Simagic Alpha Mini

Our rating : 9.5/10

Having experience in an industry not only gives you a certain reputation, but also enables you to develop and market quality products. The simplest example that springs to mind is Tesla, which markets 100% electric cars. Having only 20 years’ experience in an industry that boasts over 100 is frankly not enough to compete with the others, and it shows on the electric cars of Tesla assembly defects, sealing problems, reliability problems, and so on. In fact, every car manufacturer has gone through this stage, and Testa is certainly not exempt. However, the brand is a pioneer in a number of areas, including semi-autonomous driving.

For sim-racing, it’s more or less the same: the manufacturers with the most years of experience in the game always come up with quality products, except perhaps for a few. However, as we learned in school, there’s always an exception that proves the rule, and that exception has a name: Simagic. The Chinese manufacturer of sim-racing peripherals emerged in 2018 and has been shaking up the market with quality products, including its first base Direct Drivethe M10.

Today, 5 years later, the M10 no longer exists in the Simagic catalog, but a replacement has since taken its place: theAlpha Mini. In what follows, I’m going to introduce you to this new base, tell you about its strengths and weaknesses and give you my opinion on it.

Main and technical characteristics of the base

• Base with max. torque of 10 nm
• Adjustable steering angle via Simagic software
• Metal and carbon fiber construction
• Wireless connection with steering wheels
• High-performance in-house quick release
• Compatible with PCs only

Design

Simagic’s Direct Drive bases are very similar, with the only difference being the size of the cattle. For theAlpha MiniWith its aluminum body, carbon fiber and all-black exterior, it follows the same styling code as its siblings. It’s really beautiful, discreet and very well finished.

The driveshaft is a little longer than the competition’s, but this in no way detracts from the design of the base. On the front, you’ll find a plate that attaches to the housing with screws, and the drive shaft, which features a small wireless logo. Simagic obliges, and since the M10 had this, the connection between the steering wheel and the base is wireless, which adds to the design of this peripheral since there are no connection pins between the two devices.

Customized assembly

For mounting theAlpha Miniwe’re really well served. In all, you have 3 different options: front-mounted, with fixing points that allow installation on front-mounted brackets. There’s also a side option, with angle pieces that fit over the sides of the base if you want to mount it on a table or desk, for example. And you also have the option of fastening from below. It’s really complete, and, from memory, few brands do the same thing.

These three options give you a wide range of mounting options for theAlpha Miniwhatever your sim-racing setup. What’s more, you get all the screws and bolts you need to attach the base in the box, which is just great.

Manufacturing and finishing

Here again, the standards of finish are very high, just as they were for Simagic’s first base. The housing is made of extremely well machined aluminium using CNC machines, and you also have carbon fibre plates, just like the M10.

Build quality is second to none, with extreme attention to detail. Everything is perfect, from the drive shaft, to the screws, which are tight, to the housing, which has no burrs or manufacturing defects. It’s just beautiful, premium and very well constructed.

Getting to know the base

The first thing you’ll feel when you pick up theAlpha Miniis its weight: the base weighs over 6 kg for a rather compact design (11 x 16.7 cm). Honestly, this is what you’ll find on virtually every other base on the market: a small peripheral with a substantial weight.

The connection to the base is wireless, which makes for a compact design, with no pins or anything else on the front. It’s a pretty good move on the part of Simagicand I really like it. However, I’d advise you to be careful when installing this base on your setup, as it’s heavy and rather small.

Otherwise, there’s a USB socket on the side, as well as a plug for the power cord. By the way, the On/Off is located on the power cable, not on the base. In my opinion, this was done to keep the design clean and uncluttered, which doesn’t really bother me that much.

Sensations during play

Simagic had struck hard with its M10 in 2018, but the latter was not without its faults all the same. The most notable feature was certainly the speed at which sensations or feedback were relayed, which was a little too fast for my liking, resulting in too much information being sent to the hands. In other words: the sensations were too saturated, and therefore a little blurred at times. However, the Chinese manufacturer has learned from its first Direct Drive rodeo and has corrected the situation with theAlpha Mini.

This is a much more refined base than the previous model, especially in terms of settings and power transmission. Sensations are present, very present even, but you can have a mix between power and little detail, a lot of detail and little power, and the happy medium. L’Alpha Mini is a base that satisfies all riders, whatever their riding preferences, and I love it.

On Asseto Corsayou’ll feel all the grip changes, track bumps, vibrators and shocks with a precision and detail that only the Fanatec had the secret recipe. What’s more, 10 nm gives you a good margin before anything else appears. clipping on your base.

Compatibility

Compatibility-wise, there are no real changes from the Simagic M10: theAlpha Mini only works on PCs. It’s a bit of a shame that this is still the case, especially as the number of sim-racers on consoles continues to grow thanks to titles like Asseto Corza, Gran Turismo and so on.

When it comes to PC sim-racing titles, it’s all the same as the M10: theAlpha Mini is compatible with all those available on the market, and that’s a good thing. It doesn’t change much, but it’s still a good thing.

Value for money

Priced at €524 without the QR (there are 2, by the way), theAlpha Mini is very competitively priced in my opinion, and also offers excellent value for money. Of course, you’ll be forced to dive into the Simagic ecosystem, but it’ll be exactly the same if you choose another brand of sim-racing peripherals.

What’s more, this base won’t cost you too much compared with the competition, whether from Fanatec or Moza Racingfor the same level of power and feel.

My verdict

I really, really loved spending time with this Simagic base, and it’s a big improvement on the previous one. The M10 was already an excellent base, but still had a few shortcomings, not least of which was the engine speed, which blurred the feel. But Simagic has corrected this with theAlpha Miniand that’s a good thing.

With its premium manufacturing, perfectly machined materials and significant engine improvements over its predecessor, theAlpha Mini from Simagic remains an excellent base for riders looking for an alternative to a CSL DD of 8 nm. It will cost you a little more in absolute terms, but theAlpha Mini is still a very good base, but is aimed at a more professional audience of sim-raceurs, in my opinion. In any case, I approve with my eyes closed.