I’m about to enter the “triple setup”, currently in research stage.
These are my current views/experiences on the various options:
VR
Pros: Super immersive, not as expensive as triples. Takes up very little space. Can fly any plane (as compared to if you build a C172 cockpit, flying an airliner may feel odd).
Cons: Due to sweet spot, you need to move your head more than you naturally would, when looking around. Weight on head. Heat on face. Need to dial down graphic settings in sim to run at a decent FPS. Need to get your charts into the sim somehow, no more charts on paper or 2nd monitor or writing notes on paper. And perhaps the worst for me: Controls… fiddling with either VR controller or mouse, fumbling around to find a switch and then count in the dark “1-2-3-4 from the left, there’s my cabin light”.
SuperUltraWide 49" (3840x1080)
Pros: Fair price. Versatile, good for office (I have one of these both at home and at the office) and gaming.
Cons: Vertical, it’s short, could use more height when flying. In MSFS, the sides are stretched. If you only use for periphal vision, you won’t notice too much. But if you turn your head or eyes to the sides, boy, it’s stretched out.
TrackIR and such
Pros: Cheap way of expanding and “make your screen feel bigger”. Useful when leaning forward to zoom in on gauges, or stretch your back to look over the glareshield etc.
Cons: Unnatural movement. If you want to look 90 degrees left, you can’t cause there’s no monitor there. So you set up curves. Like you move your head 30 degrees left but it translates to 90 degrees in game (example, I don’t have the actual values with me right now). However, you now need to either move your eyes in the opposite direction or at least fixate them before your head is turned too much, so your head ends up turned left but eyes are looking right. It takes some getting used to, and I believe this is probably the cheapest and easiest way to enjoy flight sim compared to just a single monitor with keybinds to change views. This is how I drove Truck Simulator for years.
Triples
My plan is to go 3 x 55".
Pros: For now, I’ve tested with my SuperUltraWide upfront, a small screen on one side and a 40" TV on the other side. It’s not ideal with different size monitors in MSFS, actually it’s almost useless with the current “Multi monitor”-implementation in Experimantal tab. They need to add a “zoom setting per monitor”. Anyway, it’s good enough to play around with. And with this, you can move your head/eyes totally natural, as you would in a real cockpit/car. Also, able to build physical cockpit you like, use all the buttons switches without needing to “feel around”.
Cons: Expensive. Takes up a LOT of space! Generates heat… and don’t get me started on the electricity costs. Need to dial down graphics settings to run 3 big monitors.
Simming is a game of compromises 