Reccomended Build for Emulator Gaming.
#1
Hey all,

I've seen Eskro's builds and love all the effort he's put in...I'm looking for the best reccomendation for an htpc that would use advanced launcher to also play emulators up n64, playstation, and gamecube.

There are so many options from intel NUC to Zotac boxes to Assrock boxes - I'm confused. Should I build my own for this or do you think one of Eskro's builds would suffice?

I assume I will need windows if I want to run emulators (versus just using openelec).

Thanks in advance,
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#2
CPU is important for emulation and windows is definitely better for emulators - there's more of them available. I dual boot with windows and openelec because openelec is better as a media center. I got okish frame rates with dolphin and GameCube games with a dual core athlon at 3.2 GHz. With a i5 3570 I get great frame rates in gamecube and ps2 games. Best to check the forums of the newest console you want to emulate for CPU recommendations, but from experience you'll get great results with a i5 3570.
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#3
I do that very thing with my system and it runs flawlessly. Check my signature belwo for my build info.

I've also set the Acer Revo RL70-UR10P to use Advanced Launcher and it also works very well. That's if you're not interested in building your own system from scratch.

BTW,..I think the hardest part is configuring the emulators themselves, soem can be picky about tthe settings,..while others work right away.
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#4
(2013-07-10, 21:53)GortWillSaveUs Wrote: I do that very thing with my system and it runs flawlessly. Check my signature belwo for my build info.

I've also set the Acer Revo RL70-UR10P to use Advanced Launcher and it also works very well. That's if you're not interested in building your own system from scratch.

BTW,..I think the hardest part is configuring the emulators themselves, soem can be picky about tthe settings,..while others work right away.

You get full speed GameCube games with the CPU in the revo?!?
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#5
Thanks guys.

What if used this build: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=166625

Then just invested in a better processor...suggestions?
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#6
Can you upgrade the CPU in that build? Best to check in the Dolphin emu forums to be sure that that CPU can handle GameCube games. Maybe a bigger ssd for windows, I wouldn't get any smaller than 64gb for windows, more if you're going to have a lot of ROMs with fan art. Everything else looks good.

EDIT: do you plan on keeping the ROMs on a external drive or something, they are several gigabytes each for GameCube and 700 mb for psx plus the other platforms you want to emulate too.
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#7
Apologies.

I meant this build. http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=166791

Thanks for your help.
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#8
Same as above, check the CPU will cooe with gamecube, bigger ssd if you want to keep fan art on it (I recommend it) and a large HDD for the ROMs.

Also check the PSU will handle a upgraded CPU.
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#9
With this SSD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as..._-20148441

This case http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Mini-ITX-Mot...084&sr=1-1

I believe the processor power should be adequate in original design.

Whaddya think?
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#10
Ssd seems expensive? Case is nice with space for a platter HDD. Has a bigger PSU so you could put in a beefier cpu if you wanted. Maybe a aftermarket CPU cooler to keep it cool and quiet. Get yourself a wireless 360 controller too Smile
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#11
Already got the wireless 360 controller! Forgot to mention I have 2 3TB externals with usb 3.0 so no hard drives required besides the SSD.

Okay - ready to buy. Here are my components!

Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6811129080

SSD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6820148441

CPU/GPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6819113335

MOBO: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6813130664

RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6820233243
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#12
Looks good. If you're sure the CPU can handle GameCube games buy away Smile
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#13
Funny thing, I was saying how AMD APUs would be perfect for "emulating the console experience". I hope AMD makes large strides and can get an APU that can give similar performance levels of an Xbox One or PS4 by 2015, especially in a mobile format. That would give MS something to think about.
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#14
(2013-07-10, 22:18)teeedubb Wrote:
(2013-07-10, 21:53)GortWillSaveUs Wrote: I do that very thing with my system and it runs flawlessly. Check my signature belwo for my build info.

I've also set the Acer Revo RL70-UR10P to use Advanced Launcher and it also works very well. That's if you're not interested in building your own system from scratch.

BTW,..I think the hardest part is configuring the emulators themselves, soem can be picky about tthe settings,..while others work right away.

You get full speed GameCube games with the CPU in the revo?!?

Yes,...but it did take a fair amount of tweaking the emulator.
What I typically do is run the emulator within Windows,..make the adjustments,..and then run using Advanced Launcher.

(2013-07-11, 02:43)teeedubb Wrote: Looks good. If you're sure the CPU can handle GameCube games buy away Smile

The A6 easily handles them,..I know since I use an A6 myself.
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#15
Awesome - thanks for the input.
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