Creating a dedicated PC gaming console/machine? (re: Windows, etc)

[jmk396]

Has anybody created a dedicated Windows-based gaming console/machine?

I'm aware of SteamOS which runs Linux (Debian) but it's limited in the number of games you can play so I'd like to focus on Windows (10).

Does anybody have any tips for doing this? It looks like Windows 10 Enterprise has custom shell launchers (kiosk mode) so you can auto-login to a specific user account and then automatically launch Steam and lock it to that application, etc.

There is also Launcher4Kodi which launches Kodi on boot (and then you can launch Steam, etc), but I'm not sure about the pros/cons versus the Windows 10 shell launcher/kiosk mode.

Also, which launcher would be best? I can use Steam Big Picture Mode or Kodi, or maybe something else exists? Alienware also has a custom shell that they use for Windows-based Steam machines.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

 

[gsilver]

It's easy enough to have Steam launch in big picture mode on boot.
Though Windows 10 wants to be an operating system as a service, so it more or less forces you to log in before it does anything, and there's like a minute on the desktop before Steam loads, at least on my HTPC.

 

[staknhalo]

Yeah use Windows and just set your wallpaper to pure black (or to match the Steam Bubbles background), set taskbar to autohide and have Steam Big Picture launch on boot. Trying to mess with shells and stuff will just lead to headaches at any given time down the road when you need to do something with the machine in terms of maintenance/upkeep/whatever. At most customize Windows boot animation to your liking. It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.