My 2020 Sim Racing Setup and Review
Today, I will be showcasing my current Sim-racing setup and giving a short rundown of all my components. Before we get started, note that all of the items I talk about will be linked at the bottom of this post.
The current wheel I use is the Logitech G29. This wheel also comes with the pedals included. You might have noticed the PlayStation logo on the wheel, it's only there because this wheel is compatible with the PlayStation 4, the upcoming PlayStation 5, as well as PC. If you are looking for a wheel compatible with Xbox, Logitech also offers the G920 which is pretty much the exact same wheel except it is compatible with Xbox and PC and has a slightly different design. For the most part, this is a fantastic beginner and amateur wheel and it doesn’t break the bank. Find an in-depth review of the Logitech G29 and G920 here.
Moving on, we have my seat. This is the OpenWheeler sim racing cockpit. It holds up my wheels and pedals and maintains them firmly in place and has a pretty cool-looking racing seat. I made an in-depth review and look at this cockpit as well and a link to it can be found here. I highly recommend taking a look at it if you are interested in this seat. For the most part, it's a decent cockpit that comes in a multitude of colors, is extremely adjustable, and is relatively affordable.
Attached to this rig, a ButtKicker Gamer 2 is also attached. A ButtKicker provides greater immersion by vibrating my seat according to the game. So whenever I accelerate, hit bumps, or anything like that, the seat vibrates and it emulates the feel of a car. This is a super cool add-on that always catches guests by surprise and it's a must-have for me in terms of the immersion it gives. The setup process for me was a bit of a pain so I might make a video on how to set it up in the future but for the most part, this ButtKicker emulates the vibration of a car and adds to the immersion.
Moving on to the shifter, I am using a Logitech Driving Force Shifter. This is probably one of the least expensive shifters in the market, it looks cool, and its setup was extremely simple since I have the wheel that goes along with it. Some things to note, the shifter comes separate from the wheel and pedals, it's not the most realistic in terms of immersion, and I made a short review on this as well which will also be linked below.
The keyboard and mouse I'm using are probably the most generic combo you can find at Walmart for like $10. This is a racing sim so I could care less how fancy the keyboard and mouse are. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the arm holding them but you can probably find it online with a quick search.
LOGITECH SHIFTER ON AMAZON BUTTKICKER ON AMAZON GENERIC KEYBOARD + MOUSE
The headset I use is the Corsair Void. I've had these for years, and have never had any problem with them. They look cool, they sound more than adequate and are relatively inexpensive nowadays. With that being said, I do plan on one day moving to a wireless headset only to reduce the number of wires everywhere. But yeah, they're great, and I've had them for years.
Moving on to my monitors, most of you will probably be surprised. These are relatively generic. They're made by Samgsung, are 27inch and have a slight curve. The monitors are 60hz each which many of you might think is a dealbreaker but I have had absolutely no problem playing on 60hz. If anything, they make less of a strain on my PC. I have a 144hz monitor that I have used with this setup in the past, and the difference is barely noticeable.
The stand holding up my monitor was completely hand-made out of wood by myself. In terms of materials I spent to make this, I would say it's around $150. It's painted black with red accents to go along with the setup and it came out far better than I ever expected. The reason I didn't buy a monitor stand is because they were all overpriced and I didn’t want to spend $400 just to hold up some monitors. But yeah, 100% custom made so you won't find a link to them.
My virtual reality headset is the HTC Vive Pro. This is pretty much the current top-of-the-line headset I think, so it's incredible in terms of its image quality and immersion. With that being said, it comes at a hefty price and you will also need to install two sensors that may or not come with the headset depending on the bundle you get. The one linked in the description is the one I bought and it comes with everything I need. I mainly use this headset to play other VR games but I have the option to also use it with racing games which is cool. I am planning on making a video comparing Virtual reality with triple monitors for a racing sim. So definitely look out for that if you are interested.
CORSAIR VOID ON AMAZON HTC VIVE PRO ON AMAZON 27” CURVED MONITOR
Finally, we can’t forget the PC powering all of this. This PC was custom-built of course and it wasn’t too expensive for what it is. Here are all of the components:
🟡 Case: https://amzn.to/3tmePQo
🟡 Graphics Card: https://amzn.to/39IoZCZ
🟡 Processor: https://amzn.to/3oHaxPZ
🟡 Ram (Memory): https://amzn.to/3jjmKJB
🟡 Motherboard: https://amzn.to/3pKqOFh
🟡 Samsung SSD: https://amzn.to/3czQEYI
🟡 Hard Drive: https://amzn.to/2MJzXPH
🟡 Power Supply: https://amzn.to/3rekpSY
This PC has allowed me to play all sim racing titles at high settings with 70fps running up to four monitors at a time.
And just like that, this makes up my entire sim-racing setup. It's not the most insane in terms of specs but it looks cool and more than does the job. With that being said, this setup also includes a lot of things that are not necessary if you are looking to begin sim racing with as little as possible. You don't need 3 monitors, you don't need a thing that vibrates your seat, and you don't need a shifter. These are things that add immersion and make your setup look cooler but will not make you faster.
