Microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel driversw10

#Microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel driversw10 install#
#Microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel driversw10 driver#
#Microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel driversw10 software#

ItвЂ™s difficult to move the pedals with your feet without pausing the game to re-position them. A couple of times, while slamming on the brakes, I pushed the pedals out of position (see the spaz remark above). Both feet are needed to use the pedals, though, since they are a little far apart to effectively use one foot and keep the pedals on the floor. They have a solid feel to them and arenвЂ™t too soft or hard. The pedals are decent but not anything to write home about. With only three buttons, itвЂ™s not a big deal but there were a couple of occasions when I ended up pressing the wrong button as I tried to resituate my fingers. The only gripe I have is that it would have been nice to have a small raised dot or line on the center buttons so that you know where you fingers are without looking at the wheel (IвЂ™m a kind of spaz and sometimes take my hands off the wheel so having something to help me relocate the right buttons in the middle of a race would be nice). The buttons have a nice solid feel and good feedback when pushed. TheyвЂ™re very easy to reach with your thumbs as long as you donвЂ™t move your hands from the grip area. There are six buttons located on the hub of the wheel.

The wheel is also a little loud under heavy turning but itвЂ™s not too noticeable if you are playing the game (I only noticed this when I let the girlfriend try out the wheel). I checked out some of the competitor products and all of the other wheels in this class exhibited the same behavior. The wheel does have a bit of a notchy feel (you can feel the gears that the wheel uses to transfer the turn information to the computer). While this is kind of a turn-off at first, you quickly get used to it and itвЂ™s no longer a problem. The wheel does take some getting used to, as itвЂ™s super-sensitive by default (you can change this setting within the control panel applet). ItвЂ™s comfortable to grip and has notches for your thumbs and the main gripping part of the wheel (at the 3:00 and 9:00 positions) has a nice soft rubber coating.

#Microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel driversw10 install#

I would have preferred to install it onto my desk but with my keyboard tray right below it I was forced to relocate the keyboard and install the wheel on the keyboard tray. You do need to make sure you have enough clearance below where youвЂ™re going to install it because the clamping mechanism does take some space. Once you have it tightened down, itвЂ™s not going anywhere. You slide the wheel where you want to install it, tighten the screw on the clamp, and then lock it in place with the clamp.

#Microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel driversw10 software#

I did install version 4.0 of the SideWinder software just to see what was there but more on that later.

#Microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel driversw10 driver#

The device is automatically recognized by WindowsXP and the driver is installed. You simply clamp the wheel to your desk connect the wheel to the pedals via a RJ-11 cable plug in the wheel to the power supply and then hook it up to the computer via a USB cable. To test the wheel, I tried the game with Need for Speed 2: Hot Pursuit 2 and the demo versions of Microsoft Rallisport Racing and NASCAR Thunder 2003 so that I would have a wide variety of games to try the wheel out on, as each game represents a different type of racing environment. This review will focus primarily on the wheel since the included software package is a bit on the stale side. The Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel comes with the wheel, a set of pedals, a heavy-duty electrical plug, and a copy of Monster Truck Madness 2. Your actions trigger events on the screen, which in turn interact with you in the form of vibrations and shakes from the device, enhancing the gaming experience. Most devices are input only (you send information to the game about what you want to do and it reacts to you), force feedback devices actually interact with you. Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel is similar to a joysticks in that it helps get you further into the game by making it feel more realistic.