Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

I am relatively new to this. The current PC I own (which I do not think can run Dolphin but I have been using for running other games) is an HP a6200n with the following specs:

AMD Anthlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 5000+ 2.60 GHz
2GB RAM
Windows Vista Home Premium x32...

upon looking this over it's beyond obvious this machine can't handle Dolphin!


I am looking to purchase a new gaming PC. This would mostly be for running Dolphin, a few games, some emulators, and maybe for video/audio processing (obviously not while playing any games!). I am hoping to purchase a pre-built computer that can handle running Dolphin (at 1080p at least) with minimal to no hiccups (I understand not all games run 100%, but I would like to prevent any other problems then those caused by a game not being fully supported by Dolphin). I am looking at a bunch of computers including a Dell with the following specs:

Intel Core i7-4790 Processor 3.6GHz
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
8GB DDR3-1600 RAM
1TB 7,200RPM Hard Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720
Bluetooth 4.0

I notice a lot of talk about the K series on here and some other places (I have no idea why the K series is considered better) so I have been looking at a Powerspec G413 with these specs:

Intel Core i7-4790K Processor 4.0GHz
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
16GB DDR3-1600 RAM
2TB 7,200RPM Hard Drive
240GB Solid State Drive
AMD Radeon R9-280X


I would prefer not to build the machine from scratch (I've never done that before) but if that is really the route I should take then please let me know. Of course I would like to save as much money as possible, but I would also like a machine that can handle everything I need it for. I am sure both of these machines can handle the games, emulators, and video/audio editing software I would be using, but I've no idea about Dolphin. If need be - I would purchase a computer solely for my video/audio needs and build/buy another solely for gaming.

Thanks in advance!!

edit: Just watched some videos of Dolphin running between 1080p-1440p using i7-4790k and (separately) running AMD r9-280x. Would the AMD R9-280x or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 be better suited for running Dolphin? Thanks again!!

If you want a prebuilt, you'll likely be spending an extra few hundred for the privilege. I wouldn't recommend it, as building a modern PC it pretty easy - there are thousands of guides, and parts will only fit in the right place. It's just selecting the parts in the first place that takes thought, and we can help with that.

As for why the K versions are preferred, it's because they can be overclocked (as long as you have a decent CPU cooler and a compatible motherboard). This is basically free performance, and will buy you quite a lot of time before you need to upgrade without costing a huge amount more.

The Dell's GPU is barely enough for Dolphin with enhancements, and definitely not enough for PC games at reasonable resolutions and detail settings. Currently, most midrange or better GPUs are more than enough for Dolphin at beyond 1080p, although nVidia GPUs seem a little better right now (especially if you're considering Linux). If you're going to run PC games, it might be a better idea to consider those above Dolphin when GPU shopping.

(12-12-2014, 07:49 AM)AnyOldName3 Wrote: [ -> ]If you want a prebuilt, you'll likely be spending an extra few hundred for the privilege. I wouldn't recommend it, as building a modern PC it pretty easy - there are thousands of guides, and parts will only fit in the right place. It's just selecting the parts in the first place that takes thought, and we can help with that.

As for why the K versions are preferred, it's because they can be overclocked (as long as you have a decent CPU cooler and a compatible motherboard). This is basically free performance, and will buy you quite a lot of time before you need to upgrade without costing a huge amount more.

The Dell's GPU is barely enough for Dolphin with enhancements, and definitely not enough for PC games at reasonable resolutions and detail settings. Currently, most midrange or better GPUs are more than enough for Dolphin at beyond 1080p, although nVidia GPUs seem a little better right now (especially if you're considering Linux). If you're going to run PC games, it might be a better idea to consider those above Dolphin when GPU shopping.

so i7-4790k + NVIDIA GeForce GT 760 (with 8-16gb RAM) is good for running Dolphin (x64 Windows 7).

yeah, that would be fine for dolphin, but make sure you get a decent cooler for it as well. . BTW Stay away from Dell. They have some of the worst customer support I've ever dealt with.

Cool. The NVIDIA has 2GB for video is that good? And what exactly do you mean by a cooling unit (sorry for these terrible questions - this is why I don't want to build a computer from scratch). What about a computer like this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc...ksdevice=c

obviously I would expand to more than 8GB RAM.

If you really want a prebuilt, then that PC would run fine. Here's what I meant when I sad get a decent cooler. here

Nowhere does that description state that the motherboard is a Z97 one, which you need if you're to take advantage of the 4790K. It's likely that a cheaper one will be used unless specified otherwise.

Looking at the reviews, someone knows what they're doing and specified what the motherboard and brand of GPU:
"Gigabyte Z97-HD3 motherboard that only supports Crossfire, cheap Zotac GTX 760 graphics card"

(12-12-2014, 01:21 PM)KHg8m3r Wrote: [ -> ]Looking at the reviews, someone knows what they're doing and specified what the motherboard and brand of GPU:
"Gigabyte Z97-HD3 motherboard that only supports Crossfire, cheap Zotac GTX 760 graphics card"

So then is that good or bad? Z97 is what I need but you say that the graphics card is cheap?

You could easily build your own pc with better parts for the same price. If you can put things in slots, use a screwdriver, read a manual, and install windows, then you can build a PC. I highly recommend doing so