Multi-room from a single rig

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cd34rs

Jul 16, 2018
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Morning All

I am planning a new build to replace my 2011 gaming/workstation rig and I am just about settled on an internal configuration; however, I have not quite been able to determine whether my output 'dream' is achievable. The closest I have come to seeing something similar was Linus's setup using Thunderbolt.

Essentially I would like to keep a single rig in the office but then route it to displays in two rooms other than the office (probably via an HDMI switch). The idea is that I am going to give up on console gaming and invest instead into PC gaming. The cable runs from rig to display will be no more than 10m each.

My current thinking is to have HDMI cables running from a switch in the office to the two alternative displays and, in the same run, 10m USB 3.0 cables which terminate in the other rooms at a USB 3.0 hub into which I/O devices can be plugged to get around issues with wireless or Bluetooth signal.

This setup would result in up to three sets of I/O being connected to the rig at any time but I am confident there is no danger of overlap, mainly because it would be me at any display using those devices.

Does anyone have experience of anything similar by way of a setup and, if so, is there anything you think I have missed out that needs to be considered?

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
velocityg4


I can't say it would definitely work every time. When I am using a display with a PC at it's default...
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justin.m.beauvais

justin.m.beauvais

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Dec 15, 2017
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You could always try a SteamLink. As long as you are running on a wired network it works well. It basically streams your desktop to a decoder and display box that you can hook up to your TV or another monitor. It has USB ports for inputs as well. So, what I do is have my gaming PC in my office, and stream to the SteamLink in my living room. I use a keyboard, mouse, and the Steam controler and play 1080p on my TV. I can play anything short of e-sports speed games really well, and can still hold my own in games like CS:GO with an unfortunate death here and there. For games like Fallout 4, any RTS, and even Doom, it works great. This setup only really takes running a network cable, then power, HDMI, and your inputs hook into a SteamLink in the room with the display you want to play on.

The cool thing is that it isn't locked down to just Steam games. You stream with Steam, but it streams the whole desktop. So you can minimize Steam and play anything, or stream movies, or just use it like a thinclient and do productivity work on it.
 
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velocityg4

velocityg4

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Nov 21, 2006
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That setup you have planned should work fine. You don't need a KVM switch. If all displays are the same resolution and refresh rate. You can just set the desktop in mirrored mode. Having multiple keyboards and mice plugged in simultaneously won't hurt anything.

I'd assume the same for game pads. Although I've never had more than one game controller plugged into a computer.

Just make sure you run the latest standard in HDMI cables to future proof it as long as possible.
 
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cd34rs

Jul 16, 2018
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Thanks both.

Justin, I would like to avoid anything wireless if possible given that a hard-wired solution is possible.

Velocity, was just looking on another thread at KVM switches, having never heard of them before - and then your post comes along! The only issue with the screen mirroring route versus a KVM is that I would be running the two TV displays at a different resolution to the PC monitor.
 
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failboat

failboat

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Feb 19, 2010
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I've been strongly considering this for years.

My current idea is to install a proxmox base.
Run 2,3 nvidia gpu use PCIE passthrough for each and usb passthrough for local ones.
for remote ones on LAN use nvidia moonlight. I use moonlight on a shield and it's very fast, i've read it increases latency around 3-5ms compared to 20+ to other devices. I haven't tried m/k on the shield. moonlight can stream quite a few on 1Gbs network all wired.

dont bother with anything like a kvm switch. linus uses unraid. proxmox and unraid both use kvm (not the same as kvm switch) spice/qxl provides a vdi like experience for non-3d stuff. go intel to get the igpu for sure so that the base has graphics.

I would use this primarily as a toy. linus's crashed constantly. I don't know how well it will fair. he was maxing the pewp out of it though.
 
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cd34rs

Jul 16, 2018
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I think that sounds overcomplicated for my needs.

If only over 10m runs of HDMI and USB, the two additional virtual machines (i.e. display, I/O) should perform as per the main machine, should they not? Unless I am going into Linus-esque lengths, I can't see that I need to convolute the solution.

What would the answer be to getting this system working on displays with a different resolution and or refresh rates? I guess I could just change the settings each time it went on to a different display but is there a way of automating that? I don't suppose the PC would know whether it was outputting to one of three displays, would it?
 
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velocityg4

velocityg4

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Nov 21, 2006
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I can't say it would definitely work every time. When I am using a display with a PC at it's default resolution, let's say 1920x1080. If I unplug that display and plug in another at say 1440x900 it will switch automatically. If I switch back so does the resolution.

The KVM switch is the simplest. You physically switch USB and monitor connections from one set to another. Some do USB, audio and monitor. You just have to look for the right match of connectors for your need. Switching should, in effect, act like unplugging one set and plugging another set in.
 
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Solution
failboat

failboat

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Feb 19, 2010
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You are going to have to use passthrough for VMs which is the hard part. Any of the pcs close enough to run long cables can have native like performance. the kvm switch will make it easy to control different vms but it might limit your video performance and you still have to buy long cables, so you are just going to be paying a ton to be able to switch pcs (could be added on later if you want). over ethernet moonlight is very good, there won't be any other gpu based solutions. with a vpn server moonlight can even go over WAN. spice can too fairly well. if you want to create a full vdi like experience. assuming you have decent up speeds.
 
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