On the topic of sim racing “rigs”. Anyone here (possibly @aldyr) using an ultra wide monitor for sim racing? I’m kinda over VR, especially as I need to reset the IPD and head strap on my Quest 2 every single time due to my son using the headset more than I do. Not to mention motion sickness still being a “thing” for me in heavy titles like Dirt Rally.
So I’m looking at going for a 49”, 32:9 monitor to race on. It will be mounted permanently by my racing rig (G920 mounted on a Next Level Racing F-GT Lite seat). I know it’s not triples wide, but would essentially 2x 27” monitors wide with no bezels in between be wide enough for decent sim racing?
I’m using an 32:9 ultrawide AOC AGON. I opted not to attach it to my rig, and have a separate stand, so i can slide the rig out, when i want to clean or just work on it, without being a contortionist. The stand is made by a local guy, that made minor adjustments, to make sure it is wider, than the widest part of my rig.
But yeah, 5120x1440 resolution at 120Hz is fantastic, uses less space than triples, but still feels like you get enough of a sweeping view of the dash, that it’s better than 16:9. Make no mistake though, it’s not triples, which means, essentially, you can’t check relative position via mirrors. Not at least, if you’re using an FOV that’s closer to what you would actually see. So radar or spotter or overlay rear view mirror is how you do close racing.
All the racing games work well, view wise. Setting FOV is simple, and it’s easy to get comfortable after a few laps.
I’m currently gaming on a 21:9 aspect ratio screen and it’s great for sim racing. The debate is constant and hotly contested within the sim racing community about ultra wide screens versus triples. Ultimately triples are better, but a 32:9 aspect ratio screen will give you plenty of screen realistate for racing.
I’ve not used the PBP or even PIP mode. Only ever have one video source connected. As for kvm related stuff. I pretty much connected all the wheel related hardware usb cables through the screen. Then turning the screen power on, will power on the wheel, shifters and handbrake. And since there’s a remote, you effectively power the racing stuff on with the remote.
The onscreen display or menu is not great. So, less interaction you have there, the better. And you will have to play with the overdrive feature to find the best suited picture quality for you. In very bland samey views, there is smearing on the bottom edge of the screen. Example bumper view driving on tarmac, sometimes the response time difference is clearly visible. Fiddle with overdrive to make that go away. I believe response time is more clearly visible on most massive VA panels, when you run them at over 120fps. That said, I’m mostly drive in cockpit view so, that’s a non issue for me.
What else? Oh don’t use an HDMI to Display Port cable. Mine didn’t like it. Use either a normal Display port or a normal HDMI one. In fact all my issues, we’re cable related. I thought I was being smart by using cables that I already had out, rather than untie and use the ones in the box.
Read the outside of the box before you start cutting open seals. They put instructions there. Else your screen might fall out the box!
Awesome, thanks. I’m considering PBP with 2x sources from my GPU to simulate 2x 27” monitors when I want to multitask with it. Seems more reliable than snapping zones or manually resizing windows.
Happily jelly! Looks fantastic and I’ve gained understanding as to why you’re so good at sim racing.
Out of curiosity, what was the order of unpacking priority in the new house? Was it bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, sim rig? Or was the rig even higher on the list?
Seems like another interesting DD option. I hope we get more information about the accuracy and quality of the feedback, as more people spend some time with it.
Unpacked first, assembled last
