Graphic dashboard, What to choose ?

  • Home   /  
  • Graphic dashboard, What to choose ?

Nowadays when it comes to sim racing dashboards (I won’t cover the arduino like options), there are lot of options available, and Simhub tried to give you access to a large variety of possibilities. But with a large choice comes the question : what to choose ?

Obviously there is no universal answer, and it depends of your kind of use, I will try to list here all the options with the pros and cons of each option.

Disclaimer : As a “simple” software developer, I’m not affiliated to any of the hardware manufacturers listed on this page, and “where to buy” links are not remunerated.

The dedicated “single usb port” options :

The two following options are both based on the same principle,
One LCD, one usb connection, that’s it ! It’s the easiest way to integrate a full graphic display in a wheel, or as a top wheel dashboard. Due to it’s nature it’s really easy to use : The software has full control over the display, no windows display settings, heavy HDMI cables to route etc … 

USBD480 LCD

The historical “single usb connection” option from LCDINFO, you will find it in supported by various software, and sold in various forms, but all with the same “characteristics”:

  • 4.3″, 480*272, 60FPS, 16BPP Mini USB, Resistive touch screen, Extremely high brightness,
  • Board sold about 140€ with delivery for the touch version

Where to buy ? LCDInfo website 

Pros :

  • Easy integration
  • A single USB cable
  • Really high brightness
  • Multiple software support

Cons :

  • The price !
  • Low resolution
  • The high brightness tends to make color washed

VOCORE SCREEN

The new  “single usb connection” competitor from VOCORE, it behaves in the same way as USBD480, but with really different screen characteristics :

  • 4.0″, 800*480, 24FPS, 16BPP, Micro USB, Capacitive touch screen
  • Board sold 36$ with delivery

Where to buy ? VOCORE.IO (You only need the “VoCore Screen”, you don’t need any other part)

Pros :

  • The price !
  • Easy integration
  • A single USB cable
  • High resolution
  • Smaller footprint than USBD480

Cons :

  • Despite being the best bang for the bucks, the overall vocore screen reliability in intensive PC usage still has to be improved by the manufacturer.
  • A tad smaller than usbd480 (4″ vs 4.3″)
  • Lower FPS, tough that USD480 compared to the VOCORE hardly shows a really sensible difference
  • No mounting holes, the integration in a wheel requires to create a dedicated support, but it should not be an issue for the genius from the DIY community !

AX206 Screen (Support coming soon)

Another small and cheap LCD option, it behaves in a similar way as USBD480, but with a speed limitation, redrawing the whole screen takes about 0.5s, but simhub is redrawing only changed parts, it allows to get a really nice result as long as the whole screen does not get redrawn at once.

  • 3.5″, 480*320, Variable FPS, 16BPP, Micro USB (with additionnal back wiring), no touch screen
  • Board sold about 22$ with delivery, comes fast from china

WARNING : The following link has been tested successfully, AX206 is a hacked photoframe, meaning the firmware could vary and not work properly
There have been a couple of reports of non working screens, I do not recommend buying it until potential firmware variations has been been clarified.

Where to buy ? Aliexpress (other sellers sell it too)

Pros :

  • The price !
  • Easy integration
  • A single USB cable
  • Comes encased

Cons :

  • Small (but fun)
  • Lower FPS, but with only partial redraws it works really well

Corsair ICUE NEXUS (Support coming soon)

This one really specific, it does not competes with other options

  • 640*48,~25FPS, 32BPP, USBA, simple X coordinates touch screen
  • Where to buy ?  Corsair

Pros :

  • A single USB cable
  • Comes encased
  • No drivers

Cons :

  • The price !
  • Hard to find
  • Small (but fun)

Nextion SCREENS

The hate and love option : until the VOCORE happened it was the only sub 100$ option for a single usb screen, however due to the origins of the screen it comes with lot of limitations too. Despite heated discussions with ITEAD (the manufacturer) the capabilities of the display are totally stuck and no new features are to be expected. 

Since finally a replacement has been finally found (see VOCORE above), it would be a bad choice to buy it today, the feature/price ratio is really low compared to vocore, but I keep it in the listing for historical purposes 😉 The simhub nextion support will also follow this “new state of the art”, and I do not plan to add new features to nextion anymore.

Where to buy ? …. Don’t do it, read above 😉

Pros 

  • It was the single sub 100$ screen option until now

Cons

  • It’s no more the single sub 100$ screen option …
  • Manufacturer editor is complex and closed
  • Low resolution

The quick jump options :

Phone/Tablet



Ideally with a recent phone/tablet (Android 6+) and a simple browser you can access to the large variety of dashboards available. It comes in various forms, and various sizes, using a phone or tablet is the easiest quick jump for an external dashboard. Obviously it requires to access to physical buttons to start it, charge it, and manage applications, it’s ideal for casual sim racing, but it may start to reach limits when you will need to hard mount it.

Pros 

  • It’s possible to jump start in a matter of minutes and have a shiny dashboard.
  • No specific hardware

Cons

  • The phone must be charged and the charging port position maybe an issue for a clean setup
  • Access to the buttons have to be kept to manipulate/reboot/start the phone
  • Phones are more and more compact and some of them requires to keep ventilated to avoid overheating

Secondary monitor



Once again we stay with the on the shelves hardware, simhub can display a dashboard on any monitor, nowadays you can find hdmi monitors about any sizes from 4″ to …. big :D, and various form factors. With such size range it can go from a top monitor to a on wheel sized dash. 

Tip : If you are looking for small sizes HDMI screens look for genuine waveshare screens, with a good sizes selection and a good reputation, these screens can’t deceive you.

Pros 

  • It’s possible to jump start in a matter of minutes and have a shiny dashboard.
  • Hardware is standard, it’s nothing more than a monitor
  • A very large variety of sizes available.

Cons

  • Even the most compact monitors will require both power and hdmi cable
  • Rendering is done by your graphic card, if you love to push it to the 99.9% limit, you will have to give a some GPU power to render your dashboard.

Remote laptop

Using a simple laptop/remote computer you can display any simhub dashboard as if it was running on a phone/tablet, simply follow the same instructions as if you were using a phone/tablet

Pros 

  • Easy
  • Powerful

Cons

  • It’s bulky  😀