Formula-E embraces sim racing with some sweet hardware and rFactor 2

The ABB Formula-E Race at Home Challenge calls on rFactor 2 for the hard work.

(Image credit: Studio 397)

Several sporting events have had to turn to the virtual world in these unprecedented times, and the latest examples is the ABB Formula-E Race at Home Challenge. The drivers are being furnished with kit courtesy of Asus, Scan, Playseat, and Fanatec, and being set to task in rFactor 2 to show off their driving skills. There's a nice twist here, because it sees real world Formula-E drivers take on sim racers as well. The whole thing is in support of UNICEF, so it's all for a good cause.

Still wheely good...

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While I'm not up to speed with what's happening in the world of Formula-E, and indeed my days of watching and enjoying Formula 1 are long behind me, the first race that took place over the weekend worked well as an esport event.

Electric cars lack the sheer noise of a F1 car, replacing the rib cage rattling volume of those petrol guzzlers with the more nasally whine, but there's still plenty of skill on show.

What actually drew my attention to this story wasn't the racing itself, but rather the Asus-powered machines Scan has put together for the race:

Scan 3XS Formula-E PBA Specification

Nzxt H511 Mid Tower Windowed Case
Asus Rog Strix B360-H Gaming
Intel Core i7 9700K
3XS 240mm AIO Liquid Cooler
16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666
8GB Asus Geforce RTX 2060 Super RoG Strix Evo
1TB Intel 660p M.2 SSD
Corsair CX550M 80 plus
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
3 Year Premium Warranty

That little lot will set you back a cool £1,499, which is pretty close to what you'd have to pay to build it yourself using the same components (I know, because I just added it all up and came to £1,466). It does feel a lot given you're only getting a 2060 Super for your cash, and I'd want a RTX 2070 Super for this sort of money—personally, I'd happily take a hit on the CPU for more GPU power, although maybe rFactor 2 is more demanding on the processor than I'm giving it credit for.

Of course a good racing simulator setup is more than just the PC, and indeed the peripherals can be even more important. The official specifications for these machines also include:

So if you wanted to have a racing setup like the pros, you now know what you should be saving up for.

Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced as much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a long-lasting Magic: The Gathering obsession but limits this to MTG Arena these days.