Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


josephhinvest

1543 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

#112312 4-Dec-2012 17:26
Send private message

My next purchase, I hope (regardless of the lack of WAF) will be a compact PC for playing Steam games.
What I want is a compact form factor, a la Mac mini, or otherwise as small as possible, PC that I can use to play, ahem, Train Simulator 2013 via Steam.
I've been mac only for more than 15 years so I really have no clue about Windows. I have an Xbox but there is not a similar game, unfortunately. So I may have to buy a new device, damn ;)

The requirements are
As small form factor as possible, will be installed in entertainment cabinet.
HDMI connectivity as will be played on the TV
Powerful enough graphics to run at relatively high settings

I understand that games like this are relatively cheap, but have massive potential amounts of in game purchases, this is ok with me.

Main system requirements for the game are:

OS:Windows? XP / Vista / 7 / 8
Processor:Processor: 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo (3.2 GHz Core 2 Duo recommended), AMD Athlon MP (multiprocessor variant or comparable processors)
Memory:2 GB RAM
Graphics:512 MB with Pixel Shader 3.0 (AGP PCIe only)
DirectX?:9.0c
Hard Drive:6 GB HD space
Sound:Direct X 9.0c compatible

Any suggestions as where to start?

Thanks,
Joseph

Create new topic
Nety
2584 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #727078 4-Dec-2012 21:09
Send private message

I would give away the idea of a compact PC if you want it to be a gaming PC. The two do not make good bed fellows in my experience. Basically you are putting a lot of hot components into a crowded space. Result things overheat and at best fail early at worst are unreliable and then fail early.







Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64



sidefx
3711 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #727094 4-Dec-2012 21:39
Send private message

Those requirements are fairly minimal though. An AMD Trinity (or even Llano if you want to go cheaper) based system in the case below should do fine on that game. No need for discrete GPU means less heat. And I think someone was mentioning that they work well undervolted for even less power consumption (and presumably heat)

ANTEC ISK310-150
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?r=p&partid=14847

Looks tight so would probably need to be careful with choice of motherboard.




"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there."         | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
              - Richard Feynman


Ragnor
8218 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #727101 4-Dec-2012 22:04
Send private message

Yeah you could get away with an onboard GPU for train simulator but if you want to play other modern PC games you generally need a discrete graphics card and thus need to go for a larger case.

What's your budget for this build?



Loaf
108 posts

Master Geek


  #727706 5-Dec-2012 22:18
Send private message

You could build a gaming mini-itx like I'm doing now.

Asus does a P8Z77-I DELUXE motherboard which is the high end option.

A New Zealand site ITXGamer is a community dedicated to mini-itx builds. People fit all sorts of powerful systems into small form factors.

Jarno
270 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #727728 5-Dec-2012 22:39
Send private message

There recently was an article and discussion on The Verge about this.

CYaBro
4582 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #727731 5-Dec-2012 22:48
Send private message

How about one of the new intel next unit of computing (nuc) systems?





Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.


Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.