Stormforce Gaming Buyer’s Guide

Stormforce Gaming is a UK-based custom gaming PC builder, and they’ve carved out an interesting niche in sim racing. If you’re after a purpose-built PC for sim racing or VR flight simulation – and you don’t want to spec it yourself – they’re worth knowing about. They also stock sim racing peripherals from Fanatec, Moza, and Thrustmaster, plus they build custom turnkey sim rigs from the ground up. I’ve been digging into their range, their Trustpilot reviews, and what the YouTube community thinks of their builds.

---

Stormforce is part of VIP Group (the same parent company behind Zoostorm), and VIP Group has been in the PC business for decades. Corporate backing means proper warranty infrastructure – not a one-person operation disappearing after sale. Their gaming PCs range from entry-level builds under £1,000 up to £5,500 flagships, and they offer everything from budget AMD builds to RTX 5090 configurations. For sim racers, the VR-optimised builds and their turnkey sim rig service are the standout offerings.

Quick Navigation
Jump directly to what you’re looking for:
Why Stormforce Gaming? | Gaming PCs for Sim Racing | Flagship Builds | VR-Ready Builds | Monitors for Sim Racing | Turnkey Sim Rigs | Compare by Budget

This guide covers Stormforce Gaming’s product range with a focus on what matters for sim racers: gaming PCs with the GPU power to run triple monitors or VR, their MSI monitor range, and the custom turnkey sim rig option. If you’re looking for the peripherals themselves, check our guides on direct drive wheelbases, sim racing pedals, and VR headsets.

---

Why Stormforce Gaming?

Stormforce Gaming is based in Warrington, UK, and every PC they sell is built in-house. Part of VIP Group – the Warrington-based operation also behind Zoostorm – with decades of PC manufacturing behind them. That gives Stormforce something most boutique builders can’t match: genuine warranty infrastructure. You get a 3-year collect, repair and return warranty, which is better than what most custom builders offer.

Their value proposition for sim racers is actually quite specific. They’re one of very few UK retailers where you can buy the PC and the sim racing peripherals from the same supplier. They stock Fanatec, Moza, Logitech, and Thrustmaster gear alongside their own-brand PCs. The full package option is a complete turnkey sim racing rig – PC, peripherals, cockpit – from around £10,000.

A 2023 partnership with Apex Racing Team – competing in the Porsche Tag Heuer eSports Supercup and ESL R1 Rennsport series – backed up the sim racing positioning with something tangible. That’s reflected in the product range – dedicated VR simulation builds and complete sim rig configurations followed from it.

Community Sentiment

Their Trustpilot rating sits at 4.5 out of 5 from over 2,300 reviews, with roughly 78% positive. That’s genuinely unusual for a PC builder – most sit around 3.5 to 4.0. The common praise revolves around clean cable management, competitive pricing, and responsive customer service. Jordan Ash on YouTube reviewed one of their Crystal PBM builds and noted that the build quality was “actually really clean” – and that it was cheaper than sourcing the parts and building it himself.

The common complaints are worth knowing about too. Delivery can take 10-14 working days for built-to-order configurations, which catches some people off guard. And they pre-install Norton, which is annoying but takes about two minutes to remove. A few reviews mention having to chase order status updates, though most say the actual support response is good once you get through.

If you’re after a pre-built sim racing PC and want UK-based support with a proper warranty, Stormforce makes a lot of sense. If you enjoy building your own system, or want peripherals from a specialist with deeper sim racing product knowledge, separate sourcing makes more sense.

Gaming PCs for Sim Racing

Sim racing is one of the most GPU-intensive gaming workloads you can throw at a PC. Triple 1440p monitors at high refresh rates, or a Pimax Crystal in VR – these push even high-end GPUs hard. What matters for sim racing specifically is a strong gaming CPU for the physics engine (the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the current sweet spot thanks to its 3D V-Cache), a high-end GPU for rendering, and at least 32GB of RAM. Stormforce builds tick these boxes across their range.

Their PC range breaks down roughly into tiers by naming convention. The “Xtreme” builds sit at the top (£2,900-£5,500), followed by “Ultra” (£2,600-£4,800) and “Elite” (£3,200-£3,600). They offer both AMD and Intel platforms across all tiers, with AMD making up about half the range. Full ATX cases dominate the desktop range; the Y40 series is the compact option if space matters.

The ExoBook 16 covers portability. RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 options, priced from £2,599 to £2,999. Sustained VR performance will always favour a desktop, but triple monitors at 1080p or single-screen 1440p sim racing – these handle it fine.

Stormforce Gaming’s Flagship Builds

Cloud Xtreme AMD

The Cloud Xtreme AMD is Stormforce’s flagship desktop at £5,499.99. This is their no-compromise AMD build, and from what I can see in the spec sheet, it’s genuinely capable of driving the most demanding sim racing setups – triple 4K monitors, high refresh rate VR, whatever you throw at it. The RTX 5090 will handle anything current sim titles can demand.

At this price point you’re paying a premium over building it yourself, but you’re also getting the 3-year warranty, professional cable management, stress testing, and the peace of mind that someone else dealt with BIOS updates and driver compatibility. For some people, that trade-off makes complete sense.

• Platform: AMD Ryzen (latest generation)
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
• Price: £5,499.99
• Availability: In Stock
• Warranty: 3-year collect, repair and return

VR Flight Sim AMD X PBM

This is the one that caught my attention for sim racers. The VR Flight Sim range is purpose-built for VR simulation workloads, and whilst it’s branded as “Flight Sim”, the spec is equally suited to VR sim racing. Two PBM models are available, priced from £5,299, both on AMD platforms with high-end GPUs.

The “PBM” suffix means it’s a built-to-order configuration, so expect the 10-14 working day build time. The advantage is the sustained VR optimisation – configured for simulation workloads, not raw benchmark numbers. If you’re running a Pimax Crystal or similar high-resolution VR headset in iRacing or Assetto Corsa Competizione, this is the shortcut to a properly configured system.

• Platform: AMD Ryzen (latest generation)
• Purpose: VR simulation workloads (flight sim and sim racing)
• Price range: £5,299 – £5,399
• Availability: Built To Order (10-14 working days)
• Models: 2 PBM configurations

ExoBook 16 RTX 5090 Gaming Laptop

The ExoBook 16 is Stormforce’s gaming laptop range, and the RTX 5090 variant at £2,999 is the headline model. Look, I’ll be honest – laptops are always a compromise for sim racing. The thermal constraints mean you won’t sustain the same performance as a desktop with the same GPU on paper. For a portable sim rig or a setup that travels, an RTX 5090 in laptop form is the current ceiling.

The RTX 5080 version at £2,599 is probably the smarter buy for most sim racers. The performance gap between the 5080 and 5090 in a laptop chassis is smaller than the desktop equivalents because of thermal throttling, and you save £400.

• Screen: 16-inch display
• GPU: RTX 5090 (£2,999) or RTX 5080 (£2,599)
• Availability: In Stock
• Use case: Portable sim racing, events, multi-location setups
• Warranty: 3-year collect, repair and return

The VR-Ready Builds

VR sim racing is where Stormforce’s range gets genuinely interesting. Most PC builders sell “VR-ready” machines, but Stormforce actually has a dedicated VR Flight Sim product line. These three builds are spec’d for the sustained high-framerate rendering that VR simulation demands – not just hitting a minimum spec, but actually delivering smooth performance at high supersampling levels.

If you’re running something like a Pimax Crystal at full resolution in iRacing, you need serious GPU headroom. The VR Flight Sim builds are configured with that in mind. They start at £5,299, all on AMD platforms.

Monitors for Sim Racing

Stormforce carries a range of MSI monitors, and a few of them are genuinely well-suited to sim racing. The MSI MAG 321UP is a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED at 165Hz, which at £948.99 is about as good as it gets for a single-monitor sim racing setup. QD-OLED technology gives you the contrast and response times that sim racing benefits from – dark cockpit interiors look right, and there’s virtually zero motion blur.

For triple monitor setups, the smaller 27-inch models in the £300-£500 range make more sense. Three 32-inch panels is possible but requires serious desk or rig space. The MSI MAG 274URDFW at £448 is a solid option for triples if you want 4K resolution per panel, though you’ll need a top-tier GPU to push that many pixels in sim titles.

The Turnkey Sim Rig Option

This is where Stormforce differentiates itself from every other PC builder. Complete turnkey sim racing rigs from around £10,000 – PC, wheelbase, pedals, cockpit, monitors or VR headset, all configured. One supplier, one warranty, one delivery.

The turnkey option makes sense for a specific buyer – businesses setting up sim racing experiences, or anyone who doesn’t want to cross-reference five different retailers. You’re paying above component pricing, but you get a single supplier, single warranty, single delivery.

The sim racing peripherals they stock – Fanatec, Moza, Logitech, Thrustmaster – aren’t currently in our product database for Stormforce specifically, but they are available through their website. Going the turnkey route, talk to their sales team directly about requirements. They also partnered with Apex Racing Team, so they have genuine sim racing expertise behind the configurations.

Compare by Budget

Where the value sits across the range, by budget: At the entry level, around £2,500-£3,000, you’re getting builds that will comfortably run most sim racing titles at high settings on a single 1440p monitor or entry-level VR. These use GPUs like the RTX 4070 Ti or RX 7900 XT, and they’re genuinely good value for the build quality you get. This is where nearly half their range sits, and it’s probably the sweet spot for most sim racers.

The mid-range, £3,000-£4,500, gets you into triple monitor territory with high refresh rates, or comfortable VR performance in demanding titles. The Titan and Midnight Elite/Pro builds live here. Running triples at 1440p 144Hz, this is the tier.

Above £4,500, you’re in flagship territory. The VR Flight Sim builds and the Cloud Xtreme AMD sit here, and these are for people running triple 4K panels, high-resolution VR headsets like the Pimax Crystal, or who simply want maximum headroom for future titles. It’s a lot of money, but if you’re already spending £3,000+ on a Simucube wheelbase and Heusinkveld pedals, skimping on the PC defeats the purpose.

They offer free delivery options, and the 3-year collect, repair and return warranty applies across the range. Built-to-order configurations take 10-14 working days, but in-stock models ship faster. Worth checking their website for current availability – the popular configs tend to sell through to built-to-order status fairly quickly.

---