Future PC Build - Is it good enough?

[admin89]

Quote:I know that my CPU is in the "Very Fast" category of the forum's CPU rankings

It's actually pretty weak for Dolphin . I'm not joking
Dolphin is a dual core application , a multi-core CPU with super low single-threaded performance only bring you unsatisfactory result
Judging the CPU price alone , 100$ CPU won't get you anywhere with demanding games
Emulator is CPU intensive application , you won't need an extremely good GPU for it unless you want run at 4xInternal Resolution (2560x2112) or 3xIR with high level anti-aliasing . For 3x IR (higher than 1080p) and zero AA or some low level AA (about 2xMSAA or so) , a EVGA GTX 650 will do the job just fine (GTX 650 Ti Boost also is a nice GPU) or Sapphire 7750 . I recommend EVGA or Gigabyte GPU , their durability is quite impressive .

A video card that has higher memory bandwidth will perform significantly better in Dolphin (you can bump up internal resolution without losing FPS) . An old video card can outperform latest video card if that card has higher memory bandwidth

Base on official Dolphin Benchmark , FX-6300 stock is on par with 2nd gen core i3 2120 and FX-6300 @ 4.5GHz (near maximum OC) is slower than 2nd gen core i5 2400 stock . Since Dolphin is a dual core application and 4th gen Core i series is 20% -> 30% faster than 3rd gen Core i series in Dolphin , 4th gen i3 4130 @ 3.4GHz ~ 129$ (or 99$ if you pick it at microcenter store) is much faster than i5 2400 in Dolphin . Therefore , i3 4130 totally destroy FX-6300 and it should be abit faster than FX-8350 @ 4.6GHz (OCed) in Dolphin
An i3 4130 @ 3.4GHz + H81 mobo are ok for most games . However...

If you want a true "future PC Build" for Dolphin , you will have to buy an i5 4670k @ 4.2GHz (OCed) + Z87 mobo (MSI Z87 G41 or MSI Z87 G45) . As for the CPU cooler and PSU , CM 212 Evo and EVGA 500B 500W are recomemmended for low budget . You can buy them at newegg.com