Like many, though the Dutch probably a bit more than others I have become a fan of F1 racing throughout the last couple of years. I don’t have to explain how this happened, right? I don’t know every rule in the F1 book or how an F1 engine works in detail, I just think it is extremely entertaining and educational at the same time, from a hobby perspective, of course.
Having said that, F1 fits in perfectly with what I do on a daily basis, working in tech, dealing with a ton of moving parts, and just as with Nerdio, things are move extremely fast – literally! And even though I am no hardcore fan, in that sense, I’m learning as I go and find it very interesting to read up on certain topics.
Gaming
I used to be hardcore, but that was 20 years ago, or so. Unreal Tournament (I’ve won my share of prices), Counter Strike (played in a clan), and organizing my own LAN parties with friends and colleagues. We’d always organize a tournament of some sort throughout the day where I made sure we also had some trophies to hand out (1st, 2nd, 3rd). Good times.
I’s been many years since I owned a gaming PC or console. Though, I must admit that throughout the last 4 or 5 years, mostly around the holiday (X-mas) season I have been thinking about getting a console, just for fun and to unwind from time to time.
I have been on the lookout for a new Xbox Series X as of day one, but as many of you know these devices are hard to come by. And even when they are in stock it doesn’t last long. They are usually sold out within hours. However, I found one, I needed to pay a little extra, but that’s OK.
I must say, after being away from consoles for at least 15 years or so, what a treat this Xbox is! It works soooo smooth. It literally boots in seconds and games can be accessed almost instantly as well. The various menu’s offer options to integrate with other third-party offerings with many, many, online features to choose from. I really like the user-interface as well. Wi-Fi works excellent too, though I prefer a cabled setup, something I’ll work on later.
Of course, the graphics are amazing and very detailed. I have a few games lingering around but I mostly focus on playing F1, the 2020 edition, for now. 2021 just came in (I had it pre-ordered) but I need to find some time to dig in.
While I’m always looking to expand and improve my home office with new gadgets, currently, I think I have everything I need. In fact, throughout the last couple of weeks I have been cleaning up, throwing away some (bigger) items, made some room (it’s a small office), got rid of a big metal closet to make way for other items I am thinking about potentially purchasing. After some reordering, hanging up some shelves and such, I think it looks amazing. I have added some before and after photo’s as well.
Click to enlarge, use browser back buttons. These are some original Star Wars photo’s taking during creation of the first three motion pictures (parts 4, 5, and 6).
OK. That got me thinking. I have an Xbox Series X, now what?
What kind of screen am I going to use, where do I put it, how about a Playseat, or something similar to make the (F1) driving experience a bit more immersive, intense, and fun, those kinds of things.
Before I knew it, down the rabbit hole I went (a deep one). Getting an Xbox is one thing, but that’s only step one.
Sim rig racing
I assume, most of you will know what this entails, or sort of anyway. Virtual racing, using one or multiple screens, with all kinds of different seats, setups, steering wheels, wheelbases, peddles, and dozens of brands to choose from, varying from several hundred euros to tens of thousands of euros. It can get expensive, fast.
I decided to just get started and have some fun. A few months ago my research started. What are some the most popular and known brands out there, and why? What types of setups are available and what are some of the main and most important differences between the “cheap (er)” and more expensive ones.
How about wheel setups, belt driven, direct drive, with or without peddles, the different types of pedals (load cell?), seats, software, and so on. Needless to say, a whole new world revealed itself.
In a way it’s not that different from real-life F1; the more money you spend the better your equipment will be, the faster you (can) go. In theory that is and assuming you are a seasoned driver, of course. My driving skills definitely don’t qualify, though I can see this being true for the more experienced sim rig driver, for sure.
It also became apparent that most communities around sim rig racing focus on PC driven software and sim rig setups. I couldn’t really find any information on console-based racing. Of course, most of what you need will work for both a PC as well as a console (seats, steering wheels, pedals, etc.).
It has more to do with the types of games you want to play and supporting software you want to use. Also, if you get really competitive, PC driven sim rig racing has some of the largest communities out there, with some of best drivers in the world, including our own Max.
For now, I’ll be mainly focusing on console-based sim rig racing.
Screen setup
This alone can break your head getting started.
Input lag, refresh rate, reaction speeds, frames per second, 4K support, HDR, how is it going to be mounted, will you use a Playseat (or something similar) setup or not, and more. What are acceptable values for each, what is the Xbox capable of producing, is it all compatible, which metric is, or do you find the most important, and of course, what is your budget?
Some of these numbers need to be as a low as possible, and some need to be as high as possible, I won’t go into all details at this point.
Let me just say that input lag and response times are worth reading into, but, for example you don’t need 4K support per se – even though many seem to think so. A higher refresh rate (> 144) is nice, but if you start at 100, for example, you’ll be fine as well. I mean, it all depends, and I am assuming you are no pro sim rig driver, right?
Also, will you be using (game) monitors or a TV screen? Choices, choices… Or as I like to put it, first world problems!
My screen of choice
To be honest, when I started this journey a few months and got my Xbox, I thought I would be playing other types of games as well. At the very least some Star Wars and a couple of first-person shooters, that kind of thing. As it turns out, F1 is overly popular, and I expect it stay that way. However this did affect my screen choice.
I went with a 4K 55” Sony 100 MHz at 7.6ms input-lag TV, HDR support included.
One of the main reasons I didn’t went with a monitor setup, even though these would be even sharper and have faster response times and such, I would probably need three, which is not supported on an Xbox. This goes for multiple TV screens as well, BTW.
Of course, my budget had something to do with it as well. Also, I was quite sure I’d like the gaming experience, racing or no racing but you are never a 100% and a 55” quality TV might still come in handy. 3 gaming monitors, not so much, at least in my case. Plus, it would be much more expensive as well.
With my TV screen I also got a Playseat monitor stand (TV standard Pro) – see images above. Solid quality, easy to set up, and it stands like a rock. Being able to “slide” your sim rig underneath so you are close(er) to the action, is definitely a big plus.
Who knows, if I ever take the leap over to PC sim racing, this approach might change. Though, a 3-monitor setup, that will probably be a bit (too) crowed in my office as it stands today.
My sim rig setup, steer and pedals included
Nothing final yet. I am still in the researching phase and have not made up my mind. On the one hand, I do not want to spend too much – what if I don’t like it. On the other hand, I’m quite confident I will like it, and then it’s basically spending money twice. Why? Well, because I have some self-knowledge, I will probably want to upgrade ASAP after purchasing my initial (cheaper) set up :)
But hey, an excellent topic to write about in an upcoming post, right?! Amongst a ton of other subjects.
Till next time.
