EK Launches New $25k Racing Simulator

[VSG]

EK had a secret invite-only launch event in Taiwan this week, only letting the press know to expect something the company had never done before. We arrived to be greeted by a big racing simulator rig, currently titled EK Sim Racer, which the company is planning for retail launch in time for PAX West in early September. What distinguishes the EK Sim Racer is an extremely clean design that makes it look more like a finished car and has every feature you can think of. There's the expected seat with full motion, a 32:9 curved display, haptic feedback in various places, timing belts and a responsive wheel with plenty of buttons and sticks alike, and of course RGB lighting. The lighting in the front also acts as a visual indicator of the steering and braking in real time for the audience to look at, as we suspect this will be a product more likely to be seen in an arcade than in someone's home given the physical form factor—it will ship pre-assembled. Powering the EK Sim Racer is a pre-built EK liquid cooled system, although this is optional and you can use your own PC with the launch edition expected to sell for $19,999 by itself or $24,999 with the PC included.



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[Space Lynx]

would have been better with top tier vr headset. DOA

 

[GenericNinja]

"expected to sell for $19,999 by itself or $24,999 with the PC included." Bwahahahha. They cut half their staff last year and this year decide to recover with a product aimed only at the population of Dubai. Bold choice, let's see how it works out for them.

 

[Totally]

I can do a lot better than $20k, anyone about to pull the trigger on this give me a call and send it my way.

 

[wolf]

I really don't see the value in this setup honestly, save for the fact they do it all for you it's not got much value at all.

 

[natr0n]

Used car cheaper and real. They come with the seat and steering usually.

 

[Camm]

It looks nice, compact and integrated, but $20k even with a screen is a bit rich.

 

[Nordic]

Imagine this in a vr arcade setting. It seems much more reasonable if you are renting out time.

 

[Bwaze]

That's retarded.

Hasn't EK abandoned it's line of interconnected water cooling stuff similar to Aquacomputer's, just because they couldn't make their software to work?

Found it:

EK offers a full refund for irate EK-loop Connect software users

EK LOOP CONNECT SOFTWARE UPDATE just a pack of lies

(It's even worse than just abandoning it - they're promising users that bought their non-functioning hardware and software that they're just about to publish an update that should fix all the issues. At least they were in 2020 and 2021, and then they just stopped mentioning this disaster.)


And now they want to charge someone a $20.000 for a sim product - a field they have no experience in, and where product is useless if it doesn't interact with the software (game) flawlessly?

I know it's not their work, they just slapped EK sticker on someone elses work. But software support of sim hardware is a problem for much, much larger companies - Logitech, Thrustmaster. You're gonna get abandonware.

 

[maxfly]

Anyone that's got the loot to buy a 25k racecar game has already got a herd of 250k+ racecars in the garage.
EK has no common sense whatsoever.

 

[PLAfiller]

So...they finally went full premium I gotta hand it to them, it's kind of a surprise product from a hardware cooling company. I guess that nice clean Slovenian air they are breathing got them thinking what to do next. I wish someone would take an interview how did EK landed their eyes on a racing sim....like how do you go from fittings to a $20K racing capsule? Why? I guess this is a "notice-me" kind of a product (like In Win Z-tower).

 

[Bwaze]

I guess that nice clean Slovenian air they are breathing got them thinking what to do next..

Their factory is right under the glideslope of our international airport, I wouldn't count on clean air being responsible.

 

[ZoneDymo]

what is going on over at EK....

 

[Vayra86]

WTF. They had every opportunity to do a balls to the wall full water build throughout the racing seat and they instead opted to place a square 13-in-dozen case behind a window with rounded corners.

Dafuq. Its hideous.

 

[Bwaze]

Yeah, but it's $5000 hideous.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

$25K? Jesus, for that kind of money you could buy a nice little car - literally!

 

[Object55]

For 25 grand, I don't need to simulate anything, if only : "I'm sure I was going speed limit, officer"

 

[R0H1T]

I can do a lot better than $20k, anyone about to pull the trigger on this give me a call and send it my way.

We can build a small home with that money here, assuming you already have the land

 

[Outback Bronze]

We can build a small home with that money here, assuming you already have the land

Or a car that you can actually go sideways in : )

 

[MagnuTron]

... EK ... You are dead to me.

 

[Chrispy_]

Is it wise to install hardline watercooling rig onto something that has a fully-grown person working up a sweat as they wrestle a force-feedback steering wheel and pedal box?
It would seem that hardline tubing is particularly sensitive to vibration and knocks, and I'd always treat them as the most fragile systems you could possible handle; A tiny bit of chassis flex and OOPS you've popped a seal because the only give in the entire loop is the rubber seals in the compression fittings.

 

[CyberCT]

LOL!

During Covid I bought a DOF Reality P3 motion rig (has three 24v motors, not actuator driven) which was a HUGE upgrade vs my previous static rig. I paid $2,500. Add another $1,700 for the Fanatec gear, but that's still less than a quarter the price of this thing. What are the stats on this? What actuators? 6 DOF? LOL!

Anyone that even remotely enjoys sim racing should try a motion rig in VR. It's an experience.

 

[kapone32]

I wish I had lots of money. I would buy 10 of these and Open -a Sim Racing school and arcade. Then I would try to join the GIANT part of PC Gaming that is SIM Racing with Promos and tournaments. I would probably do it somewhere that is 20 minutes away from the city by commute, on a bus line. Otherwise this shows how out of touch EK is. What they should be concentrating on is getting into where people are willing to pay. If you think I am going to pay a $150 premium for a GPU Waterblock (where the previous generation failed) because it says EK you must (EK) be daft. This product proves that to a tee. If this was $7000 US + a $5000 PC it would sell way more but I guess some people that watched the Movie Elysium were influenced differently than the message in that movie.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Nah, I'm good only with my good ol' force feedback wheel and pedals, thnks!

 

[ypsylon]

Perfect example why EK waterblocks which should cost about 100$ cost 250 or 500 USD. Then they can create these idiotic things which nobody sane will ever buy.