Should gaming ability be required of HTPC computers?

[Jetster]

Negative. There two different birds. An HTPC should be quiet, low power, small and on all the time. If you have one comp that does both. It will do nether one well

 

[twilyth]

i rather have a no/low noise media pc. i dont even browse the web on it, only watch media

Add a second monitor and you can do both. But that's more for those of us in the short attention span club - or no attention span in my case. Of course I don't mind all of the cables, with most running across the ceiling suspended from hooks. I got the 6850 card so I could have 2 monitors but haven't gotten around to hooking it up yet.

 

[Lazzer408]

Negative. There two different birds. An HTPC should be quiet, low power, small and on all the time. If you have one comp that does both. It will do nether one well

Why not? My goal is to change that stereotype. I should have made that more clear in the original post and/or worded the question differently. Say one could game on a HTPC without sacrificing size or noise, would one want that ability?

It's quiet. I do not have access to an acoustic test chamber at this time so I can't give you exact numbers. You can not hear it half way across the room. The cooling fan in my DLP is louder. If you start gaming, the fans will increase in speed and it will make noise. That is unavoidable but I considered it a mute point since the fans only come up under load and a game is playing sounds that are likely to be louder then the system fans. Under normal use, the loudest fan in the chassis is the graphics fan but my design keeps the graphics card cooler then it would be in a tower. This lets it's fan maintain GPU temperatures with a lower RPM. If you overclock a quad and start crunching, the CPU fan will definitly be heard. Think Crossfire+Furmark. Like most PCs, it's relatively low power when idle. It's up to the end user what components are used. The system will only draw what it needs to run the hardware. It's very small and well suited for HTPC placement along side other equipment such as a reciever or DVD/BR player.

I appreciate all the feedback everyone, negitive or positive.

 

[Jetster]

I see were your going. Well when you say gaming on this site its more likely means. 3X GPU overclocked CPUs and if you run that all the time then your bill will be high. On the other hand HTPC are big screen, back on the couch with a wireless keyboard and hybrid mouse. Not the best for gaming.

It only takes a celeron or cheapest i3 to run 1080p and you don't even need a GPU. On-board HD graphics will work fine on the new boards. Even a $200 Boxee Box will do. So you tie up all your gaming hardware all the time running video?

Now if you wanted a custom HTPC that will also runs games on Med to high and then its not a problem. But you want it to be a low power gaming rig so when its ruining 24 7 its not going to be a problem. When I built my HTPC (in my specs) I actually could run games just by dropping a GPU in it. But I still like being close to my 23" monitor and using my wired mouse and favorite keyboard to game with

 

[Soylent Joe]

Main problem I see with playing games on a HTPC/TV is going to be the controls. It's basically impossible to get a level surface with responsive mouse and keyboard to use with the TV comfortably. Now, if you can get an Xbox 360 controller to work with the games, jolly good, but not many games support them. So, my vote goes to the second choice.

 

[Lazzer408]

Now if you wanted a custom HTPC that will also runs games on Med to high and then its not a problem

That's exactly on target. When I think of a HTPC I imagine a SFF device that looks like it belongs in my home theater. I don't picture a mid-tower PC out of place sitting next to my TV stand. Seems like most if not all of the current designs are either too big bulky or too small to support a full size gfx adaptor and power supply. The largest card I have available for testing is the HD6870. You can pretty much max out anything on it @1080. Team that with an i7 and manage to fit it in tiny SFF box AND keep things cool? That was the challange. 6 prototypes were tested before settling on a design. It worked out so well that I'm producing it in quantity. The prints were just sent to waterjet tonight (friend of mine) but it won't be ready for a few months. There is still a few issues to tidy up with it's aesthetics and cost management. That and the CNC is tied up.

Main problem I see with playing games on a HTPC/TV is going to be the controls. It's basically impossible to get a level surface with responsive mouse and keyboard to use with the TV comfortably. Now, if you can get an Xbox 360 controller to work with the games, jolly good, but not many games support them. So, my vote goes to the second choice.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/xbox-360-controller-for-windows

Happy Thanksgiving TPU!

 

[Mr McC]

Main problem I see with playing games on a HTPC/TV is going to be the controls. It's basically impossible to get a level surface with responsive mouse and keyboard to use with the TV comfortably. Now, if you can get an Xbox 360 controller to work with the games, jolly good, but not many games support them. So, my vote goes to the second choice.

Keyboard on my lap and mouse on the arm of the sofa (which is flat as I considered this aspect before purchasing) and I have absolutely no complaints.

 

[Frizz]

it's definitely a plus if a HTPC is capable of handling games on medium. We all know custom HTPC's can be as powerful as full fledged desktops but clicking through Windows can be a hassle since a person would generally be sitting a fair distance away from their TV. If there is software out there that starts with windows and just brings up a pretty GUI that lets you flick through Game .exe's and media folders that would improve the experience and convenience.

In terms of gaming I've used a wireless keyboard and mouse, placed the keyboard on my lap and mouse on my side, I do start to get wrist aches from doing that for an hour or two so I still think gamepad is a must if I am gaming on a TV with a HTPC, in my case a 360 controller with a USB extension .

 

[Jetster]

The best GUI I have found is XBMC and it will do games Ive just have not tried the games part yet. Its a free open source program and takes some time to learn but well worth it

 

[erixx]

I answered YES, because last weekend friend's children had a blast in the living room (so much better than allowing them to enter my office)

But pluuuuueassssssssssssseeeee ERASE THE WORD "HARDCORE" from the Planet all and once. So tired.

 

[stupido]

Nice thread...

I also voted "Yes" - mainly because gaming is also entertainment as watching a movie or listening music...
further more, FPS is like playing in a virtual war (or action) movie...

the classic HTPC handles classical media (movies and music) quite good with need for very little "juice".
But if one (as I do) want some more from it, than nice SFF PC that can handle at least medium settings of BF3 on 1920x1080 screen would be a very "droolable" PC

today with Z68 on miniITX one can build quite powerful small system that can handle all types of media (not only playback but also transcoding) + drive a "bad-ass GPU"

 

[Lazzer408]

Thanks everyone for the input.

Any updates I have about the system itself can be found here.
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156077