A Gaming PC as Your Media Center

Ever thought about buying a gaming PC?  They are much more expensive than your typical HP or Dell computers.

Gaming PCs are more expensive because they have higher performance processors, high-intensity graphics cards, SSD hard drives (a more expensive, faster drive), and more Random Access Memory (RAM), which allows you to have multiple browser tabs and/or programs open at once.

But with the more powerful features, you are able to do far more than just gaming.

Last month we looked at all the things you could do with a gaming laptop.  Things like:

• Graphic design
• Editing videos
• Playing games
• Photo editing
• 3D modeling
• Streaming videos and movies
• Store all your media files to act as a media center
• Programming
• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Augmented Reality (AR)

And of course, all of the usual PC stuff like…

• Email
• Internet research
• Updating and reading your social media
• Shopping
• Listening to music
• Creating presentations, documents, and spreadsheets
• Organizing and storing files
• Even writing articles for your blog!

I would always choose a gaming PC over a normal PC.  Why?  They last longer because you can grow into them.  Gaming PCs usually have faster processors, more RAM memory, a better cooling system, and more hard drive space.

So whether you decide to try your hand at video editing or photo editing with Adobe, or Virtual Reality, you will have the processing power to handle it.  I also love to have a TON of tabs open in Chrome.  A PC with a lot of RAM memory can handle the load.

Another reason why gaming PCs last longer is because they are quality PCs.  Though many are manufactured, they are not produced in the numbers that your typical HP or DELL made for the masses.  

True, gaming PC’s cost more, but they are built to withstand a huge load on your processing power and memory.  With more and more TV and movies being streamed from online, a sturdy and powerful PC will make this process smoother (if you don’t use a Smart TV).

Streaming Movies & Videos

Are you watching a lot of videos and movies online?  You used to need either cable or a PC to stream things to your TV.  Nowadays, Smart TV’s and streaming devices like Roku, Chromecast, or Apple TV assist with this.

Are you ready to cut the cord? These streaming devices are great, but if you are having trouble with the idea of giving up your DVR and going out to search for the latest episode of your favorite TV shows, there are still options for you.

A couple of DVR options that come to mind are Tablo (which we are currently testing) and PlayOn. 

PlayOn is probably the simplest in that you do not need to purchase any equipment.  But you do need hard drive space for your recordings. 

You can either plug in a portable hard drive into the Tablo or use a PC hard drive.  I use the Legion T730 as a hard drive which is connected throughout my home network.

Another option is PLEX TV but you will need some hardware if you want DVR functionality.  Again, I use the Legion T730 as a hard drive for my movies and pictures which can be served up through PLEX TV.

If you own your own movies, a gaming PC is a great place to store them, play them, and stream them, as its processing power will serve them up without issue.

Media Center

Speaking of storing movies, a gaming center, is a perfect place to store your family’s purchased movies, home movies, photos, and music.  Use the gaming PC as a media center so the other computers, phones, tablets, and streaming devices in your house can access them.

I used the Legion Y720 Gaming PC as my main media center.  Because it has a 1TB hard drive, it can store everything easily. 

With its 8th generation Intel i7 processors processor, I can use it to do video editing, edit pictures, and create photo slideshows with music.

I also use it as my streaming device to play music through different devices in the house (PlayOn, PLEX TV, Roku, Apple  TV, etc.). PlayOn and PLEX TV need to have their software downloaded on the PC to access it.

I have LOVED accessing my old videos and bringing them to life again through these streaming devices.  Albeit, the naming convention of the files are not the best, but that’s because I haven’t taken the time to name all of my video and photo files on my PC.

It is so much fun to watch videos of my kids when they were younger.  Their faces, their intonations, their squeals of delight.  It seems like a lifetime ago when I knew them at that precious time in their lives.

My daughter and I have been enjoying watching our old videos of places we traveled and Christmases from her younger years.

I use Backblaze to back up my PC to ensure my valuable files are always safe.  At $60/year, this service gives me peace of mind in case something happens to my PC. 

And it did once, my PC crashed and I couldn’t retrieve the data on my hard drive.  And no, it wasn’t a gaming PC, it was a cheaper PC.  I was able to recover my files from Backblaze.

I also save a local copy of files as an added precaution.

Streaming Games

If you are someone in your family is a gamer, then a gaming PC is a necessity.  Most PC games require you to download a “platform” first.

Two I’ve used are STEAM (we discussed the STEAM platform in this previous article about gaming PC’s) and Origin.  These files can be pretty big as well as the actual games you download to play.  

But the games work beautifully on the Legion T730 PC.  No choppiness, delays, or spooling.  It’s an immersive experience.  You forget sometimes you are playing a game!

Often times the games you can get on the PlayStation or Xbox are available through one or both of these gaming platforms. 

But you have even more access to games as smaller game production houses sell their games on these platforms but don’t have the marketing power and funding to get to gaming consoles.

In fact, you can even purchase video editing and photo software, 3D modeling software, and so much more from these platforms.  And with a gaming computer, you have the processing power and random access memory (RAM) to use them.

More About the Legion T730 Gaming PC Tower

There’s another benefit of gaming PCs.  They are super cool.  They are not meant to be hidden under a desk.  Most are decked out with colorful RGB lighting and often a see-through chassis so you can see the components on the inside.

The Legion T730 comes with dual-channel thermal systems which help keep the temperature low and decreases excess fan noise.

It even has a handle built in on the top of the PC.  This makes it super easy to carry. 

Although I move it around the house to different rooms, most people would likely keep it stationary. 

However, this is a great feature for true gamers who actually take their PCs to friends’ houses or to gaming tournaments.

Besides having the latest Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi standards, gaming PCs, like the T730, have a good number of USB ports 1 HDMI port and 3 latest version 1.4 DisplayPort (DP) ports.  Great for connecting to TV’s, HD monitors, projectors, and more.

DP allows you to hook up multiple monitors, giving you a much larger desktop working space, as the 1.4 version on the Legion T730 supports multiple DP enabled monitors.

Although there are different versions of the Legion T730 available, they all feature 8th Generation + Intel i7 processors with 16 GB RAM (the more RAM, the more things you can do at once). 

The Legion T730 models start at $1,400 and go up to $1,800, although the Lenovo Legion website frequently features sales on them.

A 1 TB Solid State Drive is included with all the models, with one of the models having a 2 TB SSD drive.  SSD drives are more expensive but are much faster for retrieving and saving data.

The Legion T730 uses the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (or better) graphics card for the best in gaming realism, speed, and immersion.

Just as on the Y730 Gaming Laptop, this Lenovo Legion gaming PC tower utilizes Dolby Atmos, which allows you to feel the sound as if in a three-dimensional space.  Especially meant for gaming, but the Dolby Atmos produces a rich moving sound for enjoying music and movies as well.

A Mom’s Perspective

It is always a better move to buy a gaming PC over a normal PC if you can afford it.  Because of its upgraded components, the life of the gaming PC will last longer than a cheaper PC.

As you gather more music, videos, and pictures, you’ll have the space to store them. 

As your children (and yourself) become more fascinated with AR and VR, your computer will be able to handle the graphics intensity.

As you see the possibility to stream videos from the Internet or your own movies throughout your home, you’ll have the processing power to do it with ease.

As your kids work on more graphics intensive projects involving video editing, large PowerPoint presentations, 3D modeling, and more, your gaming PC will manage the load.

A gaming PC helps “future proof” your investment longer than a typical PC can.  As a result, your gaming PC will last longer and handle more complex projects that may come to your family down the road.

*I was given a Lenovo Legion T730 gaming PC in exchange for my honest opinions.  All thoughts expressed are my own.