Hardware sorted. Now make it feel real without spending thousands.

Monitor Setup: Maximize FOV

Single Monitor (£200-400) 27-32" is minimum. 1440p preferred. Place as close as possible.

Ultrawide (£400-600) Best value. 34" gives peripheral vision without triple monitor cost. LG 34GP83A-B is excellent (£450)

Triple Screens (£800-1,200) Maximum immersion. Needs strong GPU. Three 27" 1440p monitors.

VR (£300-600) Ultimate immersion but divisive. Some love it, some get motion sick. Meta Quest 3 (£480) works well

I run ultrawide. Perfect balance of immersion and performance.

Audio: Hear Everything

Headphones beat speakers for sim racing. You need positional audio - engine behind you, car alongside, etc.

Budget: HyperX Cloud II (£70) Mid-tier: SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro (£200)

I use Audio-Technica M50x (£120). Clear engine notes, good positioning.

Bass shakers (covered in Article 4) add tactile dimension headphones can't provide.

Lighting: Set the Mood

Bias lighting behind monitor reduces eye strain. Philips Hue Play bars (£120) or cheap LED strips (£15)

Room lighting on dimmer switch sets racing atmosphere.

RGB on rig looks good but adds zero performance. Govee LED strips (£25) if you want it.

Cable Management

Nothing kills immersion like tangled cables everywhere.

Under-rig cable trays (£15) from Amazon Velcro cable ties (£8) keep bundles neat Cable sleeves (£12) for clean look

Took me 2 hours to properly manage cables. Looks professional now.

Cooling and Comfort

Sim racing generates heat. You're wearing headphones, concentrating hard, sitting in fixed position.

USB desk fan pointed at face (£20) Seat cushion if your rig seat is hard (£25) Water bottle holder mounted to rig (£12)

Small details that matter in 2-hour endurance races.

Software: Free Performance Gains

SimHub (free) - Overlays, telemetry, bass shaker control CrewChief (free) - Voice-controlled race engineer RaceLabApps (free tier) - Custom dashboards

These apps add functionality retail equipment can't match.

The Complete Budget Build

Total: £1,400 for immersive experience

• Next Level Racing F-GT Lite (£350)
• Thrustmaster T300 RS GT (£350)
• Thrustmaster T-LCM pedals (£200)
• 34" ultrawide monitor (£400)
• HyperX Cloud II headset (£70)
• Bass shakers setup (£80)
• LED lighting (£25)
• Cable management (£35)

This setup competes with £3,000 retail rigs.

What NOT to Buy

Motion platforms - £2,000+, maintenance nightmares, not worth it Wind simulators - Gimmicky, £300-500, adds little Expensive racing gloves - £50+ for gloves? No. Cycling gloves work fine (£12) Branded merch - Fanatec/Moza shirts don't make you faster

Final Thoughts

You've built a complete rig on budget. You understand upgrade paths, DIY options, and what actually matters.

Now stop researching equipment and start racing. The best upgrade is practice, not products.

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