Triple Monitors vs VR | Which is Better for Sim Racing?
Today, I am going to be discussing and giving my two cents regarding the age-old question in the sim racing community: VR or Triple Monitors?
Before I get started comparing the two, I want to talk a little bit about my experience with them. Unlike many people arguing about this on the internet, yes, I have used both for substantial periods of time exclusively for sim racing.
Keep in mind these are solely my opinions. I am comparing these solely based on my experience with them and nothing else.
One of the main reasons many people are against VR is because they are uncomfortable having something heavy on their face and strapped across their head. Let me just start by saying that this has not affected me in the slightest. For starters, I’m only talking about my headset which is the HTC Vive Pro, which weighs 1.77 pounds. I can’t say anything regarding other headsets but I'm pretty sure they are all pretty much the same in terms of weight with only a few exceptions. I feel like many of the people who are against a VR have never actually used one. Once it's properly strapped on, you barely really notice it. You're so immersed in the game that anything else happening in the real world is irrelevant. So no, the weight of the headset on your head has no real effect.
Moving on to the biggest factor regarding comfort: the strain on your eyes. I'm not going to deny or sugarcoat it in any way, your eyes inside a VR headset get tired after some time. For me, that period was about after 30 to 45 minutes. While racing, you are so focused on hitting the apexes and on the cars in front or in my case always behind (that's a joke) that your eyes get worn out. Especially considering you have a screen the size of your phone right on your eyeballs. In terms of the long-term medical effects this has on your vision, I have no clue and I am in no position to speak of that. I'm still young and have perfect vision but who knows maybe ill be legally blind in a few years from playing so much VR. Now, what about triple monitors? The strain on my eyes in front of three monitors is significantly lowered. This could be because I am less immersed and not so focused, or maybe that I am not two inches away from them. But there are a few factors that impact this. If I have the lights in my room on, the monitor brightness doesn’t affect me much but if I'm playing in the dark, It begins to hurt after around 40 minutes. Again, comfort is subjective. Some people will be affected more or less than others. But if I had to decide which one is more comfortable, I would say Triple monitors.
There's not much to argue regarding immersion. Everyone knows VR is more immersive than monitors. Hell, that's pretty much the whole point of them. In terms of resolution, many people are against VR due to the “pixels” you might be able to see on some of them. I don’t know how bad of a problem this is for cheaper headsets but I use the Vive Pro and I can’t see any pixels unless I shift 100% of my attention on a specific point. Apart from that, it feels like you are inside the car. Obviously, some games are more immersive than others. In my opinion, Project Cars 2 is the best VR sim racing game solely due to the game's insane graphics. It’s also optimized for VR which allows you to not need a keyboard or mouse. Just start the game and go. Triple monitors are somewhat immersive but you always know you’re playing on a rig. It never truly feels like you are inside of the car. For me at least although I'm pretty sure most will agree. immersion definitely goes to VR although you have to keep in mind that some games are more immersive than others.
Next up, let’s talk about in-game performance. By in-game performance, I mean how quick you are on the track. Not how well your PC can handle it. If you're looking for triples or a VR you probably have a PC capable of handling either of them. Again, let me reiterate that these are from my experiences only. Some people may be quicker in VR and others may be quicker in monitors. More than anything, this just depends on which one you have practiced more on. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, but I have been quicker on VR. In VR I have always had a better sense of the car and the track around me and I have always felt more comfortable hitting the apexes. Keep in mind that I have used a VR for sim racing slightly longer than I have been using triples. Practice does make perfect so there can’t be a concise winner in this category. I am currently quicker on VR but that's probably because I've used it longer, so no clear winner here.
Ah yes. Price. How could I forget the price? It's hard to comment on this section because it varies tremendously depending on what you go for. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, for the most part, if you are on a relatively lower budget, you'd probably be better off with monitors. The only reason I'm saying this is because I have heard that cheaper VR headsets, those around $300-500 aren’t the best in terms of image quality. I can’t comment on this really because I have never tried them but this is just something to keep in mind. To further complicate things regarding pricing, the monitors you choose to go with will also heavily impact the price. If you go with 60hz you will spend significantly less than 144hz. Same with other factors like screen size, resolution, and whether it has a curve or not. I bought three, relatively generic 27inch curved Samsung monitors from Walmart. All 60hz. I paid $160 for each of them and so if you multiply that by three, hold on lemme find my calculator, you end up with $480. With taxes let’s just say $520. This is probably on the lower end of the spectrum for monitor prices. I imagine most people spend lots more on triples. But I'm sure it's also possible to go lower. That's a topic for another day. The price of my headset which for the millionth time is a Vive Pro varied depending on where you buy it from. But generally, with the headset, the controllers, and the base stations included, you can spend $800 to $1200. So obviously the monitors were cheaper for me by a pretty drastic amount. But if you decide you want 144hz monitors and higher resolution, it will probably be around the same price give or take. Again, this category is numbingly complex due to all the variables, for me however the monitors were cheaper.
Other Things to Keep in Mind
Playing with monitors is more casual and chill. You sit down, you turn on the game and you can relax, look at your phone occasionally, it's just overall more relaxing. With a VR headset, you are glued to the screen and your entire focus is on that.
If you get monitors, you need to figure out how you're going to mount them. Will they be on a desk? Will you have a monitor stand? Wall-mounted? These are all things to consider which will also impact the price.
Triple monitors will make your setup look super cool. This thing looks like a battle station and it doesn't look nearly as cool with a single monitor or just a VR. Period.
Don’t forget about the size of the monitor bezels! Very thick monitors will not look as cool or be as immersive as those with smaller, less noticeable bezels.
All racing games are compatible with monitors but not all will have VR support! With that in mind, there are still various great options that you can play in VR with. ACC, AC, Project cars 2, and dirt rally 2 to name a few are compatible with VR. And in the future, even more will have VR compatibility.
Triple monitors take up a significant amount of physical space whereas VR does not. Is your room, house, apartment, cardboard box, or wherever you want to have your setup big enough?
Take into consideration what you want to do as a sim racer. Do you want to escape from the world and have some fun for 30 minutes to an hour a day? Go VR. Do you want to make a career out of Sim Racing and have multiple-hour sessions? Monitors are probably best for you. Again, it all depends on you and your needs.
And this leads me to my conclusion: Neither are necessarily better overall. It just depends on what you want to get out of them. I started with VR and moved to triples only because sometimes I wanted to play without having a screen right in front of my eyes. Now that I have both options, I find myself using my monitors more just due to the fact that it's more convenient for me. I like making videos and recording my footage and it's quite a hassle with VR. If you really want a definitive answer, I would recommend monitors. But at the end of the day, it just comes up to your personal preference and your situation. The end.
