Unobtrusive gaming system for living room - can it be done?

Cetlan · December 4, 2020

Hey folks,

I'm looking to get a little advice for building a mid-level gaming PC to add to my living room. The last computer I built was a system back in 2012 (I set up a part list for the parts as best I could remember at https://pcpartpicker.com/user/cetlan/saved/4CJ6rH - the RAM probably isn't the right model, but I couldn't get my system to print the manufacturer, and didn't want to pull it out to check). I used it as a somewhat overpowered Linux box, and it can even run a good number of games with Steam - but it's getting a bit long in the tooth, and even if I installed Windows on it, I suspect it would have trouble with some newer games now. So I'm thinking of keeping it as a workhorse and building a new system to drop into my living room and use as a gaming "console" on my TV. I have some very rough idea ideas about what kinds of parts one uses for a mid-level gaming system these days, but my biggest problem is in trying to figure out something that will fit.

I also have an HP Spectre G2 x360 (Core i7-6600U version - not sure what year, it's a refurb bought a few years ago) - but it doesn't seem to run much that my Linux box can't, so I don't think just plugging it into the TV will really gain me much.

I'm hoping to leave some space for upgrading, so I'm hoping to not have to resort to something really tiny like a mini-ITX build. What makes it tricky is that if I'm going to put it in the media console, the cabinets are only 380mm deep, 380mm wide and up to 510mm high (if I remove the shelf), and the open shelves are 400mm deep, 460mm wide, and 90-210mm high, depending on how I adjust the shelves, so it doesn't leave a lot of room for a case.

To put some of this into the recommended headings:

1. Budget & Location

$1000-1300 CAD, have a little flexibility to go up depending on whether it makes more sense to go lower end now and upgrade later, or go higher end now and maybe upgrade much later.

2. Aim

Gaming, media streaming (i.e. Netflix, YouTube, etc since it'll displace the Chromecast in my TV's HDMI port). Streaming capable would be nice but not necessary now. Either VR ready or upgradable for VR if/when I have the budget to get into that. I'm not planning on play Crysis at max quality or anything My game library currently contains a lot of games from Humble Bundles, Epic Games giveaways etc, so probably no AAA games from the last few years, but a few might have snuck in that I'm not thinking of. Even if I can't run newer games at really high quality, being able to run them at all will be a huge step up from what I've got right now, which is why I'm thinking it might be possible to get something in my hopeful budget.

3. Monitors

A single 1080p television right now, with HDMI. May replace the TV at some point, but it's not an immediate priority.

4. Peripherals

Keyboard, mouse, gamepads

5. Why are you upgrading?

See above - I'm not sure how to summarize that in a bullet point

If it'll help, I can provide images and more detailed measurements of the media cabinet. I also have the spare 500W (only 80+ Bronze - Antec Earthwatts Green, I believe) PSU from the case I bought for my last computer (it wasn't quite enough for that system), and a couple spare 1TB WD hard drives (using in enclosures right now for external backup drives) that I could use for spare parts. I could swap some parts around between the old system and new one, but I don't know that it would be worth it.

My biggest question really comes down to fitting it in the space though. I can't always play around with part options. Should I just give up on trying to fit something in the media cabinet and just set a large computer on the floor in the living room? Or is it practical to fit a decent system into that tight space?

WhitetailAni · December 4, 2020

You can use Mini-ITX boards and cases.

But most use SFX-L PSUs, not ATX PSUs.

elephants

Downkey · December 4, 2020

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$279.99 @ Staples
Motherboard	ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$98.50 @ Vuugo
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$77.99 @ Newegg Canada
Storage	Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$69.99 @ Canada Computers
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$69.99 @ Memory Express
Video Card	Sapphire Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB PULSE BE Video Card	$371.99 @ Newegg Canada
Case	Fractal Design Focus G Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$65.50 @ iSanek
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$118.99 @ Amazon Canada
Case Fan	Noctua F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 109.89 CFM 120 mm Fan	$32.95 @ Amazon Canada
Keyboard	Redragon K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard	$47.99 @ Amazon Canada
Mouse	Logitech G305 (Black) Wireless Optical Mouse	$59.99 @ Best Buy Canada
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1318.87
	Mail-in rebates	-$25.00
	Total	$1293.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-12-04 14:25 EST-0500

MarvintheParrot · December 4, 2020

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fvw22V

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.22 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB GAMING X Video Card ($549.94 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H210 Mini ITX Tower Case ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $1178.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-12-04 14:19 EST-0500

This is a little out of your price range, but that is because EVERYTHING IS OVER PRICE RIGHT NOW(can you tell that I wanted to get a new GPU and now i can't?) But when the prices do come down, it should be a fair bit under the price range. (Subtract about $250 form the price of $1178) and you get around $1255 CAD.

Cetlan · December 4, 2020

1 minute ago, jsugarman2005 said:

This is a little out of your price range, but that is because EVERYTHING IS OVER PRICE RIGHT NOW(can you tell that I wanted to get a new GPU and now i can't?) But when the prices do come down, it should be a fair bit under the price range. (Subtract about $250 form the price of $1178) and you get around $1255 CAD.

So it's not just my imagination that things seemed a little expensive when I was starting to price things out (even before I realized the size complication)? I was a little surprised how quickly the base system would add up, even before adding in a video card. It's one reason I'm considering buying a "cheap" video card to start, then swapping it into my Linux desktop later when I can get a good one, and retiring my 7970. But I think it'll be a while before we can get a "good" video card right now.

MarvintheParrot · December 4, 2020

5 minutes ago, Cetlan said:

So it's not just my imagination that things seemed a little expensive when I was starting to price things out (even before I realized the size complication)? I was a little surprised how quickly the base system would add up, even before adding in a video card. It's one reason I'm considering buying a "cheap" video card to start, then swapping it into my Linux desktop later when I can get a good one, and retiring my 7970. But I think it'll be a while before we can get a "good" video card right now.

Yeah, I am super upset that I was not able to get my hands on a 3060 Ti or a 3070. Right now i have a GTX 1650 super and I just want an upgrade. That idea is great, get a cheaper card now, like a 1650 SUPER ($223 CAD) and then get a mid-range card when they become available!