Dolphin PC buying guide

rene mauricio · (07-18-2009, 06:10 AM)

In light of the current PC topics that are springing up, I present you with a Dolphin PC buying guide for just about anyone. I will breaking it down into three categories; Budget, Mainstream and Enthusiast. Take what I have to say with a grain of salt but more importantly understand that computer prices will change over time and that the prices you see here may be different for you based on location.

Also understand that these configurations are geared to give you a pleasurable experience while emulating GC/Wii. While you are free to mix and match parts, or go for cheaper alternatives, a personal satisfactory level of game-play is considered to be 30 FPS or better. Parts selected here will give you that but you may have to sacrifice a few extras on the lower builds (or play at lower internal resolutions). Each build is configured to give you the most bang for your buck.

Things I will not include and will leave up to your own discretion will be:

Operating System
Keyboard and Mouse
Monitor
Sound Card
Optical Drive
Speakers or Headsets
Heatsink and Case fans

Quote:BUDGET BUILD ~$445
Highlight of this build is the possibility to unlock 2 additional cores from the 550, giving you a $100 Quad Core PC that can overclock to 4GHz. Keep an eye out for mail in rebates! The CORSAIR RAM is known to FREQUENTLY go on sale for around $25!

Processor: AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition $99
Motherboard: BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M $109
RAM: CORSAIR TWIN2X4096-6400C5 $46
Graphics Card: Radeon 4850 (any brand) $99
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 Black $20
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W $35
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB $39

Quote:MAINSTREAM BUILD ~$670
Highlight of this build is the CPU again. The E8400 is a monster of an overclocker, capable of speeds beyond 4GHz. The large on-chip cache and raw power make this CPU the king of this class as no current AMD CPU can match its performance when it comes to Dolphin - not even a 955 Quad!

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 $167
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R $114
RAM: CORSAIR TWIN2X4096-6400C5 $46
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 260 (any brand) $159
Case: Cooler Master 690 Black $49
Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W $79
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB $56

Quote:ENTHUSIAST BUILD ~$1425
Highlight of this build is the Hard Drive. SSDs being where they currently are, it would be far more beneficial to use a Raptor drive instead. The choice of the 920 over a Q9550 comes from the fact that a Q9550 is no different than a E8400 (clock for clock) when it comes to Dolphin. The only real option is to go with a processor that can overclock just as high, but still be faster clock for clock. Is the extra cost worth it? In my humble opinion, no, no it is not. If you have cash to burn and are looking to use your new PC for something other than Dolphin then this might be the choice for you.

Processor: Intel Core i7 920 $279
Motherboard: EVGA E758-A1 $294
RAM: OCZ OCZ3G1600LV6GK $99
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 285 (any brand) $314
Case: Antec P183 $139
Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W $119
Hard Drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB $179

**DacoTaco** · 07-25-2009, 07:10 PM #2

i dont really call GeForce GTX 260 a meanstream but a high end Tongue

meanstream is something like the GF8 or GF9 series

also, wrong forums fuckface XD

**THELUKESTIR** · (This post was last modified: 07-25-2009, 09:24 PM by THELUKESTIR.)

(07-25-2009, 07:10 PM)Daco Wrote: i dont really call GeForce GTX 260 a meanstream but a high end
meanstream is something like the GF8 or GF9 series

also, wrong forums fuckface XD

I would say the 260 is a mainstream card... A budget is an 8 or 9, a mainstream would be a 260 or 250 and an enthusiast... well that would be dual sli on 295gtxs Tongue

Nice guide, i allways have problems with motherboards.... it starts out with some 100 dollar asus board and somehow i end up looking at a nforce 980 board or something :S

**DacoTaco** · 07-25-2009, 09:31 PM #4

(07-25-2009, 09:22 PM)THELUKESTIR Wrote:
(07-25-2009, 07:10 PM)Daco Wrote: i dont really call GeForce GTX 260 a meanstream but a high end
meanstream is something like the GF8 or GF9 series

also, wrong forums fuckface XD

I would say the 260 is a mainstream card... A budget is an 8 or 9, a mainstream would be a 260 or 250 and an enthusiast... well that would be dual sli on 295gtxs

Nice guide, i allways have problems with motherboards.... it starts out with some 100 dollar asus board and somehow i end up looking at a nforce 980 board or something :S

mainstream might be a wrong choice of words here
i mean, mainstream = overpowered stuff.
tell me a game the 260 would have trouble rendering :/
even my GF 8600 GT (which is half speed of the 8800) can even do UT3 perfectly fine on med settings (which is the hardest game on gfx i have)
imo "mainstream" in this case should be called standard or normal pc.

**THELUKESTIR** · 07-25-2009, 10:17 PM #5

(07-25-2009, 09:31 PM)Daco Wrote:
(07-25-2009, 09:22 PM)THELUKESTIR Wrote:
(07-25-2009, 07:10 PM)Daco Wrote: i dont really call GeForce GTX 260 a meanstream but a high end
meanstream is something like the GF8 or GF9 series

also, wrong forums fuckface XD

I would say the 260 is a mainstream card... A budget is an 8 or 9, a mainstream would be a 260 or 250 and an enthusiast... well that would be dual sli on 295gtxs

Nice guide, i allways have problems with motherboards.... it starts out with some 100 dollar asus board and somehow i end up looking at a nforce 980 board or something :S
mainstream might be a wrong choice of words here
i mean, mainstream = overpowered stuff.
tell me a game the 260 would have trouble rendering :/
even my GF 8600 GT (which is half speed of the 8800) can even do UT3 perfectly fine on med settings (which is the hardest game on gfx i have)
imo "mainstream" in this case should be called standard or normal pc.

I have a 9600m gt and i struggle to run team fortress 2 on highest settings (win 7) and a 260 would have big issues with crysis im sure

**DacoTaco** · (This post was last modified: 07-25-2009, 10:22 PM by DacoTaco.)

(07-25-2009, 10:17 PM)THELUKESTIR Wrote:
(07-25-2009, 09:31 PM)Daco Wrote:
(07-25-2009, 09:22 PM)THELUKESTIR Wrote:
(07-25-2009, 07:10 PM)Daco Wrote: i dont really call GeForce GTX 260 a meanstream but a high end
meanstream is something like the GF8 or GF9 series

also, wrong forums fuckface XD

I would say the 260 is a mainstream card... A budget is an 8 or 9, a mainstream would be a 260 or 250 and an enthusiast... well that would be dual sli on 295gtxs

Nice guide, i allways have problems with motherboards.... it starts out with some 100 dollar asus board and somehow i end up looking at a nforce 980 board or something :S
mainstream might be a wrong choice of words here
i mean, mainstream = overpowered stuff.
tell me a game the 260 would have trouble rendering :/
even my GF 8600 GT (which is half speed of the 8800) can even do UT3 perfectly fine on med settings (which is the hardest game on gfx i have)
imo "mainstream" in this case should be called standard or normal pc.

I have a 9600m gt and i struggle to run team fortress 2 on highest settings (win 7) and a 260 would have big issues with crysis im sure

cause windows 7 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay harder on your gpu then any os (vista was tough on cpu/ram , win7 on gpu which is a smart move cause ppl like overpowered gpu's )
and afaik a 8800 could render crysis on high in XP np :/

Klotzek · 07-25-2009, 10:35 PM #7

There should be a build between enthusiast and mainstream, something like phenom II X4 & 275GTX/4780.

**THELUKESTIR** · (This post was last modified: 07-25-2009, 10:50 PM by THELUKESTIR.)

(07-25-2009, 10:35 PM)Klotzek Wrote: There should be a build between enthusiast and mainstream, something like phenom II X4 & 275GTX/4780.

what? a 275gtx is overkill

also im talking about highest settings on crysis... and win 7 drivers for cards are in beta still so thats why its harder on gpus

Iulius · 07-25-2009, 10:52 PM #9

i would add something like this : "even the fastest available and overclocked computers on earth can't play all games in Dolphin with full-speed"

just to make clear that these systems are good, but you should not be disappointed if your favorite game still does not run properly.

on system : didn't look much on it, but the cpus are well picked for the different prices.

Other stuff does not matter in my opinion (for dolphin).

**DacoTaco** · 07-25-2009, 11:51 PM **#10**

(07-25-2009, 10:49 PM)THELUKESTIR Wrote:
(07-25-2009, 10:35 PM)Klotzek Wrote: There should be a build between enthusiast and mainstream, something like phenom II X4 & 275GTX/4780.

what? a 275gtx is overkill

also im talking about highest settings on crysis... and win 7 drivers for cards are in beta still so thats why its harder on gpus

quoted wrong person Tongue

also, its not the drivers, its a fact. go mail M$ about it
win7 is way harder on gpu's then vista/xp