Ultrawide vs VR Sim Racing Comparison: Which Is More Immersive?
Quick summary· AI-generated
This buying guide compares ultrawide monitors (like the Samsung G9) and VR headsets (like the Pimax Crystal Light) as immersion-focused display solutions for sim racing. The author discusses the immersive benefits of VR such as head-tracking and 360-degree awareness in the cockpit, and contrasts that with the ultrawide's wider field of view and lower system requirements. The piece uses a comparison table covering starting price, average price, PC requirements, and in-game immersion to help readers choose between the two options.
Excerpt from Sim Racing Setups
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Sim racers often strive for immersion with ever growing and expanding sim racing setups. It may start with a humble budget racing wheel. But before long, you can quickly find yourself sitting in an 8020 sim rig, with a class-leading direct drive wheel and pedal combination.
This is the slippery slope of sim racing, and one of the core reasons for upgrading is immersion. Sitting behind a wheel, in a realistic racing seat is one piece of this puzzle. But how you see the on track action is another.
Choosing the best monitor or display setup is crucial. You could opt for a single large monitor or TV, a triple screen setup or ultrawide monitor to wrap around you. Or a completely immersive VR headset.
It is the last two options I want to explore in this sim racing buyer’s guide. Which is better for sim racing immersion, an ultrawide monitor or a VR headset.
Ultrawide monitor vs VR headset comparison overview
The topic of choosing an ultrawide monitor or VR headset sits very close to my heart. I sim race with a Samsung G9 ultrawide which wraps around my sim rig. However, I have a few VR headsets sitting around as well such as the Pimax Crystal Super.
To quickly compare both options, below is a head-to-head comparison
VR HeadsetUltrawideStarting priceFrom £289From £450Average price£720£700Minimum PC requirementsHigh-end gaming PCMid-range gaming PCIn-game immersionVery highImproved compared to 16:9 ratioBest optionsPimax Crystal LightSamsung G9
Pros and cons of VR
Virtual reality has long been the champion of immersion in gaming, especially in genres such as racing and flight sims. This is because it offers a unique benefit of being able to explore your environment in a way that is much harder on a typical gaming monitor.
Pro: Looking at cars and objects around you while on track
This is incredibly prevelant while sim racing. You can quickly take glances left and right to see other cars around you on track. You can look around your cockpit to see various displays or glance in your mirrors.
These are all aspects that are almost impossible to do when not sim racing in VR. Yes, you can map buttons on your steering wheel to look left or right. But these require both an in-game input rather than…
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