Racing Rig Recs: a Champion's Guide to the Ultimate Racing Setup

MicroCenterOfficial · February 2023

When I first started gaming as a child, I began with Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit for the PlayStation. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I felt the rush of adrenaline as I was jumping for joy. Since then, I've not just loved gaming, but racing games. From there, I graduated to Forza Motorsport 4 with my car enthusiast friends. I spent hours on the Fujimi Kaido Old Down Hill course. The scenery of the downhill mountain roads mixed with the roar of the engines, tire screeches, and blowing wind was addicting. As I matured, I felt the overwhelming need to pursue my interest in racing before diving fully into racing simulation.

Lately I been having fun in Assetto Corsa on highway servers splitting traffic in my favorite cars. I've got a pretty solid simulation rig setup, including a real nice gear driven motor system, but I know that some day I want to upgrade to the smoothness and accuracy of a direct drive wheel. And to that effect, here's what my ideal racing simulation setup would look like!

Racing Rig Recommendations

Moza R5 Direct Drive Sim Racing Bundle

The Moza R5 bundle features a direct drive wheel. If you're unsure what that means, it essentially gives more detailed, realistic feedback as the steering shaft is connected to a three-phase brushless AC servomotor. I love this direct drive wheel because it operates at 5.5 Newton-meters of torque - the perfect amount, in my opinion. While there are higher powered direct drive wheels available, I find that anything about 5.5 is just too much power. Plus, the wheel just feels absolutley incredible to use thanks to high-quality leather and the aluminum alloy base.

The pedals bundled in are definitely good - perfect if you're looking to get set up with a single bundle - but if we're shooting for the moon, Moza has an even better set of pedals available.

Moza CRP Load Cell Pedals

The pedals are load cell which means you can adjust the stiffness of the pedal and pressure sensitivity to your liking. For me, this is a must have, especially if you're looking for the highest levels of immersion. They are incredibly accurate and of course the adjustability makes them ideal for a realistic racing rig. The pedals have a high-grade build quality and includes a 3 stage clutch, CNC aluminum pedal assembly, adjustable angle, and a high-precision pressure sensor

Thrustmaster TSS Handbrake Sparco Mod+ and Thrustmaster TH-8A Add-On Shifter

Shifters and e-brakes are great add-ons to give you that legitimate manual-car feel. There is nothing like slamming gears ahead of a tight turn and the TH-8A will let you do that with gusto. The hand brake is crucial for drifting in Assetto Corsa or any rally driving in DiRT Rally, giving you a real professional racer feel.

Next Level Racing GTtrack Simulator Cockpit and Next Level Racing Free Standing Monitor Stand

This is going to be the rig that holds everything together. With this setup you get a stable and immersive racing experience. The cockpit also looks professional, has complete adjustability, and a true race car seating position. The material of the chair is very comfortable and feels like a real seat that I could sit in for hours, and the best part is that the assembly took less than 15 minutes.

Samsung QN65QN90BAFXZA 65" Class (64.5" Diag.) 4K Ultra HD Smart QLED TV

Would a normal monitor work for a racing sim? Yeah, absolutely! But is a regular monitor good enough for the highest level of racing sims? Absolutely not. Samsung's Neo QLED make simulations pop in beautiful color and definition even in well lit rooms thanks to Samsung's "Quantum Matrix Technology". The colors, the contrast, and the high refresh rate of 120Hz make whatever sim you're running look just as developers intended. The brightness and spectrum of color really gives an immersive experience while cruising day or night in cities, scenic roads, or racetracks.

PC Parts For Racing Rigs

When it comes to racing rigs, how you want to build your PC is largely up to you. While there are a few parts that we'd consider a must-have (and we've got them listed below), things like motherboards, RAM, and cases are far more situational. If you're looking for help, stop by your local Micro Center and talk to our talented BYO staff. They'll be happy to get you the setup that's perfect for you!

Vantec Quad Chip 4-Port Dedicated 5Gbps USB 3.0 PCIe Host Card

The absolute last thing you want after you've finished setting up your dream racing rig is to find out that you don't have enough USB ports to hook everything up properly. Vantec's PCIe USB hub is super efficient and convenient by providing 4 high-speed usb ports that you can plug the wheel, pedals, shifter and hand brake into, all in one convenient spot. It also makes cable management super easy.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Vermeer 3.4GHz 8-Core AM4 Boxed Processor

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D Processor is my go-to recommendation for sim rigs. What makes this unique is the 96mb of L3 cache that really helps the 3D rendering - something that is absolutely crucial for high-end sim racing. This chip is currently AMD's highest performing gaming processor, though the next generation of X3D chips - the 7900X3D - is set to arrive on February 28th. For now, be sure to check out our breakdown and benchmarks of the 5800X3D to see just how much power this chip has to offer.

Zotac NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Trinity Overclocked Triple Fan 12GB GDDR6X PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card

While there are a lot of graphics card on that market that would work fantastically for racing sims, I tend to lean towards NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 Ti cards. The 4000 series is a stellar option for 4k gaming and pairs well with the Samsung QN65QN90BAFXZA recommended above. The 4070 Ti has a noticeable increase in performance over the 3000 series cards without breaking the bank, giving you more more flexibility with your budget for things that make sim racing what it is, like wheels and pedals! With Nvidia DLSS upscaling you can maximize your frame rate without sacrificing any of the smaller details thanks to DLSS 3.

Want even more BYO Month? We've got our sale highlights over here, and be sure to check out all of our Bundle Deals as well as our wide range of Top Deal offerings. And keep an eye on the Micro Center Community as we continue to celebrate BYO Month with plenty more BYO articles!

Julia_V · February 2023

I haven't thought about using a TV as a monitor for a racing sim, but that's actually a really good idea for immersive gameplay! Another monitor I like a lot is the Odyssey Ark Monitor from Samsung for Racing Sims. Thank you for the comprehensive guide!

tbarggs · February 2023

Super in depth guide. I've thought about getting into racing sims like "iRacing", I just know there are so many requirements to operating one! This is a useful guide to get started

Savyo · February 2023

Theres nothing better than a 120hz tv, really shows the difference between the 60hz ones I have

lizzs · February 2023

Very thorough and well-put guide! One of my sales managers here is a racing enthusiast and this would be similar to what he would recommend to those getting started in racing.