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Couch PC Gamers - How do you do it?

Pejo

Gold Member
I do all of my PC stuff in the living room. I have the PC in the entertainment center under the tv, then I have a 'heavy duty' USB cable I ran under a rug to one of those side tables by my couch with the USB hubs/power plugs in it. That way I can use wired controllers since DualSense still has connection/lag issues via Bluetooth, but all cables are hidden/not in the way. I use a desktop wireless mouse/kb with a lap desk for when I am just browsing or watching shows or whatever else. It's been absolutely perfect for me.

That said, I do separate when I work from home. I have a 2nd bedroom that I converted into an office and I strictly do work there and have play/leisure time in the living room. It's nice to have that clean break in my mind so I don't get tempted to fuck off during work.

Then again I also have 4 laptops scattered around the house and a desktop in my master bedroom hooked up to the TV in there too, mostly because the native TV app for YouTube got so ad heavy that I couldn't take it anymore.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
For you guys who use your main TV for PC gaming, dont you want to have the TV on showing something (like sports), while gaming on a monitor or laptop? Thats what I do.

My dining room table has my work and personal laptops. Work, surf, emails, play PC games. Then have something on TV like NFL playoffs right now.
 

Pejo

Gold Member
For you guys who use your main TV for PC gaming, dont you want to have the TV on showing something (like sports), while gaming on a monitor or laptop? Thats what I do.

My dining room table has my work and personal laptops. Work, surf, emails, play PC games. Then have something on TV like NFL playoffs right now.
I think for me it's just mostly that I don't ALWAYS have to be gaming. So if I want to watch something, I can just do that instead. Plus 99% of my "tv" time is viewed via PC now anyways. I haven't had cable in like 10 years.

I do have a laptop on the side table bottom shelf for looking at GAF and stuff while I watch shows with the gf on TV (via my gaming PC), though. When there's a game that I get absorbed in for a week or so, the gf has no issue using a different tv or watching stuff on her laptop or phone or w/e, so it's never been a problem.
 
I keep my gaming PC and my media PC in the living room.

If I'm not gaming on my TV, then I'm on my laptop. I have long passed the point where I need a full blown desktop PC with a monitor for the stuff I do when I'm not gaming.
For you guys who use your main TV for PC gaming, dont you want to have the TV on showing something (like sports), while gaming on a monitor or laptop? Thats what I do.

My dining room table has my work and personal laptops. Work, surf, emails, play PC games. Then have something on TV like NFL playoffs right now.
Yes, this is what I do as well. If my TV is occupied with something, then I'll just be on my laptop. I don't typically game and watch TV at the same time though.
 

IFireflyl

Gold Member
You shouldn't have to use an extra dongle to get a controller working on PC, it should just work with Bluetooth.

If he's going to have to spend money on that he's better off just buying/using a different controller.

While I agree, Bluetooth itself is just a crappy technology. It's competing with other wireless frequencies, it is slower than other wireless technologies, and because of this it is extremely finicky. When it works it's awesome, but when it doesn't work it's awful.

The USB device works better because it is using Xbox Wireless Technology which uses a higher frequency than Bluetooth. This reduces lag and improves bandwidth. This was touched on a few years ago in this thread:

 
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MikeM

Member
For you guys who use your main TV for PC gaming, dont you want to have the TV on showing something (like sports), while gaming on a monitor or laptop? Thats what I do.

My dining room table has my work and personal laptops. Work, surf, emails, play PC games. Then have something on TV like NFL playoffs right now.
Nope. If I care enough about it, i’ll give it my full attention like the KC vs Buf game I just watched.
 

Zathalus

Member
Keep the gaming PC in my office and if I want to play PC games on the couch I just use my Nvidia Shield to stream from my main PC. Both Shield and PC are connected via Ethernet so streaming is basically the same as native. It can also work on a good Wifi 6 network though.
 

GHG

Member
While I agree, Bluetooth itself is just a crappy technology. It's competing with other wireless frequencies, it is slower than other wireless technologies, and because of this it is extremely finicky. When it works it's awesome, but when it doesn't work it's awful.

The USB device works better because it is using Xbox Wireless Technology which uses a higher frequency than Bluetooth. This reduces lag and improves bandwidth. This was touched on a few years ago in this thread:


I don't disagree that the dongle works better, but my Xbox controller had disconnect issues that none of my other controllers have ever had.

Maybe there was something interfering with the frequency it uses in my home, but I don't care enough to find out when literally every other BT device I have works without exhibiting the same issues with my PC's.
 
While I agree, Bluetooth itself is just a crappy technology. It's competing with other wireless frequencies, it is slower than other wireless technologies, and because of this it is extremely finicky. When it works it's awesome, but when it doesn't work it's awful.

The USB device works better because it is using Xbox Wireless Technology which uses a higher frequency than Bluetooth. This reduces lag and improves bandwidth. This was touched on a few years ago in this thread:

Most information about this is outdated. There's an interesting post here:



In short: Dualshock 4/Dualsense have as good BT latency as Xbox One Controller with the USB dongle. Wired DS4/DSense is still vastly superior but you either have the cable and a free USB port or you don't.

Of course, BT is still subject to interference and sharing the BT receiver on your PC with other devices at the same time you try to game with your DS4/DSense is a bad idea. But in terms of raw lag, Sony has absolutely solved that part of BT controllers.
 
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Exentryk

Member
Have a combo gaming room + office setup.
  • Gaming PC connected to both monitor (Display Port cable) and TV (HDMI 2.1 cable)
  • Xbox Elite v2 controller (via wireless adaptor)
  • Wireless keyboard+mouse combo from Logitech lets me drive the PC from the recliner couch
  • (Note that I've moved the office chair out of the way to make things easier to see)
  • The living room is separate for the family so they can enjoy whatever without disturbing me
  • This is the life™

4uWxNcf.jpg
 
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Connect my work PC through a 5m hdmi cable to the LG CX 55". I sit in a Ikea armchair with a wireless keyboard and mouse. I balance the keyboard on my lap and have a mouse pad attached to the arm of the chair using the below. Works really well.

Arm Rest Mouse Pad


41D+XrG8sJL._AC_.jpg
 
I'm a 100% couch PC gamer on a high-end PC solely dedicated to gaming. Works great for me.
  • Playnite to bring all of my launchers/game library into one console friendly interface.
  • ReWASD to configure a hot key on my controller to essentially turn it into a virtual mouse. This is extremely useful in those small instances where you need to mouse through a notification or splash screen or whatever
  • I use an app called Wolow on my phone to turn on my PC right from my phone using Wake on LAN. This is optional but it's nice as it means you don't have to get up & press the power button to turn on your PC
  • I also have a Logitech K400 Plus lap keyboard/trackpad combo, because there's always going to be instances where you need to type something or just need the ease-of-use of a kb/trackpad. In the end you're still on a PC and you're never going to be able to just use only controller 100% of the time

With this combination, I'm able to couch game very, very comfortably, and it truly does feel like a console experience 90% of the time. It's also crazy to be able to access all of my PC games as well as all of my emulated games from one UI with a controller. Essentially playing NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PS1, PS2, Dreamcast, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, Xbox Series, PS5, and PC level games all from one system.

Here's a little crappy video I made just to show the experience a bit:




And here's a few photos of my setup:

53446607901_b660894724_o.jpg


53446988640_fb2beb7469_o.jpg

This is a great setup. Looks clean and wire free, I'm going to save this post for future reference as I could definitely do with that.
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
Couch PC for about 12 years. It is the most powerful thing I have, but I used to have a second PC on another TV that was close in power, but switched to a firestick there because it was mainly used by the kids for youtube. I have an 85 inch screen and an illuminated keyboard and a wireless trackball mouse. No issues. I do everything on it except work which is done on a company provided laptop. I prefer it for shopping over the phone. Gaming is controller only, though I did buy a lap KB/M its just that most games don't need it so I get buy with a controller.

Basically it evolved over time. I started out with gaming / HTPC only on the TV with a secondary desktop. I then ditched the secondary desktop. I used the same keyboard model for about a decade until it was discontinued. Same with the trackball mouse, though they came out with a revised one.
 

Filben

Member
Our study (with the gaming PC) is right next to our living room. I put cables through the wall (see picture; usually the TV covers the hole in the wall but because of the christmas tree we moved everything a bit to the right) to connect the PC with the TV. An extra pair of wireless keyboard and mouse and controller is always in the living room. To switch from monitor to TV (when on the couch) I simply hit Windows key + P four times to project the image on the second screen only. When I'm in the study in front of the monitor, I press Windows key + P twice and have it back on the monitor only.
The simple sound setup is connected to the TV's optical output, so whatever sound signal comes in to the TV is being routed to the little amplifier and speaker.

If my PC is in sleep mode (like 80% of the time) the press of a button by mouse or keyboard is enough to wake it up, so I don't need to go to the next room.

k6LOT95.jpg
 
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TrebleShot

Member
I am interested in this,
I have a shield and my PC is now in my office which is really nice but I want to be able to have PC games on the living room tv.

One problem I have is the 4090 only has one HDMI output and I have an LG C2 in the office as my main monitor and a LG G2 in the living room.
Is there a solution like a long HDMI - DP adaptor or something? I dont want to swap cables all the time.
 

Hudo

Member
I am interested in this,
I have a shield and my PC is now in my office which is really nice but I want to be able to have PC games on the living room tv.

One problem I have is the 4090 only has one HDMI output and I have an LG C2 in the office as my main monitor and a LG G2 in the living room.
Is there a solution like a long HDMI - DP adaptor or something? I dont want to swap cables all the time.
Buy a second 4090.
 

IFireflyl

Gold Member
Most information about this is outdated. There's an interesting post here:



In short: Dualshock 4/Dualsense have as good BT latency as Xbox One Controller with the USB dongle. Wired DS4/DSense is still vastly superior but you either have the cable and a free USB port or you don't.

Of course, BT is still subject to interference and sharing the BT receiver on your PC with other devices at the same time you try to game with your DS4/DSense is a bad idea. But in terms of raw lag, Sony has absolutely solved that part of BT controllers.


That Reddit post isn't contradicting anything I said. In fact, that post has nothing to do with my point as it is a comparison between Wired and Bluetooth connections. I was talking about Bluetooth vs Xbox Wireless connections. As I said, when Bluetooth works it is awesome. The issue is when it doesn't work, and there are so many variables to why it doesn't work. The Xbox Wireless Adapter uses Xbox Wireless technology instead of Bluetooth. That point is still true, and newer controllers have both Bluetooth and Xbox Wireless capabilities (which are not the same thing).

Includes Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth® technology for wireless gaming on console, Windows 10/11 PC, mobile phones and tablets. Plug in any compatible headset with the 3.5mm stereo headset jack.

Source: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/starfield-limited-edition

In fact, Microsoft still says that if you plan on connecting more than one controller to a PC then you should use the adapter instead of Bluetooth. I still get frequent disconnects using my 20th anniversary XSX controller via Bluetooth, but with the dongle I have no disconnects. That is because the Xbox Wireless technology is far more reliable than Bluetooth.

TL;DR - I'm not saying Bluetooth can't be reliable. I'm saying that the Xbox Wireless technology in general is more reliable than Bluetooth technology. If Bluetooth works then you'll notice no noticable difference between Bluetooth and Xbox Wireless, but when interference is an issue for any reason, Xbox Wireless is the dominant technology. This is why the connection between the Xbox Series X console and the Xbox Series X controller uses Xbox Wireless instead of Bluetooth. If Bluetooth were equally (or more) reliable then Microsoft wouldn't be including a second unnecessary technology, which results in an additional cost overhead.
 
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GHG

Member
Have a combo gaming room + office setup.
  • Gaming PC connected to both monitor (Display Port cable) and TV (HDMI 2.1 cable)
  • Xbox Elite v2 controller (via wireless adaptor)
  • Wireless keyboard+mouse combo from Logitech lets me drive the PC from the recliner couch
  • (Note that I've moved the office chair out of the way to make things easier to see)
  • The living room is separate for the family so they can enjoy whatever without disturbing me
  • This is the life™

4uWxNcf.jpg

This is the sort of setup I'm planning when we move home later this year.

Dedicated man cave that no longer needs a sofa bed that can transition into a spare bedroom when needed.

Looks awesome.
 
Have a combo gaming room + office setup.
  • Gaming PC connected to both monitor (Display Port cable) and TV (HDMI 2.1 cable)
  • Xbox Elite v2 controller (via wireless adaptor)
  • Wireless keyboard+mouse combo from Logitech lets me drive the PC from the recliner couch
  • (Note that I've moved the office chair out of the way to make things easier to see)
  • The living room is separate for the family so they can enjoy whatever without disturbing me
  • This is the life™

4uWxNcf.jpg
This is basically my setup. Wouldn't have it any other way.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I am interested in this,
I have a shield and my PC is now in my office which is really nice but I want to be able to have PC games on the living room tv.

One problem I have is the 4090 only has one HDMI output and I have an LG C2 in the office as my main monitor and a LG G2 in the living room.
Is there a solution like a long HDMI - DP adaptor or something? I dont want to swap cables all the time.
Some people purposely went after the Asus Strix cards this gen, as they seem to be the only ones that have 2 HDMI ports (as far as I'm aware)
 

Catphish

Member
Wireless KB in my lap, mini gaming keyboard on the left armrest of my recliner (with USB extension), mouse on the right armrest (another USB extension), TV is 85" and I'm sitting about 6ft from it. Controller, when necessary, reaches without extension.

Comfy cozy.
 

Braag

Member
I use a 5 meter long HDMI cable between my PC and OLED.

For controllers I bought two Xbox controllers with the USB Bluetooth stick.

Works mostly flawlessly.

Same here, just connect a HDMI from PC to TV and I have 2x Cordless Xbox One controllers. I only game on couch when my girlfriend wants to play co op games.
 

A.Romero

Member
You shouldn't have to use an extra dongle to get a controller working on PC, it should just work with Bluetooth.

If he's going to have to spend money on that he's better off just buying/using a different controller.
In my experience the adapter works better than just Bluetooth.


I pass a 5m cable from my office to the gaming area in the adyacent room. The cable can't be longer or I can't do 4k/120fps without random synching issues. I also use the Microsoft wireless adapter and a couple of controllers.

I use Unified Controller (android) to emulate a mouse and keyboard from my phone/tablet for games with splash screens (hate them) or when Windows messes with the Atmos audio.

I also game on the office when it's FPS or RTS and KB&M is a must.
 

TrebleShot

Member
Some people purposely went after the Asus Strix cards this gen, as they seem to be the only ones that have 2 HDMI ports (as far as I'm aware)
Bollocks, just seen that these have the x2 hdmi outputs, ill keep that in mind for next time. Seems ill have to stick to my office set up unless I get a Display Port to HDMI converter.
 

Smether

Member
Gaming PC is in the living room connected to a 27 inch monitor via Displayport and to a 65 inch TV via HDMI.

The bedroom has a 48 inch OLED with a PS5 under it. In the process of building a PC to go in there also :messenger_squinting_tongue:
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
How do you guys handle keyboard + mouse gaming on the living room TV? Put both on a coffee table and then sit on the floor? or have something that let's you use them flat from the couch? standing desk?
 
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MikeM

Member
How do you guys handle keyboard + mouse gaming on the living room TV? Put both on a coffee table and then sit on the floor? or have something that let's you use them flat from the couch? standing desk?
Easy- I don’t. Controller 4 lyfe.

Football Yes GIF by Olympique Lyonnais
 

Jesb

Member
I just game on GeForcenow on a 55” TCL Q7 in the bedroom laying down on bed with an 8bitdo controller. Will eventually get a PC. But this is it for now.
 
How do you guys handle keyboard + mouse gaming on the living room TV? Put both on a coffee table and then sit on the floor? or have something that let's you use them flat from the couch? standing desk?
Keyboard on lap. Mouse on the couch. I guess it depends on the texture of your couch how well that works.
 

Exentryk

Member
How do you guys handle keyboard + mouse gaming on the living room TV? Put both on a coffee table and then sit on the floor? or have something that let's you use them flat from the couch? standing desk?
I don't ever play using a keyboard/mouse. So I'm somehow still a "console" person, but play on PC.

Having said that, googling shows some decent options for keyboard/mouse. No idea if this is any good or not though.

X5IPKHg.jpg
 

JCK75

Member
I mostly play on my steam deck, but I got a new light gun set and once I get the PC set to play them properly.. I'll be running a long HDMI and USB for it.
 

damidu

Member
sff pc with 4070ti connected to tv (its even smaller than a series x), controller, mouse on recliner's hand rest when needed. (you only need couple inches of space to cover the whole screen of cursor movement)
i can play anything from rts to p&c adventures like this. action, fps stuff i play with controller
works like a charm.
totally retired series x, and reduced ps5 time. though the sff part can be pretty expensive tbh.
 
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I don't ever play using a keyboard/mouse. So I'm somehow still a "console" person, but play on PC.

Having said that, googling shows some decent options for keyboard/mouse. No idea if this is any good or not though.

X5IPKHg.jpg
I was looking at getting something like this when I used to do more k+m on the couch, but ended up finding if you have a thick mousepad like an old foam one, it works pretty well just next to you in the couch with the kb on your lap.
 

Xdrive05

Member
My living room is one room over from my home office where my PC is.

For the A/V I run a 50 foot HDMI 2.1 cable from the back of my PC into a 1” hole I drilled in the corner of my office floor, across the ceiling of my unfinished basement and back up through a 1” hole in my living room behind my TV furniture.

For the I/O I run a 20 foot USB cable to a USB splitter that lives in a wicker basket next to my couch. That’s where I plug in my 10-key-less mechanical keyboard, gaming mouse, Razor Nostromo and Xbox Controller. I can keep them all in that basket and slide it under an end table when not in use. And I use a crescent shaped lap board for the mouse and keyboard.

This lets me game in 1080p120hz with VRR on a 65” Sony 4k set, which is plenty sharp at the frankly long distance between my couch and TV.

With this setup I can game either in my office or my living-room. And it’s awesome.
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
How do you guys handle keyboard + mouse gaming on the living room TV? Put both on a coffee table and then sit on the floor? or have something that let's you use them flat from the couch? standing desk?
I have a lift top coffee table, something like this:
81BxMDdw2NL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_FMwebp_.jpg
 
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