Budget Dolphin HTPC

[Fireside]

Alright, so I know this has been asked and talked about, but there have been some pretty big releases since the most recent post I could find about this exact topic (ironically posted by my brother, who is the one that got me into Dolphin):

https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-windows7-linux-gamecube-machine-build

I am still trying to make a cheap build but had some questions; as far as budget goes, I don't really have a set limit in mind yet because more important to me is good performance.  I basically want smooth performance at the lowest price point.
In that forum post Helios posted an awesome low price point build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/RBQZ4D

However now the ATI rx-460 has been released and from the numbers I've been crunching is better than the 750ti at the same price point, lower in some cases!  Please correct me if that is wrong.  After discovering that I started to wonder if there may have been some processor improvements for the same amount of money as well.  
I know Dolphin only uses two cores and Intel has the highest IPC atm especially on older CPU's, but I was reading in some of the forum posts here that due to changes some processors allow Dolphin to utilize four threads/cores?  I was hoping for a little more illumination on that.  As far as Mobo, PSU, etc. I can handle those myself, just the CPU and GPU I'd like some feedback on.  This will also be an HTPC but I figure if it can run dolphin (its main use) it can handle that just fine.

Sorry for the wall of text, tried to format it as cleanly as I could

[Fireside]

Sorry for the double post but I've been searching around still and realized I forgot something kind of important.
I am perfectly happy at normal resolutions, without increasing it. If I can, GREAT, if not I won't be losing any sleep over it.

[admin89]

Beware of the current RX-4xx lineup, no idea about RX 470 and 460 but there are some RX-480 owners reported that they're having issue with Dolphin (instant crash or so)
Just google "RX 480 dolphin" and you'll see . And not just Dolphin, they also have the same issue with Cemu
GTX 1050 (non-ti version) is pretty cheap and it should be on par with GTX 950

And btw, since your build has G3258 , you must overclock it otherwise it won't be able to run game well. Technically , there are some H81mobo that allow you to overclock the Pentium but it still has its limit unlike Z87 or Z97 mobo ...
If I was you , I would take the i3 6100 @ 3.7GHz + H110 instead . As this i3 is only $100 atm and you won't need an extra aftermarket CPU cooler

Quote:but I was reading in some of the forum posts here that due to changes some processors allow Dolphin to utilize four threads/cores?

Dolphin can use more than 2 threads but that doesn't matter
https://dolphin-emu.org/docs/faq/#which-cpu-should-i-use

[JosJuice]

To clarify: Dolphin can use more than two threads for certain tasks (e.g. reading from the disk and getting controller input), but all the CPU-intensive tasks (the actual emulation) can only run on two threads, so you won't gain much by having more than two cores.

[leolam]

Also, keep in mind AMD GPUs typically still don't perform as well as NVIDIA under Linux, which may or may not be an issue for you.

[Fireside]

Well I really appreciate the CPU recommendation!  It does raise a couple more questions though.

1. I realize that with IPC ratings in question clock speed is only part of the equation.  How do you know the i3 6100 will perform better per core than the G3258 OC'd at ~4.0?
2. How do you tell the IPC of a processor in general?

I had started looking at the 1050, would the extra 2 gb of Vram on the Ti make a huge difference?  By the time resolutions would need that extra Vram I thought the GPU itself would start to become the bottleneck.  If I understand right the GPU matters more if you're trying to upscale graphics/resolutions, but less so if you're just playing at native.
Sorry for so many questions but I'm trying to understand why certain things are better rather than just what IS better.  That way hopefully in the future I may be able to even offer advice myself, at the very least would be able to figure it out for myself.

EDIT: As far as linux goes, at the start this machine will be windows 10 x64.  However I really have been wanting to get more into linux than I previously have been and thought this machine could be a good way.  I will definitely keep What Leolam said in mind when choosing the GPU.  As it stands the 1050 (non Ti) seems to be a much better card for the money.

EDIT#2: Rather than double post I thought I'd add what I forgot about here again.  If going with the 6100, I was looking at this MSI B150I Gaming Pro MoBo.  What did you mean adming89 when you mentioned an h81 mobo vs. a z87/97?  Chipset?  Also seeing as the 6100 can't be overclocked would that matter as much with this CPU?

[Helios]

If you're making this an HTPC system, I imagine it'll be doing more things than just emulation. That said, get the i3.

As for the 1050 vs the 1050ti, the ti has a bit more power behind it as well as the extra VRAM. Will it make a difference for Dolphin? No unless you're playing with SSAA and/or big custom texture packs. If you're going to push a 4k display on this HTPC, the ti is a safe bet. If not, then either one will work and it's up to you if you want to save a couple bucks.

[Fireside]

Yea, the display for this is going to be 1080p. By the time I have 4k in the living room this rig will most likely need updating anyways, though mostly it'll be just playing back movies/music aside from emulation.
Also would it be worth waiting for the i3 7350k? (speculation, I know) But the ability to overclock it + Kaby Lake supposedly having a higher IPC sounds like the extra $50 (comparing normal prices, not sale atm) could yield a significantly stronger CPU with a longer future ahead of it.

Though with the 7350k having an 1151 socket it would fit in the same mobo so could always upgrade later.

[admin89]

Quote:What did you mean adming89 when you mentioned an h81 mobo vs. a z87/97? Chipset?

H81 mobo is much cheaper than Z87 / Z97 mobo because it won't allow overclocking
With Z87/Z97 , you can overclock CPU by raising the multiplier one by one
If I'm not wrong , H81 won't allow you to change the multiplier and you can only overclock via BCLK
That's why no one pair a H81 mobo with something like an i5 4690k

Quote:How do you know the i3 6100 will perform better per core than the G3258 OC'd at ~4.0?

Benchmark
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-unofficial-new-dolphin-5-0-cpu-benchmark-results-automatically-updated--45007
i3 6100 is almost as fast as i7 4770k @ 4.2GHz

Quote:Also seeing as the 6100 can't be overclocked would that matter as much with this CPU?

Technically speaking , you can overclock the i3 . There is no official support though ...

[Helios]

Oh, I thought you were talking about the 7350k in your original post.

Yeah I'd wait for it.