(05-13-2014, 08:25 AM)ephrisian Wrote: I'm thinking about purchasing a computer to use for Dolphin and PCSX2 and I'm considering the Hexa I from iBuyPower. It doesn't include the a dedicated GPU, just the onboard Iris 5200.
Price comes in just a bit over $1100 after tax and shipping.
My other options are as follows:
1. Tower - Self-built with the i7-4790, not the K since I don't plan on over-clocking. This would run with a GTX-750 for Skyrim and such. Pricing: 1000$
2. Tower - iBuyPower Revolt with the same CPU but this time over-clocked and water cooled. Pricing: 1400$
3. Laptop - Picking up an MSI Gaming laptop, probably an Apache with the GTX860m with i7-4700HQ. Pricing: 1400$
4. Laptop - Getting the y510p with i7-4700MQ running the GT-755M SLI. Pricing: 1300$
I'm focusing myself on the i7 chips, but I did read in another thread that the i7 doesn't help with Dolphin since you can't use the hyper threading functions. Does it make sense to pick up an i5 instead or will Dolphin eventually take advantage of the i7?
Another piece of information I'm curious about is the impact of RAM on Dolphin and PCSX2.
Lastly, for those of you that are this far in the post you've probably noticed that the budget is close to 1500$. However I'd actually like to keep it closer to 1000$. I saw a Self-Built thread with an i5 that brought it in around 900$ but I'm hesitant to spend that money and end up trying to play Skyward Sword or Watch Dogs and end up disappointed.
Out of all of those? I feel like you should go with Option 2... If you're opting for something that is going to stay put. Overclocking helps with overall performance in Dolphin. Or if you want something small to move around, definitely option 3... The performance on all would be adequate, but 2 and 3 give you more headroom, and one is a portable option.