PC Master Race

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Cheap (SFF) prefabs without GPUs on ebay, is that still a thing? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/pcmasterrace

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Hey all. I'm currently renovating my basement and have been thinking about finally creating a comfy couch gaming setup. One of the many options I've been mulling over, besides running Steam Link over ethernet (~ugh, that lag though!~ lag actually wasn't that bad, but for some reason I can't get Steam Link to adapt the screen resolution to my tv) and running a RUIpro HDMI cable through my walls from the tv to the rig in my office, is maybe moving my 3080TI into a new SFF build to serve as a PCMR steam console for the basement. Preferably something small and nondescript, yet powerful enough to comfortably drive my 3080TI. I would stick an xbox adapter in it, hook it up to ethernet and my 4K TV via HDMI and call it a day. Bonus points if it can double as a blu-ray player, because why not.

If I am going that route I would like to not spend too much, so I was wondering if maybe I could just pick up (from eBay) a prefab with a removed GPU, since that used to be a thing a year or two ago. Is that still a thing? And if so, can you recommend any specific models that would work well in my use case? Or did I miss the proverbial boat and am I better off just building a new SFF unit?

Any and all input appreciated!

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[–] Katiyan 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Probably not a super helpful comment, but when was the last time you tried steam link, especially over Ethernet? Now I'm not playing any competitive, rhythm games or twitch shooters or anything but I've had 0 latency complaints. Either that or could give moonlight a shot for just two options that are free if you want to give them a shot.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Hey thanks, I appreciate it! I actually just tested it a few weeks ago. Bought an Apple TV (2022) for the occasion, figuring it would be one of the best SL clients to have, hooked it up to the ethernet and verified that the connection was good. Connection-wise it actually ran well, much better than feared.

My biggest gripe is that Steam Link does not seem to adapt my TV's native 4K resolution. Instead it uses the host's resolution (which in my case is a 5120x2160 UW). From what I could tell after some googling this is not easily fixable, unless you're willing to deal with fake HDMI dongles or software that changes resolution profiles. I tried it for a bit, but just couldn't get it to work properly and gave up. Also tried Moonlight with the Sunshine server app running, but ran into some issues there as well, though I can't quite remember what it was.

[–] Katiyan 2 points 1 year ago

Oh gotcha, I just run standard 2k monitors with steam link to a (2016?) Nvidia sheild TV and never had issues. That's a fair point though, I think you can potentially get around that by changing the in-game resolution but then you would have to change it back when you're at your desktop so makes sense. Sorry I couldn't be more help here!

[–] trigonated 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

which in my case is a 5120x2160 UW

This is offtopic, but how has your experience been with it (issue and performance-wise)? I’m interested in upgrading to that res and there’s not all that much info besides a couple of graphs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

In terms of running Steam games, or in general? I'm pretty happy with it overall and Steam games pretty much all run great. Sadly it's capped at 60hz, but I knew that going in. Let me know if you have any more specific questions, I'd be happy to take a stab at them.

[–] trigonated 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks. I meant games. I currently have a 3840x2160 so I’m used to some quirks but was wondering in general if many games have you trouble or looked broken. The 60hz thing sucks but oh well, there simply isn’t anything out there with that resolution and higher freqs.