My Ultimate PC + Controllers Gaming Rig

fewlio

n00b
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Messages
20
I just took some snapshots of my rig, thumbnails to all with unclippd/fullsized photos here: http://imageshack.us/g/202/img0762tx.jpg/

img0762tx.jpg

img0763o.jpg

img0764f.jpg

img0765ik.jpg



My gaming rig hardware:

Consoles:
Xbox360 Elite
Nintendo Wii

PC:
LianLi full tower black anodized aluminum gaming case
Seasonic 430w power supply
Gigabyte Nvidia 560ti 1gb video card
AMD Quad core 3ghz Deneb cpu
6gb Ram DDR2 800
Crucial 60gb M4 SSD OS drive + 320gb 7200rpm data drive
Monitor
Playseat Racing chair
Custom Cut pine desk surface to accomodate pc human interface devices
Logitech G27
Logitech G13 WASD game controller
Microsoft Sidewinder wireless Bluetrack 500-4000 DPI on the fly adjustable gaming mouse
Custom cut Razer mousepad
Saitek X45 HOTAS system
Sennheiser 555 headphones


This rig is designed as a home theater pc with gaming capabilities. Tiny booksize pcs are one way to go when approaching a htpc, but my vision is of a machine that can handle tv, movies and pc/console gaming. Modern era games such as Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2 & 3, and Rage by Id Software require a flexible control setup where one can quickly transition from driving to flying a plane and back again to mouse and keyboard for FPS elements. I got the idea for this setup many years ago when I was playing Battlefield 1942 (my fave multiplayer game of all time) but ironically I was never able to get all 3 control setups to work together in tandem, I have to disable the wheel to get the joystick and mouse/kb to work. And I haven't gotten everything to work simultaneously with Battlefield 3, either, which is a huge disappointment as I expected the developers would have programmed the game to allow for multiple controllers. I'm still hoping for a patch or workaround. At any rate the setup allows me to play FPS and racing games without a lot of re-arranging my controllers.

The pineboard desk surface is bolted to the Playseat as well as the Logitech G27 wheel. I cut the desk surface to allow me to place all my game controls at comfortable shoulder width distance apart. In practice I can switch from mouse/kb to steering wheel within 1-2 seconds, and from flight to mouse/kb in 2-5 seconds. To get the flight stuff in the sweet spot I do slightly pull the HOTAS system down and push/slide the WASD controller and mouse down, so there is a slight adjustment necessary when going back and forth between these two. The alternative is to leave the mouse/kb controllers in the most comfortable position for my arms and then to have to reach a little bit to control the flight stuff...it works ok but the throttle control especially is a bit of a reach when going to maximum acceleration, so I prefer to just move the flight controllers a few inches down as it doesn't take a lot of time to do. I also built a wood box structure to mount my six speed shifter. Evidently Playseat makes a metal mount for this shifter that bolts to the Playseat, but I didn't feel like spending 60 bux for it so I built something that is nice and sturdy with 8 nails and 2 dollars worth of wood. The box is attached to the floorboard w/ velcro and it holds it very tight, velcro seemed better than screws or nails since other plays in my house may want to adjust the position and velcro allows for that.

The plywood board on the floor is to stabilize the rig, the whole thing is on soft carpet and was unstable without the plywood underneath. Also, I've opted not to paint and polish up the woodwork because painted or not it is never going to look like a fighter jet cockpit or a race car cockpit. It is what it is - a setup that allows me to access all my most important controls quickly, easily and comfortably.

If you are wondering why I am rocking a 19 inch CRT then just consider how much money I spent on video card, racing chair and other assorted controllers. Then also take a look at my couch :) 'Nuff said!
 
Last edited:
Get the Projector I have and point it at your wall ;) Dim the lights, it does 1080p @ 60Hz and 120Hz @ 720p. If you catch it on a sale it's under 5 benjamins. You don't even need a screen, but you can get one of those 2. If you have 12 feet from wall to wall you'll get 80 inch screen 14 feet over 100. It's also 3D Vision ready. It's freaking awesome. Nice wheel.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009223
 
I'm on it bro...I actually just sold my sanyo plv-z2 720p projector and was planning a 1080p upgrade but got distracted w/ this project and also upgrading my 5.1 speaker system w/ some newegg polk monitor series. Needless to say I'm gonna be rockin' the 19" crt for a while longer...
 
GRID @ 120HZ maxed out gfx is fun as heck on my projector, nothing like it really. Except maybe 100mph+ in a sportscar on a sunny day :D Bad thing is I just have a PS3 controller and Motionjoy drivers , I need a wheel like yours how you like the wheel?? I wish so bad Forza 4 was on PC :( Oh well we all need mo' money hehe.
 
I upgraded from a late 90s era Wingman Formula Force (original all red wheel)

this wheel is night and day above that one, the smoothness, quality of materials, awesome foot pedals, and ~900 degrees of rotation make this thing super dooper
 
You seriously joined just to post this didn't you? Go clean your room...
 
Pretty nice.

Now while you are saving up for the upgrades, take the time to do like the others have said and clean up! :p

That place would be a lot nicer with 10 minutes of cleaning.

You should post dimensions of the room. Does it have windows? Think of a good place to keep everything that is normally in there so it can be organized most of the time. Its pretty good now but it could be really good/great.

About your G13. How often do you use it and on which games? I have one but I rarely use it and am thinking of selling it.

And that couch needs to go. Check craigslist and you should be able to find really good deals on a replacement (assuming you live someplace with a good population).
 
hey thanks for the advice...I have always had a hangup where I will not clean/organize anything until all the pieces of my "grand scheme" are in place such as new speakers, stereo receiver, 1080p projector etc. But you're right it does need a cleaning, although a lot of the mess is due to recent construction and/or moving exercise equipment/boxes/pc/stereo stuff around.

I use the g13 and like it a lot because for one it fits nicely on the pine deskboard I created...if I used a keyboard there I would have to have my left arm sticking out way farther than shoulder width and it wouldn't be comfortable. I also like that it has a palmwrest and natural curvature to it, it's very pleasant to use. I use it on all FPS games and I am mapping look functions in driving games to the joystick on it and find it very intuitive to use. Another thing many don't consider is that qwerty keyboards have offset keys to make it faster to type, but that offset is something you have to compensate for when gaming and is counter intuitive. On the g13 the keys are in a perfect grid pattern. For example, W key is directly above the S key on g13, whereas on a keyboard the W key is slightly to the left and above the S key. I find that tricky especially when trying to use Z X and C keys with my ring finger and I often hit the wrong key on a normal keyboard. It was one of the least expensive peripherals I purchased but it is probably up there w/ the g27 in how pleased I am with it.

No windows, it's in my basement so it's ideal for getting another projector down here someday. Couch is just temporary until I have more important items paid for. It's probably 20 feet front to back and maybe 40-50 feet wide, pretty big space. It's boxed off so 1/3 is my home gym equipment, 1/3 is for movies/gaming, and the final 1/3rd is for pc and music workstation.

I'll see about cleaning up a bit and taking a few more pics afterwards. I use a series of rubbermaid shelves to organize everything when it is not under construction and that works very well.
 
Whenever I see that phrase, 'Haters gonna hate,' I immediately think to myself, "Yup, that person is an idiot." If you want to show off your stuff, at least take the time to clean up after yourself. You're on [H] now, bad-ass setups are a dime a dozen here, and most people who show theirs off at least show a little pride in their presentations.
 
Whenever I see that phrase, 'Haters gonna hate,' I immediately think to myself, "Yup, that person is an idiot." If you want to show off your stuff, at least take the time to clean up after yourself. You're on [H] now, bad-ass setups are a dime a dozen here, and most people who show theirs off at least show a little pride in their presentations.

Despite the nice bluetooth kb I own, I am not an Apple Computer user. Function is paramount. Looks...are not. I have built the ultimate control rig that most others will only dream about. My control design here is brilliant, in fact I have never seen another setup where all major pc game controllers are present and easy to use. You should be thanking me for showing you the way...you're welcome btw!

Just remember...Albert Einstein's room was also a big mess :)
 
Last edited:
I'm going to +1 the "single" and "clean your room" comments.

As much as I'd love to have a racing wheel and race seat for some Forza4 action -- I'd pass if I Had to live in a place that messy.

Tread carefully -- those people on hoarders think "everything is alright" too ya know, haha

Seriously though - I'm guessing you don't ever host friends or generally have visitors do you?
 
Currently, entertaining/get togethers are done upstairs in the kitchen and living room. My home entertainment center downstairs is still a work in progress, the only communal activity done down there right now is band practice. Once I have my new a/v receiver, polk 5.1 speaker set and a 1080p projector, I will definitely want to invite people down for a movie and/or game night.

And the idea w/ the gaming rig is that I can put carpet coasters underneath it and push it away into the music workstation corner of the room when not in use. It would get in the way when watching movies and playing console games. All the peripherals are wired to a usb hub so I only have to plug in one usb cable to the computer to get everything online and working.
 
Last edited:
Wow. That's worse than the guy who had lizards crawling around his apartment.
 
now i dont feel so bad when i look at my desk, its clean compared to that, dam man why did you even post those with out cleaning your room first lol you had to have know ppl would point out how dirty your room is. thats close to what they show on that tv show hoarders i think its called lol
 
If you are wondering why I am rocking a 19 inch CRT then just consider how much money I spent on video card, racing chair and other assorted controllers. Then also take a look at my couch :) 'Nuff said!

Order of operation means nothing to you. :p
 
Hey gang I got inspired by some of the other builds in the HTPC thread and decided to rearrange the components on the back shelf. It's symmetrical with smallest to tallest and back to smallest again (speaker, subwoofer, computer tower, receiver/consoles, speaker).

img0766h.jpg


I realize most people put these items in the front with their display but there are a few advantages in doing it this way. For one, the user is closer to the consoles, pc and receiver so it's easier to change game discs and control things. Another reason is that the array of distracting red, blue, orange and green led lights are behind the user and not in front. They're cool to look at, but not really welcome when I am trying to watch a movie. Finally, when doing a projector display setup it avoids having to run a 20 foot hdmi cable from the receiver to the projector.

What do u think?
 
I can appreciate you are doing the best with what you have -- but if you ever do get to the point you are hosting movie night or game night over at your place, people are going to trip/fall/break your stuff if everything is out in the open on the bar like that. I might be a bit OCD when it comes to wires/cable management. Zip ties and plastic wireloom are your friends :) Besides when a setup looks like some thought and time went into it, it's much more fun .

Besides - what would movie night be without some sweet food spread and the bar is THE place to put it.

I'm jealous of one thing -- the fact it's a basement. Here in Texas we don't have such things, I've always wanted a dark, cool, secret man base/cave.

You seemed like you were good with wood/cutting/building, I'm sure with a little work you could put together a nice/cheap cabinet or rack for all this equipment.

Edit: I would say the next thing you need before ANYTHING would either be that 1080p or 720p projector, or a tri-monitor setup. Personally I'd lean towards the projector, it's more expensive yes, but in the long run cheaper and easier to get some good racing action on than some 27" LED or Eyefinity setup.
 
Actually below that shelf there is another shelf in an L shape so there is still room for some stuff. I was thinking one of these Nostalgia movie/circus popcorn machines, and I've got a toaster/pizza oven and a nice Kenmore mini fridge for cold drinks. But yeah, people would have to walk behind there and get it instead of having one person back there serving everyone on the other side. Although the top L (where my a/v components are located in the pic) does have clear counterspace on the right side of the L (not shown in photo).
 
If you are wondering why I am rocking a 19 inch CRT then just consider how much money I spent on video card, racing chair and other assorted controllers. Then also take a look at my couch :) 'Nuff said!
At least it's a good one. I had one just like that...ten years ago. ;) Good luck with the setup.
 
UPDATE:

Well I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is I'm gonna have to use a CRT monitor for a good while longer but the good news is my Polk Monitor60s from Newegg are coming in tomorrow! They are gonna be teaming up w/ my Polk cs2 center channel and 2 klipsch bookshelf speakers in back. I also just scored a pioneer 1021 for 300 bux so the sound portion of my setup is pretty much in place.

The other good news is while I said I'm gonna be using a CRT for a while longer I didn't say which CRT. I just scored a Sony Trinitron 21" CRT on Craig's for 100 bux! Should be a nice stop gap while I save up for my projector system. I'm gonna be computing in style while I wait for the final pieces of my system to fall into place...pics coming soon...
 
Haha not quite, bro. This is me *before* I completed the p90x fitness program...

NOT SAFE FOR WORK:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/72/img0149s.jpg/

Let's just say that I treat my numerous lady friends worse than I treat my play room, and they can't seem to get enough cuz they just keep comin' back for more...

I was going to say some harsh things here to knock you down a notch or ten but I'll resign those thoughts to myself. Instead I'm just going to echo the fact that if you want to be taken serious in life, for anything, you need to first take yourself serious. (and thats in reference to the room not that silly pick up there)

So if you showcase a Lambo but its all dinged up, dirty, and rocking a donut for a tire, nobody is going to care that its a lambo because nobody is going to be looking past the initial presentation given. You wouldnt show up to a Fortune 500 job interview in a t-shirt and flip flops and think to yourself, "Well my resume is the ish so I'm a lock in for this job regardless of appearance!" so why after all of these comments do you still think its all good to show up to the [H] with a room full of crap and think its all good because what, you got a few game controllers strapped down to some wood?
 
I was going to say some harsh things here to knock you down a notch or ten but I'll resign those thoughts to myself. Instead I'm just going to echo the fact that if you want to be taken serious in life, for anything, you need to first take yourself serious. (and thats in reference to the room not that silly pick up there)

So if you showcase a Lambo but its all dinged up, dirty, and rocking a donut for a tire, nobody is going to care that its a lambo because nobody is going to be looking past the initial presentation given. You wouldnt show up to a Fortune 500 job interview in a t-shirt and flip flops and think to yourself, "Well my resume is the ish so I'm a lock in for this job regardless of appearance!" so why after all of these comments do you still think its all good to show up to the [H] with a room full of crap and think its all good because what, you got a few game controllers strapped down to some wood?
lmao
 
Hey guys don't make the mistake of judging a project by a single phase in its production. It isn't about where it is right now, it's about where it can be when it's finished. A great sculptor like Michelangelo did not look at a rough hewn block of stone and say "wtf that's stone age man what a POS" and walk away from it to go play Battlefield 3 and eat a bag of Doritos instead. It's all about the hidden beauty underneath that can be revealed in time. My advice to you all is to keep your eye on the prize and don't get bogged down by details, technical hurdles and naysayers. Construction mess and rearranging is temporary, but the ultimate result here is going to be the greatest gaming setup of all time. Any construction project is going to make a mess, as the saying goes you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs. And make no mistake, this will be a monument to gaming not unlike how the Pyramids at Giza were a monument to the Pharaohs, only on a smaller, more personal scale. I guarantee no one sits around in Egypt saying "ya those Pyramids are ok but what a mess they made back then lol what a bunch of loozers let's go install our new 2nd videocard for SLI and run some benchmarks for a few days instead of playing any games"

And no offense, but tidying up before taking some shots to share on the [H] forums is hardly akin to dressing up before going to an interview with a Fortune 500 company. It would be more like dressing up in a black tuxedo before going out for a hot date @ McDonald's. I mean yeah, you can do it, but...why would you?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top