Best Golf Simulator Computer? SurfThing RTX 5080 Build Review!

[a98cr125]

Is this the Best Golf Simulator Computer? We did an in-depth review of the Surfthing RTX 5080 build (SG3-5802). Watch as we do a full unboxing, first lookat the RTX5080, along with benchmark testing using GSPRO Golf Simulator Software, Trackman Virtual Golf 3, and more! Looking to build a golf simulator? Email me at: a98cr125@gmail.com and I can provide various discount codes and happy to help with anything!

[GolfPig]

That's quite the system! One thing they mention is that they only have room for 1 expansion card (1G Ethernet LAN card). That's very true because many GPUs tend to block all the other PCIe expansion slots. I built my own computer. In my case I have a PCIe USB card for my swing cameras but I also wanted to add an ethernet card and a WiFi card that's compatible with my system. Because the 5070Ti GPU blocks every slot but 1, I bought a PCIe extension cable for the ethernet card and an M.2 WiFi card. I spent less than $200 for the cards and cables. See the attached pics.

[Surfthing Computers]

That's quite the system! One thing they mention is that they only have room for 1 expansion card (1G Ethernet LAN card). That's very true because many GPUs tend to block all the other PCIe expansion slots. I built my own computer. In my case I have a PCIe USB card for my swing cameras but I also wanted to add an ethernet card and a WiFi card that's compatible with my system. Because the 5070Ti GPU blocks every slot but 1, I bought a PCIe extension cable for the ethernet card and an M.2 WiFi card. I spent less than $200 for the cards and cables. See the attached pics.

This is a great point and is a reason to point out why we build with the components that we do. The Motherboard will have WiFi built into it so no need for an additional card for that. Also the motherboard that we use has 12 USB A ports alone, but out of those 12 there are 2 ports that have dedicated power to them to use with swing analysis cameras. We went this route to help with the possibility that windows would dictate how much power the camera could get and that can result in cameras being dropped and then randomly coming back on.

We understand the industry and know that most launch monitors will be connecting to the computer with an Ethernet cable. That is why we standardized the 1 open slot to be a 1GB Ethernet Card. It allows the main 2.5GB Ethernet port on the motherboard to stay open for internet if needed.
This can be swapped out for a 4 port USB, a 4 port POE, or a 2 port POE card if needed for cameras.

Jay did a great job in pointing out some of the great details that are important to what makes a SurfThing computer different.

[GolfPig]

I'm very impressed with the SurfThing builds. As Jay pointed out in the video and as you mentioned above, you've obviously put quite a bit of thought into the components, and everything is geared toward a golf sim user.

If you buy a computer or build your own, I just wanted to point out that in general these beefy GPUs quite often block the PCIe slots. If you need to add expansion cards, you can use PCIe extension cables or even M.2 cards as an alternative. In my case the one open PCIe slot is occupied by a USB card required for my Flir cameras. I'm running Windows 10 and the motherboard's WiFi/Bluetooth is only compatible with Windows 11. I need WiFi to connect to my Flightscope. I also wanted to add an Ethernet LAN card for my ProTee VX that's coming soon.