Hi, I thought I’d share my Zwift set up because I’m sure there’s lots of people like me who start out with a basic set up but want to know how they can improve the experience to make Zwift more immersive and enjoyable.
I started out with a crappy laptop, old turbo and speed sensor but over time and while converting my garage to a fitness room I have improved things to about as good as you can get for both cycling and running on Zwift. I have chucked a fair bit of change at it mind.
My set up (I’m in the uk)
Scott addict
Wahoo kickr smart trainer
Wahoo Cadence sensor
Garmin premium HRM strap
ANT+ dongle extension cable
Taurus 9.1 treadmill
MilestonePod
Tacx sweat net with phone case
TBT xl training mat
Jabra Move Wireless headphones
IKEA adjustable laptop table (keyboard, mouse, extra water, gels etc)
Prem-I-air 20cm turbo fan
Cyber power gaming pc: AMD Ryzen 7 2700x, Zotec Nvidia GTX 1080ti, 16MB ram, 240gb SSD, 2TB HD, Win 10 (fast CPU and top end GPU needed for great looking 4K super smooth graphics)
Seenda ultraslim wireless keyboard and mouse
Samsung UE50NU7400U 50inch UHD 4K tv, set to game mode
Stealth tv mount cantilevered with tilt (swing in front of bike or treadmill)
3m HD cable, 70m cat6 Ethernet cable from router in house to garage (rock solid connectivity needed for a glitch free Zwift experience in my opinion.)
Ok, I would call it an above average setup. I have see post of setups on the old forums and on Facebook that I would consider ultimate setups (larger screens, rocker plates, cool fan sets, Zwift controllable fan, and more).
What resolution setting in Zwift do you choose from the dropdown (2160 or 1440), and what frame rate do you get (according to Zwiftalizer)? I need to upgrade my 24" 1080 monitor to a Samsung TV and I was thinking either the Samsung 7000 series or 8000 series. My system runs Win10 iCore7, and a GTX 1070 Ti. I assume you are using HDMI from your GTX 1080 to the Samsung TV. Do you really get 4k at 60fps? I’m asking because that’s what I want too! (Also, any problems with the Samsung pre-installed bloatware?)
Thanks.
Hi, sorry for the slow reply. I select 2160 (on the Zwift menu) and have set the Nvidia settings to the same at 60hz. I’m getting 60 max, 60av and over 56 min FPS on zwiftaliser from submitting 35+ logs. (You should be able to find the benchmark easily in zwiftaliser- search Ryzen 7 2700X within ultra). The 1080ti is a bit faster than the 1070ti but I’d imagine you’ll get pretty close to that as your set up is more than you need to run Zwift on ultra settings. The hdmi cable runs from the Graphics card port to the Samsung hdmi1 input. No issues with setting up the tv, did the usual prompts on first set up then I just select hdmi on the remote and it’s as simple as that. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the info - I’m in the process of getting a Samsung NU8000 series TV (I think the 55" diagonal is 48.3" wide at the max outside dimensions). https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN55NU8000FXZA-FLAT-Smart-2018/dp/B079NBMTWY/
From what I’ve read, it has a “Gaming Mode” setting, as well.
And at some point in the future, I could upgrade the 1070Ti to 1080Ti (the Alienware computer has the 850w air cooled power supply). This will be quite a visual upgrade from the 24" 1080 monitor I’m squinting at across the room. Thanks again!
Should look great on that sized TV! I run my Samsung on game mode - it brightens everything up and lifts the sound if nothing else.
Is that model tv 60hz? If so you can’t get it to run higher than 60fps which looks super smooth anyway. Id say don’t rush into changing your gpu, run a few Zwift logs to see what FPS you are getting, but with the 1070ti you’ll get the shadows and detail at the best Zwift can output in 4K and in all likelihood no noticeable FPS performance difference vs 1080ti. If they make Zwift more graphically demanding in the future it might be worth looking at it then but for now you are still over specced.
Please remove your email from the thread, it’s against Zwift forum rules to post personal info. If you want to communicate with someone on the forums in private send them a Private Messgae.
I’m guessing you are referring to me. It is also a very bad practice in general to post your personal info anywhere on the internet. Just try to assist you, but if you want to take it a different way so be it.
I wanted to share some low cost ways to set up for Zwift. Once you’ve bought the trainer, a tv, maybe an apple tv or new computer, budgets can get tight for some of the other peripherals. I think the Wahoo desk and head wind fan are great, and if Santa is good this year, maybe he’ll put those under the tree. I found a couple of lower cost alternatives until that happens. If you don’t need a sturdy desk for a laptop in front of your bike, just a shelf to put your remotes, water bottle, or iPad, try a music stand. They are easily moved and take up very little space. A really good fan for Zwifting that I found is the Black + Decker BFSR18B 18" Stand Fan with Remote which you can get on Amazon for $40. What’s great about it is it has the remote to change fan speeds or turn on/off, plus it has a “wind” feature that varies the speed automatically so it’s not constantly blowing high, plus it oscillates. Not a direct replacement for the new Wahoo fan, but until this elf gets a holiday bonus it will do. (Fingers crossed it isn’t the jam of the month again this year for the holiday bonus)
I got the UN55NU8000 55" set up - and the Samsung website listed all the settings appropriate for Game Mode - I’m getting 60fps in 4k mode. Amazing. Super smooth. Very detailed - very … big. But the bike/rider is about 5 ft. away, so it looks perfect. (Canadian link, I couldn’t find the one for USA): A guide to finding the best settings for UHD gaming for your Samsung TV | Samsung Canada
Zwifting for over 3yrs and slowly upgrading the experience. I’ve been through many different setups including…
Wahoo Kickr original which had issues, finally traded in for Wahoo Kickr 2015
2nd Wahoo Kickr 2018 with Wahoo Climb
Macbook Pro, Ipad Pro, Iphone, ATV, 4K ATV all connected to various TV’s and monitors.
Finally built out a fitness room and settled on the following (not exactly the cheapest, but pretty immersive experience for family):
Treadmill, 4K ATV, HDMI to LG 4K 43" TV
Kickr 2018 with Climb to LG 4K 43" TV using PC with i7 processor, NVIDIA 1070 TI GPU
Kickr 2015 to NEC 2k 27" monitor (extra monitor I WAS using for photo editing) with swivel wall mount.
By far the best investment was the PC with good GPU. Completely transformed the graphic experience, especially coupled to a 4k TV. PC from Microcenter cost $1400. LG tv from Costco $299.
