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I've been considering my options for a living room, couch gaming/emulation system for a while. I want something with a mid tier GPU for anything remotely modern that I might want to play there.... My criteria for couch gaming vs desktop is whether it's easier/better to play the game with a controller... One example would be driving/flight sims, the analog controls are generally better than mouse/kb... The only way desktop wins in that scenario is if you own a driving sim wheel/hotas for your desktop, otherwise, gamepad is generally better for the fine controls.
I don't generally play a lot of driving/flight sims, but it's a good example.
Anyways. The primary focus is on console exclusive games via emulation, specifically retro stuff. SNES/N64/Genesis/etc. Maybe to stuff as new as the Wii? IDK. But being able to play other PC titles would be helpful.
I'm thinking about a fair high clock speed, fairly recent CPU with a fair amount of memory. IMO, clock speed is more important so the reaction times of the emulation is minimized. I don't think emulators can really take good advantage of multi threading.
My main issue is that any systems that fit the bill are super expensive. Something small/compact, with a high clock CPU, and something for graphics better than integrated.... It's not easy to find something like that for cheap.
It's not something I would use all the time, so it's not really very high on my priority list.
Steam Deck + Docking station.
You can get a knock off dock for about $25, and a non-OLED deck is $400. Minimal setup to get. Emulators running, and the whole thing is portable if you want to relocate to a different room / a buddy's house / a projector in the backyard.
Someone suggested this before, and I'm not a big fan. If I get a steam deck, I'll probably be buying it for portable/handheld gaming.
Having a fairly useless screen on my gaming computer, behind/beside my living room TV seems odd at best....
Understandable, I was just suggesting it as a cost-effective choice. Consoles are usually more hardware than you pay for, and ≈$500 for a ready-to-go solution right out of the box isn't bad.
The useless screen isn't much different than a docked switch, or using an old laptop as a HTPC.
Bonus is if you ever want to upgrade the system, you can still use the deck as a portable solution later.
Well, previously, I had a mid tower on a large shelf above my TV, partly for this, but it was primarily built for VR. I still have my original Oculus cv1, from before Facebook bought them, then rebranded to meta....
I ran away screaming when they started to force everyone to use their Facebook account to log into Oculus.
Since then it's been on my mind to replace it. I recently moved house, and just didn't set up the VR PC again. I want a cleaner look.
The old system was a full ATX board with an Intel core i5 (4th Gen? IIRC), 16G of RAM and a GTX 1080 8G. Complete with some RGB and everything to be a bit more flashy because it was in a windowed case above my TV... It was a bit of a show piece.
Now, I just want something thats small, simple, and will do the job without too many compromises. I have an Xbox PC dongle (one of the old school fat ones), and a small assortment of Xbox controllers. Recently, my partner and I wanted to do so couch gaming so I dug it out and just plugged it into HDMI. It's sitting on the floor and we haven't played anything on it since. Wires everywhere.
When I replace it, I want something that won't look out of place, and definitely little to no RGB stuff. It got annoying having it blinking and changing all the time, distracting from what I'm trying to watch.
The system is meant to be forgettable, just humming away in the background, ever ready to cater to whatever couch gaming whims I may have.
The TV is 4k, and I'd like to have enough power in it to play high res, especially for somewhat older or simpler titles.
Long term, I kind of want two (or at least a second system with similar performance), so for games that don't do split screen, I can play on a smaller, closer screen, and my partner can take the TV. I'd have it wall mounted near my usual couch seat, with a display on an arm (also wall mounted). I imagine I'd use that for more than just games, since I'm not always a fan of juggling my laptop around trying to get comfortable on the couch.
The main problem I'm beating my head off of, is finding an adequate system that's not huge, and doesn't look like shit in my living room, with enough power to meet the demand.
I just want to install it and more or less forget about it until I want to play something. It should blend in, not stand out.
Sounds like you just need to do a case swap on the VRPC. A case w/o all the RGB gamer aesthetic solves most of your issues for about $50, since you already have decent hardware available.
For your use as a secondary system, not that I'm a Valve shill, but I kinda still suggest the Steam Deck... You wouldn't have to mount a secondary screen, since it's already built in, and it gives you the option to kick back however you want on the couch to play.
The amount of times I've sat on the couch playing on mine with one earbud in while my wife is watching TV is pretty significant, so a bit of asynchronous play would be available there as well. A small, black, zippered case can be tucked away a lot easier than a wall mounted swing arm as well.
I had looked into getting a Micro PC for a living room setup, but ended up getting the Steam Deck because it gave me more options for around the same price. I got mine about a year after they released & after getting it I realized I should have gotten it sooner.
Surprising it's not too expensive! There are a few small form factor GPUs of the current generation that could absolutely crush any emulated game from the Wii and back. I would say one of the best is the 1650 super for the high end. Or if you are really budgeting a 1650 would suffice. Everything else is a matter of taste a few YouTubers are creating awesome PCs out of old office PCs that are tiny in comparison. If you are building from scratch ITX, can get expensive but since it's a low power pc for your tv similar to a console the parts should not be bad especially going with last generation parts that would still blast through Wii at the highest fidelity and anything lower would run incredible based on the emulator.
If I'm going that way, then I'm building a custom PC for the purpose and I've built enough PCs at this point that I'm not keen on building more.... Especially when looks are a nontrivial point.
Finding a good looking small case that I can mount on the wall (or shallow shelf) seems like a gigantic headache. Plus building in such a case is probably a nightmare since it's mostly built for looks, not for build friendliness.
I'm considering the minisforum nucxi7, to give you an idea. That whole thing is smaller than a 1650 super, and it has an rtx 3060/3070 built in, with a clean, minimal look. Not busy, but not boring.
It's just.... Basically impossible to buy, and/or afford.
Lol, I would imagine it's not that difficult to buy an office PC and throw a graphics card in it if finding an itx case and planning a build sounds like that much of a headache. At the point where you want a machine so specific and you are tired of building PCs why bother at all on atheistics? Just buy a console my friend no point in doing any sort of planning. If you want a machine that looks nice is small and runs multiple emulators then I'm pretty sure you are out of luck... Wiis be cheap and don't look bad and you can mod them to run any sorta games just by getting homebrew on a thumb drive. Small form factor cases and the hobby of building computers are fun for some but it's not everyones cup of tea.