[goingypsy]

Hey guys,

I am only mildly tech savvy when it comes to this world. I know enough to know that like all things... if I build one of these I will educate myself of course, but then end up scrapping my first build and starting over. So I was wondering if one of you experts would like to help me with my build.

I live in Colorado in the mountains. I am 100% off the grid and powered by wind and solar. So first off, nothing in my house stays plugged in. Haha. Its amazing how many devices we are sold suck as much when off as when on. I have satellite internet which is just fast enough to stream a movie. I don't have the ability to sit and download lots of big files, so if I am not streaming it I am getting a hard copy via hard drive or flash drive from someone else to save the usage.

I've grown up on every video game system known to man. I not only want an htpc but a way to emulate all the old games and play them with my boys in multi player mode etc. Replace all the old consoles and wrap it into one.

So, would anyone be interested in quoting me on building a system to suit my needs as well as loading it up with all the games?

Thanks!

[teeedubb]

What systems do you want to emulate? This will be a large factor in your build.

[goingypsy]

Everything! haha. Hmmm... that is a tough question. Definitely old NES and SNES games. Atari. Sega. PS 1 and 2.

Those would be my top interests. I did not realize that it made a difference to be honest. I thought all the old games were low tech and easy to emulate...

[Ned Scott]

An ARM based HTPC will be very power efficient and easy to even power off of solar or batteries without a DC to AC inverter.

I'd grab an OUYA, since it already comes with a controller and is powerful enough for most emulators. I don't know about PS2, but PS1 and everything else you listed have emulators that should run pretty good on an OUYA. It's also a safe bet for XBMC.

You might also want to consider getting an inexpensive tablet that has an HDMI connector for the TV. Then you can use it totally on battery power, or as a full HTPC, as needed. Though full warning, I'm not sure what the status is for XBMC support of HDMI adapters for tablets/phones.

For Android, the best value for power seems to still be Google's Nexus 7 tablets, and you can get either the 2012 or 2013 models for really cheap right now. 2012's version was down to $130 for a while. Both will be about as powerful, if not more powerful, than an OUYA, and can also work with bluetooth game controllers. They also are safe bets for XBMC.

I personally have an iPad 4 with an HDMI adapter, and it works great on both small and big screens for XBMC, but iOS support in XBMC requires a jailbreak.

[teeedubb]

+1 what Ned said. I don't have much experience with emulators and ARM CPUs, but a xbox1 with its 733mhz CPU could play ps1 games pretty well. Anything after ps1 will need a beefy CPU, a i5 3570 is the first cpu that ive had that would play ps2/wii games at full speed, my previous i7 950 would struggle.

Be aware that CPU is more important than GPU for emulation. If you go want to go the x86 route check out something like a Intel nuc or gigabyte brix or a similar custom build, and if want ps2 etc get the fastest CPU you can afford. But I guess power requirements play a bigger part for you than most, so you need to factor in - don't want all the food in your fridge to spoil because you were playing too much gran turismo 4

[queonda]

Where and how to get ROMs?

[Ned Scott]

Where and how to get ROMs?

Internet.

That's all I can say per forum rules (wiki).

[goingypsy]

Thanks guys. Really appreciate the help thus far. Clarification... all my power is inverted to AC already so I don't need anything to run DC.

There are local guys who sell modded xboxes for emulation. I have considered that option, but as you said, no dice on ps2 games with that. I have also seen modded wiis.

Now, I am losing you guys on some of this. I know what an ouya is, but not terribly familiar. Sounds like they can make good emulators? I have no idea what cpu and gpu are. Or x86 and intel Nuc etc. haha. So when you say it takes a pretty fast computer to emulate ps2 etc, how much would you estimate a build on something like that?

It appears I am at a crossroads here and don't know what to do. Go with a separate emulater console and a separate htpc. Or try to build one complete badass system?

Again... I would really ideally like to hire one of you guys to build this bad boy and stock it up for me. Thoughts?

[calev]

For ps2, gamecube and Wii emulation you pretty much need a gaming PC. You could certainly do that but you could just buy an Ouya for 100$ that emulates most stuff and then with the money left over buy the rest of the game systems and take a vacation.