Quick answer: Sims run exclusive fullscreen, so a SimHub dashboard, telemetry app or timing overlay normally needs a second monitor or a tablet — or you drop to borderless windowed and pay an FPS and input-lag tax. The clean fix on one screen is to run the sim on its own virtual display inside a zone, at true native fullscreen, with your dashboard, telemetry and Discord live in zones around it. No second monitor, no tablet, no borderless penalty, no minimizing when you glance at the data.
If you have searched "simhub on second monitor," "iracing telemetry one monitor," "acc dashboard without second screen" or "assetto corsa dashboard same screen," you already know the trap: your sim wants the whole display, and everything useful you want to see while driving — lap deltas, tyre temps, fuel, the timing tower — has nowhere to go. This guide explains why that happens and how to get a real sim racing single monitor dashboard without extra hardware.
Why the sim won't share the screen
When iRacing, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2 or Le Mans Ultimate run in exclusive fullscreen, the game takes direct control of the display and talks straight to the GPU, bypassing the Windows desktop compositor. That is what gives you the best-case frame rate and lowest input latency — exactly what you want with a wheel and pedals — but it is also why nothing else can share that screen.
So your SimHub dashboard, RaceLab overlay or Z1 Dashboard has only three homes:
- A second monitor below or beside the wheel.
- A tablet or phone running the SimHub companion or a web dash.
- A borderless windowed sim, so overlays can paint on top — at a performance cost.
Each of those solves where the data goes by either buying hardware or giving up native fullscreen. The overlays themselves (SimHub's in-game OSD, an always-on-top window) can also get painted over by exclusive fullscreen, which is why plenty of racers end up on borderless just to see their own dashboard.
Why the usual fixes fall short
| Approach | Works in true fullscreen? | Live dashboard/telemetry beside sim? | One screen? | Native FPS / no input lag? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second monitor / tablet | Yes | Yes | No — needs extra hardware, eyes leave the road | Yes |
| Borderless windowed | No — drops exclusive fullscreen | Yes, overlays can paint on top | Yes | No — compositor FPS + input-lag tax |
| SimHub overlay / in-game OSD | Sometimes — often painted over in exclusive fullscreen | Partial — a fixed OSD, not a full dash | Yes | Yes, when it shows at all |
| Staged (virtual display + zones) | Yes — sim keeps its own display | Yes — full dashboard, telemetry & timing in zones | Yes | Native — no borderless penalty, zero frame lag |
- A second monitor or tablet genuinely works — it is the standard sim-rig answer — but it costs money and desk space, and it pulls your eyes off the apex to a screen below the wheel. Many racers only have one monitor, or run a triple-wide where there is no spare panel for a dash.
- Borderless windowed lets SimHub and RaceLab overlays sit on top, but it hands the display back to the desktop compositor, which adds a small FPS hit and input latency — the last thing you want mid-stint. Competitive drivers feel the borderless tax.
- SimHub's own in-game overlay / OSD is great for a few readouts, but in exclusive fullscreen it is frequently hidden underneath the sim, and it is a fixed OSD rather than a full, resizable dashboard, timing tower and Discord all at once.
None of them give you the thing you actually want: the sim full-size and native, and a real, live dashboard and timing beside it, on the one screen you already have.
How to see your dashboard while racing — step by step
- Install Staged and create a Game Stage zone where the sim will run.
- Add zones around it for what you want to watch while driving: one for your SimHub / RaceLab / Z1 dashboard, one for live timing, and one for Discord if you race in a league.
- Point each zone at its source — the SimHub dashboard window (or its web dash in a browser tab), the timing page, your Discord channel.
- Launch the sim onto its Game Stage. It runs native fullscreen inside its zone; your dashboard and timing update live in the zones around it.
- Save it as a profile so the whole cockpit layout returns with a hotkey — a race-day layout you toggle in one keypress.
Because the sim lives on its own virtual display (via Windows' indirect-display driver framework), Windows treats it like a real monitor, so it keeps true native fullscreen — no borderless compositor path, zero frame lag — and glancing at the dashboard zone next to it never steals the sim's screen or minimizes it. If a particular sim is coded to pause on focus loss, enable its "run in background" option so telemetry keeps flowing.
For the full picture of docking live apps beside a fullscreen game, see the complete guide to keeping any app visible while gaming, the coexistence hub on running your game and your apps side by side, and how to use a second monitor while gaming without the game minimizing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see SimHub while racing in fullscreen?
Yes. Run the sim on its own virtual display inside a zone, and dock your SimHub dashboard in a zone beside it. SimHub updates live while the sim stays at native fullscreen — so you are not forced to borderless just to see the OSD, and the dash does not get painted over by the sim.
Do I need a second monitor or tablet for my dashboard?
No. The standard advice is to buy a second monitor or run the SimHub companion on a tablet, but a virtual display gives you that second-screen workflow on the one monitor you already have. Your dashboard and timing live in zones beside the sim — no extra hardware, and it works on a laptop or a single-panel setup.
Will it drop my FPS or add input lag?
No. The sim runs in true native fullscreen on its own virtual display, so it avoids the desktop-compositor overhead that borderless windowed mode adds — no borderless FPS penalty and zero frame lag. You also choose the sim's render resolution, which can even raise frame rates.
Does it work with iRacing, ACC or Assetto Corsa?
Yes — it is sim-agnostic because it works at the display level, so iRacing, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2 and Le Mans Ultimate all run in their zone at native fullscreen. Any dashboard tool that shows in a window or browser — SimHub, RaceLab, Z1 Dashboard — sits in a zone beside it. If a sim pauses on focus loss, turn on its "run in background" setting.
Can I also see Discord or live timing beside the sim?
Yes. Each zone shows any live, clickable app, so alongside your telemetry dashboard you can dock a Discord channel for league comms and a live-timing page — all visible and updating next to the sim, without alt-tabbing.
Does it work on a single monitor?
Yes — that is the point. Staged creates a virtual second display on your single screen, so you get the dashboard-beside-sim cockpit without a second monitor or a tablet. It works on one panel, on a laptop, and beside a triple-wide.
Ready to build your one-screen cockpit?
Staged runs your sim at native fullscreen in a zone with your dashboard, telemetry and timing live around it — on one monitor, no borderless penalty, zero frame lag. It is coming to Steam; wishlist it to be first in the pit lane.
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