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Anybody ever try a mini PC for gaming?
- Thread starter Hemingwayoffbase
- Start date
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Yeah, unless you get AMD's AI 395+ box it's going to have same performance as handheld devices.
Might as well just build or buy a regular PC.
They do (see above) and they cost over $2K now days.
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kikii
Gold Member
//DEVIL//
Member
Yeah, I do not like the film protector on the card/motherboard if I don't have to. Just in case I decide to sell it, it will look pristine to the next buyer ( also, the godlike motherboard screen is easily scratchable ).
And the 4000D isn't really a full-tower case; it's not like the Asus cases or Phanteks NV7. Those were bigger cases.
The Mini-ITX is a secondary pc to have under the TV. It's here temporarily. till it's finished. There is nothing I hate more than an mATX case. It's like it's not a full fludged pc with all its extra fans and cooling, and it's not a mini itx where you can put it under your TV.
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HerjansEagleFeeder
Member
True story, I once went so small with my living room PC it stopped being enjoyable (this was with the Terra btw). I'd always prefer a larger mATX case even if it means it can't sit inside a cabinet.
OP: You won't be satisfied with a 780M. I'd buy a prebuilt miniITX system or build one myself.
OP: You won't be satisfied with a 780M. I'd buy a prebuilt miniITX system or build one myself.
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simpatico
Gold Member
You can get Steam Deck in a Box +30% performance for like $330.
BeeLink has a STRIX Halo 470 and 32GB for $1,150 with factory Linux support for all the little board drivers and shit.
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Durin
Member
I'd personally go with a mini-itx/micro-atx PC over the straight up mini-PCs. You can still get mini-itx/micro-atx boxes around the size of a console, they'll have dedicated GPUs that will get you better performance for the cost, and just go with card like the Nvidia 5060ti 16gb or AMD 9060xt 16gb (can still be cheaper to just get the pre-built without the GPU, and buy it seperately for less).
Something around the size of the Fractal Design Ridge case I'd assume would work (there are other cheaper options too, but I think this looks nice):
www.fractal-design.com
Something around the size of the Fractal Design Ridge case I'd assume would work (there are other cheaper options too, but I think this looks nice):
Ridge
An uncluttered, small form factor case designed to integrate seamlessly into your living space and daily rituals. An evolution of the slimline format, Ridge was developed in collaboration with gaming and entertainment enthusiasts to subtly improve their homes and enhance the small form factor PC...
www.fractal-design.com
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simpatico
Gold Member
I've never ordered direct from BeeLink. Amazon has all the same stuff.
STRIX HALO 470 32GB for $1,150 is kinda crazy. (factory refurbed. 1300 new)
Best of all, factory Linux support.
STRIX HALO 470 32GB for $1,150 is kinda crazy. (factory refurbed. 1300 new)
Best of all, factory Linux support.
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//DEVIL//
Member
How did the Terra not make you enjoy it? temps and fan noise?True story, I once went so small with my living room PC it stopped being enjoyable (this was with the Terra btw). I'd always prefer a larger mATX case even if it means it can't sit inside a cabinet.
OP: You won't be satisfied with a 780M. I'd buy a prebuilt miniITX system or build one myself.
If you are not undervolting, then yeah, it will get a little loud. But I always disable the CPU boost and usually do undervolting for the gpu if it was high end like the 4090 FE i had before upgrading to the 5090.
Still, with that being said, even the 5090 Astral I UV the card, just to have a dead silent with good temps experience. I do not care if i lose 5 or 7 % performance.
Also, with all respect. The Terra case sucks. Overhyped for nothing. I knew it was gonna be an oven the minute I found out you can't aio that thing.
The best mini-ITX case imo is the Formd T1 and the Era 2 ( bigger but a bit cheaper )
However, since I have the Asus X870I and Astral 5090, I am thinking of combining both PCs into one and maybe i dunno sell the remaining parts.
XIKII INDUSTRY FF07 BLACK
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It's just ... I can't just justify 1k case lol. Money isn't really the issue. It's just the principle. 1k case is beyond logic lol
I'd personally go with a mini-itx/micro-atx PC over the straight up mini-PCs. You can still get mini-itx/micro-atx boxes around the size of a console, they'll have dedicated GPUs that will get you better performance for the cost, and just go with card like the Nvidia 5060ti 16gb or AMD 9060xt 16gb (can still be cheaper to just get the pre-built without the GPU, and buy it seperately for less).
Something around the size of the Fractal Design Ridge case I'd assume would work (there are other cheaper options too, but I think this looks nice):
Ridge
An uncluttered, small form factor case designed to integrate seamlessly into your living space and daily rituals. An evolution of the slimline format, Ridge was developed in collaboration with gaming and entertainment enthusiasts to subtly improve their homes and enhance the small form factor PC...
I advise you against using this case unless you want a really very low power build. Anything like the 7600x or even the 9600x with the low-profile cooler from Noctua, you are hitting 80 degrees. While this is ok for some, I don't get comfortable with anything above 73 degrees. Just don't like it. The GPU won't fare much better either.
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Durin
Member
I honestly wasn't sure how much power he wanted in the build given mini-PCs are limited, but there are cases with more room that are still small-ish that could handle airflow better. Ridge was more for looks, but I haven't done a mini-itx build since 2018. Wanted a bigger board with more nvme, and I care more about the noise than the size for me in the living room.
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Ev1L AuRoN
Member
IDK about a mini PC. I built a mid-tower PC for my living room. Nothing fancy:
Core i5 14400F
32 GB DDR4 3200 MT/s CL16
AMD RX 9060 XT 16 GB
2 TB NVMe Gen 4x4
It offers pretty much the performance of a PS5 Pro (usually a bit higher, actually). It handles 4K at 60 FPS on high settings, and RT using the fantastic FSR 4.1 (sometimes I need to use OptiScaler to inject it into older titles, but most new games support it natively).
I bought a 7-dollar Raspberry Pi Pico 2W and flashed it with the DS5Dongle firmware, which allows me to use the DualSense with full haptics on PC wirelessly. [1, 2, 3]
For competitive games I go with 1800p for 120Hz or higher.
Frame gen is also a godsend for some games. On a gamepad I don't feel any latency whatsoever.
Another tip: you can substitute the Windows shell for the Steam gamepad UI (a la SteamOS) using the Windows Registry. That gives you a controller-friendly UI and Windows compatibility.
Core i5 14400F
32 GB DDR4 3200 MT/s CL16
AMD RX 9060 XT 16 GB
2 TB NVMe Gen 4x4
It offers pretty much the performance of a PS5 Pro (usually a bit higher, actually). It handles 4K at 60 FPS on high settings, and RT using the fantastic FSR 4.1 (sometimes I need to use OptiScaler to inject it into older titles, but most new games support it natively).
I bought a 7-dollar Raspberry Pi Pico 2W and flashed it with the DS5Dongle firmware, which allows me to use the DualSense with full haptics on PC wirelessly. [1, 2, 3]
For competitive games I go with 1800p for 120Hz or higher.
Frame gen is also a godsend for some games. On a gamepad I don't feel any latency whatsoever.
Another tip: you can substitute the Windows shell for the Steam gamepad UI (a la SteamOS) using the Windows Registry. That gives you a controller-friendly UI and Windows compatibility.
HerjansEagleFeeder
Member
Yes, temps/noise we're killing the fun for me. I had a 7800X3D and an RTX 5070 Ti in there, and even with BIOS settings for the CPU set to disable turbo and so on it still wasn't quite what I'd deem acceptable. Didn't try some serious undervolting, though.
The Terra deserves no respect, I agree it's an overhyped shit case made primarily for looks. My riser cable broke without any obvious cause and good luck replacing that easily. Threw this thing in the garbage couple months ago.
FalconPunch
Member
Asrock mobo?...what?
here's a Mini iTX build that's cheaper than the 2TB Steam Machine, far more powerful, and fully upgradable down the line.
better CPU, far better GPU, 2x VRAM size, roughly the same RAM config, fits easily under a TV.
FalconPunch
Member
The op could probably do a build in the mechanic master c24. It's 9 Liters in volume.
Cakeboxer
Member
It really depends on your requirements. For anything up to and including the GameCube era, it's not that expensive - a sub-200 Euro HP EliteDesk 805 G6 (AMD Ryzen 4350GE) is already enough. If you need PS3/360 and Switch emulation, then it gets more expensive.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
Yup i gamed on intel nucs for a long time.
It could run horizon 3 at 60fps in 720p
Looked crazy to game on a pc the size of an orange
MayauMiao
Member
I already help a friend to set up his mini dell to run emulators up to PS2/Gamecube. He was lucky to get a Dell Optiplex 5060 with an Intel quad core because a company he worked for had to get rid of hardware.
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MayauMiao
Member
My tv and furniture is set up much like this photo. The SSF/mid tower would still be obtrusive and I really don't like to see such box sitting there in full view.
Placing the PC in another room is also not option for my case.
ahtlas7
Member
With a bit of ingenuity you could build the pc into the console table.My tv and furniture is set up much like this photo. The SSF/mid tower would still be obtrusive and I really don't like to see such box sitting there in full view.
Placing the PC in another room is also not option for my case.
crackajack
Member
My PC is an HP M01 (or something like that... only picture searched the case. Has an HP erica 3 board which is custom and not following any ATX ITX whatever standard, which is something I did not research before buying. So avoid that shit!)
4600G as the processor (with an underpowered Vega GPU)
and since the board (and PSU) only supports PCIe up to 70W, I bought a used RTX A2000 (which is in the ballpark of 3050/3060)
Was iirc 300€ for the PC, 50 for adding another 8GB RAM, 100 for the used graphics card.
It was probably around PS4 performance, and is definitely not really current gen capable anymore. But the price and performance was reasonable back then.
Usually you can get SFF GPUs with a half length slot for the thinner SFF PCs. Mine houses full length. So that's hardly Mini.
Actual Mini PCs are probably rather expensive if you want decent graphics performance. Neither AMD nor Intel really did a good balance on an adequate GPU part in those. But with the rise of handhelds that might improve.
I think there are a few Mini PCs with decent performance (incl a real GPU) but those are insanely expensive currently. eg HP Z2 Mini G9.
You might also look into Android devices and if Game Native might run the games you want on a good enough level. I am not sure anyone makes a console like box with an Snapdragon Elite, but that would basically be perfect for Mini PC gaming.
4600G as the processor (with an underpowered Vega GPU)
and since the board (and PSU) only supports PCIe up to 70W, I bought a used RTX A2000 (which is in the ballpark of 3050/3060)
Was iirc 300€ for the PC, 50 for adding another 8GB RAM, 100 for the used graphics card.
It was probably around PS4 performance, and is definitely not really current gen capable anymore. But the price and performance was reasonable back then.
Usually you can get SFF GPUs with a half length slot for the thinner SFF PCs. Mine houses full length. So that's hardly Mini.
Actual Mini PCs are probably rather expensive if you want decent graphics performance. Neither AMD nor Intel really did a good balance on an adequate GPU part in those. But with the rise of handhelds that might improve.
I think there are a few Mini PCs with decent performance (incl a real GPU) but those are insanely expensive currently. eg HP Z2 Mini G9.
You might also look into Android devices and if Game Native might run the games you want on a good enough level. I am not sure anyone makes a console like box with an Snapdragon Elite, but that would basically be perfect for Mini PC gaming.
Hideous Snake
Gold Member
With how massive GPUs became, I do not recommend mini-ITX cases. Having a room to breathe is very important for circulation.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
That's a very good point. Running a game at 720p with 40 fps is fine on a handheld. It doesn't look right on a 65"+ 4K TV.
Topher
Identifies as young
That's why I ultimately chose micro ATX over ITX for my last build. I was looking at folks building those things on youtube and the airflow just looked horrible. Might be ok for some lower powered GPUs, I guess, but my 5080? lol....no
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rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
My tower is in the living room near the TV. It blends in with the sound system.
Hideous Snake
Gold Member
Correct. I build PCs almost monthly for friends and friends of friends. Mini-ITX are horrible
simpatico
Gold Member
That's how we had it set up at the last house. When my stereo moved to my office after the move, it removed anywhere to hide the PC. I don't do any critical gaming up there. Kart Racers and Beat Em Up type stuff.
DarkLordOtaku
Member
Lol, the way this picture is framed, it looks like that PC is huge. Like it's point of reference is a couch that it towers over. And windows that it nearly completely obstructs, haha. Because your deskpad looks like a rug.
In the process of building my steam machine killer.
My main PC has 9800x3d and 5090 astral x870e Godlike motherboard
My mini PC has x870I and 5070 FE in the Formd T1 case with SF1000 PSU
Waiting for a used cpu and ram . Taking my time not in rush till I find the missing parts but I am almost done.
I ain't touching closed ecosystem. Whatever it's Sony or MS period.
//DEVIL//
Member
The windows are the whole wall . Just not visible lol.
And no it's a mid range size case. 4000d frame ( customized one though from Corsair with all usb 3 headers for front IO and mechanical power button . Different psu shroud with full glass side panel.
unfashionable
Member
Nice. what graphics card do you have in there?This is my pc in my living roomyou hardly notice it.
S0ULZB0URNE
Member
So you are done with Sony for going all digital and want to go to a all digital platform?
I would do a laptop (that can be hooked to a TV)over these mini PC's unless you can find a powerful cube that's similar priced.
simpatico
Gold Member
Anyone this tuned in to consumer tech should absolutely be running AI models at home to look for revenue streams or just tinker. That's why I'm kinda fixated on the BeeLink Claw with STRIX Halo, you get similar gaming to Steam Deck, and I can run models on it when I'm not gaming, which for that machine would be like 95% of its time. The factory Linux driver support is the icing on the cake.
Anyone know if there are other STRIX boxes with factory Linux I should be comparing this against? If ALL I wanted the box for was gaming, I'd probably go Steam Machine, but I've been wanting a little AI box for a long, and this seems like it can scratch both itches.
The game Steam Machine outperforms STRIX on, for my tastes I wouldn't be playing them on either machine. It's not like there are games unplayable on STRIX that provide good experience on a 7600
Anyone know if there are other STRIX boxes with factory Linux I should be comparing this against? If ALL I wanted the box for was gaming, I'd probably go Steam Machine, but I've been wanting a little AI box for a long, and this seems like it can scratch both itches.
The game Steam Machine outperforms STRIX on, for my tastes I wouldn't be playing them on either machine. It's not like there are games unplayable on STRIX that provide good experience on a 7600
For 2-3x the price of a Steam Machine. You can have a solid 5080 rig for the low end of that.
You can get old NVIDIA server cards if you just want to tinker. Way more stuff is CUDA focused. You just won't have 96GB of addressable RAM.
simpatico
Gold Member
You can get the Strix for $1300 now with 32GB RAM
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That has 890M graphics, not the 8060S from Strix Halo.You can get the Strix for $1300 now with 32GB RAM
I uses normal LPDDR, not the soldered 8600MT on the good machines. It's slower than the Steam Machine for gaming.