Mineshaft_Gap
4077th
And so far I've had mixed feelings. Here are the specs of the build first off. Maybe you folks can tell me if I'm on the right track and perhaps offer some suggestions.
i7-4770K
GTX-760 2GB
8GB RAM
ASUS HERO VI MOBO
Using Unified Remote for Android.
My understanding is that these specs give me well above and beyond what can be achieved in the current generation. So, I put this PC together to set next to the TV and act as a central hub for all my living room media needs. For the record, I'm a cable cutter. I get all my media digitally. I'm only willing to give Comcast so much of my money. I had anticipated buying a PS4 but a number of things ended turning me off. XB1 was never an alternative either. Here are my key reasons.
1. Next few months is rather bleak in terms of games in interested in being released.
2. There are still a bunch of current gen games I haven't finished or played. I sold my X360 a while back with a pretty decent back lock, most of which are available in superior form on PC. Neither XB1 nor PS4 offer backward compatibility which is a feature that would really appeal to me this time around.
3. PS2, Wii, GCN emulation. Oh yeah, by the way. My backlog goes all the way back to these days. Forget about all the great PC games I never played because I've never owned a PC this nice up to this point.
4. Pay walls going up all over the place. Needing an XBL Gold subscription in order to watch YouTube on my Xbox was the last straw.
I've been a console gamer for my entire life with a few major exception. The level of importance I place on the ease of just being able to turning on a box, sit in my couch, and fire up a game with no hassle. I've been playing with Steam and I was very glad to notice the special steam console that opens up when you press a certain button on your controller (using an X360 controller. It's does a good job of sort of replicating the experience of the XBox dash that I'm used to. So, regarding the ease of mindlessly being able to fire up a game? I'm satisfied. Steam is very satisfying. As a living room gaming rig I think I'm going to be pleasantly surprised.
Now for the other stuff. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Amazon Prime Instant. All these (well, mostly Netflix and HBO) get a heavy workout. Additionally, all the digital content I actually own. Here in not quite as satisfied. I would love an experience similar to Roku where I can easily access these platforms in a full screen mode that doesn't require the arduous process of having them have to open in a browser. Here I have a number of issues.
1. Playback is often wonky in a browser window. Relying on Silver light and the like. It's not so bad on a normal PC monitor but on the TV it seems to just be... Odd...
2. Using mouse and keyboard in general is awkward when I'm on my couch. Also, items on screen often appear too small to read.
3. I'd love something like the Plex app on my phone/roku that organized all my video media in app rather than having to peruse the subfolders on my PC.
I do intend on using this system as a normal PC. I have a monitor, mouse and keyboard, and speakers hooked up to it in another room which are optional for when I want to get actual work done or doing PCish things in the good old fashioned PC kind of way. I guess I want the best of both worlds. I was hoping I could get some advice on how I should go about replicating the living room friendly design of game consoles / Roku.
i7-4770K
GTX-760 2GB
8GB RAM
ASUS HERO VI MOBO
Using Unified Remote for Android.
My understanding is that these specs give me well above and beyond what can be achieved in the current generation. So, I put this PC together to set next to the TV and act as a central hub for all my living room media needs. For the record, I'm a cable cutter. I get all my media digitally. I'm only willing to give Comcast so much of my money. I had anticipated buying a PS4 but a number of things ended turning me off. XB1 was never an alternative either. Here are my key reasons.
1. Next few months is rather bleak in terms of games in interested in being released.
2. There are still a bunch of current gen games I haven't finished or played. I sold my X360 a while back with a pretty decent back lock, most of which are available in superior form on PC. Neither XB1 nor PS4 offer backward compatibility which is a feature that would really appeal to me this time around.
3. PS2, Wii, GCN emulation. Oh yeah, by the way. My backlog goes all the way back to these days. Forget about all the great PC games I never played because I've never owned a PC this nice up to this point.
4. Pay walls going up all over the place. Needing an XBL Gold subscription in order to watch YouTube on my Xbox was the last straw.
I've been a console gamer for my entire life with a few major exception. The level of importance I place on the ease of just being able to turning on a box, sit in my couch, and fire up a game with no hassle. I've been playing with Steam and I was very glad to notice the special steam console that opens up when you press a certain button on your controller (using an X360 controller. It's does a good job of sort of replicating the experience of the XBox dash that I'm used to. So, regarding the ease of mindlessly being able to fire up a game? I'm satisfied. Steam is very satisfying. As a living room gaming rig I think I'm going to be pleasantly surprised.
Now for the other stuff. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Amazon Prime Instant. All these (well, mostly Netflix and HBO) get a heavy workout. Additionally, all the digital content I actually own. Here in not quite as satisfied. I would love an experience similar to Roku where I can easily access these platforms in a full screen mode that doesn't require the arduous process of having them have to open in a browser. Here I have a number of issues.
1. Playback is often wonky in a browser window. Relying on Silver light and the like. It's not so bad on a normal PC monitor but on the TV it seems to just be... Odd...
2. Using mouse and keyboard in general is awkward when I'm on my couch. Also, items on screen often appear too small to read.
3. I'd love something like the Plex app on my phone/roku that organized all my video media in app rather than having to peruse the subfolders on my PC.
I do intend on using this system as a normal PC. I have a monitor, mouse and keyboard, and speakers hooked up to it in another room which are optional for when I want to get actual work done or doing PCish things in the good old fashioned PC kind of way. I guess I want the best of both worlds. I was hoping I could get some advice on how I should go about replicating the living room friendly design of game consoles / Roku.