***This is only for people that already have a good gaming PC and are tired of moving it from the office to the HT…. oh, are lazy too, heh***
This is an idea I’ve been thinking about for some time, but after the research, I’m still not sure about it. So, I need your guy’s advice, good or bad.
Here’s the question,
For a cost effective alternative to purchasing a whole new expensive gaming PC just for a HTPC, is it feasible to run the cables from the office to the HT, and still have a high-quality gaming experience?
My thinking is, if done correctly, based on length of cables, it would be a great way to keep my steroid pc in the office, and still have a great gaming experience in the TV room. Plus, it would be much cheaper than building 2 PCs! Oh, my wife would be happier too. It’s about 75 feet from the office to the TV room (through the crawl space).
Here’s the issue,
I worry about the usual FPS gaming issues, such as internet lag, video lag, KB/mouse lag (wireless mice = crap), graphics resolutions, overclocking, and overheating issues. I need split second response times with my controls and video when playing on the internet. A gaming PC costs a lot of money if you want a relatively decent gaming experience. Currently I have to lug my crazy steroid PC from the office to the TV room if I want to play on the 50 inch panny. It’s just looks bad sitting there, cables are everywhere, plus it’s a PITA to move it. I know one of those new fancy HTPC cases would look really nice under the TV, it’s just cost prohibitive to build another good gaming system. Then there’s the heating issue. These gaming PCs need decent air flow. You just can’t stick it into a cabinet under the TV, no matter which fancy computer case your purchase.
Oh, I don’t want an xbox 360, though it would be MUCH cheaper. I’d take my PC over that any day because of the versatility. I don’t need to explain that to you guys in the HTPC forum : )
I was thinking of purchasing:
-100 feet of xga VGA cable (1024x1280) and connecting it to my 7800gt (DVI to VGA connector), from cablestogo or newegg = $100
-100 feet of coax audio cable, 75omh shielded, from pacificcable = $119
-5x16ft (~80ft) 2.0 usb repeaters (usb powered), from newegg = $80
Anyone with some insights or experienced they want to share? How would the cable length affect the latency for the USB, video display, and sound?
Thanks!
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Here’s my media room specs:
50 inch panny (lcd projection), a sub and 5.1 surround system, speakers are mounted to the ceiling with some Btech ceiling mounts. It’s clean and looks/sounds great. BF2 or Doom3 with 8xAA and 8xAF, 50 inch panny, 720p (native) or higher, ultra high settings, 5.1 audio. Its godly, especially with a big sub: )
