Hi, folks! I'm lookin' for advice about the stuff in my thread title right now, although I'll probably stick around these forums if and when I get this potential Dolphin setup up and running.
So, if I'm reading all of this right...
This is absolutely ridiculous, and AWESOME!
I'm really posting this so that I can run all of this information by you before purchasing anything...
First Hurdle: System
I'm assuming that Dolphin will run just fine on Win 7 64-bit? Here are my relevant hardware specs:
geforce 7950gt
athlon x2 5000+ black edition
4gb ddr2 ram
1440x900 primary screen
So, an aging gaming rig. I'm planning to do some pretty large upgrades over the next few years, but I'm hoping that Dolphin will run O.K. with my current system. 30 frames per second is just fine.
Second hurdle: Games
Here's the most Legit GDR drive that I've found,
http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-GDR...B0006AZ5AO
Is there anything to worry about with used drives? Do these things have a short lifespan?
I'd rather pick up an H10N (It's SATA!), but haven't been able to find one. My MoBo does have both standard IDE and SATA ports.
I'd like to be able to run the following games: New Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3. And my existing collection of Gamecube games, which are now useless since my TV Tuner (which the GC plugs into) is FUBAR. Will all of this stuff run on Dolphin using the image-dump method?
Edit: It looks like Super Mario Galaxy could be an issue?
Are the versions of Metroid Prime 1 and 2 that come with the trilogy any better than the gamecube versions, or would I not benefit from going that route rather than buying MP3 and using my GC discs for the first 2?
Edit: Since running Trilogy is apparently a bitch, I'll stick with the separates.
Third hurdle: Input
Infrared LEDs, Bluetooth dongles, Wiimotes... Is there an easy way to rig up a ghetto sensor bar using the LEDs, that won't catch my dorm room on fire? Do I only need one bluetooth dongle, or is it one per wiimote?
Or are Wiimotes even worth the effort? I have one USB 360 controller (which is awesome because M$ copied the GC controller), and would be more than happy to invest in more of them rather than wiimotes. That is, unless most wii players actually like the things, and they work well with Dolphin...
When the Razer-Sixense motion wand controllers arrive (PC exclusive), do you think they'll be Dolphin-compatable?
I'm an old Nintendo fan, but I just can't justify owning a console. Hopefully Dolphin will allow me to support the aspects of Nintendo that I like (first-party games) without having to fork over any cash for the stuff I don't want ("meh" consoles). Thanks for reading!
So, if I'm reading all of this right...
Code:
GDR Drive: $20
Bluetooth Dongle: $15
Infrared LEDs: $5
Wiimotes: $20 each
= Legal Wii, $60 total.
Plus game costs, which will be low if I can find them used.
This is absolutely ridiculous, and AWESOME!
I'm really posting this so that I can run all of this information by you before purchasing anything...
First Hurdle: System
I'm assuming that Dolphin will run just fine on Win 7 64-bit? Here are my relevant hardware specs:
geforce 7950gt
athlon x2 5000+ black edition
4gb ddr2 ram
1440x900 primary screen
So, an aging gaming rig. I'm planning to do some pretty large upgrades over the next few years, but I'm hoping that Dolphin will run O.K. with my current system. 30 frames per second is just fine.
Second hurdle: Games
Here's the most Legit GDR drive that I've found,
http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-GDR...B0006AZ5AO
Is there anything to worry about with used drives? Do these things have a short lifespan?
I'd rather pick up an H10N (It's SATA!), but haven't been able to find one. My MoBo does have both standard IDE and SATA ports.
I'd like to be able to run the following games: New Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3. And my existing collection of Gamecube games, which are now useless since my TV Tuner (which the GC plugs into) is FUBAR. Will all of this stuff run on Dolphin using the image-dump method?
Edit: It looks like Super Mario Galaxy could be an issue?
Are the versions of Metroid Prime 1 and 2 that come with the trilogy any better than the gamecube versions, or would I not benefit from going that route rather than buying MP3 and using my GC discs for the first 2?
Edit: Since running Trilogy is apparently a bitch, I'll stick with the separates.
Third hurdle: Input
Infrared LEDs, Bluetooth dongles, Wiimotes... Is there an easy way to rig up a ghetto sensor bar using the LEDs, that won't catch my dorm room on fire? Do I only need one bluetooth dongle, or is it one per wiimote?
Or are Wiimotes even worth the effort? I have one USB 360 controller (which is awesome because M$ copied the GC controller), and would be more than happy to invest in more of them rather than wiimotes. That is, unless most wii players actually like the things, and they work well with Dolphin...
When the Razer-Sixense motion wand controllers arrive (PC exclusive), do you think they'll be Dolphin-compatable?
I'm an old Nintendo fan, but I just can't justify owning a console. Hopefully Dolphin will allow me to support the aspects of Nintendo that I like (first-party games) without having to fork over any cash for the stuff I don't want ("meh" consoles). Thanks for reading!