Glossary

The terms that change a buying decision, defined in plain language — no marketing spin. Each entry links to the gear it applies to.

Sim Racing

Direct drive: A wheelbase where the wheel mounts straight onto the motor shaft, with no belts or gears between.
Force feedback (FFB): Motor-driven resistance a wheelbase sends back through the wheel so you feel the car through your hands.
Load-cell pedals: A brake pedal that reads how hard you press (force) instead of how far, for repeatable braking.
Quick release (QR): A coupling that lets you pull a wheel rim off the base tool-free, but it must match the brand.

Full-frame: A camera sensor about the size of one 35mm film frame, larger than APS-C for better low-light shots.
APS-C: A camera sensor smaller than full-frame that crops the view about 1.5x for cheaper, lighter extra reach.
IBIS (in-body image stabilization): The camera's sensor physically shifts to cancel handshake, steadying any lens you mount.
Lens mount: The mechanical and electronic interface where a lens attaches to a camera body and must match it.
Log profile: A flat, washed-out video profile that records wide dynamic range so you can color-grade later.

Audio interface: The box between your mic, instrument, computer, and monitors that converts audio between analog and digital.
Phantom power (+48V): A 48-volt supply sent down an XLR cable from the interface to power a condenser mic.
XLR: The locking 3-pin connector standard for pro mics, with balanced wiring that cancels cable noise.
VST3: Steinberg's plugin format for instruments and effects that load inside a DAW, alongside AU and AAX.
DAW (digital audio workstation): The software at the centre of a studio where you record, edit, arrange, mix and add effects.
Studio monitor: A speaker built for flat, accurate sound so you hear a mix as it really is, not bass-boosted.

AM5: AMD's current desktop CPU socket that needs an AM5 chip, AM5 board, and DDR5 memory together.
LGA1700: Intel's desktop CPU socket for 12th-14th gen Core; chip, board, and cooler must all match it.
DDR5: The current mainstream PC memory (RAM) standard, faster than DDR4 and not interchangeable with it.
NVMe: A solid-state drive that talks over the fast PCIe bus, usually on an M.2 stick, far quicker than SATA.
TDP (thermal design power): A maker's watt rating for how much heat a CPU or GPU is built to shed, used to size a cooler and PSU.
PCIe: The high-speed slot standard that connects graphics cards and NVMe drives to the CPU.
AIO (all-in-one) cooler: A sealed, pre-filled liquid CPU cooler that ships as one ready-to-install unit, sized by its radiator.
ATX: The most common desktop motherboard and case size standard, with smaller Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX variants.