Beginner's Guide: Screen Sizes For Your Sim Racing Rig


All the different options for sim racing setups can be overwhelming, especially when starting out. Here's an overview of the advantages of different screen sizes and a few accessories!

Remember the days of PCs using a single 17-inch CRT screen as your only option? Those days are long gone, with many different options being available now - but that makes picking the right one a bit more difficult, too. For sim racing in particular, there are advantages and drawbacks to certain types of screen setups.

In our office, we are running a variety of them for this exact reason. Our rigs also feature accessories to make streaming easier for us, thanks to certain hardware provided by Elgato - but more on how that could help improve your experience later, even if you are not into streaming!

First, let's dive into the world of screen sizes, curves and setups. Here are the most common setups for sim racing rigs.

16_9 Screenshot 1.jpg


16:9 Single Screen​

The most-used screen setup in our community according to a poll we ran a while ago, 16:9 screens are basically the norm on many office PCs and even TVs. As a result, they are easy to come by, and they are a good entry point to sim racing, especially since many of them come with native 4k resolutions these days.

On our Trak Racer rig in the office, we are running a 43-inch TV screen since we also use the rig to run a PlayStation 5. While screens like this are usually more affordable, do pay attention to the refresh rates - many TVs come with 50Hz, so if you can, you should opt for the 60Hz version as that is usually considered the minimum for a fluent experience in a fast-paced environment like sim racing.

21_9 2.JPG


21:9 Ultrawide​

The next step up is a 21:9 ultrawide screen, which you can usually find in a size of 34 inches. These screens may not extend your field of view by too much, but the extra visibility on the sides does help already, especially since it is curved. For instance, you will likely see apexes of tight corners such as turn 1 at the Nürburgring's GP circuit a bit better, making it easier to consistently find the correct line in such instances.

21:9 monitors also use less space and are more affordable than a super ultrawide monitor, so they are a good sweet spot. At a resolution of 3440x1440, these screens often come with refresh rates of up to 144Hz, and while they will use a bit more of your GPU's power, they are still quite manageable regarding hardware resources.

32_9 Screenshot 1.jpg


32:9 Super Ultrawide​

If you want an even wider field of view, you have two options - a triple-screen setup, or a super ultrawide monitor. In our case, this is a 49-inch screen mounted to an integrated monitor holder on one of our SimLab P1X Pro rigs. It features an OLED panel and a refresh rate of 240Hz, so running a sim at maximum detail using the native 5120x1440 resolution, you will need quite a beefy PC.

However, this is offset by a very low response time and a much-improved field of vision. You will be able to see more of your cockpit and the track, so keeping an eye on what is happening is easier. It is one of the pricier options, though, and even more so should you opt for the bigger 57-inch version that ups the resolution to 7680x2160 pixels - and the price, accordingly.

Triples 1.jpg


Triple Screens​

The ultimate solution for maximum field of view, and not necessarily the most expensive one, is a triple-screen setup. In our case, we are running three 16:9 monitors with a slight curve on our high-end rig, which offers the most visibility of the virtual car and track.

Of course, this also means that your GPU will have to work three screens at once, so running sims at their highest visual settings is even more challenging for your hardware than on a 32:9. Some compromise may be needed as a result. Compared to the super ultrawide, we tend to lose 30 to 40% in the FPS department, depending on the sim and scenario.

What is a pro, however, is the price. Of course, buying three monitors at once will not exactly be cheap, but compared to the 32:9 examples mentioned above, you can still get there for less money. Of course, this is the solution that requires the most space as well, so if your sim rig is tucked away into a corner of a room, make sure to take measurements before buying!

FOV-Measuring.png


FOV​

You will hear the term 'field of view' or FOV in short quite frequently when it comes to sim racing setups. This does refer to in-game settings rather than your physical monitor placement, but it does have something to do with it.

Technically, there is only one correct FOV for any rig. Think of sitting in a blacked-out car, with only your monitors acting as windows in the position they are in - that is what you would see in the sim as well. The closer your monitors are to your eyes, the better, at least to a certain degree. If you can mount them right behind your wheel so that you can still comfortably turn it, you are in as good a spot as it gets.

Then, you can measure the distance from your eyes to your monitor. Input this measurement as well as the size, aspect ratio and, if applicable, curve of your monitor into an FOV calculator, and you will get the setting you can use for a 1:1 view that you would have in a real car.

Why is this helpful? Well, it makes judging distances easier, as you use the same FOV you would use in real life, just restricted by the boundaries of your monitor. Of course, you can adjust the setting a bit if the 'accurate' FOV means you can hardly see anything, too - it is also a matter of preference, like so many things in sim racing.

Keep in mind, however, that if you run your FOV much wider than the calculator suggests, your perception of distance will be much different, so battling cars around you might be more of a challenge.

Elgato-Products-OverTake-cropped.jpg


Accessories For Streaming & More​

As you might have noticed in some of the images, videos and live streams, there are more accessories on our rigs in addition to the peripherals needed for racing. Whether or not you are looking into streaming yourself or simply for a handy piece of hardware that is rather versatile, we found that the devices provided to us by Elgato were very helpful. For our dual-PC streaming setup, we use an Elgato 4K Pro capture card, too.

Be sure to also check out our guide to streaming your sim racing adventures from the same PC you are racing on, or via a dual PC setup - in either case, a number of Elgato products have proven to be very helpful!

Elgato Stream Deck Mk.2​

The Elgato Stream Deck Mk.2 is not just a very capable helper for streaming our sim racing endeavours, it can also be used as a button box alternative. Its programmable buttons also support 'folders', so you can program in many more functions than there are buttons, which is one of the device's biggest strengths.

In fact, SimHub even supports the Stream Deck, which makes it possible to assign in-game functions to the device. No need to figure out where to put the starter, ignition or wiper functions on the limited button real estate of your wheel itself - you can just do that via the Stream Deck. There is also an iRacing plugin for it, which makes it possible to control many more aspects of the sim, such as the chat, for instance.

Stream-Deck-iRacing.png


Elgato Wave:3​

To transmit our voices when streaming, we use the Elgato Wave:3 USB microphone coupled to the Shock Mount to reduce unwanted noise from vibrations when driving, for instance. It is straight-forward to use and comes with the built-in capability of filtering out background noises. Its software also allows for plenty of adjustments to achieve the result we are looking - or rather listening - for.

Elgato Facecam Pro​

Recording yourself in high resolution is also desirable for a stream, of course, and for this, we use the Elgato Facecam Pro. This little device offers a 4k resolution at 60Hz, which you usually only achieve with a proper camera mounted to a tripod, for instance. The Facecam Pro is much more compact than this and can simply be placed atop your monitor or in similar spaces.

If you are interested in buying one of the Elgato products mentioned, head over to their store where our affiliate code ZZ-Overtake will get you a discount on your order when checking out!

Which screen setup do you prefer for sim racing, and which accessories have made your sim racing experience more enjoyable? Let us know in the comments below!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

Doubting the 50hz television advise. Any examples perhaps? I would be curious. When a television is labeled as 50hz that's usually for watching cable tv. As soon as you connect a console or pc with HDMI, the television switches to 60hz.
 
OverTake
Premium
Doubting the 50hz television advise. Any examples perhaps? I would be curious. When a television is labeled as 50hz that's usually for watching cable tv. As soon as you connect a console or pc with HDMI, the television switches to 60hz.
PAL (50Hz) & NTSC (60Hz)
Most TVs do both nowadays
 
I was running a 23" 16 x 10 for a decade, then I bought my mates 55" TV... and use that as a Screen, that will do nicely!
 
PAL (50Hz) & NTSC (60Hz)
Most TVs do both nowadays
Nowadays? HDMI is already very old, it's from 2002 mate ;) So I'm still curious for any example of a 50hz TV that comes with an HDMI connection limited to a max output of 50hz.
 
Last edited:
Triple Screen FTW. No going back to VR for me and at 27inch and 5780x1080 it runs much better FPS with todays graphics cards and the pixel density is good enough where the image looks as good as 1440p on a bigger screen .
 
Last edited:
I personally use a 21:9 40" monitor as my main monitor for PC & desk racing/driving as that seems to be enough for the most part. The only tip I have for people is to not use anything smaller than 27" as their display of choice as those are simply too small to be comfortable to use unless you're sitting pretty close to them
 
OverTake
Premium
Nowadays? HDMI is already very old, it's from 2002 mate ;) So I'm still curious for any example of a 50hz TV that comes with an HDMI connection limited to a max output of 50hz.
Sorry was not quite sure what you were asking there :)
All TVs even today in the EU are still advertised as 50hz and 100hz, but they can do 60hz and 120hz of course
 
OverTake
Premium
I have never got a tape measure out to measure the distance from my eyes to my screen! Tonights the night baby.
first time I did it, my fiancee was laughing so hard because it looked stupid. But the results were worth it haha
 
I use both my 43" single 4K TV and primarily my VR headset (Reverb G2).

My TV was specifically bought as it couldn't be any bigger to fit under my stairs where I had to have my simrig. Besides, I wear glasses and from where I sit on my simrig seat, the top of the screen matches the top of my lenses which seems a good match.

However I've recently moved to a bigger place and have the room to have whatever display setup I want...

I initially considered one of those extra-ultrawide (2x 16:9's) displays until I saw a video review which stated that they don't offer the same spatial wrap-around effect of triples, which to me negated the purpose / benefit of them, making them hold less value to me too considering their astronomical prices.

I might go triples one day as I have 2 identical 43" 4K TVs already (the other is currently unused) but my 3090 GPU won't be as happy with running 3x 4K (almost 24.9 million pixels @ 60Hz) compared to my current VR setup of 19.5 million pixels (6304x3084) @ 45 fps reprojected to 90Hz. From what I've gathered, triple 4Ks without significant visual settings compromises is only possible on 4080/4090 GPUs. Obviously 1440p is considerably easier to drive but those displays simply aren't big enough in my opinion as they won't have the size to wrap around as much (the main benefit of triples) nor do I want corners ahead to be near bezel points. What puts me off the most about triples though (aside from the extra GPU requirement) is the lack of guaranteed support between all titles - if triples were universally supported at a system level then that'd be great, but as the support is game reliant and sometimes is absent, then I wouldn't be comfortable investing into a system that I may be blocked out from using.

However I not only like but also rely on VR more as I'm very much more accurate & consistent (especially with braking) in VR compared to screens nowadays, plus the immersion factor is important to me which I can never get close to having when using regular displays.

The biggest downside of single displays though for me is not being able to see the mirrors as defending is obviously a massive element of racing, and I personally want to see all mirrors at all times - not just because of the visual benefit but also to practice the discipline of racing / defending well while being very observant of behind me at the same time.
 
Last edited:
The biggest downside of single displays though for me is not being able to see the mirrors

Tracking solves this and lets you use even narrower FOV which in turn raises FPS ;)
IE: Wider FOV less FPS you get

You also get the extra immersion of moving your head lifelike but still get things in your peripheral vision you lose in VR when you turn one way.
 
Last edited:
I personally use a 21:9 40" monitor as my main monitor for PC & desk racing/driving as that seems to be enough for the most part. The only tip I have for people is to not use anything smaller than 27" as their display of choice as those are simply too small to be comfortable to use unless you're sitting pretty close to them
Which monitor are you using?
 
It's an Innocn 40C1R. I got mine for half the price because it has 1 dead pixel lol
Free pro tip. Did you know it's sometimes possible to reanimate a dead pixel? Gently rubbing over the dead pixel can make it come alive again. Please look this method up first and don't believe me right away, I'm just a digital stranger ;-) For safety you can use a piece of cloth between the screen and your finger. I bought 3 monitors a few years back. One had a dead pixel. Fixed it right away and no issues ever since.
 

Article information

Author
Yannik Haustein
Article read time
6 min read
Views
2,706
Comments
18
Last update

What are you racing on?

  • Racing rig

  • Motion rig

  • Pull-out-rig

  • Wheel stand

  • My desktop

  • Something else


Results are only viewable after voting.
Back
Top