenance since 1996. I switched to project management because I was kind of sick of the maintenance world and my company needed someone to build a factory, so it was a win-win for me.

I've been using an 8bitdo Ultimate 2c, which is basically a direct knockoff of an Xbox controller. I do remember when I used to play PS5, I would spend 6-8 hours on off nights playing Mechwarrior 5 Mercs and my wrists would hurt a little, but nothing like now even after 2 hours of playing.

So, looking for someone who also has wrist issues and uses a controller, what have you found that works good? Is there a good PS5 clone that works well on PC? From what I understand they are a bit of a nightmare to get working well.

I just started playing again as my heel is finally, well, healing. The other night I just ran laps to get back on the horse and yesterday I decided to run a race, something I totally wasn't ready for, but it was a blast nonetheless.

I did a multiclass, P3, GT4, and TSI cup.

First race was at Cascavel, I am trying to stick to places I am comfortable with since I am just starting back up. I qualify second and quickly take the lead. I screw up, drop to 9th but decide to soldier through and see how I can finish.

Clawed back to 3rd, thought it was the last lap (time had expired) and made a move thinking it was now or never...it was a a 10m +1 lap race so I had time but didn't realize. Screwed up and dropped to 7th. I think I clawed back to 5th on the last lap.

Knew it was getting late but wanted to do one more, decided to go for the Glen short without the bus stop. Did a practice lap, qualified 5th, made a gearbox adjustment to not max out halfway down the straight and started the race.

I dropped the race to 5 minutes because I knew it was time to shower & watch our show.

Had an amazing battle with the top 4 cars, I would pass on the straights, they would get me in the turns because I am still over braking, then I would pass again.

During all the fun I totally forgot we were multi-class racing.

I'm on the back straight, doing 165 and there is suddenly a pack of VWs going maybe 100 in front of me.

I juke the first pack, dipping a wheel off right around the bus stop but get back on track without incident.

I have to slow down for the outer loop so I'm hard on the brakes, probably locking up because I'm still getting used to the pedal feel of the Simsonn pedals I got for Christmas but never used because of my heel.

I drive up under the bumper of a TSi and flip the car over because of my momentum, its rear wheels takes my wing off in the process.

I bounce off the tire wall on the outside of the loop and ricochet back to the armco on the inside, hitting a couple more cars on the way.

I decided that was enough for the night after that.

It made me think back to when Grand Am had bad car counts and they started the GSX class so GA Cup cars could race in the big races to pad count and drivers complained about it because they were rolling chicanes.

Yeah, having a 60+ mph speed difference between classes is dangerous, I totally get it now!

Getting the itch and just had my annual review, so I'm thinking about treating myself to one upgrade. I have 4 systems I use pretty regularly, one of them is good to go, really they all are, but you know how it goes. Maybe I do nothing in the end, maybe someone has a good idea for another path I hadn't thought of, I'm open to suggestions, just want to blow some money, haha.

System 1- Main gaming PC, this is the daily driver more or less. It's a 12900k with 9070xt, with an MSI 1440p 34" ultrawide.

System 2- Sim rig PC, I do try to use it daily as well, but I'd say 3 times a week, only used for racing games. 7900x / 7900xtx, triple AOC 32" VA 1440p monitors.

System 3- vacation house PC, used every other weekend on fri/sat, 7600/9060xt, 32" 1440p VA Sansui monitor

System 4- travel PC, right now I am on the road a lot so I built a gaming rig to take with. 14400/9060xt 18" portable 1080p 120hz monitor & Xreal 1S glasses

Kinda leaning toward CPU upgrades more than anything and really don't want to spend a lot, just want a project. I actually have a spare set of DDR5 thanks to a friend that picked some up in Mexico for me, and the 7900gre I took out of system 1 when I got the 9070xt, so I almost have another PC cost wise, which I will build out of whichever parts come out and possibly sell, I don't know, I am bad at getting rid of stuff.

Upgrade ideas (open to others):

System 1- I really wouldn't mind trying the new Core 270, but I understand that is a complete new system more or less, so this one is probably the most undesirable to me. It makes the most sense to upgrade the one you use most, but it is very solid and not really lacking anywhere, but like I said, the new chip intrigues me.

System 2- 7900x to 7800x3d. Basically the one I should have bought before, but the 7900x was like $70 cheaper at the time and I won't deny I've been a bit of a luddite about x3d. I think this would be close to the most impactful upgrade. Why not 9800? Ehh, I think the 7800 will do the job just fine and I really would like to keep this under $400 (which really kind of rules out #1, but whatever).

System 3- 7600 to 7600x3d. This one makes the most sense, is the cheapest and probably the bang for the buckiest upgrade of them all. Using it so little is my only point of contention. We visit here every other weekend, pretty much without fail because we have some plants to feed and birds and deer we feed outside as well, have owned the place for 6 years and have kept that schedule the whole time, so it's pretty stable. I think this one would be an awesome upgrade and really kick the system up a notch.

System 4- pretty content with it. It's in a small case for portability and any better processor would just introduce heat issues IMO. I love the 9060xt, really there is nothing I would change on this system except maybe a 1440p monitor, but with the small size of portable monitor, it doesn't make a lot of sense either.