I am looking to integrate gaming into my media set up. Openelec so far has worked great for me. But I am not sure if I can use it for gaming. So any suggestions would be great.
If Openelec is not an option, I am also considering Windows or Steam OS and wanted to know if anybody has such a set up going on and what sort of hardware is best in either scenario.
Currently I am using an Intel Nuc DC3217IYE
I wanted to chime in here earlier but I was getting out of work so I left it and forgot for a couple days.
XBMC will pretty much run fine on any Gaming PC with Windows. Being Windows you'll probably face a few quirks, you can't quite 'Appliance It' like OpenELEC does. You'll find yourself in situations where XBMC has lost focus or something went wrong and the thing just fucked off to the Windows desktop. So that's your warning
I run two XBMC boxes as 'Gaming PCs' with Windows as the base OS. The first is an AMD A8-3870K with Radeon HD 6850 which plays a fair share of games. It also is my media server, runs MySQL, SickBeard, CouchPotato, Transmission and others. So it's a busy box.
The other is an Intel i7 3770K with Radeon HD 6950. More powerful and better at some of the heavier Steam games.
I use Xbox 360 controllers with USB receivers and they're the main gaming input. The Steam addon is used to switch back and forth between XBMC and Steam to get to my games. All in all, a pretty good setup, but you'll totally run into situations where you need to get the keyboard out to fix some stuff. It'll never be QUITE the experience OpenELEC can be, Windows just ISN'T suitable to be an appliance without a LOT of work and hacks. So it'll work great 95% of the time and 5% of the time you'll be all 'God damnit' and reaching for the keyboard.
Thanks , Dj
Yea I want to avoid wi8ndows. Anybody running kodi on steam os or Debian care to share their thoughts.
IMHO Windows is definitley the better one for gaming, but I guess it depends on what youre after - with AAA games there is a big difference between the two, but with indie games there isnt so much, though even then they have some big anoyances - if a controller turns off while the game is running youll need to restart the game (probably the same thing if you want to add a controller).
I tried playing Borderlands TPS on linux to support linux gaming and so that Aspyr (the porters) would get the royalties, but after 10 minutes of playing I was back in windows
This is a good read, especially the 'port reports':
http://richg42.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/s...aming.html
(2014-11-22, 08:47)DJ_Izumi Wrote: [ -> ]Being Windows you'll probably face a few quirks, you can't quite 'Appliance It' like OpenELEC does. You'll find yourself in situations where XBMC has lost focus or something went wrong and the thing just fucked off to the Windows desktop.
I have had great luck with XBMCLauncher to fix that.
I use my gaming PC as a media center more than a gaming pc, so I highly recommend a power supply with a hybrid option. The fan will not turn on until it reaches a power threshold. This helps keep PC quiet when watching TV and movies. More times than not, my projector is louder than my PC.
(2014-11-22, 08:47)DJ_Izumi Wrote: [ -> ]XBMC will pretty much run fine on any Gaming PC with Windows. Being Windows you'll probably face a few quirks, you can't quite 'Appliance It' like OpenELEC does. You'll find yourself in situations where XBMC has lost focus or something went wrong and the thing just fucked off to the Windows desktop. So that's your warning
I find replacing the
explorer shell with eventghost (I think you can do this with xbmclauncher too, although I have never used it) and disabling windws automatic updates (I have them set to auto download but not install, otherwise the 'windows needs to reboot to update' notification will constantly steal focus - good one MS!) help alot with focus issues and make windows more appliance like. You can still access the desktop if need be, or for the majority of things use ctrl + shift +esc to open the task manager and run the file explorer from there.
(2014-11-23, 05:33)teeedubb Wrote: [ -> ] (2014-11-22, 08:47)DJ_Izumi Wrote: [ -> ]XBMC will pretty much run fine on any Gaming PC with Windows. Being Windows you'll probably face a few quirks, you can't quite 'Appliance It' like OpenELEC does. You'll find yourself in situations where XBMC has lost focus or something went wrong and the thing just fucked off to the Windows desktop. So that's your warning
I find replacing the explorer shell with eventghost (I think you can do this with xbmclauncher too, although I have never used it) and disabling windws automatic updates (I have them set to auto download but not install, otherwise the 'windows needs to reboot to update' notification will constantly steal focus - good one MS!) help alot with focus issues and make windows more appliance like. You can still access the desktop if need be, or for the majority of things use ctrl + shift +esc to open the task manager and run the file explorer from there.
In my situation, I do still want Exporer on the machines as the shell. Since I have 4 PCs in the house and do some indie visual effects outside of work, I like being able Cinema 4D Team Render client on them to get more rendering speed out of my home, or to run any other applications. Not to mention those few times where XBMC or something just won't do and I need to crack open a normal web browser.
Though I can totally see that being a much more suitable option for a PC being built as a dedicated HTPC/Console. Mine are just... MOre hobbyish.