Putting together new HTPC

[1009delta]

So I plan on putting together a new HTPC in the next couple of months. I've got my big rig set up by the TV now but it's just not cutting it. I want something considerably smaller and quiet. So I have a question. What would be the lowest specs to be able to play most Wii and Gamecube games. I'm looking at playing both the Fire Emblems, the Zelda games and stuff like that.

I'm also not opposed to buying a pre-built thing if there is one that will do the job for a good price.

[DJBarry004]

If on "Zelda games" you are including Zelda TP and Skyward Sword, the 4670K or 4690K will do for those. Same if you are counting the two SMG games.

You´d better post the current HTPC specs so we can give you more accurate answers.

[admin89]

Pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition , Z97 mobo , EVGA GTX 750 or GTX 750 TI should be good choice for Dolphin
Pentium G3258 is unlocked dual core CPU . You can overclock it @ 4.6GHz even if you're using a stock Intel cooler . However , it's wise to buy an aftermarket cooler such as Noctua nh-l9i low profile to keep it cool and quite
Base on our benchmark , G3258 @ 4.7GHz is almost as fast as the latest Haswell refresh i5 4690k @ 4.7GHz , i7 4790k @ 4.7GHz in Dolphin
Keep in mind that Dolphin is a dual core application
Also, i3 4130 @ 3.4GHz is as fast as i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz . So the Pentium will be much faster than your current CPU in Dolphin
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkEUvobPn_DcdEo2aEhhdUpnU01tYUtNM3ZVX2d6SkE&usp=sharing#gid=0

[BigT]

I second the idea of using a G3258 for an HTPC or dedicated dolphin/emulation machine. I know more about AMD gpus, so something like a 7770 or 7850 (practically the same as a 260x or 270x) should be enough. The gpus can be found for <$100 on ebay (or sometimes newegg runs a sale for about that price, too).

A system like that would also perform OK on PC games, though would be CPU limited in some that are pretty multithreaded.

[1009delta]

My current rig is my dedicated gaming machine. I5 3570k and a 7950 3gb. I'm wanting to take it out and put something considerably smaller and preferably a little more quiet. This machine will be running xbmc and dolphin. Which will be the absolute peak of my gaming on this one.