# Needing a large display for a racing setup



## THE_EGG (Jan 19, 2015)

Hey guys, I'm looking at getting more heavily involved in racing sims and am wanting to upgrade my monitor I use for that purpose. *Note*: The only use this display will get is for racing games and perhaps the odd other game. It will be used with PC and PS3 mainly along with the odd use with Xbox 360 and PS4.

I'd like to get something between 36"-55" in size and it must have VESA mounting options.

I'm currently looking at 4K TVs because there are some out there that don't seem to cost a kidney and half a liver to buy.
Essentially I'd like it to be as cheap as possible without skimping on anything super important.

I'm currently looking at this ; http://www.harveynorman.com.au/tv-b...s/tvs/lg-40-4k-ultra-hd-led-lcd-smart-tv.html
I already have an audio setup so I don't mind if the onboard speakers are terrible (if it has any).

Please inform me of other options for under $900AUD and let me know your thoughts on the TV I'm looking at.


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## THE_EGG (Jan 21, 2015)

bumpy bump


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## GeForce Junky (Jan 21, 2015)

For racing games, there really is nothing to rival triple screens ... other than triple projectors. You get such a better sense of speed and immersion with side monitors. Consoles are pretty rubbish though, unless you get 3 of them for triples but very few games support that. Do you have a proper wheel and seat rig?


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 21, 2015)

+ 1 what geforcejunky said.

My preferred driving setup up is/was  42 inch tv with a 24 inch monitor either side all 1080 p.

Mindblowing with the volume up.                 Easily doable for £700.00 or less


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## THE_EGG (Jan 21, 2015)

GeForce Junky said:


> For racing games, there really is nothing to rival triple screens ... other than triple projectors. You get such a better sense of speed and immersion with side monitors. Consoles are pretty rubbish though, unless you get 3 of them for triples but very few games support that. Do you have a proper wheel and seat rig?



I see. I just upgraded my wheel setup to a Fanatec Porsche GT2, CSR Elite pedals, CSR shifters and a clubsport table clamp v2 thingy (at tax return time I plan on getting the Clubsport shifter and handbrake also). This is already a billion times better than ye olde Logitech G25 I had before. I must admit for the next 5-6 months it will be set up on a separate desk however when tax return time comes, I'll be getting a cockpit (currently set on getting the Next Level gtPro or gtXtreme with most if not all the accessories).

Also the PS4 use is only if/when the next Gran Turismo comes out. I don't think Fanatec wheels are supported on PS4 yet but hopefully by then there will be a firmware update or something that might help out. PS3 is already getting used quite a bit for GT6.




CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> + 1 what geforcejunky said.
> 
> My preferred driving setup up is/was  42 inch tv with a 24 inch monitor either side all 1080 p.
> 
> Mindblowing with the volume up.                 Easily doable for £700.00 or less



If you still have that setup around could you please post a picture here on this thread? I want to see how it looks having a smaller screen either side of a large centre screen.

3 fairly decent quality IPS 27" 1080p screens here would cost me around the $900AUD mark so it would be doable.

-----

Would you guys think that maybe having the 4K screen would help as far as having a wider FOV due to more pixels? Or would this not be such a good idea.


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Updated the pricing budget to $900AUD because of the depreciating AUD vs. other currencies which will mean price hikes on imported products sold here.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 21, 2015)

THE_EGG said:


> If you still have that setup around could you please post a picture here on this thread? I want to see how it looks having a smaller screen either side of a large centre screen.




Oh how i wish i could show you a pic.

Oh how i wish my wife hadnt banned me from using that setup in the sitting room.



There are pics on this site that were posted quite recently but i cant find them.


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## Toothless (Jan 21, 2015)

THE_EGG said:


> If you still have that setup around could you please post a picture here on this thread? I want to see how it looks having a smaller screen either side of a large centre screen.









I'M SORRY WHAT.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 21, 2015)

Looks even better if you are "in car " with the side screens looking out of the side windows.  you get a real sensation of speed.


If youve got £40,000.00 try this


https://www.carthrottle.com/post/how-to-build-your-very-own-kickass-racing-simulator/


it shows a good pic of what i mean by the in car perspective


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## krusha03 (Jan 21, 2015)

THE_EGG said:


> Would you guys think that maybe having the 4K screen would help as far as having a wider FOV due to more pixels? Or would this not be such a good idea.



If by 4K you mean 3840 x 2160, which is 16:9, then the ratio is the same so the FOV is the same. The only difference will be sharper image vs same screen size @ 1080P. For 1 monitor with wider field of view look into 21:9 screens usually running at 2560 x 1080 or 3440 x 1440. But also check if your game supports this screen. In the end i think for racing 3x1080P would be the best or maybe one of those new wide curved screens


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## THE_EGG (Jan 21, 2015)

krusha03 said:


> If by 4K you mean 3840 x 2160, which is 16:9, then the ratio is the same so the FOV is the same. The only difference will be sharper image vs same screen size @ 1080P. For 1 monitor with wider field of view look into 21:9 screens usually running at 2560 x 1080 or 3440 x 1440. But also check if your game supports this screen. In the end i think for racing 3x1080P would be the best or maybe one of those new wide curved screens


derp haha. That will teach me from posting @ 2:50am haha. I think for some reason I thought that because of being 4K there would be more stuff going on. I guess it would probably just look like normal once I select 2160p in the graphics menu haha.

I had considered one of the 34" LGs but I don't think I can afford the new curved one and the flat one I could only afford if there was a massive sale. At that price I'd see the 4K TV is being more value for money.


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## krusha03 (Jan 21, 2015)

THE_EGG said:


> derp haha. That will teach me from posting @ 2:50am haha. I think for some reason I thought that because of being 4K there would be more stuff going on. I guess it would probably just look like normal once I select 2160p in the graphics menu haha.
> 
> I had considered one of the 34" LGs but I don't think I can afford the new curved one and the flat one I could only afford if there was a massive sale. At that price I'd see the 4K TV is being more value for money.


Here you can get the Dell 34" U3415W for about €750. Alternatively you can get a Samsung 27" S27D590C  1080p curved screen as well for about €350. Finally the cheapest alternative would probably be to just get 3x1080p thin bezel screens like AAOC i2367Fh, BenQ EW2440L, AOC i2769Vm, aoc-i2757fm,Dell S2715H etc


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## THE_EGG (Jan 22, 2015)

krusha03 said:


> Here you can get the Dell 34" U3415W for about €750. Alternatively you can get a Samsung 27" S27D590C  1080p curved screen as well for about €350. Finally the cheapest alternative would probably be to just get 3x1080p thin bezel screens like AAOC i2367Fh, BenQ EW2440L, AOC i2769Vm, aoc-i2757fm,Dell S2715H etc


 That dell monitor is $1300AUD here + shipping. That is about the same as the 34UM97-C from LG.

So far it is looking like maybe the best idea is to get a ~42" 1080p TV (though if the price remains low on the LG I linked to in the previous post I'll try and stretch my budget and get that) and a couple of cheap 1080p 23 or 27" monitors for each side. That way if I'm playing on a console I'll still be able to play on a large screen instead of one small one while still being able to use the monitors either side for extended FOV in PC race sims.


This is the cockpit I plan on getting later on in the year; http://www.pagnianimports.com.au/ra...xtreme-v2-racing-simulator-cockpit-chair.html (the cost of this isn't to be included in my $900AUD budget, $900 is just for the display solution).
I'd get the monitor/tv stand with it for the centre screen and then sort out something using different monitor stands to attach the extra monitors to each side.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 22, 2015)

That is gonna be something else.

What racing sims do you play?
MS flightsim X is good fun with 3 screens the graphics are properly shit though.


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## THE_EGG (Jan 22, 2015)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> That is gonna be something else.
> 
> What racing sims do you play?
> MS flightsim X is good fun with 3 screens the graphics are properly shit though.


Haha yes FlightSim X is pretty awesome but the graphics well... One of my friends has a cockpit set up with 3 screens just like a racing one but with aviation controls and it is properly awesome. Microsoft Flight was really good before they took it down.

I'm into Assetto Corsa and LFS the most atm but I've just joined iRacing for 1yr and thought I'd give that a go. Project CARS looks promising so I'll hopefully get that when the final version comes out. I've been finishing off Gran Turismo as well since I got the Fanatec wheel since I never finished GT6 because I had to use a controller and the PS3 controller gives me cramps in the my hands haha (my old G25 has had deadzone issues over the past year). I've been getting back into Race 07 as well, mostly for the WTCC. I'm hoping DiRT 4 will return to its CMR roots though, I'm really keen for a new properly awesome rally game/sim.

But yes I'm going all out on this because I realised although racing in the real is HEAPS of fun and such an adrenaline rush, I don't have the money to support a track car or to keep up on high maintenance costs for my car which happens if I use my car at the race-track often like I've been doing over the past 2 years (RIP tyres and brakes).


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## TRWOV (Jan 22, 2015)

I would go with a 34" 21:9 monitor (vertically comparable to a 27"monitor) otherwise 3 x 24" would be a good option. 3 x 27" would be good too but I've noted that the cost per inch is way higher once you get past 24".


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## GeForce Junky (Jan 22, 2015)

This is my current setup, 3x LG 27" 1920x1080 IPS screens running at 5480x1080 @ 66Hz. Fanatec CSR Elite wheel, CS pedals (inverted) and CS shifter. Rig and monitor stand are home made. Custom handbrake removed for mk2 version in the works at the moment and I have a second wheel PCB awaiting to be mounted to a nice aftermarket wheel once I design a nice paddle shift system.

A wide 34" still isn't going to work anywhere near as well as 3 screens, purely because you at still looking forwards, it's the peripheral side screens at 45 degrees that gives you the awesome surround effect.











Also, remember to consider how you are powering you surround setup, Nvidia surround requires 3 of the same screen resolutions and size to work properly, I think AMD might be a bit more flexable but I'm a nvidia person so not sure on what you can/cannot do with eyefinity. I use 680 sli at the moment, mostly for GTR2, Assetto Corsa and Dirt 3.


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## Jetster (Jan 22, 2015)

GeForce Junky said:


> For racing games, there really is nothing to rival triple screens ...



How about these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...05733&cm_re=lg_monitor-_-24-005-733-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...T1570&cm_re=lg_monitor-_-24-005-634-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G1GC3243


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## THE_EGG (Jan 22, 2015)

GeForce Junky said:


> This is my current setup, 3x LG 27" 1920x1080 IPS screens running at 5480x1080 @ 66Hz. Fanatec CSR Elite wheel, CS pedals (inverted) and CS shifter. Rig and monitor stand are home made. Custom handbrake removed for mk2 version in the works at the moment and I have a second wheel PCB awaiting to be mounted to a nice aftermarket wheel once I design a nice paddle shift system.
> 
> A wide 34" still isn't going to work anywhere near as well as 3 screens, purely because you at still looking forwards, it's the peripheral side screens at 45 degrees that gives you the awesome surround effect.
> 
> ...


Wow that's awesome. I wouldn't mind building my own setup but I'm terrible with tools haha.

Ah ok, I forgot about the different resolutions being a no-no for surround. I believe my cards support 4 screens (Gigabyte Flex technology). So I guess that benefits me by having 3 screens available for racing and 1 just for normal use without even having to change settings each time I want to race.

How are you finding 1080p 27" panels that close to your face?
It looks like 3X 27" would be great for PC gaming. I'm only concerned that 1X 27" won't be enough for consoles but I guess that is what I'm using now and find it adequate (using an AOC i2757fh atm for racing).

The curvy 34" monitors are tempting but I think I'd have to check them out in a shop first. They are also VERY expensive ~$1500AUD - I'd like to hang on to my kidneys. I might as well be looking at a reasonable 4K TV or curvy 1080p TV for that money.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 22, 2015)

I really enjoy the racing sims and if i had the money i would be out there with you.

A friend of mine is a former rally driver, he loved the sport.  Hes mid 60;s and works part time to fund his "playtime" I am nearly 50 myself and can confirm YES he is sound of mind !
His wife has told me she has never been in his shed....i have and it is awesome.  She still has no idea he had a proper racing seat sent from the US, she was out when it was delivered, i was there though !!!!

Step through the shed door and there she be...... !5 rig running 2x r9 290 and 3 main monitors. He runs a tablet for his clocks.  So a total of 4 screens.  He has a selection of steering wheels and sequential and traditional gear shifts, depending on what hes racing and where.

He is a big iRacing fan and thinks nothing of getting up at 2 am to fit in a practice session with his Australian rivals.

The competition structure is undoubtably brilliant, you do your practice for setup, you qualify and then compete against like minded people....no IA pushing you off the road or internut idiots out to spoil your fun.

Be careful with those force feedback seats though my mate got bruised kidneys from being kicked about by his seat.

Im waiting for the day when i catch him racing in a full face helmet !!

To say i am jealous is an understatement but to show his kind of commitment i would have to off-hire the missus and auction off the kids.  IMAGINE THE MAN CAVE  it would be a 3 bedroom semidetached man cavern.


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## THE_EGG (Jan 22, 2015)

Jetster said:


> How about these
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...05733&cm_re=lg_monitor-_-24-005-733-_-Product
> 
> ...



The 34UM65 would be where I'd be at money wise. I can get the 34UM65 for ~$695AUD.



CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> I really enjoy the racing sims and if i had the money i would be out there with you.
> 
> A friend of mine is a former rally driver, he loved the sport.  Hes mid 60;s and works part time to fund his "playtime" I am nearly 50 myself and can confirm YES he is sound of mind !
> His wife has told me she has never been in his shed....i have and it is awesome.  She still has no idea he had a proper racing seat sent from the US, she was out when it was delivered, i was there though !!!!
> ...



haha epic. He sounds pretty damn dedicated. Rally is my favourite category of motorsport. Force feedback seats?! I've heard of buttkickers but wow. No way I could afford one of those anytime soon though.

I found an awesome app on the Google play store called iHUD which links in to a router and displays the revs, speed and gear etc on the screen. It's only supported in some games though.


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## GeForce Junky (Jan 22, 2015)

I've yet to use a 34" ultra-wide, but I still don't think they will match up to triples and for the cost of the 1440p versions you can afford 3 good 27" monitors. The advantage would be less GPU power required (although most racing games are not that hard on your GPU). Does anybody know about console support for ultra-wides?

I'm very tempted to buy one of the curved LG 3440x1440p monitors as my FPS, flying and general use monitor. I'm hoping AOC will come out with a slightly cheaper version. At the moment I do everything on my racing rig, with a pillow and keyboard on my lap with the wheel removed. I have a flight setup but cannot easily integrate a joystick, throttle and another set of pedals to the current rig and cannot afford another decent PC. I single ultra-wide will be easier than another set of triples as I can plug it into my spare display port, rather than having to unplug monitors all the time.

27" 1080p at that close to your face is fine for gaming, but not ideal. Browsing the web it doesn't look great and it's never going to look as 'pretty' as it could do with more resolution. 5760x1080 requires much less GPU power than 7680x1440 (6.2 vs 11.1 megapixels roughly, that's approximatly 80% extra GPU power required, so the difference between 1 GPU and SLI). Notice I have the monitors upside down, so that the thin top of the LG screens sits between my wheel and the wheel's body. This works very well as the screens feel much bigger, but you cannot use them with consoles as they do not support screen rotation.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 22, 2015)

GeForce Junky said:


> I have the monitors upside down,





      Neat, very neat.


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## Jetster (Jan 22, 2015)

I really think eyefinity setup is going out. The ultra wide is still developing and there are some issues with speed but the three monitor has way more issues and bezels


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Jan 22, 2015)

Eyefinity is really good i think.

Bezels are a pain but only if you look at them.  I know that sounds odd but if you are concentrating on the track the bezels just seem like the interior of the car.

 Admittedly it does take a bit of getting used to.


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## WhiteNoise (Feb 1, 2015)

I use a 40" Samsung for my cockpit. My monitor stand can do three screens but I decided on just the one.

Right now mine is set up for flight sims but I have a wheel and pedal set as well.

I also have two buttkickers mounted bellow the seat on the right and left side. Works awesome in driving sims.


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## THE_EGG (Feb 1, 2015)

WhiteNoise said:


> I use a 40" Samsung for my cockpit. My monitor stand can do three screens but I decided on just the one.
> 
> Right now mine is set up for flight sims but I have a wheel and pedal set as well.
> 
> I also have two buttkickers mounted bellow the seat on the right and left side. Works awesome in driving sims.


Nice! Thanks for the picture of your setup. 40" actually looks like it would be a good size - large without being obscenely huge.

Is your TV 1080p? If so do you find that it isn't as sharp as you would like?

I can't fit 3X 40" screens (at least not where I am atm) but I can always add another 2 down the track when I have room and the money.

I see you have a Sidewinder X8 mouse and Sony XB700 headphones, excellent choice haha I also have those (at least in the background anyway).


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## WhiteNoise (Feb 1, 2015)

It's a Samsung LED LCD and does 1080p. The 40" screen I find to be perfect. Not too big but seems about just right. It replaced a 37" screen.  It's picture is very sharp. I use a Logitech K800 wireless kb with lighted keys. The X8 is a great mouse. But not my fav. I switch between it and a G600. The XB700's get a lot of use for anything where I want the really deep base. car engines and shit sound great. The rest of the time I use either my Grado 325 or Audeze LCD-2 cans. But when you want to hear the rumble of a big V8 nothing beats the XB700!


The picture I posted isn't very sharp. It's actually not a very good picture at all. The screen in person looks very crisp.


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