Before i was using a PS3 controller as well with SCP. The vibration feedback worked for me, I'm not sure how you turn them on within SCP though, it just worked. What games are you playing? I know for sure that i got feedback in DiRT Rally.
Turn off ALL the assists! That will toughen it up a bit. Really though, there is nothing like a proper racing wheel. I bought a G27 a couple of months ago while it was on sale. It's great for the price and there are plenty of mods you can do to make it even better. Maybe if you try to use the controler with your feet and hands it would seem more realistic.
I would buy it if it was 64 bit. The closest thing we have to a new FSX is P3D, but thats still 32 bit. FSX:SE wasnt that much of an upgrade so i find myself leaning more towards the X-plane camp. I cant live with the out of memory errors anymore.
for most gaming i would go with the i3 but the fx-6300 will perform better in multi-threaded aplications where all of its cores can be taken advantage of.