Would you buy a "gaming" HTPC?

[Savagezion]

That assumes I have a desktop computer (I don't) that doesn't overheat (it does) and is pretty good (it's not) and the money for a GPU (I don't). And then I have to worry about rigging it up to a decent TV screen and getting new peripheral controllers and working around installing every single game I want to play. And you're telling me even if I could right all those wrongs, it still wouldn't be top of the line?

Let me address your all your issues

- Laptops are shit
- Laptops are shit
- Laptops are shit
- Laptops are shit (Seriously, my decent 5 year old desktop kicks my decent new laptop's ass)

Well there you go. I have a (crap) laptop that I use exclusively for work. I already have a gaming console, why would I buy another more expensive computer when I already have the best of both worlds? Now if I didn't have a laptop or a console, then maybe I would consider getting an HTPC a tempting choice.

Actually, you don't have the 'best of both worlds'. You have 2 forms of limited functionality of 1 world. My PC can do everything your laptop and console can do and then some. I honestly am not trying to talk you into a HTPC but just making a point. This is only 1 world.

The only benefit a laptop offers is mobility in exchange for a lot less power for price and overheating issues. IMO laptops are only good for work or surfing the internet - which your phone can do - so mostly just work on the go. Battery life is an issue as well. Consoles are not the 'best' of that world as they offer no mods and no community patches and a limited interface due to controllers' confined input ability. If a Bethesda game releases everyone on consoles is sitting around complaining for the devs to release a patch to fix the bugs while PC gamers just install the community patch and are doing ok.

Mostly the one benefit you have to the laptop/console system is not having to worry about upgrading hardware because you can't. Yeah, you could on the laptop but most people who run laptops would rather just go buy a new laptop than install a new component or just not upgrade. (Especially, if its primary funsction is work) Laptops are very confined spaces for upgrades and most don't want to break out a screwdriver and do it themselves so the upgrades aren't as cheap. Plus, price for power in laptops is poor because they have to shrink the tech which makes the price go up.

What you have is the two closed platforms of one world. The laptop for mobility is one benefit a PC can't offer so I understand work on the go as a must. Console gaming got big when it was crazy expensive to have a PC in your home. Now that PCs are much more feasible, consoles are becoming less relevant and more like an anchor. Consoles are cheaper because you buy the hardware on a kind of credit. They know you will buy games and those games won't be cheap because you still have to "pay off" your console. PCs demand the money up front but they also provide games at a much cheaper rate. I have just over 30 games on my PS3 from last gen. I have 120 games on Steam that span 2 console generations and the PS3 library costed me more. I will soon catch my PS3 dollar amount on Steam but that's crazy isn't it? 30 games cost more than 120? That's 4x value.

 

[DoPo]

The thing is WMC and Steam Big Picture make it very easy to control using a remote (play, stop, rewind, up, down, okay, etc) similar to a DVD player, and for Steam, a game controller (like the 360 controller) can do everything. You're right about KB/Mouse on a couch not being as much fun, hence they're secondary to my idea.

Yeah, I don't really get the argument against mouse/keyboard being used on a couch. OK, yeah - chances are, it would not be really comfortable (depends on your set up really) but thing is, you don't even have to use them. I've set up an HTPC at home - my old laptop I don't really use any more. It's for watching movies only but I don't need a keyboard or a mouse for it - my first attempt was with XBMC which is a player available in several ways but I got the Linux distro built around it (XBMCbuntu - which is Ubintu based, to the shock and surprise of nobody) - that has an Android app that allows controlling it. It's not great but it works as a remote, so...yeah, no need for any other input. But this one didn't really suit me that much, so I went with something even simpler - VLC media player. On Windows, if it matters, but it doesn't really for it's multiplatform - VLC already has API for remote controlling it and approximately a zillion Android apps that use it. I went with VLC Direct Streaming Pro Free (yeah, that's the name of the app) because not only can it act as a remote control, it also allows you to stream video between your Android device and PC in each direction. The remote control capability is simply better than what XBMC allowed.

So in conclusion, no - I don't think keyboard/mouse need to be used at all.

And to answer the question in the OP - I do not plan on buying one, but I could, perhaps, build one. In fact, I very probably would, I plan on, one day, building a beefy computer and having pretty much any other devices in the house being slim clients interfacing with it. So, in a way, it'd be able to act as an HTPC but not only.

 

[votemarvel]

It isn't as if there aren't wireless media remotes for the PC, so if you didn't want to use a mouse and keyboard for your media then you do have alternative options.

As to the original question, would I buy a PC dedicated for the living room? No, I don't believe I would.

Don't get me wrong I know there are some great small form factor PCs, that have great gaming functionality. Yet I would struggle to justify the machine given its limitations over my regular desktop.

I know it is hypocritical but I think the combination I currently have, my desktop and an Xbox 360 for streaming to my TV, is perhaps the best combination there is for what I want to do.

My laptop I keep offline to avoid distractions while working on it.

 

[AtomChicken]

Well, depends if form factor is your niche. I avoid gaming HTPCs because they tend to be very cramped and hard to clean, refit components, and leave my fingers tied in knots. Building a computer is always a challenge, but a gaming HTPC adds another level of joint crunching I don't like to remember.