Best GPU for Sim Racing
Sim Racing has been on an upwards trend, so let's take a look at the best GPUs
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- 01Best GPU for Sim Racing
MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti SUPRIM X
- 022nd Best GPU for Sim Racing
- 033rd Best GPU for Sim Racing
ASUS TUF Gaming Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 OC
One of the most vital aspects of your sim racing computer is the GPU. While the CPU is also quite significant, the GPU is mostly responsible for your average game framerate and overall performance. However, high-quality other PC parts are also necessary to fully utilize a strong GPU.
A powerful CPU with good integrated graphics can definitely handle various forms of gaming, but you would be lucky to have what most people would consider a playable experience for modern games, even at outdated resolutions like 720p. The GPU you choose to utilize can be quite important if you want to enter into sim racing esports or any other type of competitive gaming.
Best GPU for Sim Racing
One of the most potent GPUs on the market right now is the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. In addition to pumping out fast framerates even at 4K, it also has excellent raytracing capabilities, which give sim racing games that utilize stunning visuals.
MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti SUPRIM X
Core Clock Speed
1560 MHz base, 1950 MHz boost
CUDA Cores
10752
Memory Size
24GB GDDR6X
Dimensions
338 x 140 x 71 mm
PSU Required
850W
For a three-monitor setup with 4K resolution panels, we would highly recommend the RTX 3090 Ti, as lower-performance cards may have difficulty pushing competitive framerates in such demanding situations. It boasts 24 GB of GDDR6X RAM, which is more than adequate for any sim racing game and leaves plenty of room for overclocking your GPU.
Second best GPU for Sim Racing
In terms of performance, the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is only 1% worse than the RTX 3090 and roughly 9% slower than the industry-leading RTX 3090 Ti, which is amazing given the astronomical price gap between the two. The finest AMD graphics card available right now for fans of AMD would be this GPU. This card has 16 GB of GDDR6 RAM, which is more than adequate for most current AAA sim racing games to render in 4K.
MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT GAMING X TRIO
Core Clock Speed
1,925MHz base, 2,454MHz boost, 2,244 game
Stream Processors
5,120
Memory Size
16GB GDDR6
Dimensions
325 x 140 x 55 mm
PSU Required
850W
Third best GPU for Sim Racing
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU also offers good performance for 4K sim racing. And because it is no longer the newest offering, it is significantly less expensive than the RTX 3090 Ti. The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on this GPU is sufficient for intensive 4K rendering in triple-A sim racing games. The low price point that this sells at in comparison to its high-performing competitors is a superb illustration of price-to-performance ratios that practically sell themselves.
ASUS TUF Gaming Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 OC
Clock Speed
1815MHz Boost Clock (OC)
VRAM
10GB GDDRX
Thermal Design
Axial-tech Triple Fan
Best GPU for Sim Racing FAQs
What is the best GPU for Sim Racing?
For a good sim racing experience, you’ll want a good GPU to give you the best performance. And so we recommend the 3090 Ti as a great pick from the last generation of Nvidia cards.
Then there is also the choice of AMD’s RX 6950 XT which is also a powerful and capable card. Or there’s always the tried and tested RTX 3080.
What GPU do I need for Sim Racing?
Sim Racing is a broad category and so there are plenty of games and simulators to choose from. So we select a few of the more popular ones that suggest their hardware requirements.
Assetto Corsa Competizione has a minimum requirement GPU of a GTX 750 or RX 460, both 4GB graphics cards. But it recommends a GTX 1070 or RX 580 with 8GB of VRAM. rFactor 2 has a minimum requirement of a GTX 950 or RX 550. With a recommended GPU of a GTX 1070 or RX 580.
Then iRacing has a minimum suggestion of just 2GB of VRAM, found in a GTX 660, GTX 1050, ATI HD 7850, or RX 550. Whilst the recommended is 6GB of VRAM which is a minimum of a GTX 1060 or RX 580. But for the best performance, it recommends 8GB or more. Something like an RTX 2080 Ti or Radeon VII.
