First Rig Build – Triples or Widescreen?

jebfour · Feb 22, 2019

I could use a bit of help. I’m currently in the process of putting together my first rig (80/20 4Play Racing) and am really having a difficult time deciding what I want to do with the monitor(s). Originally I was planning on going with triples and then started coming across more and more rigs with a 49” widescreen. Here are a few of my thoughts – please feel free to tell my I’m wrong as I have never even sat in a rig and don’t know anyone into sim racing.

Triples:

· The “wrap around” design allow you to look out the side as you would in a real car to see your competition.

· Bezels may create distraction.

· Possible quite a bit more money.

Widescreen:

· Possibly easier to set up.

· Only one monitor to deal with.

· May miss out on the “side view” in your peripheral vision?

My searches around the internet have provided some insight and also some confusion. A search here did not bring up any direct results (if there is a thread, please provide the link!)

Would those of you with one (or both) of these setups be kind enough to point out some pros and cons of each? If it helps, I primarily do iRacing but also AC, RF2 and would like to try some rally sims as well.

Thank you in advance.

callumjtc · Feb 22, 2019

I like widescreen due to an uninterrupted view, while triples are offputting if setup wrong, but pretty nice if the bezels are thin and they are set up properly. Bear in mind the £200 or so for the floor standing triple monitor stand.

Miguel Batista · Feb 22, 2019

I would say widescreen+vr. With the deal on gear odissey+ you can get a decent vr experience.

Beef36 · Feb 23, 2019

sjb266 · Feb 23, 2019

Absolutely a single 49" widescreen.. VR and triples can be great.. but the 49" is the sweet spot!

Mark Ratzenbacher · Feb 23, 2019

These 21: 9 screens are certainly interesting, but for me its triples till today. A 49" widescreen is still smaller than three 21.5" screens I used for my first race rig. Bigger is better to use the old phrase.

The more i see, the more immersion i get.

A projector would be my dream as long as VR is still in its infancy.

Hiro Abe · Feb 23, 2019

Mark Ratzenbacher said:
A 49" widescreen is still smaller than three 21.5" screens

In terms of width, yes, not in height.

I'm a 49" widescreen convert. I was using 27" triples for a while but it comes with its challenges especially if you use your rig for regular computing. When I had my triples and was contemplating the 49, I blocked off the outer half of my two monitors and found that I really wasn't missing the wider view. I had plenty of FOV to look into corners. My unexpected experience with the 49 is it not only felt more immersive because it felt more like I was looking thru a windshield but I feel I have better track position awareness. I started to hit apexes more consistently.

No - have not tried VR and have no interest in it.

jebfour · Feb 23, 2019

Thank you to all that have posted! Many good points have been made and your insight is appreciated! As I’m putting this rig together, I’m having to do things in steps due to monetary reasons (like most of us). This brought up a question: I know there is no way my current computer would run triples but I was wondering if it might have the horsepower to run a widescreen? It’s an ASUS CM1831-US-3AA. I added a NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 card to it so that I could run iRacing on it. Here are the specs for it that I pulled off the internet:

Processor: AMD FX-8120 3.1GHz 64 bit 8-Core Processor
Cache Per Processor: 8MB L3 Cache
Memory: 8GB
CPU Type: AMD FX-Series
CPU Speed: FX-8120 (3.10 GHz)
L2 Cache Per CPU: 8 MB
L3 Cache Per CPU: 8 MB
CPU Socket Type: AM3+

Do you think it could run the widescreen until I could put together the funds to build a better machine? I’m currently running it into a 65” TV….

RasmusP · Feb 23, 2019

jebfour said:
Thank you to all that have posted! Many good points have been made and your insight is appreciated! As I’m putting this rig together, I’m having to do things in steps due to monetary reasons (like most of us). This brought up a question: I know there is no way my current computer would run triples but I was wondering if it might have the horsepower to run a widescreen? It’s an ASUS CM1831-US-3AA. I added a NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 card to it so that I could run iRacing on it. Here are the specs for it that I pulled off the internet:

Processor: AMD FX-8120 3.1GHz 64 bit 8-Core Processor
Cache Per Processor: 8MB L3 Cache
Memory: 8GB
CPU Type: AMD FX-Series
CPU Speed: FX-8120 (3.10 GHz)
L2 Cache Per CPU: 8 MB
L3 Cache Per CPU: 8 MB
CPU Socket Type: AM3+

Do you think it could run the widescreen until I could put together the funds to build a better machine? I’m currently running it into a 65” TV….

Size doesn't matter, it's purely the amount of pixels the graphics card has to push.
Honestly, I'm wondering that you can even run that TV fine as I think it's minimum fullhd, 1920x1080?
The 49" monitors either have something like 5000x1440 or 3000x1080 which means minimum 2x the amount of pixels and therefore pretty much half the fps and no, I don't think a 1030 can drive that

For these resolutions I would recommend a 1070 minimum or better a 2070 or 80 or 1080ti.
But the next problem is that I'm not sure whether or not you're reaching the "magic" 60 fps with that cpu...
But I don't know iracing that well so no idea what fps you're currently reaching and if it's cpu or gpu limited. Others might help you out there

Miguel Batista · Feb 26, 2019

With a beefy enough gpu he will get 60fps. You need a much powerfull gpu to run widescreen res or triples. If you are just dipping our toes, consider the lg 29 inch wide screen. It is easier to run at native res and with a 1050 ti or 1060 you will have no problems. In fact, with what you save on the screen, you can upgrade your cpu to something beefier like an i5 8500 and still get a gtx 1660 ti or rtx 2060 which will increase your perforance a lot. I use a 29 inch for automobilista and it is quite good.