Using the setup in my signature, I would like to be able to play these games at the highest possible settings. If the build is not sufficient for that, please make recommendations as to what parts need changing.
Games:
Super Mario Galaxy/2
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Sonic Heroes
Sonic Adventure DX
Shadow the Hedgehog
[Basically all of the Sonic games that were released for Gamecube]
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Super Smash Bros Melee
Super Paper Mario
Punchout!!
Animal Crossing: City Folk
Super Smash Bros Brawl
Mario Kart Wii
Luigis Mansion
Animal Crossing (GC)
Super Mario Sunshine
Bloody Roar: Primal Fury
Mario Party (All of the gamecube releases)
I'm trying for fullspeed emulation at the highest settings possible. I currently plan to run everything at stock speeds unless otherwise needed, with the exception of the GPU, which is factory overclocked.
Also note that I will be using a 1680x1050 resolution for the time being, but will want to upgrade to 1920x1080 sometime in the future.
i7 3770k is almost the same as i5 3570k , i7 has Hyper Threading (HT) while i5 doesn't have
Dolphin does not benefit from HT . i7 base clock is 100MHz higher than i5 -> Not worth the money unless you really need HT that bad
Super Mario Galaxy + LLE backend require i5 3570k / i7 3770k @ 4.2GHz -> Need decent cooling (aftermarket heatsink , aftermarket thermal compound)
Save 100$ on the CPU and buy a better GPU for PC gaming (GTX 680)
At stock speeds not everything will run top speed with all features enabled. SMG 1/2 require LLE audio, which requires a very good CPU. If you overclock your CPU to 4.2 GHz+ you can do whatever you want as far as Dolphin is concerned.
The 600 series graphics cards have some issues with Dolphin for some reason (they don't leave idle clock speeds), but if you set the texture cache accuracy toward the left it will cause the GPU to get out of that idle speed and turbo up to full specs, giving you a seriously epic Dolphin machine
EDIT: Ninja'd
(09-13-2012, 02:09 PM)admin89 Wrote: [ -> ]Save 100$ on the CPU and buy a better GPU for PC gaming (GTX 680)
He already has a 670, which isn't that much weaker (it's more than enough for what he wants to do, anyways). The $100 would probably be better spent on a CPU cooler (though I'm assuming he already has this system built).
(09-13-2012, 02:11 PM)Axxer Wrote: [ -> ]The 600 series graphics cards have some issues with Dolphin for some reason (they don't leave idle clock speeds), but if you set the texture cache accuracy toward the left it will cause the GPU to get out of that idle speed and turbo up to full specs, giving you a seriously epic Dolphin machine
Rather than doing that, just go to the Nvidia Control Panel, create a profile for Dolphin, and change the power management setting to "Prefer Maximum Performance."
That don't work. We tried.
That's weird, it works for me. o_0
I'm also using the 304.79 beta drivers, if that makes a difference (and now I noticed they just released new WHQL drivers today).
This machine is not already built. The money for it has been allocated/budgeted, and ready to order. I'm posting up the specifications here before I buy something that doesn't suit my purposes.
In that case, I second the recommendation for an i5-3570k in place of the i7-3770k (unless you really need hyperthreading). Use the money saved on a CPU cooler so you can overclock it for those games that require LLE.
For $100, something like a Corsair Hydro H100 would probably be your best bet.
Although that thing is designed to cool super OC'd systems in countries on the equator. It's overkill. Save some money, and get a H-60 or something. Use the spare money on an SD card reader or case LEDs or orange spray paint to make your case garish something.
If you haven't already ordered, use the extra $100 you save on the CPU to buy all of the accessories you need to play with the true GC/Wii experience. Buy a BT dongle, the Mayflash GC -> USB adapter, a Wii Remote+ and GC controller (if you don't already have these) and any other accessories you need. Heck you could save the $100 to put toward a new monitor or TV.