Triple 34 Ultrawide or Triple 32s?

[DoZZa]

So after a year or so out of sim racing and after selling my rig, I want to start again. It's a habit of mine, build something awesome, use it for a bit, sell it, realise I miss it and start again

I have a question about triples. Previously I was running 3 x 27 monitors, was a good experience, but felt like 32's would be a better place to be. At the moment I have a single Alienware AW3418DW 34" Ultrawide.

So I was thinking of getting two more of those to make the triple, or just go with three 32" monitors. Currently looking at the Gigabyte M32Q. Price wise the Alienware option would be £100 more, so nothing in it really.

VR isn't and option as it does weird stuff with my eyes.

So, triple 34 Ultrawides or triple 32s. That is the question.

 

[Philip K]

I have a 34 ultra wide for general gaming, but you would get more vertical space with the 32’s

 

[DoZZa]

I have a 34 ultra wide for general gaming, but you would get more vertical space with the 32’s

That's true about the vertical space, although I'd have to have the monitors mounted further away from me to and have the wheelbase in front of the monitors to make use of that increased vertical space.

With the ultrawides, I can mount them just above the wheelbase allowing them to be closer to me.

I'm really not sure which would be more immersive.

 

[Philip K]

I’m not sure on the immersion as I run vr, but there is always the consideration of the extra pixels you have to drive, so your gpu may be a consideration

 

[DoZZa]

I’m not sure on the immersion as I run vr, but there is always the consideration of the extra pixels you have to drive, so your gpu may be a consideration

Running a 12900K and RTX 3090 custom watercooled rig, so should be OK with the PC grunt side of things.

 

[stigs2cousin]

As i´m running 27" triples and find the FOV completely satisfactory I´d not recomend the triple ultrawide version.
Even with your power PC the extra pixels will need GPU capacity that could be spend elswhere , eg "eye candy" or FPS. The higher screens would be nice to get more immersion as in more cockpit view of the car. Perhaps a wheel extension would allow for the screen distance you desire with the wheel base mounted below/ behind the middle screen:

Extension for Simucube 2 - SimRacingBay

Simucube Extension: Length 130mm (replace original hub and adds 80mm extra lenght) Compatible with Simucube 2 systems (Sport, Pro and Ultimate) CNC machined from Automitive grade aluminium Weight 365g Included SQR Adapter – 6x70mm Installation Manual - test step 1 before purchase Review...

www.simracingbay.com

MFG Carsten

 

[Philip K]

Running a 12900K and RTX 3090 custom watercooled rig, so should be OK with the PC grunt side of things.

Well you are not lacking in grunt there lol

 

[Beef36]

So, triple 34 Ultrawides or triple 32s. That is the question.

Of these two, if it was me I'd go for the Triple Alienware AW3418DW for a few reasons:

1) The Alienware is a better monitor;

2) 32" 16:9 monitor adds maybe around 2 inches of height over the 34" 21:9. In the overall scheme of things, such a small amount of additional height doesn't add that much value in sim racing;

3) The Alienware is G-Sync, whereas the M32Q is not Nvidia certified. For Triples, running Variable Refresh Rate is super useful as it keeps gameplay smooth when frame rates drop, which can occur frequently with triples (note I also run a RTX3090 with Triple 35s, and ACC frame rates can still periodically drop to sub 50fps). VRR will work with the Triple Alienware, whereas the Triple M32Q is not supported and thus buyer beware.

4) The market will soon move beyond Triple 32" as the high-end "standard" once graphics card grunt is sufficient, which may occur with the next iteration of graphics card. In my view we are heading towards Triple 43" or thereabouts within the next 2 years.

 

[DoZZa]

Of these two, if it was me I'd go for the Triple Alienware AW3418DW for a few reasons:

1) The Alienware is a better monitor;

2) 32" 16:9 monitor adds maybe around 2 inches of height over the 34" 21:9. In the overall scheme of things, such a small amount of additional height doesn't add that much value in sim racing;

3) The Alienware is G-Sync, whereas the M32Q is not Nvidia certified. For Triples, running Variable Refresh Rate is super useful as it keeps gameplay smooth when frame rates drop, which can occur frequently with triples (note I also run a RTX3090 with Triple 35s, and ACC frame rates can still periodically drop to sub 50fps). VRR will work with the Triple Alienware, whereas the Triple M32Q is not supported and thus buyer beware.

4) The market will soon move beyond Triple 32" as the high-end "standard" once graphics card grunt is sufficient, which may occur with the next iteration of graphics card. In my view we are heading towards Triple 43" or thereabouts within the next 2 years.

This is pretty much what I have summed up. I have ordered two AW3418DW's.

 

[MADasFUDGE]

So, triple 34 Ultrawides or triple 32s. That is the question.

I would say it depends on the resolution. If you are going for 1440p, then I would say definetely 3x32".
I play mostly ACC and triples 32" 1440p make my 3090 + i7-12700k cry hard. I get 100-120fps (epic) whereas the monitors should be running 165Hz.
EDIT: The high dependency on Freesync causes ghosting on the image. So when I have people's names on top of the cars (in race) the black shadow around the names get blurry and spill... ghosting. Just wanted to detail a bit.

For any other game as main or 1080p resolution I would go with triples Ultrawide 34.

 

[vulgrin]

Hi @DoZZa - I know this is an old thread, but I'm currently in almost the same position as you were a year or so ago. However, I'm on VR now, and running a 34" widescreen (nice gigabyte), and am considering getting another two to switch to triples. (I have the PC grunt (4090 + 13k) to handle a lot of pixels.)

How did the triple alienware end up working out for you?
What kind of triple stand did you end up with? I'm on an ASR rig, but my eyes bled a little looking at triple monitor stand prices...

 

[DoZZa]

Hi @DoZZa - I know this is an old thread, but I'm currently in almost the same position as you were a year or so ago. However, I'm on VR now, and running a 34" widescreen (nice gigabyte), and am considering getting another two to switch to triples. (I have the PC grunt (4090 + 13k) to handle a lot of pixels.)

How did the triple alienware end up working out for you?
What kind of triple stand did you end up with? I'm on an ASR rig, but my eyes bled a little looking at triple monitor stand prices...

Hi @vulgrin , I ditched the Alienware setup and went with three Gigabyte M32Q's, they work very well. The Alienware monitors just didn't feel right.

For mounting I have used aluminium extrusion, the XERO-PLAY™ Triple Pivot Adapters and theVARIO™ Vesa Adapters. And then added some extra bracing. The screens are mounted to the rig.

 

[jameslj]

Hi @vulgrin , I ditched the Alienware setup and went with three Gigabyte M32Q's, they work very well. The Alienware monitors just didn't feel right.

For mounting I have used aluminium extrusion, the XERO-PLAY™ Triple Pivot Adapters and theVARIO™ Vesa Adapters. And then added some extra bracing. The screens are mounted to the rig.

I'm currently debating between a triple 34" or a triple 32" setup like you have in the past. Right now I have a triple 27" setup that I would continue to use for shooters (works very well). Why did you ditch the triple 34" setup and went 3x 32" in the end?