To build a steam-machine, or not to.

Levering08 · Aug 17, 2014

Ever since they announced steam machines I have been intrested in building my own for a couple months now. I currently sli two GTX 780 ti's on a Asus pb278q monitor (2560x1440), and I rarely ever had to use the second card on any of my games, except for metro last light. I am that type of person who likes to have max settings and maintain 30-60 fps. What I am thinking of doing is to take the other 780 ti, and build a mini-itx system and play from a 42" 120Hz LED/LCD T.V. I have a extra 500gb samsung EVO840 SSD, and a extra power supply that I do not use. I would buy a i5 4690k, Asus Z97I (mini itx mobo), 8-16gb ram, and looking at the Azza Z scaz-103 mini-itx case. My question is; would it be worth it to do this? Benefits if any? I would say gaming at max setting on a T.V. at 1080p would last longer than 1440p. Now this may seem a bit ridiculous to a lot, but I would like to know some thoughts if were to be in the same position. Money is not really an issue.

LostAlone · Aug 17, 2014

I personally would not. But that's just me. I'm a guy who doesn't spend a lot of time in his living room at all, gaming or not. If you do spend some credible amount of time on your sofa, then sure, there's no reason why it's specifically a bad idea. A solid system will make a find media player, with the benefits of full internet experience, access to 3rd part video players that are generally unsupported and so forth. I can certainly see the benefit in that regard. But you don't need a powerful system to do that, just a cheap chip in a dinky case.

So the question comes down to gaming. How much time are you going to spend gaming from the couch?

And think about it hard. Because you'll be stuck on a controller, and while that might not seem like a big deal there are lots of PC games that are at best poorly suited to it. Maybe the Steam Controller will change that, and maybe it won't, but for the time being you are stuck with a controller, and if it's not suited for the games you play, then that's pretty much your answer.

The idea is fine. It's nice enough. But I would absolutely not spend money on it. Todays consoles don't even benefit much from the big TV, since local multiplayer is on the way out. All you get is a bigger screen. Not more pixels mind you. Just a bigger screen.

Before you spend money, take your existing system and hook it up the TV for a day. Just to see what it's like. That way you can get a feel for it, see if it's comfy, if you can still read the text from across the room etc. Play an hour each of your favorite games, see if they feel ok doing that. Then think how often you actually spend just playing games. Like, not doing anything else. No forums, no skype, no video playing etc. Because personally, I always have stuff playing and things I'm typing in. So it's just... It's more complicated than you might think and the only way to see if you'll like it is to try and see.

Levering08 · Aug 17, 2014

I like your thought. I would like to put the 780 ti and the ssd to use. I know I'll never use the SSD with my current rig, but for the graphics card... I mean for this generation in gaming; will a second 780ti be overkill for 1440p with max settings now, or will it be suitable in a couple years?

Adroid · Aug 17, 2014

Well, no on can really answer how much use you will get out of it other than you. Why not buy a steam controller and just see if there is any games you want to play on it before you go through all the trouble... You might not like the controller set up coming from a PC.

Further, there will be other toys out by the time the steam box comes out. So, if you wait until the steam box controller etc comes out you might have other ideas and/or options for "steam box" builds.

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To build a steam-machine, or not to.

Levering08

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LostAlone

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Levering08

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Adroid

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