Recommendations / Advice for an Emulation Gaming PC

• 

  AndyC1 on 26/02/2022 - 18:39

  +3

  Get the fastest CPU you can get for your budget. GPU does not play a big part in emulation compared to CPU. RAM also does not play a big part as you need enough to run the OS, emulator and load the emulated ROM/CD/DVD/HDD (yes mame supports CHD's which are HDD dumps).

  If you have an existing PC start with it and see how fast the various emulators run the games you want to play as the PC may be okay. Try different sites.

  I would start with MAME and get it running so you can see how emulation works. Then by your list try www.emucr.com to see what the latest emulators and for the other try www.planetemu.net, but be aware it's in french.

  Any PC with say 4/8 cores and 8GB ram and at least 2TB HDD would do. Even a iGPU would be okay. Ask at work to see if there are any old work PCs for sale or if anyone has a PC that was bought in the last 5 years and if it's up to $250 grab it to start with.

  • 

    herecomestheoost on 26/02/2022 - 19:02

    Thanks man, I was over estimating the specs I'd need by a long way. I actually own a decent gaming laptop which I mainly use for just web browsing, downloading, streaming etc (bought because got a good deal and knew it would be fast)

    I've done emulation in the past but not for a while so I'll trial and error on this for a bit while I get all the pieces together.

    Fast CPU, noted.

    Thanks again.

    • 

      AndyC1 on 26/02/2022 - 19:45

      +1

      Another thing to consider is do you need a real arcade joystick or not?

      I would answer this by stating:
      To get the real emulation experience you should use a joystick that is as close to the emulated system as possible.

      Saying that as you know a D-Stick is way different to an analog stick. Most emulators use a D-stick, so if you do not have a joystick that you love (not like), but love to use the d-stick get another one that you will love. If you go into Jaycar and have a look at their arcade joystick you will get a fell for a proper arcade joysticks.

      Start with the jostick you have, but be aware it may not be the best for playing games on emulated old systems.

      I have :
      1) a home made real arcade joystick with 2 buttons (all micro switches that are 30 years old and still have another few million clicks left). This is in a jiffy box (plastic box).
      2) A home joystick again with micro switches that should fail in the next 5 years as they are only 2 years old, but the box it's in is an arcade box bought on ebay and all ther other bits bought from able amusements in Sydney.
      3) A few USB game pads…..

      • 

        Kangal on 26/02/2022 - 20:32

        Once you start going into real Joysticks, Light guns, Steering Wheels, etc etc… well that's next-level stuff. Some people even build their own arcade boxes at home, shove the PC inside, and game on that. It's great for immersion, but not very versatile.

        I think for most games, you'll have a great experience with the new PS5 controller.
        It has one of the best ergonomics, vibration, tactile, gyroscope, and latency. The battery life is finally decent, the built-in microphone is useful, and the touchpad is great for controlling the cursor on Windows. It doesn't have much disadvantages.

        But if you wanted the best plug 'n play, then you will have to resort to the wired Xbox 360 controller. Other great options include; the new Xbox Series X controller, Xbox One S controller, Valve's SteamPad, Nintendo Wii Pro controller, and the many offerings from 8bitDo.

        For a pocketable controller, for phones, the best option is the Razer JungleCat. Next there are a bunch of good options from GameSir, 8bitDo, and iPega… but while they are all portable, most of them aren't pocketable and would require them to be stowed away in a backpack or handbag.

        • 

          AndyC1 on 26/02/2022 - 20:52

          @Kangal: I'm a Mame vintage user since 0.36 era, so DIY real arcade joystick with micro switches for me.

          I have not been able to buy a light GUN in OZ that supports LCD panels. if you know where I can get one legally can you let me know as I would love to play some of the light gun games in Mame.

      • 

        herecomestheoost on 27/02/2022 - 14:20

        I'm okay with the X-Arcade, I have a wired Xbox 360 controller somewhere in the cupboard also.. Plus PS5 and Xbox SX controllers.. I do know what you mean about the feel of a proper arcade stick though.

• 

  Kangal on 26/02/2022 - 18:46

  +1

  How cluttered or seamless does it need to be?

  I ask, because there is one avenue you can actually exploit. Go on Facebook Marketplace and look for a Gaming Laptop that's used and cheap. Especially with a broken screen. You can close the lid and hide everything behind the dual monitors, external keyboard and mouse. And you might be able to get yourself with something like a GTX 1080 level of performance, but you know, actually affordable. The plus being that you wouldn't need to also buy a separate CPU, RAM, Storage, Windows 10 OS, etc etc.

  Or if it comes functional (non-broken), it won't be "handheld" but more akin to like a "portable desktop" solution. You wouldn't need to buy a separate webcam and microphone etc etc. This is the smartest method I've found. While the Dell OptiPlex SFF options are great, you just can't get your hands on any Half-Height/Low-Profile dGPUs (eg Gigabyte's GTX 1650). Even if you could, while they should cost below AUD $150, they are above AUD $350.

  Or you can pay something close to $2,000 and buy a pre-built PC… but the total package will be questionable, and not at all good-value for playing emulated games.

  • 

    herecomestheoost on 26/02/2022 - 19:08

    Yeah got ya, I just had a quick look locally on Facebook Marketplace and there's a plethora of rigs that will do the job… Pricing is a lot less than I expected considering the current climate. Might have a flick through gumtree too.. But if not FB Marketplace looks the goods.

    Thanks for your answer you and AndyC1 have saved me a few hundred dollars.

    • 

      SydStrand on 27/02/2022 - 01:45

      +1

      If you want a handheld, the Ayn Odin can cruise through those console emulators.

      • 

        herecomestheoost on 27/02/2022 - 14:14

        Yeah man that looks impressive. If I were someone who used public transport a lot I'd defs invest in one.

  • 

    AndyC1 on 26/02/2022 - 19:47

    Sounds good for replacing an old mid tower case I have next to the TV for playing mame on the big 49" screen instead of the main PC. The PSC and RP4 sometimes do not have enough grunt for latter systems PS2/3 etc

• 

  Kangal on 26/02/2022 - 20:16

  I should preface this with, it really depends on the level of emulation you are targeting.
  For instance, check out the USD $99 Retroid Pocket 2+ which is a phenomenal gadget aimed for emulation, that's cheap and it's pocketable.

  Games Performance ranges from:
  (Retro) Pong, ColecoVision, Atari 2600, MAME
  (2D) Sega Master, NES, TGfx-16, Sega Megadrive, SNES, GBA, DoSbOx,
  (2.5D) Saturn, PS1, N64, NDS, Dreamcast, PSP,
  (3D) 3DS, PS2, GameCube, Wii, Xbox,
  (3.1D) PS Vita, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Windows XP (32bit era)
  (3.3D) XB1, PS4, PS5, XsX, Windows 10 (64bit era)

  You could run all emulators perfectly from Pong to PSP, using any modern x86 computer with it's CPU and iGPU (eg Core-M3). The next tier "3D" requires using a modest CPU and a powerful iGPU (Core i7-U with Iris Pro HD620). If this is all you're concerned about, forget about what I wrote above with needing a good graphics card. Even the $200 OptiPlex SFF solution will suffice here.

  Beyond that you will be required to using a powerful CPU and a dedicated GPU, with varying levels of success. And that's where my initial advice comes in handy. This space will require a $1,000 used Gaming Laptop or a $2,000 Budget Prebuilt, or a $3,000 Custom Desktop PC, at least in today's market.

  • 

    herecomestheoost on 27/02/2022 - 14:18

    I think I'd mostly stop at 3D although interested in Windows XP / Wii U (3.1D). I have both PS5 and Xbox SX so no need for 3.3D.

    I was half considering getting a really good PC but like my social life is bad enough how it is.. I imagine with a really good PC + Xbox SX + PS5 I'd never see the light of day haha.

    • 

      Kangal on 20/03/2022 - 03:33

      Sorry for late reply.
      I forgot to mention, that the XsX has a "Dev Mode" (aka Retail Mode) that you can access and sideload Windows programs. In particularly, RetroArch. And you will be able to play all those emulation from Pong to N64. I'm not sure how it handles standalone "cores" but it should be able to also do NDS, Dreamcast, PSP, and 3DS if configured properly. The PS2, Gamecube, Wii, would require someone to optimise the build, this wasn't there earlier but not sure if they are now or coming soon. PS Vita emulation is in alpha state, so WIP. Whilst, PS3, WiiU and Switch emulation could come, I wouldn't hold my breath for them.

      Also, the XsX supports native XsX games, XB1 games, 360 games, and original Xbox games all through it's impressive backwards compatibility. The best thing, you can use the system for both Xbox Games and for Emulation, it does not void the warranty. So this is the cheapest option for you, since you already own the hardware. Check out the links I provided, and see some full guides online.

• 

  jaimex2 on 26/02/2022 - 21:42

  Have you considered a Wii U?

  • 

    AndyC1 on 26/02/2022 - 21:47

    Which emulators does it run?

    • 

      FireRunner on 26/02/2022 - 23:47

      +2

      With homebrew: NES, SNES, Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis, GameBoy, GB Colour, GBA, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, Playstation 1.
      It's also backwards compatible with Wii and GameCube games

      • 

        Kangal on 27/02/2022 - 15:22

        All in all, a Homebrew WiiU isn't a bad option. Certainly better than a Jailbroken PS4, Nintendo Switch, or Xbox 360 in this regard. It is also probably better than a TV-Box that is running on AndroidOS and primarily used for emulation purposes (even if it had the fastest QC 8g1 SoC).
        ….But nothing can come close to an x86 running Windows (or Linux Distro), and used for emulation. Even one that has something as modest as an old AMD r3-2400g will be a better option in my opinion.

        As for the Home-brew WiiU… there's also a PSP Emulator, but it hasn't been updated in a while. This is at the limits to what the machine could handle. I think if they worked on it, they could get most of the games (+67%) to run fullspeed at x1. Right now it only supports about 33% of all the games (the easier titles) to run at a playable rate.

        It's possible that it could do Dreamcast, and there are two great Dreamcast emulators out there. But none of them have been ported to the WiiU, and it is a difficult task. And as for performance, it might be able to do all titles to run at fullspeed x1, but that would take some effort. So don't hold your breath on that one.

        It cannot do 3DS emulation, but there is a decent overlap of games from the 3DS and WiiU, so there's not too much need for it. It cannot do PS2 or Xbox, but shares some games from those platforms from it's backwards compatibility with the GameCube and Wii. Although its more powerful than the 360 and PS3, it's not that much powerful to even try to emulate them, but again it does have few cross-platform games it shares between those ecosystems.

  • 

    herecomestheoost on 27/02/2022 - 14:19

    Yeah man I considered a Wii U, I have an original xbox with 2tb's of roms etc on it (which my brother has seemed to of claimed for himself)

    I'd just rather the flexibility of having a PC to add stuff later on.