This is pretty cool, I'm gonna give it a try later.Does anyone use this? I boot it from Steam as a Non-Steam game under a TV category to watch videos from the PC. It works amazingly well. As it works with an xbox controller as well it makes for a great media center, although I hope steam one day do their own thing.
Link
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Comfy Couch PC Gaming Thread | Cheap streaming is now here
- Thread starter MRORANGE
- Start date
No ccomparison shots I'm afraid. But I know for a fact that 55" at 3m is usable as PC monitor for me. You might have to squint, here and there, but you should be fine.
I had to have a quick look around as well, and from what I can tell it adds full integration of RetroArch (a multi-machine emulator) into XBMC. I think it only works with OpenELEC (a bootable Linux distro of XBMC) but I might be incorrect on that one.
I cottoned onto that info from here mostly. Let me know if you find anything else out!
Thanks.
So i'm looking at around 650 - 700 for my first PC build *gulp*
Mainboards needs the Wifi because PC is going to stay besides TV and the router is on the other side of the room. Could use a 10 meter lan cable but the 5 Ghz wireless mode should be enough for internet gaming (50mbit down /10mbit up).
Instead of the R9 270X i could get a R9 285 (HIS Radeon R9 285 Mini IceQ X² OC ) for around 30 more but i also just could get the cheaper one and first work of my backlog and buy a better one in 2 years or so.
I also choose an i3 instead of an i5 (eg. i5-4460, 4x 3.20GHz), less hassle with heat and 80 cheaper. As with the GPU, i could still upgrade this later.
Could also scratch the SSHD of the list and just use my Samsung 830 256GB SSD from my laptop and put a normal 2,5 HDD into the laptop, i still have lying around here (in a USB case).
Win 7 is pretty cheap on ebay/small ads. Have K400 for the start, a wireless M705 mouse and DS3 controller so i'm ready for comfy couch.
What do you think? (Maybe i should cross post this in the PC thread)
no but that thing is ridiculous looking and I think will be a nightmare in the living room.
Just wait for Roccat Sova and Razer Turret later this year (Q2 for Razer)
or get a Phantom (and pray that the crappy dongle is working)
you are here Toto <3
I sure hope they are both mechanical keyboards.
the Roccat Sova looks soooo good
Thanks.
So i'm looking at around 650 - 700 for my first PC build *gulp*
Mainboards needs the Wifi because PC is going to stay besides TV and the router is on the other side of the room. Could use a 10 meter lan cable but the 5 Ghz wireless mode should be enough for internet gaming (50mbit down /10mbit up).
Instead of the R9 270X i could get a R9 285 (HIS Radeon R9 285 Mini IceQ X² OC ) for around 30 more but i also just could get the cheaper one and first work of my backlog and buy a better one in 2 years or so.
I also choose an i3 instead of an i5 (eg. i5-4460, 4x 3.20GHz), less hassle with heat and 80 cheaper. As with the GPU, i could still upgrade this later.
Could also scratch the SSHD of the list and just use my Samsung 830 256GB SSD from my laptop and put a normal 2,5 HDD into the laptop, i still have lying around here (in a USB case).
Win 7 is pretty cheap on ebay/small ads. Have K400 for the start, a wireless M705 mouse and DS3 controller so i'm ready for comfy couch.
What do you think? (Maybe i should cross post this in the PC thread)
This actually looks like a great htcp build and then some. I wouldn't change anything out to be honest, great start.
zephervack
Member
For people that truly dont care about the windows desktop at all, this is a great little guide:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bigpicture/discussions/1/864958451556578063/
Basically it will completely disable Explorer.exe (taskbar, windows logon sound, etc) from loading when the computer turns on, it will go straight into Steam Big Picture.
I just followed it and it is SWEET. Basically after the Windows booting animation you wont see anything, just a black screen, the "updating steam" window appears and when thats done, you are into Big Picture. Bye bye Windows desktop.
Make sure you follow it correctly and maybe create yourself a store point in case you mess up, its not overly difficult.
Also, with this guide, if you decide to kill Steam, there wont be a desktop for you to go back to, you will need to press CTRL + SHIFT + ESCAPE and Press File > Run... and type Explorer.exe
Alternatively you can add explorer.exe as a Steam game and launch it that way from inside Steam Big Pic:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bigpicture/discussions/1/864958451556578063/
Basically it will completely disable Explorer.exe (taskbar, windows logon sound, etc) from loading when the computer turns on, it will go straight into Steam Big Picture.
I just followed it and it is SWEET. Basically after the Windows booting animation you wont see anything, just a black screen, the "updating steam" window appears and when thats done, you are into Big Picture. Bye bye Windows desktop.
Make sure you follow it correctly and maybe create yourself a store point in case you mess up, its not overly difficult.
Also, with this guide, if you decide to kill Steam, there wont be a desktop for you to go back to, you will need to press CTRL + SHIFT + ESCAPE and Press File > Run... and type Explorer.exe
Alternatively you can add explorer.exe as a Steam game and launch it that way from inside Steam Big Pic:
metalhead79
Neo Member
Excellent info man. This sounds great.
Couldn't you also just hit Windows key + E? Or is this more for people who don't want to use a keyboard at all?
grandwizard
Member
What's the best way to get a Steam streaming client up and running? I was looking into SteamOS but couldn't figure out if it is ready to just throw on a random old PC like I have with linux distros. Can I just put the latest release of it on a thumb drive and install it and use it as a streaming client?
AgentClassy
Member
no but that thing is ridiculous looking and I think will be a nightmare in the living room.
Just wait for Roccat Sova and Razer Turret later this year (Q2 for Razer)
or get a Phantom (and pray that the crappy dongle is working)
I need that Roccat ASAP!
Holy shit this Mi Box mini from Xiaomi is miniature.
http://en.miui.com/thread-77289-1-1.html
Mi Box mini - an impossibly small set-up box for ¥199 ( around32$) that’s 1/4 the size of Mi Box and fits like a power adapter. It packs a punch with
http://en.miui.com/thread-77289-1-1.html
Mi Box mini - an impossibly small set-up box for ¥199 ( around32$) that’s 1/4 the size of Mi Box and fits like a power adapter. It packs a punch with
- Cortex-A7 quad-core 1.3GHz
- 1GB RAM,
- 4GB Flash.
- 1080P resolution,
- Dolby,
- DTS audio
- dual band Wi-Fi 802.11n
Yes, as long as it has UEFI BIOS and 500 GB - 1 TB free space. Something with Nvidia graphics would be a good candidate. AMD and Intel will work, but not as well as Nvidia. Try the default installation method first -- it extracts a 1 TB image to your computer using Clonezilla and can be easier to setup. Failing that, use the custom/manual install. I had more success with the default method, but the custom install may be better now.
http://store.steampowered.com/steamos/buildyourown
ashecitism
Member
Or he can try one of the community made installers. Stephenson's Rocket or VaporOS.
http://directhex.github.io/steamos-installer/
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/vaporos
DJSebolski
Member
I still believe running HDMI cable to your TV gives you the best performance.
Beardz
Member
Maybe someone already talked about this, but here it goes anyway.
I control my PC with my phone with this thing:
Unified Remote
http://www.unifiedremote.com
It has shortcuts for everything, turn on, off the PC, volume, media center, etc. with the paid version you can customize shortcuts and even create voice commands.
I control my PC with my phone with this thing:
Unified Remote
http://www.unifiedremote.com
It has shortcuts for everything, turn on, off the PC, volume, media center, etc. with the paid version you can customize shortcuts and even create voice commands.
Maybe someone already talked about this, but here it goes anyway.
I control my PC with my phone with this thing:
Unified Remote
http://www.unifiedremote.com
It has shortcuts for everything, turn on, off the PC, volume, media center, etc. with the paid version you can customize shortcuts and even create voice commands.
Damn, works to turn it on using Wake on LAN too. Nice.
Holy shit this Mi Box mini from Xiaomi is miniature.
http://en.miui.com/thread-77289-1-1.html
Mi Box mini - an impossibly small set-up box for ¥199 ( around32$) thats 1/4 the size of Mi Box and fits like a power adapter. It packs a punch with
.
- Cortex-A7 quad-core 1.3GHz
- 1GB RAM,
- 4GB Flash.
- 1080P resolution,
- Dolby,
- DTS audio
- dual band Wi-Fi 802.11n
Yea where can i buy this. this is a dream.
metalhead79
Neo Member
It should be fine. My J1800 Celeron can handle 1080p60 (albeit with latency in 50's and 60's) and 720p60 with latency in the 20's.
grandwizard
Member
Thanks! Unfortunately it's a bit old nettop so it doesn't have UEFI and only a 250gb hard drive. I can upgrade the hdd and I'll see if there is any options for the UEFI. It has an Nvidia ION chip in it which is great at playing back really high quality 1080p footage so it should be powerful enough to handle streaming, so I don't want it to go to waste.
I was going to ditch my 4S, but I loved the physical size of it too much to get rid of it just yet. I think I may have found a reason to keep it.Maybe someone already talked about this, but here it goes anyway.
I control my PC with my phone with this thing:
Unified Remote
http://www.unifiedremote.com
It has shortcuts for everything, turn on, off the PC, volume, media center, etc. with the paid version you can customize shortcuts and even create voice commands.
Shame there's no way of integrating amplifier controls with it, but you can't have everything.
Seeing the prices of the X51 builds, you made everything right.
Sweet! I kind of ditched the idea of remote control apps a while ago but none were as feature-filled as this. Thanks for posting this, I'll check it out and try it with both the phone and iPad.Maybe someone already talked about this, but here it goes anyway.
I control my PC with my phone with this thing:
Unified Remote
http://www.unifiedremote.com
It has shortcuts for everything, turn on, off the PC, volume, media center, etc. with the paid version you can customize shortcuts and even create voice commands.
It depends how good your internet and router are
You will not be disappointed, I use this on my phone to control my zune player on my pc (yes i still use zune, I hate itunes) and its wonderful.
I thought I'd contribute with my thoughts as a console-only gamer for the last decade or so.
Building a system
I made a hardware thread - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=965828 and ended up going with a build pretty much identical to this one: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/b/hRCypg, All of the parts arrived this week and I've spent my Saturday gaming. My hardware feedback noting is:
- the fans in the build are like little typhoons. I've since ordered three of the Noctua 'silent' fans that are apparently imperceptible.
- the GTX970 I swapped was the Gainward Phantom version, which has a HDMI Mini, and not a HDMI out. This was a rude shock, not being able to plug it into my TV after assembling.
Compiling a game library
I've spend the last week or so cataloguing my 360, PS3, PS4 and X1 collections onto my Steam wishlist, and have linked it to an account I created at isthereanydeal.com . This site is pure gold, sending emails when you're waiting for games are on sale. Within the first week, I've managed to grab dozens of games for <$10, often far less.
In addition, being a regular Humble Bundle shopper, I've already got a large library of games waiting for me - around 400 just from buying bundles for a couple of bucks here and there whenever a single game I want is available.
The software side
It's fair to say that Steam's BPM makes life as a couch PC gamer possible. Even then, it's often fiddly and/or impossible without a KB/M to deal with windows stealing focus or games needing admin permission to do post-install actions.
A surprising amount of games have some level of functionality with just a controller - even games dating back a while such as Psychonauts and Mirror's Edge. I've been a little disappointed that games I assumed would just work - ones I've already played on 360 - have had controller support cut. Mass Effect is particularly frustrating. It's a bit of a mixed bag.
Lastly - fiddling with the PC has been made much easier with the installation of Chrome Remote Desktop.
The games
Games look so much better that I've seen in years - I'm so happy with the decision to invest into a permanent library that I'll have forever, rather to store mountains of disks and keep piles of machines hooked up to the TV. Alien Isolation in particular has just made me feel like this is the generational leap the consoles failed to make.
What's surprised me most are the low-cost / good value games that have gone under my radar over the last 12 months that have been PC exclusive. I've made minor inroads into The Talos Principal, Jazzpunk and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, with a good sized backlog for a while to come. It feels like PC gaming has the true 'underground' revolution that felt so exciting when games like Braid were first launching. This might not be news to many of you, but as someone that renounced the desktop a long time ago, I'm excited about gaming for the first time in quite a while.
Building a system
I made a hardware thread - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=965828 and ended up going with a build pretty much identical to this one: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/b/hRCypg, All of the parts arrived this week and I've spent my Saturday gaming. My hardware feedback noting is:
- the fans in the build are like little typhoons. I've since ordered three of the Noctua 'silent' fans that are apparently imperceptible.
- the GTX970 I swapped was the Gainward Phantom version, which has a HDMI Mini, and not a HDMI out. This was a rude shock, not being able to plug it into my TV after assembling.
Compiling a game library
I've spend the last week or so cataloguing my 360, PS3, PS4 and X1 collections onto my Steam wishlist, and have linked it to an account I created at isthereanydeal.com . This site is pure gold, sending emails when you're waiting for games are on sale. Within the first week, I've managed to grab dozens of games for <$10, often far less.
In addition, being a regular Humble Bundle shopper, I've already got a large library of games waiting for me - around 400 just from buying bundles for a couple of bucks here and there whenever a single game I want is available.
The software side
It's fair to say that Steam's BPM makes life as a couch PC gamer possible. Even then, it's often fiddly and/or impossible without a KB/M to deal with windows stealing focus or games needing admin permission to do post-install actions.
A surprising amount of games have some level of functionality with just a controller - even games dating back a while such as Psychonauts and Mirror's Edge. I've been a little disappointed that games I assumed would just work - ones I've already played on 360 - have had controller support cut. Mass Effect is particularly frustrating. It's a bit of a mixed bag.
Lastly - fiddling with the PC has been made much easier with the installation of Chrome Remote Desktop.
The games
Games look so much better that I've seen in years - I'm so happy with the decision to invest into a permanent library that I'll have forever, rather to store mountains of disks and keep piles of machines hooked up to the TV. Alien Isolation in particular has just made me feel like this is the generational leap the consoles failed to make.
What's surprised me most are the low-cost / good value games that have gone under my radar over the last 12 months that have been PC exclusive. I've made minor inroads into The Talos Principal, Jazzpunk and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, with a good sized backlog for a while to come. It feels like PC gaming has the true 'underground' revolution that felt so exciting when games like Braid were first launching. This might not be news to many of you, but as someone that renounced the desktop a long time ago, I'm excited about gaming for the first time in quite a while.
dmix90
Member
Yup. Using this for over a month with my big rig. Almost perfect couch PC gaming
Some extra stuff that i use:
Launching explorer straight from big picture using .bat file(this way your online status will change for only a second till .bat file will close itself) .
To add bat files to your steam library you need to add random .exe or .lnk file first then change its name, "target" and "start in" directory to your .bat file name and working directory!
Examples:
Steam properties ( Target: "C:\Fixes\explorer.bat", Start in: "C:\Fixes\" )
Start Windows Explorer:
Code:
@echo off
cd "C:\Windows\"
start explorer.exe
exit
Code:
@echo off
taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
exit
Code:
@echo off
cd "C:\FIXES\"
start ForceFix.lnk
exitMight want to add this - https://nirklars.wordpress.com/xboxmouse/ to your autostart list (loads after launching explorer.exe), this way i am able to control regular windows interface without touching mouse. Add XBMC link in you your steam library and you almost set.
Have problems with 3D content playback. XBMC launching all 3D movies in 2D mode and not figured out yet how to auto start third party media player in this case.
Just wanted to add i quoted the start and the end as i put together a new PC on Xmas eve as i was in almost the same situation as you(bought a 360 8 years ago and dumped PC gaming as i felt i couldnt afford to sustain regular decent upgrades.
I've literally gone through the same journey as you and have got my gaming karma back!!!
Haha, so this was your list? I wonder how many Gaffers I've looked at then. I've been using lists like yours to determine how I'm going to handle the cooling in my system. I think I've determined that I'm going to use the Noctua L12 as the CPU cooler, take off the 120mm cooler at the top, and mount that off to the side. Then I'm going to add two of these to the fans by the GPU: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NOTVCUQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20
I plan on doing some OCing to my i5 4690K so hopefully this setup results in a both quiet and cool system. I was going to water cooling at first, but it seems like it will be very hard to fit everything and this is my first time building a PC.
Does your system stay cool and quiet with the cooling system that you've set up?
PeterVenkman
Member
figured I'd post a pic from my setup. Despite my large list of complaints with the couchmaster, it has allowed me two important features: Keeping my current kb/m, and cable management (I like wired better than wireless).
mr stroke
Member
26MBS wired connection
I guess my question would be how does the streaming look(on a decent connection) with the Nvidia Shield(or any other streaming stick) blown up on a big TV 65"+
Does it look like Youtube(blocky and compressed) or is it indistinguishable from playing a console on the TV?
I have a neat solution for odd tasks which may need M&K such as:
Alt + Tab
Alt + Enter (Full screen a game)
Arrow keys
Enter Key - This is useful with arrow keys to end a non responsive game.
Alt + F4
I do this with a Xbox 360 Pad and XPadder.
When i click and hold the Left Analogue Stick, the Xpadder profile switches from blank to my custom profile with commands assigned to keys.
If anyone wants to try it, let me know and ill share my configuration, youll have to acquire Xpadder yourselves as its shareware.
The most Tricky one to setup was ALT+TAB, ive set this up with a custom command with custom key timings from xpadder forums to get it to work just like your keyboards.
Its really easy to get out of any sticky situations now.
Alt + Tab
Alt + Enter (Full screen a game)
Arrow keys
Enter Key - This is useful with arrow keys to end a non responsive game.
Alt + F4
I do this with a Xbox 360 Pad and XPadder.
When i click and hold the Left Analogue Stick, the Xpadder profile switches from blank to my custom profile with commands assigned to keys.
If anyone wants to try it, let me know and ill share my configuration, youll have to acquire Xpadder yourselves as its shareware.
The most Tricky one to setup was ALT+TAB, ive set this up with a custom command with custom key timings from xpadder forums to get it to work just like your keyboards.
Its really easy to get out of any sticky situations now.
That wasn't my list - I copied it with a few modifications.
I'll let you know how quiet it is once my new fans arrive. Right now the case is open and it's quieter than the Xbox One and stays nice and cool. I'm not overclocking though.
UPDATE:
This might be a bad choice: Runs around 20% slower than it's tablet counterpart
I have ordered this instead as it runs at 2.16Ghz::
You can get this device for around £60/$90 at gearbest with this code: PX7CN
Meegopad T01 £65/$98;
Windows 8.1 with Bing
32GB Onboard
Quad Core Intel Atom Baytrail 1.3Ghz
2GB RAM
USB port, uses micro USB to charge, has MMC slot
This might be a bad choice: Runs around 20% slower than it's tablet counterpart
I have ordered this instead as it runs at 2.16Ghz::
Pipo X7: £60/$90??
Windows 8.1 with Bing
32GB Onboard
Quad Core Intel Atom Baytrail at 2.16Ghz???
2GB RAM
LAN PORT
4 USB port, uses micro AC to charge, has MMC slot
You can get this device for around £60/$90 at gearbest with this code: PX7CN
which fans are you using? I just bought these: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=147900836&postcount=3343
kikonawa
Member
thanx , just paid with paypal, i'm charged 80EURO in total, thats a very sharp price!