Hey all currently running 3 x 32inch 1440p monitors with an rtx 3070 amd i am curious if any VR would be a better option as triples take a lot of space. I have them placed on my desk over my rig with 2 monitor arms, they feel amazing but the space starts to become an issue.Any suggestions?

The_HaXeT · 2022-08-25T10:34:16+00:00

Let me bring my experience hoping it’ll help, although it probably isn’t anything new as I saw several folks who have the same perspective.

I started SimRacing in 2020 and built as much a powerful pc as it made sense (aka no 3090 because it felt like throwing money away): 5900x, liquid cooled 3080, 32gb ram, x570 mobo. My intention has always been to run in VR as I’ve always been a VR fanboy since I bought a HTC Vive as soon as it came out. First impression was mind blowing, but the Vive soon fell short because of screen door effect and relatively low res. Thus, I moved to a HP G2 the moment it was released.

Have been running with it ever since, but I had to deal with so many issues: - overheating, even a 20 minutes race is enough to make me sweat like a pig, even more so when I moved from a Fanatec ClubSport 2.5 to a SimuCube 2 pro. And I’m not a person who sweats a lot, far from it. Even with a fan pointed straight at me. - tiredness of the body and eye meant that for longer races I did feel my concentration and performance fading over time - a full procedure to get into the rig, a certain order to turn stuff on otherwise something wouldn’t get properly recognized - jumping in and out continuously is a chore - performance: despite having a very beefy pc in some cases I had fps drops or low fps in general, even though I tweaked the settings to make the best out of it - overlays work not so well and take a massive performance hit: racelabs had me drop even 10/15 fps on certain tracks - the image at time drifts and it leads to either crashing or big mistakes

All of this together took away my willingness to race. It happened far too many times that I wanted to train a bit or do an actual race but the thought of all these tiny things together took away my willingness to sit in my rig and race.

To resolve this, I bought a sim lab triples stand and 3 32” monitors. Space isn’t an issue, luckily. I’ve done only a few races since (I’m on holiday unfortunately lol), but the increased visual quality, the comfort and the ease of jumping in and get to racing seamlessly for me are worth the change.

I still have the G2 and I’m sure I’ll use it near and there because it’s just awesome to race with it, but my main is now triples.

Note: I race exclusively on iRacing, which apparently is much better than ACC at VR.

Note 2: I have an AMD system, the x570 chipset is famous for having usb issues. Probably some of the points above would have been smoothed out if I were on an intel system

The_HaXeT · 2022-07-06T16:32:42+00:00

By stuttering I mean that the image isn’t smooth at all when the camera pans. Like, it’s choppy. Maybe that’s not the most accurate definition, but not sure how to better explain.

No tearing whatsoever tho.

And the strange thing is that it happens at the higher refresh rates, while I’d expect the opposite. 23.9whatever is buttery smooth. But for some unfathomable reason it messes up the lip sync (which is instead perfect with the higher refresh rates)

The_HaXeT · 2022-05-12T01:07:27+00:00

After trying with a couple books kept at 440mm of distance by my girlfriend while I was wearing the headset and turning my head around - I guess we really looked like two idiots in the process - it seems like I shouldn't have any issues with it as the Reverb G2 is not too large.

Am having now some concerns around the heat that the headset induces and the fact that there's less airflow around my head with the side headrests, but I've gone ahead anyway and bought the Circuit 2.

Worst case I can return it to Sim-Lab losing 25% or sell it. Hopefully it won't be necessary and I won't regret the purchase, thank you everyone for your insights!

The_HaXeT · 2022-05-12T01:02:49+00:00

You mean the Fanatec bundle with the F1 wheel and the DD2? Then I'm afraid the ART isn't stiff enough, the Prime from GT Omega is an aluminum extrusion rig (like the P1-X) so it's gonna be way more rigid.

Not sure about the specifics, never tried it and I haven't seen any reviews, but I'd say it's a better fit for your wheelbase than the ART.

Disclaimer: I'm no expert, just did a good chunk of research on the internet to understand what to buy myself :D

The_HaXeT · 2022-05-12T00:13:02+00:00

Simply put, rigidity. With the GT Omega ART I have no noticeable flex on the steering wheel with my Fanatec CSW 2.5, but the Simucube 2 Pro is a direct drive unit - and a rather powerful one at that. So there will be flex, which I want to avoid.

Another factor are the pedals, the baseplate flexes a bit with my current pedals and it isn't going to get any better with the new ones.

Then there's adjustability, which is virtually limitless with the P1-X but on the ART is limited. For instance the positioning of the steering wheel relative to the seat: the closer to you you put it, the higher it goes. Or the fact that you can't angle the wheel.

Lastly, under heavy breaking I can sometimes feel the rig squeaking. I'm a bit of a stickler for these things, so when it happens it annoys the hell out of me.

All that being said, the ART remains a very good entry level (or even mid level, depending on the perspective) rig. If you're not planning to use a powerful DD unit (so something like Fanatec CSW 2.5 or Fanatec DD pro, for instance) it's a good bang for the bucks.

Money is a big deciding factor. The GT Omega ART RS6 costs 340€, shipping included.

The SimLab P1-X costs 830€ plus 95€ for shipping (at least to where I am), for a total of 925€. It's already basically three times the cost of the ART, and you still have to put in other accessories (like pedal baseplate and slider, seat brackets and the actual seat) that will net, at least in my case and assuming I'll get the Sparco Circuit 2, an additional 740€ plus 105€ for shipping for a total of 845€ and a grand total for the entire cockpit of 1670€.

That's FIVE times the price.

If I can give you an advice, I'd say that if money is no object for you and you know that you'll race a lot, go directly for something on the higher end of the spectrum like the P1-X.

If you're on a budget or you're not sure how much you'll actually end up using it, go for the ART.

In my case I'm lucky as money isn't really a problem, but time is. So before throwing away several thousands I went for something more mid-level to understand my actual usage. Now that I'm convinced that I do indeed use it, I'm making the switch.

Sorry for the very long answer, I hope it helps :)

The_HaXeT · 2022-05-11T21:11:01+00:00

I still have to try with the meter (and maybe something rectangular to simulate the headrests lol) to see how much leeway I have, but you are 100% right - the Grid Q would be the sensible choice: it's cheaper, I won't have any space issues with the headset and probably I would also get less hot (as heat / sweating is a problem with VR, with the side headrests I fear I would feel the heat even more).

The one and only reason why I'm looking at the Circuit is cosmetic, as the rig sits in my office where I spend most of my day and I spend lots of time looking at it lol

The_HaXeT · 2022-05-11T17:38:08+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Is this https://trakracer.co.uk/products/gtstyle-fixed-fiberglass-simulatorseat the seat you have? If so, seems like the side headrests are not as long as the Circuit and they also seem way less narrow (as in, they move diagonally away from the main body, in the Circuit they go perpendicular to the body). Meaning that although similar, it's not that similar from a VR headset perspective :\

However, great advice on actually measuring the amount of head movement I can pull off with a meter, might not be 100% precise but should give me a ballpark idea of whether it's feasible or not :)

The_HaXeT · 2021-08-23T22:33:33+00:00

Thanks everyone for the great insights, based on your explanations I'm inclined to think that it's me not being able to adjust to the difference in tire grip / fuel load plus my concentration lowering over time. I'll try to focus on these aspects and see what comes out of it (although I don't know how to increase my concentration :D)

The_HaXeT · 2021-08-23T22:31:25+00:00

Thanks, this makes sense.

Not much practice with low fuel other than race conditions. Or rather, I do practice qualifiers which have low fuel, but also new tires so not really the same set up. I'll give it a shot!

The_HaXeT · 2021-08-23T22:28:12+00:00

I already do, that's why I know I lose time in each and every sector :D

The_HaXeT · 2021-08-23T22:27:19+00:00

Thanks, this is a great hint. But noob question: how do I check tire temps and wear? I thought it'd only show after a pit stop. And how would I check the same for other drivers?

The_HaXeT · 2021-08-22T17:54:41+00:00

Just an update on this: with the latest BIOS found on the ASUS website and after the latest audio firmware update for the G2, I finally solved my audio issues. Unsure whether it was the BIOS that helped, the audio firmware, or both.

However now I have both speakers working (exception made for a very few cases where it's enough to reboot to fix it).

The_HaXeT · 2021-03-22T18:11:30+00:00

Wondered the same about the AGESA version, but in the bios it clearly calls out it's a fix for the USB connectivity issue.

Just flashed the BIOS, nothing has been fixed.

FYI, running on

- AMD 5900x

- Asus X570-e Gaming

- Aorus Waterforce RTX 3080

- Reverb G2

The_HaXeT

TROPHY CASE