Have the "regular" Fanatac CSR, with CSR Elite pedals. It takes racing to a whole new level. It's not easier, in fact it's more difficult. A normal controller won't prevent you from steering in a way you really couldn't whereas the forcefeedback from the Fanatec will, for instance in heavy cornering. However, racing is not easy, and with a real wheel (like the Fanatec) the experience is more lifelike than with a normal controller or the speedwheel (I used that too).

I bought it for the XBox (Forza4), but it works great with the PC too (Dirt3, Shift2, iRacing, etc).