HTPC-ish dedicated Dolphin box?

[Uplift]

Sorry about the 'what hardware should i buy thread' but with this thread i'm more looking for a case that is capable of housing powerful hardware whilst also being silent or quiet.

I've always used a Mac Mini for my HTPC needs it sits under my tv, never makes a sound and served well.. but now i want to play games and more specifically i want to be able to run Dolphin well.

I've looked around for Mac Mini alternatives and there is nothing, so i guess my next option is a HTPC type setup.. i'm reaching out to those of you that maybe have a dedicated emulator box or htpc unit rather than using laptops or PCs... what do you use? any recommendations.

I'd love something thats silent, slim/lightweight that looks at home in a TV cabinet, is safe to leave running and capable of housing hardware thats good enough to run Dolphin.

[AnyOldName3]

We need to know which games you're planning on playing. Some will run on pretty much anything, and others need an overclocked 4670K or equivalent.

[Uplift]

(09-02-2013, 09:51 PM)AnyOldName3 Wrote: We need to know which games you're planning on playing. Some will run on pretty much anything, and others need an overclocked 4670K or equivalent.

I haven't really got that far yet, but definitely, the resident evil series, although i believe the GC versions are sufficient at a high resolution
new super mario bros
zelda
mario kart
paper mario
donkey kong
metroid prime
rayman
super mario galaxy

give or take a few games, also heard it's super mario whats power hungry.

I only have a HD3000 in the mini at the minute.

[lamedude]

A Haswell NUC or Zbox would probably work if you're willing to wait.

[admin89]

HTPC :
Case : Bitfenix prodigy mini ITX
Mobo : Gigabyte Z87N WIFI mini ITX
Ram : 2x4GB Gskill Ripjaws 1600MHz
Cooler : noctua nh l9i + Arctic MX-4
GPU : EVGA GTX 650 or GTX 650 TI Boost or GTX 760
CPU : i5 4670k
PSU : Seasonic S12II 520W or 620W with Japanese Caps

[Shonumi]

(09-02-2013, 10:24 PM)lamedude Wrote: A Haswell NUC or Zbox would probably work if you're willing to wait.

But the heat man, these guys get hot, and that's just when they're operating under normal conditions. Throw Dolphin at them, and you'll get yourself a very nice, albeit expensive toaster. It should look nice though.

I've looked at Intel NUC models and Zotac ZBoxes too for emulation (not for Dolphin though, I leave that for my desktop). Heat and fan noise are the two trade-offs you get for putting components like that in such small spaces. Even the Celeron and Atom models of the ZBoxes get hot, so I can't imagine what one of their i3 models must be like. If you can keep it cool, it might be worth it.

I would, however, up the space requirements on the case. It won't be as compact as NUC or a ZBox, but you'll get more flexibility and have better thermal headroom.

EDIT: admin89 has the right idea

[Uplift]

The haswell NUCs look nice, apparently coming with a fanless model and HD 5000 graphics.. still has problem of upgradability though.

[Shonumi]

(09-03-2013, 05:01 AM)Uplift Wrote: The haswell NUCs look nice, apparently coming with a fanless model and HD 5000 graphics.. still has problem of upgradability though.

Any fanless model is going to bake the inside like an oven when it runs Dolphin (or any other CPU intensive program). For something like this stick to Mini ITX. The right case can be small enough to be discreet, give you enough thermal headroom/minimal noise, and do away with worries of upgradability.

What sort of dimensions are you going for? I know the Mac Mini and Intel's NUC are extremely small, but you can still get some machines built around the size of an XBOX 360 easily.

[Uplift]

I would be very happy with something that looked like or was the same size as an XBOX, providing it was quiet

[Shonumi]

Have a look on NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/HTPC-Media-Center-Cases/SubCategory/ID-690

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163242 - SILVERSTONE Milo series ML05B Black Acrylic - Longer width than a 360 (when laid flat) an inch+ more length, almost the same hieght
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163238 - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum/Steel PT13B Mini ITX Media Center - Actually smaller than the 360
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163174 - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum ML03B Micro ATX Media Center - This is actually Mini ITX compatible. Bit bigger, like the first

I'm just throwing out examples here. I don't know if any of them are suitable to build an HTPC (though some thankfully have feedback on NewEgg). A lot of the models there are Mini-ITX compatible (not just microATX compatible), but obviously as you shrink things, your hardware becomes more and more limited.