PC in the living room: why haven't you done it?

M

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
I could never go back to playing PC games exclusively at a desk. The majority of stuff I play works with a controller, and the options are there if I need to rig a solution. I'm very fortunate that I have a cheap Mac Mini in my study in case a KB+M-only game shows up, and steam streaming opens that up very wide.

I'm curious as to why you can't see yourself making that leap, and if you have, what's your setup like?
 
I play controller games on a 40 inch but its in my bedroom


some stuff, anyway, cause it's not a particularly great TV. Games look way better on my monitor still.
 
Well, cause I don't play PC games.

But even if I did, being able to play games without monopolizing the living room TV is a pretty big deal for me these days. Moving the PC to the TV would be a backwards step.
 
Shared living room with roommates and the last time I put stuff out there someone forgot to lock the door which lead to my TV and 360 getting stolen.
 
even though I have a relatively compact Bitfenix Prodigy, I'd still have difficulty integrating that into my living room setup. I do have a mac mini in the living room for plex, so I could do the opposite of you and try steam home streaming to play in the living room
 
I already have. I use my old PC (I upgrade pretty frequently) in my living room. Works well since my TV is 1080p and my monitor is 1440p so I get rough parity with the card performance.
 
I lug my tower out to the living room when I have people over because I'm getting people to play all the great local multiplayer games that have come out recently (Nidhogg, Samurai Gunn, Sportsfriends). It has been a ton of fun each time. I sadly can't keep it out there because I can't get wired Internet to it and don't want to have it on WiFi.

So I might build a smaller box to have it hooked to the TV full time sometime in the near future.
 
I have this 25ft HDMI cable that goes to my TV, it works really well for watching movies and stuff but sucks for playing games because the latency is painful. Someday I'll have a proper set-up.
 
I actually prefer playing on the monitor rather than the television. So I play at the desk.

Though I have it hooked up to the tv so I have the option
 
I thought about buying the Alienware box for my living room this gen, the PS4 ended up being awesome and relatively cheap so I'm doing that instead. Sony's great work getting indies games also made the decision easier for me.
 
BaloneyFraise said:
I have this 25ft HDMI cable that goes to my TV, it works really well for watching movies and stuff but sucks for playing games because the latency is painful. Someday I'll have a proper set-up.
Click to expand...

I do the same, 25ft hdmi to Plasma tv. Great for movies and stuff.
 
because my room has my bed and i dont have to be picky on what im going to play because i have to bother with the people that might be passing or are in the living room.

besides...

Ys < do you REALLY WANT to see Ys I & II in a screen that large? some games just dont work with such giant displays.

playing on the living room is not a leap, its just another option. i dont see it as evolution, its just another feature thats cool but i wont use that much.

but... yeah... guild wars 2 in the living room screen was a nice experience for me when i did it.
 
I did! I built a gaming HTPC last year on Christmas break. With parts from friends and such, it was only like 400. (600 now with add-ons)

The airline lost my damn bag with it inside (made me gate check it) but they found it a week later. Scare averted!

That being said, I can see why people would be against it... It's a very specific build to do. I had to keep in mind the space I had, and a normal tower just wouldn't do
 
I don't do it because I don't want to buy another PC to replace what is at my desk. I tried a long HDMI cord to my TV, but I couldn't find a controller solution. The Bluetooth dongle I bought had lag problems from one room away. I thought it might work because my PS3 controller works from pretty much anywhere in the apartment.

Having my giant case next to my TV and entertainment center looks stupid. Maybe I'll try when I can get a good Steambox for about $500.
 
ALSO cause when I DO play PC games, half of the point is that I'm playing with KB/M. Which works much better for me on a desk. If I'm gonna use a controller I might as well just play a console game.
 
Looking at the replies in this thread it blows my mind how people don't think twice and get a laptop instead. I use my laptop for everything: studies, surfing, watching films, playing games. Can take it with me to the university, plug into a TV, use it in bed or whatever. Will never go back to stationary PC's.
 
a few reasons:

- I don't want to tie up the living room TV if the wife wants to watch tv
- I honestly prefer gaming at a desk, close to the the monitor, I see more details
- i don't like wireless mice/keyboards
- mesh chair > couch
 
I have poor vision. So I actually prefer consoles and pc at a desk. I just moved in with family and my consoles are in the living room. It's annoying because I have to sit up under the tv (37 in) to see. Once I get my own place, I'll have one for friends who come over.

About 2 years ago, when I had a laptop I would game on the couch with that. I actually wouldn't mind pc gaming on the couch but I'd need another tv right next to the couch.
 
I did it for a while, and even had a collapsible desk for kb/m. But, I still play a lot of kb/m games and a desk and small screen for that type of movement is much more comfortable. So, I got a huge-ass HDMI cable and use a wireless kb with touchpad to play in the living room.

I'm happy that the wireless kb and 360 controller works through the wall fine. I just need to figure out how to do voice chat since that's usually done through the computer.

IMO, this question could never be answered cheaply. Some games are better for sitting at a desk, others on a big screen - kb/m or gamepad.
 
I definitely recommend it. Most of my games are played from my couch, on a 50inch television or 120 inch projector with a legitimate surround sound setup. It's a seamless experience too, thanks to XBMC and Steam Big Picture Mode. There's obviously a lot of games that don't lend themselves well to comfy couch gaming, and in those cases I play them traditionally at a desk with a KB/M, but otherwise, it's controller + couch all the way.
 
Because I don't have the money to build a small form factor PC with the components that I want. I'd rather just put that money into a new GPU for the new PC's and/or a 4K monitor.
 
I do have a TV hooked up to my PC. I only use it for watching video when I have people over. For everything else, the desk experience is just so much better.
 
Because I don't own a laptop, and unplugging and moving my desktop every time I want to play a game is far too much a hassle.

So I'm greatly anticipating what the Steam Stream experience will be like.
 
Don't have a good place to put it.

TV isn't the best and don't want to buy a new one.

Prefer to sit up close to a monitor(especially for racing games).

Still plenty of games that only work(or work best) with keyboard and mouse and I'm not putting a keyboard and mouse in the living room. It wouldn't be comfortable using it and it'd look tacky as shit.

If I want to watch porn, I want to do it in my room, not the living room.

I use my computer for more than just games.
 
I have a 42 inch tv in my PC room for games that work better with a controller. No couch, but a super comfy ikea poang chair.
 
Set up a Desktop in the living room. Hardly use it. I find reading text too bothersome, so I just game on my other PC in the office.
 
I have a 50-foot HDMI cable, so for 80% of games (I'm big on City Building and FPSes, so I stick to the desk most of the time), I still need to have my computer in another room, but my wireless 360 controller has NO PROBLEMS connecting to it, so when I want to play something that needs a controller, or just feel like I've been sitting at the desk too long, you bet I hop on over to the couch.

The PC itself remains out of the living room, though.

Monty Mole said:
My 50" VT65 plasma will shit all over your shitty 20" monitor, thanks.
Click to expand...

My future impending 4K 120hz monitor makes your plasma nothing. NOTHING.

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAA, I HAVE JUST SAID A THING ON THE INTERNET THAT MOCKS ANOTHER PERSON, I AM THE GREATEST POSTER OF ALL TIME

ALL

TIME
 
I would absolutely love to have a gaming PC hooked up to my projector sitting next to my PS4, however there are several factors that are holding me back from doing so:

1. Noise: I would like to build a pc that is quit (no louder than the ps4). This means it would probably have to liquid cooled which can be expensive.

2. Form Factor: I would like for the pc to be relatively small so it can fit in my media center and look nice as well

3. Power: If I am going to take the leap of building a pc then I would like it to be on the high end so that it will last me as long or longer than the ps4

4. Money: With the 3 items mentioned above, this would be an expensive venture and I have other hobbies/interests that I can spend the money on

I could save the money to build such a PC easily but I can only think of one game series off the top of my head that I want to play and can't play on my PS4 and that's the Amnesia series. I'm sure there are more great games to play but nothing in my mind justifies spending as much money to play. Maybe the Dolphin emulator would be a close second.
 
I tried doing it and it was awful. My mid-sized desktop looked completely out of place in the living room and there were just too many things that I needed a mouse for that made it not worthwhile (opening config files, changing Windows settings, installing new drivers, many games not having full controller support etc.) so I just went back to playing at a desk.

All these people that play with M&KB on the couch though - how?! Where do you put them?
 
I've moved to KB+trackball a few years ago for home stuff (now for work too), comfort wise there's no contest and unless you're doing precise photo work or something like that there's no real accuracy penalty. If I ever feel the need to get back to KB+M'ing shooters I'll train on the trackball and get myself up to speed. CS:GO didn't do it for me like 1.6 did though, and Titanfall I've had zero problems playing with a controller. Diablo and its clones are a joy to play.

McHuj said:
Because I don't have the money to build a small form factor PC with the components that I want. I'd rather just put that money into a new GPU for the new PC's and/or a 4K monitor.
Click to expand...

Fractal's cases look good enough to me that small factor or not isn't an issue.
 
BaloneyFraise said:
I have this 25ft HDMI cable that goes to my TV, it works really well for watching movies and stuff but sucks for playing games because the latency is painful. Someday I'll have a proper set-up.
Click to expand...

If you're getting latency it has nothing to do with the cable length, electricity travels at light speed.
...

I've always had my gaming pc in the living room connected to the TV and projector. Can't stand playing on tiny screens.
 
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