Games console replacement

[tezza1982]

Project overview

I have a hardcore gaming rig but sometimes after a hard days work i do like to veg out on the couch with a pad for some casual gaming. Unfortunately the xbox and ps3 is ready for the retirement home so I've decided to try and build my own next gen console for my TV.

That is quite a grandiose statement but what I want to do slightly different from the normal run of the mill gaming rig is try and accomplish the following

1. Make it as console-esq as possible so it sits nice next to my TV using a single Hdmi cable.
2. I want it to be controller pad friendly
3. Costs need to be controlled so i'm on a budget(which consoles generally are)
4. Convenience, I want to be able to switch the unit on and without messing about with keyboards and mouse just use my pad to launch games
5. Like the xbox I want a convenient gaming/media hub all in one box for my TV
6. In terms of performance I personally think a yard stick of next gen consoles is going to be 1080p @ 60 fps

To accomplish the following I need to think about both hardware and software, I plan to build this around steam big picture which is a console style dashboard controllable though a game pad, I want to somehow integrate the wireless xbox dongle also so there are no wires.

My plan for this thread is to do a build log, show the completed rig and demonstrate its use, and drop some benches to give anyone considering doing this some ideas/thoughts.

Hardware

Some hardware i have sat on a shelf as spares and some i have ordered which will be here tomorrow so Ill post up the pics as and when. Thanks OCUK again for the great service ordering the parts.

Here is the parts ill be using:

Goods Shipped:
£129.99 x 1 - Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games
£83.29 x 1 - Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail
£69.99 x 1 - Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard
£54.16 x 1 - Adata S510 120GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - Retail with Acronis True Image
£54.16 x 1 - BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White
£26.66 x 1 - Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G160C9K)
£24.99 x 1 - Xebec HTPC/Console Bluetooth Keyboard

Parts I already have as spares

OCZ ZT 650 watt PSU
1TB Seagate Barracuda
Antec Kuhler 620
Xbox usb wireless dongle
Xbox wireless pad

Summary

This may or may not work out as I intend, yes its bigger than your run of the mill xbox/ps3 but I really love the prodigy, other itx cases are there if you want. I do understand some parts could be better spec, but overall i have tried to go for a nice balance and keep within my £500 budget (which i just went over on Yes I understand that for the most demanding games 60fps @1080p may not be allways possible but generally speaking this should be enough.

Any questions or comments allways welcome.

Tezza

 

[tezza1982]

We have lift off Thankyou OCUK excellent service / delivery time as allways.

 

[tezza1982]

First build update

200mm fan in the front on intake, 120 in the rear for exhaust, CPU cooler attached

Hard Drive cage out (need to when adding discrete graphics cards) plus SSD and HDD loaded in the sleds.

CPU and RAM locked n loaded

Motherboard positioned and cpu cooler attached

Graphics card mounted

Thats all for today, its 3am and Im off to bed


One last update, I did originally say I wanted the xbox -wirless dongle internal, allthough possible on thinking about it is not practical because I will need to open the case if I want to re sync or add a new pad,

Its pretty ghetto but I have gone with this solution as it solves the problem, cable ties and sticky velcro, anytime I need to sync a pad its easy access and its surprisingly sturdy.

 

[tezza1982]

Have you thought about using Steam Big Picture as your media hub software? Works well and has what you need, plus you can get it to start in big picture mode on startup.

To accomplish the following I need to think about both hardware and software, I plan to build this around steam big picture which is a console style dashboard controllable though a game pad, I want to somehow integrate the wireless xbox dongle also so there are no wires.

 

[tezza1982]

last build update,

I ran into a few problems with the power supply, The one I had wouldnt fit with the modular cables so I swapped my ZT 650 with my mates non modular ZS 550 and it just about fit,

Anyway:

PSU installed

All wired up

Front panel header, audio and usb installation

Last minute checks

Ready to go

David next to Golliath!

Powered on first time, on installing OS, drivers, software.

My next update should be a demo of what I set out to achieve i.e use as a console, benchmarks etc.

Any questions let me know.:car:

TC

 

[tezza1982]

P.S. Any reason for mounting the cooler like that? Surely it would be better to mount it to the top vents? This will allow for front and back input fans and the top two outputting.

Thanks for the comments, to be honest this is an I3, placing the cooler in any other position wont make a blind bit of defference, Ive no overclocking temps to worry about.

The machine has been running an hour and the cpu temp at the moment is 26 degrees.

 

[tezza1982]

Don't suppose you'd be able to grab the PSU cage dimensions? (Mainly depth) As I'm hoping to not have to buy another PSU. The website recommends a MAX length of 160mm but I'd imagine that allows room for cables. Greatly appreciated if you could have a quick measure

The cage is exactly 175mm, you need to leave space for the cables, the PSU I used is 160mm and that is a real tight fit, I would suggest that 160mm is the absolute max, if you are using modular cables id even leave a bit more,

 

[tezza1982]

Im interested in how you set this up:

- can the pad boot the machine?
- can it navigate the desktop like a mouse?
- or is there a system overlay to make it more pad-friendly?

Unfortunatly not at the moment, i have speced a lcd/IR module for the dvd drive bay which will allow me to switch on remotely, I maxed my budget so that will be next month. So not yet but eventually you will be able to. Switching off using the pad no problem though.

The pad cant navigate the windows desktop but the machine is set to launch into XBMC and from there I can launch steam. From these locations its fully controllable with the xbox pad and thats all you use. I can also turn off the machine with the pad aswell. XBMC and Steam big picture is a full system overlay, unless you want to, you dont see windows at all from switch on to shut down.

I will do a video soon which should demonstrate the above.

 

[tezza1982]

OK guys as promised the final result, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. I have attached the vid but for best results I would watch on Youtube in HD mode.

Couple of apologies first, the camera is decent but had to use it hand held so bear with me on this, also this is my first vid so its not the greatest camera work but I think Its a good demonstration of the unit.

I think I have achieved what I set out to do, this can be used as a true console replacement. At no point in this video did I use a mouse, keyboard so you can literally switch on, sit back and use a pad. The option is there to use windows as normal however as I have a neat little handheld bluetooth keyboard and track pad.

Performance wise it is very nippy, for those interested the fact everything is instant is down to the SSD and not the cpu, I cant overstate how much of a difference this makes using an ssd boot and not a mechanical hard drive. As you can see on the vid there is very little wait time and no egg timers. 1080p video plays instantly and even starting or scanning full hd there is no buffering.

The unit is virtually silent and for those really interested in power consumption I stress tested the CPU and GPU using an artificial benchmark and it drew 265 watts from the wall which is about the same as a first gen xbox 360.

Any questions let me know, I hope this has been an interesting thread, the last thing as promised I will do is put some benchmarks up tomorrow.

Watch the full vid for a pretty full overview of the unit in action, I tried to cover everything form media to games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw-PNj7ML90