All items listed below are linked to Amazon - click on any image to buy

MY SIM RACING COCKPIT WITH ACCESSORIES

 

I’ve wanted to build this since I finished my Afghanistan tour 2014-2015.  Finally, the long awaited sim racing set-up is here.   As you start to dive into this, you must first start with a budget because you could easily buy a used Porsche for less than what you pay for the top of the line sim equipment.  If you want the top tier items, you could easily reach $100,000.00 or more.  However, for $2,000.00 to $10,000.00, you can buy a nice set-up that you will be happy with.  My personal budget was $2,500.00 – I did not want to go above that and I came pretty close.

 

As a side note:  I cannot give an honest review yet since I have less than two-hours of playing time on it but based on those two-hours – I love it.

 

First let’s discuss the cockpit that I decided to go with and why:

 

Extreme Sim Racing:

 

Personally, I’m not small at 6’2” and 240 lbs; therefore, I needed a rig that is very durable and not going to break or wear out over time.  Also, because of my size I wanted something that is fully adjustable.  The Extreme Sim Racing rig offered everything I need, plus it was compatible with multiple wheels/pedals (Fanatec, Thrustmaster, and Logitech).    I will provide direct links to Amazon if you would like to buy any of these items.

 

I purchased the Extreme Sim Racing P1 3.0 cockpit with full accessories.  At first I was worried about the Curved gaming monitor that I am using fitting the wheelstand; therefore, I contacted Extreme Sim racing, via email, and they responded the next day and assured me that it would fit (they are very responsive to any/all email inquiries), and they were correct – it fit.

 

Price:  $1,299.00

 

Wheel and Pedals:

 

There are endless options when it comes to wheels and pedals and from what I read, the best being the direct drive (DD) wheel, which is want I probably will buy someday (assuming I get into this).  However, another good option is Logitiech and their line.  I bought the Logitech G923 and it’s force feedback.  I have used Thrustmaster before as well but Fanatec has an excellent reputation.

 

Logitech G923 - $359.00 (Amazon Prime)

 

Television/Monitor

 

Once again, the options are endless.  The sim racing “Subject Matter Experts” (SME) all recommend the three screens, which I may do but I wanted to try and avoid the split screens if possible.  Therefore, I went with a highly rated Samsung Odyssey G9.  So far, it is awesome.  I did have one issue where the PS4 that I am using and the monitor were not communicating properly and I had a black screen.  I thought the PS4 was broke so I tried to connect it to a regular TV and it worked fine.  Next, I thought the Monitor was broke, and connected it to a PS3 and it worked fine.  After hours of research and trying to correct the problem, even went as far as resetting the PS4, I played with the settings on the Samsung and changed the input from “PC” to “AV” and that worked.  However, it was only playing on a portion of the screen so I then had to adjust more settings to make it display on the full screen.

 

Samsung Odyssey G9 (49” curved gaming monitor) – on sale right now $999.99

 

Also, one important note:  this monitor does not have built in speakers, so I had to purchase them, which leads me to my next point (speakers).

 

Speakers:

 

Yes, as I just mentioned the Samsung G9 does not have built in speakers and since sound is an important part of driving (at least for me), I wanted a good set of speakers.  After a quick review, Logitech makes those as well so I went with the best computer speakers that Best Buy had in stock. 

 

Logitech Z533 - $89.00

 

Gaming System:

 

From what I understand, you want a PC but for now, I am running a PS4.  I won’t talk about the PS4 because if you are reading this you probably have some knowledge on the PS4, Xbox, and PCs.

 

Here is an Amazon link to them however:

 

PS4 or PS5 or Xbox One

 

I also ordered a manual shifter from Logitech that was delayed so I haven’t received it yet.

 

Logitech manual shifter:  $74.99