Gaming PC for Family Room

[cstrasz]

Hey guys,

I recently built a desktop gaming rig that's been running games great. I'm looking to supplement it with a system in the family room since my normal desktop is for work (and I want to game on my family room tv).

I'm trying to be conservative with the budget but not sure where to start or what I'm looking at price wise. Main thing is I want to be able to play the latest games in 1920 x 1080p with the bells and whistles on (desktop has a gtx 680 so I was thinking the same or comparable).

Don't really care about much else other than storage space, quick access to the Steam Big Picture mode, outputting sound in surround and bluetooth support for controller/keyboards.

I don't mind if it's not dead silent although I don't want it to be an airplane going off. If I can make this in an AV Receiver type case, even better.

I tried looking all over for builds but not having a ton of look on recommendations. Hoping I get some suggestions here. Thanks!

 

[cstrasz]

Cool, thanks! Was reading up briefly on that video card. I get the impression it's not that great for 1920 x 1080p gaming with settings cranked? Assuming I could just swap out that from the build to something else.

 

[jthill909]

Cool, thanks! Was reading up briefly on that video card. I get the impression it's not that great for 1920 x 1080p gaming with settings cranked? Assuming I could just swap out that from the build to something else.

lol, that build listed would be terrible for games and anything more than a 630 would probably be bottleneck by the cpu.

OP, what's your budget? Considering you want a 680 or something equivalent, your budget is probably pretty high.

 

[jthill909]

Try this, it would make an awesome htpc/mini-gaming pc:

http://teksyndicate.com/videos/build-epic-mini-itx-gaming-system

Specs:

EVGA Z77 Stinger Motherboard
Intel i5 3570k
8 GB ADATA Xtreme Series 2133 MHz DDR3 RAM
EVGA GTX 670
ADATA XPG SX 900 256 GB SSD
Lian Li PC-Q18 case
Seasonic M12II 620W Bronze PSU

 

[jakewat97]

no one can give you much if a budget isn't mentioned. But if a 680ish performance is wanted then go with a 670 because they can be close to the same performance with much lower cost,

Also how big do you want the rig to be? if it's a family room PC i would imagine a smaller build would be better. So have a look for some Z77 matx or itx boards and some matx / itx cases that would suit.

But a budget would really be nice then i could help a bit more.

 

[mikerockett]

Seeing as we haven't got a budget im not sure what to be aiming at, but here's a good itx build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($107.95 @ Mac Connection)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($77.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SN-208DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1242.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-25 04:03 EST-0500)

 

[cstrasz]

Bit of a delay in getting back since I had a busy work week and then got hit with the flu, but thanks to all for the recommendations. I ended up ordering components that were mix/matched from above suggestions. My budget was ~1300.

In the end I went with the following (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zsCj):

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Intel DQ77MK Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.25 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($478.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone SST-GD05B-USB3.0 (Black) HTPC Case ($112.37 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($78.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($24.06 @ Compuvest)
Total: $1361.61

I decided to go with a Micro ATX build vs the Mini ITX Build because in looking at the cases, most all of them were a bit too tall with Mini ITX. So I figured I'd just build it to look similar to a receiver. I went with one of the less deep cases that Silverstone makes that got good reviews. I could have gone with the GTX 670 but figured screw it, I'll just splurge on the graphics card.
Mainly I needed something that was ~ 10" or shorter in depth and EVGA makes one that is just that (even though Silverstone says the case can fit 11" length cards, wanted it to be a bit shorter if possible).

The main issue I run into with the mini ITX builds is the height of the cases although that Fractal case looks like it would fit in my tv stand (I have 10" clearance max for height). I could swap out the Mobo and Case and use the other accessories although I was also worried about heating in that cramped of a space (well, moreso than in the Silverstone).

Motherboard was another issue. I was basing it off the newegg reviews but I didn't come across a 5 star mini ITX mobo but the Asus one I picked for Micro ATX seemed solid (plus they had a combo deal going on with the 8 gigs of ram). Anyways, I could always tweak/return any of this stuff. Biggest thing I'd change at this point is just the case and Mobo it looks like. The other stuff would work in either from what I could tell.

 

[cstrasz]

Also didn't bother with an aftermarket CPU cooler since most of what I read said it's really unnecessary unless I'm looking to OC which I'm not anytime soon. I did order better 120mm fans that were quieter and more effective as well as some fan gaskets to reduce any vibration just in case, since it was pretty cheap.

 

[cstrasz]

Hey Mike,

In your build suggestion you list an SSD drive, 1 TB drive and an optical. I was trying to locate other builds that had a similar setup. Is this something that should definitely work? Still trying to make sure of this. Thanks.

Seeing as we haven't got a budget im not sure what to be aiming at, but here's a good itx build.

 

[mikerockett]

From what i can see from the case you picked it has enough slots to accomodate this.

1 x 5.25" bay, 2 x 3.5" and 1 x 2.5".

As long as you dont need to remove a HDD cage to fit the GPU like you do in some cases it will be ok.

From what i can see it should be fine. Normally cases that have the removable HDD cage has more space for HDD's initially.