Our recommended gaming monitors for sim racing in 2024. Learn which type of monitor is best for sim racing, which specs are important & whether we'd recommend single or triple-screen.
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The best type of monitor for sim racing depends on your requirements. Triple screens are perfect for sim racing due to the wide field of view, but they take up a lot of room. Ultrawide monitors such as the Samsung OLED G9 are fantastic as they require less room but still increase immersion by allowing you a wider field of view. Single screen monitors are fine for sim racing. However, you will ideally require at least a 32″ gaming monitor if using a single screen.
The featured image above is from Reddit user iammrdivine.
There are a wide range of elements to consider when choosing the best gaming monitor for sim racing specifically. Screen size is important to see other cars on track, refresh rate and response times are crucial to improve your FPS, and then there is the debate between single monitors or triple screens.
In this buyer’s guide, I’ll share my recommended monitors for sim racing including my top picks from my many years of sim racing with different monitor types. I’m currently using an ultrawide monitor when I sim race, and I’ll explain why in this guide. I’ll also look at the best gaming monitors in a budget price range through to premium options.
When choosing the best monitor for sim racing, we do have to break our recommendations into categories. When deciding on a sim racing monitor, you ultimately have three categories to choose from. A single-screen, triple-screen, or an ultrawide monitor.
Below are my recommendations for the best monitor for sim racing across each category.
| Budget | Mid-range | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single screen | AOC CU34G2X £315 | Samsung Odyssey G5 £349 | ASUS ROG Strix XG349C £999.95 |
| Triple screens | AOC 27G4XED £219 | Alienware AW2724HF £349 | LG Ultragear 27GR95QE £699 |
| Ultrawide | X= XEXUL49V2 49″ £499 | ASUS ROG Strix XG49VQ £729 | Samsung OLED G9 £1399 |
Let’s jump straight in and look at the elements to look out for when shopping for the best monitor for sim racing. There are a few key technical specs to keep an eye on. These include features such as resolution, refresh rate, panel type, response time and more.
Each of these features will have a big impact on your overall sim racing experience. For example, opting for a gaming monitor with a low refresh rate can limit your FPS potential making your video not seem as smooth as it could. High response times can affect input lag, and buying a gaming monitor that is too small could cause issues when improving your sim racing setup down the line.
Below is a list of features that are among the most important when choosing the right gaming monitor for sim racing.
| Single or triple screen | This choice fundamentally changes your experience. Triple screens can really enhance your immersion and improve your vision around your car, at the expense of having to buy three monitors and higher performance requirements from your GPU as it has to run three monitors instead of just one. |
| Monitor size | If you don’t fancy a triple screen configuration, a larger single screen monitor can help you see more of the action around you. This lets you adjust your field of view to be more realistic and can once again improve your immersion. |
| Resolution | Better response rates can reduce input lag, allowing your inputs to be immediately recognised in the game. This can help reduce any lag between your physical wheel and your in-game wheel. |
| Refresh rate | Your refresh rate affects your maximum FPS potential. Higher refresh rates allow you to choose higher frames per second and this will affect how smooth your gameplay appears. |
| Panel type | Different display types can affect elements such as your viewing angle and colour output, with each panel type having its own pros and cons. |
| Response time | Different display types can affect elements such as viewing angle and colour output, and each panel type has its own pros and cons. |
| G-sync or Freesync | Higher screen resolutions such as 4K will result in a sharper image, making small details such as car liveries and track surface details much clearer; however, higher resolutions are more demanding on your GPU. |
One of the first questions you’ll need to ask yourself is, are you looking for a single-screen display, an ultrawide monitor or a triple-screen setup? This decision will impact almost all other decisions in your build moving forward.
Each option has pros and cons, and there isn’t a single solution that is right for all sim racers. Your buying decision between these different monitor types will largely depend on personal preference, budget, and available space.
My preference is for an ultrawide monitor. I have used one with my own sim racing setup, as I think it looks sleeker and provides very good immersion by wrapping around your field of view.
A single-screen monitor is your usual 16:9 ratio monitor. This is the most common form factor when looking for a new sim racing monitor. It has the benefit of requiring the least amount of space and can be expanded into a triple-screen setup further down the line. It is also the cheapest option as you only have to purchase a single gaming monitor.
An ultrawide monitor expands your aspect ratio up to 21:9 or even 32:9. This allows you to see more action going on around you. In sim racing, you’ll have a wider field of view out of your cockpit and even see the mirrors. This can be invaluable when racing wheel to wheel as you’ll be able to see the cars alongside you. This is often cheaper than a triple-screen setup, but the more premium ultrawide monitor can be more expensive than a traditional single screen display.
A triple-screen sim racing monitor setup is very similar to a super ultrawide in that it allows you to see more of the action around your car. Typically, a triple-screen setup will wrap around your sim racing rig, giving you good views from your cockpit and into your mirrors.
Many sim racers see triple-screen displays as the pinnacle of sim racing as you can achieve the best immersion with the monitors wrapping right around you. The main negative with a triple screen setup, however, is the bevels in between each screen. However, this can be fixed with a bezel-free kit, which I’ll talk about later on in this guide.
Also, a triple-screen monitor setup will take up much more space than a single monitor, and can cost considerably more as you’ll be purchasing three monitors instead of just one. Also, you will need to ensure that your PC has the graphical power to run three individual screens as well as having three individual HDMI or display ports available.
After deciding if you wish to use single or triple screen monitors, the next consideration is your overall monitor size. If you are going for a single monitor, you can potentially increase the size of the monitor allowing you to run a better and more realistic FOV (field of view).
If you are opting for a triple-screen setup, you won’t want a monitor that is too big, so you can allow for three monitors next to each other without taking up too much space.
The perfect sweet spot for monitor sizes are;
| Monitor type | Ideal monitor size |
|---|---|
| Single monitor | 32-42″ |
| Ultrawide monitor | 34-49″ |
| Triple-screen monitor | 27″ per monitor |
One of the challenges of configuring your sim racing setup is correctly setting your field of view (FOV). This is the term for how much of your game is shown on screen. A lower FOV will reduce the amount of information on the screen, bringing the viewpoint closer to your face. A higher FOV will give a more widescreen feel, allowing you to see a lot more of the track. However, setting your FOV too high can look very natural.
Your goal when configuring your field of view is for your view out of your car or cockpit to be as realistic as possible as if you were actually sitting in the driver’s seat. A larger monitor size will allow you to set the field of view more realistically while seeing as much of the track as possible. If you are choosing a single screen, you really shouldn’t use a monitor smaller than 32″, as this will heavily limit your FOV.
Choosing a triple-screen configuration will let you really tailor your FOV to be incredibly realistic as you can look around the cockpit on the monitors that wrap around you.
Below are two examples of FOV in sim racing. The first image shows a low FOV, while the second image is set to a higher FOV. This provides a wider view of the track but can start to look unrealistic if pushed too far.
Once you have chosen the style and size of sim racing monitor you will use, you should look at the screen resolution. The resolution controls how sharp your picture is and how much computing power is required to run your graphics settings at or close to maximum settings.
As you start to increase the screen resolution, your PC or console will require more GPU and CPU performance to run. This is because your PC or console will have to render more pixels as you increase your resolution.
Below are the most common display resolutions for sim racing gaming monitors.
| Resolution | Spec name | Monitor example |
|---|---|---|
| 1920x1080px | 1080p FHD (Full HD) | Alienware AW2724HF |
| 2560x1440px | 1440p QHD (Quad HD) | LG Ultragear 27GR95QE |
| 3440x1440px | 1440p UW (Ultrawide) | Samsung Odyssey G5 |
| 5120x1440px | 1440p SUW (Super ultrawide) | Samsung OLED G9 |
| 3840x2160px | 4k UHD (Ultra HD) | Alienware AW3225QF |
Current generation consoles including the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 can comfortably run at 4k, allowing you to choose a high resolution display. Whether you can run your sim racing game at 4k on a PC comes down to your choice of graphics card, with more expensive GPUs capable of higher resolutions.
As you increase the size of your monitor, you may want to consider choosing a higher resolution display. If you position your monitor close to the rear of your racing wheel, you can start to notice the individual pixels on lower resolution screens.
Below is a good general rule of thumb for screen sizes and when you want to increase the resolution;
| Monitor size | Ideal resolution |
|---|---|
| 25″ | 1080p FHD |
| 27″ | 1080p FHD |
| 34″ Ultrawide | 1440p UW |
| 39″ Ultrawide | 1440p UW |
| 49″ Super Ultrawide | 1440p SUW |
The refresh rate of your sim racing monitor is possibly one of the most important technical specs to look at. This will ultimately determine the maximum frame rate you can run your sim racing games at. If you are planning to keep your monitor for a while, opting for a higher refresh rate is a wise choice to future-proof your setup.
Essentially, your game outputs at a certain frame rate (frames per second – FPS). The higher the FPS, the smoother your image will be, as more frames will be displayed per second.
Higher refresh rates are generally considered better. These monitors allow for higher frame rates and lead to smoother images. The higher the frame rate, the more expensive your monitor will be normally. Anything above 60FPS is considered good, meaning you’ll need a monitor with a refresh rate of at least 60Hz. 120Hz is ideal with 240Hz been considered the best refresh rate you can get.
60FPS is considered the true minimum if you are gaming, as you can easily see the difference between 30 and 60FPS. The image will appear much smoother at 60 vs 30FPS. But stretching your performance up to 120FPS or even 240FPS will produce the absolute smoothest image, and these figures are what you should be aiming for.
For your monitor to be able to display your desired FPS, it will need to have a refresh rate that matches or exceeds your FPS. A monitor’s refresh rate is measured in hertz (Hz). This is the number of times that your monitor will refresh and show a different picture per second.
For example, a 60Hz screen will refresh 60 times every second. And a PC outputting at 60FPS will generate 60 new images every second. So aligning both your refresh rate and FPS output helps to create the smoothest image possible. Monitors are capable of running up to 240Hz with 144Hz being a sweet spot for a sim racing monitor.
AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync are the names given to software from the two big GPU producers that help eliminate screen tearing. Screen tearing occurs when your monitor’s refresh rate and your PC’s FPS don’t match up.
When they are out of sync, you can sometimes notice frames where the image looks like it is being torn in half. This is called screen tearing and is when your monitor displays parts of two or more frames at once. This is something you want to avoid for the smoothest gaming and sim racing experience.
This is where FreeSync and G-Sync step in. They allow the monitor to vary its refresh rate to match the FPS output of your game. This will eliminate any screen tearing by matching both the FPS and refresh rate.
FreeSync is only available if you have an AMD GPU, and G-Sync is only available if you have an Nvidia GPU. Luckily, many gaming monitors support both FreeSync and G-Sync, so you won’t need to match your monitor to your graphics card.
It can be harder to find a G-Sync-compatible monitor as this is a more expensive technology to implement. Most gaming monitors support FreeSync as standard.
However, keep an eye out for this to ensure that the gaming monitor you are looking to buy does indeed include both or at least one technology that matches your graphics card.
The response time dictates how much or ideally how little input lag there is. This is measured from the moment an input is registered by you, to how fast that is shown on your monitor. The lower the response time the better. High response times can lead to your in-game steering wheel being out of sync with your physical steering wheel.
As long as your monitor’s response time is under 5ms you shouldn’t notice any lag. But ideally, you will want to be looking for a 1ms response time for the best performance while sim racing. Some premium gaming monitors boast a response rate as little as 0.1ms which is ideal.
The panel type dictates the technology used by your gaming monitor. Most gaming monitors use an LCD panel, but these come in various forms.
HDR stands for high dynamic range and is a technology that improves the overall colour range. It will allow your monitor to define light and dark areas better, bringing more vibrance and accuracy to the image.
While HDR technology isn’t essential for a sim racing monitor, it is a bonus that’ll allow the on-track action whilst racing to look just that little bit better. Finding a sim racing monitor that has HDR technology can sometimes result in a higher price tag, so if budget is an issue, HDR support would be one of the first things I would cut.
When shopping for an ultrawide gaming monitor for sim racing, you have a few options. You could opt for a regular ultrawide which often comes in a size of 34″ with a resolution of 1440p. These are ideal to be used as a single screen display.
There is also the option of a premium super ultrawide monitor that stretches the size up to 49″ with a resolution of 5120x1440p. These monitors are great alternatives to triple screens, however they are typically more expensive than a regular ultrawide monitor.
Below are my recommendations for the best ultrawide monitors for sim racing in 2024.
| Monitor | Size | Resolution | Refresh Rate | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Odyssey G9 | 49″ | 5120×1440 | 240Hz | £1399 |
| ASUS ROG STRIX XG49VQ | 49″ | 3840×1080 | 144Hz | £729 |
| Samsung Odyssey G5 34″ | 34″ | 3440×1440 | 165Hz | £449 |
| X= XEXUL49V2 49″ | 49″ | 5120×1440 | 144Hz | £499 |
| AOC CU34G2X | 34″ | 3440×1440 | 144Hz | £315 |
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 is a gaming monitor that is one of the best overall monitors for sim racing in 2024. Samsung keeps updating the Odyssey G9 with the most recent iteration featuring an OLED 240Hz display with a 1800R curve.
This monitor features one of the largest super ultrawide displays at 49″ across in a 32:9 aspect ratio. It has a VA OLED panel with full HDR support and some of the key tech specs that we are looking for in a gaming monitor.
The response time is just 0.03ms which is about as good as things can get, and it has a 240Hz refresh rate as well as both AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility. This super ultrawide monitor will wrap around you with its large curved display allowing you to become truly immersed in sim racing. You will have a fantastic view out of your cockpit allowing you to see all of the action as it unfolds around you.
On the completely opposite end of the price scale compared to the Samsung OLED G9 is the X= XEXUL49V2. This is a relatively new brand by PC experts AWD-IT.
This super ultrawide gaming monitor shows what can be achieved on a budget. Costing under £600, you get a lot of features including a 1520x1440px display that curves. The curve isn’t as prominent as it is on the Samsung OLED G9 instead opting for a more subtle bend.
The screen is an IPS display capable of a 144Hz refresh rate with a 1ms response time. These specs are all very good for a budget monitor for sim racing. The on track action is smooth using the X= monitor, and thanks to both G-Sync and FreeSync support, you won’t encounter any screen tearing.
A triple-screen sim racing monitor setup is often looked at as the best configuration for sim racing due to the adjustability with your FOV. With a triple-screen layout, you get an extremely wide field of view as the monitors wrap around you. This lets you immerse yourself in the race and you can physically look to your left and right to see other cars on track around you.
The main downside of a triple-screen configuration is both the space they take up and the bevels in between screens. You can remedy this by integrating your monitor mounting with your sim rig to save on floor space. You can purchase additional bezel-free kits that attempt to mask the bezels between each screen.
Below are my top recommended triple-screen monitors for sim racing.
| Monitor | Size | Resolution | Refresh Rate | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Ultragear 27GR95QE | 27″ | 2560×1440 | 240Hz | £699 |
| Alienware AW2724HF | 27″ | 1920×1080 | 360Hz | £349 |
| LG Ultragear 27GQ50F-B | 27″ | 1920×1080 | 165Hz | £190 |
| AOC 24G2 | 24″ | 1920×1080 | 75Hz | £159 |
| AOC 27G4XED | 27″ | 1920×1080 | 180Hz | £189 |
When it comes to triple screen monitors, 27″ is right about in the sweet spot. You can go slightly larger to a 32″ monitor, but you will need a considerable amount of extra space. 27″ is just right, allowing the monitors to wrap around you giving you a fantastic view.
This LG Ultragear is a fantastic monitor with some impressive specs. It features a 0.03ms response time with a 240Hz refresh rate. This is combined with an OLED 1440p display and both FreeSync and G-Sync compatibility.
As far as gaming monitors go, this LG hits the right mark in all key categories. When you sit three of them side by side, you will have an impressive 7680 x 1440 display.
Price has to be a factor when buying three screens for a triple-screen monitor setup, as the overall cost is tripled. This AOC 27″ gaming monitor ticks the budget box by being around half the price of the LG Ultragear mentioned above.
With the cost reduction, you will get a lower-spec screen, but one that is still capable of running a very good triple-screen setup. This AOC features a 1080p IPS display, making up a full 5760 x 1080 display once the three are aligned. It also boasts just a 1ms response time, a 180Hz refresh rate, and is G-Sync and FreeSync compatible. This AOC ticks all the right boxes for a budget triple-screen gaming monitor.
If you are choosing to sim race with a single monitor, you want to make sure that the monitor really excels where it needs to. You’ll want the screen to be large enough to allow you to see the on-track action as you won’t have the additional field-of-view benefits that an ultrawide or triple-screen monitor offers.
Below are my recommendations for the best single monitor for sim racing.
| Monitor | Size | Resolution | Refresh Rate | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASUS ROG Strix XG349C | 34″ | 3440×1440 | 180Hz | £999 |
| Samsung G75T | 32″ | 2560×1440 | 240Hz | £750 |
| AOC CU34G2X | 34″ | 3440×1440 | 144Hz | £340 |
| Samsung G5 | 32″ | 2560×1440 | 144Hz | £350 |
One the my favourite monitors that I’ve used for sim racing has to be the ASUS ROG Strix XG349C. I’ve always preferred a single screen rather than triples, and this ASUS monitor was my stepping stone before getting a super ultrawide. It delivers exceptional performance via its curved IPS panel. This includes a 1ms response time, 180Hz refresh rate and G-Sync compatibility.
The slight curve in the screen will give the effect of the screen wrapping around you despite it not being as wide as an ultrawide monitor. One of the key areas that really impressed me about this ASUS ROG Strix XG349C monitor is the picture quality. It has a 1440p display with HDR400, which creates a gorgeously diverse image.
An alternate option to the mighty OLED G9 is the ultrawide Odyssey G5. This is a much kinder gaming monitor for your wallet, coming in at around half the price of the G9. The price reduction brings a size reduction also, with the G5 not coming in as wide as the G9. But the curved 21:9 aspect ratio still wraps around you allowing you to see more of the action.
This gaming monitor features a near-perfect 1ms response time, although its refresh rate is slightly lower than the premium G9 at just 165Hz. This refresh rate is still more than good enough to produce smooth gameplay while sim racing, and it includes FreeSync compatibility. While not as flashy as the G9, this curved G5 ultrawide monitor delivers great performance at a much-reduced price point.
We tested each of the monitors in this guide using different sim racing titles. We like to use a combination of iRacing, Assetto Corsa, and Forza Horizon.
iRacing allows us to test a monitors refresh rate as we can achieve high FPS in iRacing. Assetto Corsa and Forza Horizon both allow us to test the visual fidelity of each gaming monitor, as these games can both be graphically demanding. Forza Horizon, in particular, utilises HDR and can give each monitor a real test, thanks to the complex lighting and effects in this game.
If you are running a triple-screen monitor while sim racing, you will know just how annoying and immersion-breaking large bezels have the potential to be. While you can learn to phase them out and ignore them while racing, they somewhat ruin a perfect panoramic view of your car’s cockpit.
A bezel-free kit sits over the bezels between monitors and projects the missing image from this space. This allows for a continuous panoramic view similar to that from a super ultrawide monitor.
They aren’t a perfect solution, though, as the image displayed over the bezel is normally a slightly different shade from the monitor, which is noticeable. You will normally have large clips on the top and bottom of the bezel-free kit. While it seamlessly joins the three monitors, the seam is still noticeable, although not as much as having a large bezel.
Depending on the style of monitor you have chosen, the method for mounting it can differ. Many sim racing cockpits have the option for an integrated monitor mount. This is often the tidiest way of mounting your monitors while sim racing as you won’t be using additional floor space to position your monitor mount.
If you are looking to mount triple-screen monitors with an integrated sim rig monitor mount, you may require a more premium sim rig. Most budget sim rigs only offer the option to mount single screens to the sim rig directly. If you do own a sim rig from a brand like Sim-Lab or Next Level Racing, you can purchase integrated triple monitor mounts.
The other option for mounting your sim racing monitor is with a dedicated monitor stand. These come in various shapes and designs but typically consist of a couple of legs that sit on either side of your sim rig with a connecting bar that sits over your sim rig.
These dedicated monitor mounts can be beneficial as your screens will be independent of your sim rig. This means that if your sim rig vibrates or shakes while sim racing your monitors won’t be affected.
As mentioned above in the single vs triple vs ultrawide section, choosing the right gaming monitor for you comes down to a few key aspects;
Undoubtedly a triple screen monitor will take up more room as the width footprint is larger than both a single monitor and an ultrawide. You will also need to consider how you are planning on mounting your screens. Many sim racing rigs come with additional mounting brackets allowing you to mount your chosen screen directly to your rig.
Below are a few recommendations on the style of monitor you should look to buy;
| Monitor type | Resolution | Refresh Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low budget | 27″ single monitor | 1080p | 120Hz |
| Mid budget | 27″ triple monitor | 1440p | 144Hz |
| High budget | 49″ ultrawide monitor | 1440p | 240Hz |
While these recommendations aren’t perfect, as they don’t take into account overall space, they do give an indication of three different monitor setups and the type of technology you should be looking for.
You can use the links below to shop for your favourite sim racing products, or for any products that we may have recommended. These links are affiliate links, and will earn us a small commission, with no additional cost for you.
The best technology for a sim racing monitor is an LCD screen using either VA or IPS screen technology. You should aim for a refresh rate of 120Hz or higher and a response rate as close to 0.1ms as possible
Curved monitors are ideal for sim racing as they can wrap around you. This increases your immersion and lets you look around the monitor from left to right to view cars on track around you.
You can sim race on a TV without issue, however, a dedicated gaming monitor will often provide a better experience. A gaming monitor will generally have a higher refresh rate and response time compared to a TV, both of which are important when choosing the best sim racing monitor.
Using a single 27″ monitor for sim racing could be a little small. If you are looking for a triple-screen monitor setup then 27″ monitors are ideal. They will allow for a realistic FOV as the two side monitors wrap around you and your sim racing setup.
The closer you are to your monitor, the more realistic your FOV can be whilst maximising how much you can see. Ideally, positioning your gaming monitor around 50cm from your face is a good distance. If you have a larger monitor than 32inch you could sit further away.
Rich is the co-founder, and one of the main F1 setup creators and content writers for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com
View all articles written by Rich
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