Build It: Half-Height Gaming PCs For The Living Room

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PowerColor’s half-height Radeon HD 5750 launched a quest to build a tiny gaming PC. But things didn't work out the way we planned. We ended up building two half-height machines capable of cranking out playable frame rates, and put them both to the test.

Benchmark Results: F1 2010, Aliens Vs. Predator

Let’s start with a look at the new Formula 1 racing title, F1 2010:

At 720p and 1080p, both systems are able to pull very smooth performance with minimum performance at or above 30 frames per second (FPS). It looks like this game is limited by the platform, as an increase to 1080p doesn't show much of an impact on the results.

Now, let’s try Aliens vs. Predator:

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This title requires considerably more graphics power. The mini-ITX build with its Radeon HD 5570 can muster passable performance at 720p with an average 35 FPS. The micro-ATX/PowerColor Radeon HD 5750 combo handles the lower resolution easily, and even delivers an average 37 FPS at the high 1080p setting.

Don Woligroski
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Don Woligroski was a former senior hardware editor for Tom's Hardware. He has covered a wide range of PC hardware topics, including CPUs, GPUs, system building, and emerging technologies.