Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

(10-19-2017, 07:19 AM)tk604 Wrote: [ -> ]Now to find a mini-itx-mobo for my project 

Don't forget that you don't need a z series mobo since you are not overclocking.  Also mobo choice will be effected by the graphics card choice, case choice, and cooling solution choice in a sff setup, so don't get too attached to any one thing until you check cross compatibility.  Luckily the Pentium choices you are looking at will need far less cooling then the original 4670k idea from the beginning, just try to get a case that allows for a cooler better (and quieter) then intel's trash (unless you are planing on using headphones all the time).

(10-19-2017, 11:02 AM)TKSilver Wrote: [ -> ]Don't forget that you don't need a z series mobo since you are not overclocking.  Also mobo choice will be effected by the graphics card choice, case choice, and cooling solution choice in a sff setup, so don't get too attached to any one thing until you check cross compatibility.  Luckily the Pentium choices you are looking at will need far less cooling then the original 4670k idea from the beginning, just try to get a case that allows for a cooler better (and quieter) then intel's trash (unless you are planing on using headphones all the time).

Good Point, thanks! 

Are there any itx boards out there that don't have vga ports?
Trying to find one that really only has USB ports, Hdmi, ethernet, and maybe a headphone jack too..

(10-20-2017, 06:31 AM)tk604 Wrote: [ -> ]Are there any itx boards out there that don't have vga ports?
Trying to find one that really only has USB ports, Hdmi, ethernet, and maybe a headphone jack too..

I have found the following:
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B250I-GAMING/
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-H270I-GAMING/
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B250I-GAMING-PRO-AC.html
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/H270I-GAMING-PRO-AC.html
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-B250N-Phoenix-WIFI-rev-10#kf
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-H270N-WIFI-rev-10#kf

So depending on the features and what you want to spend, it is all up to you
I would like to advise you to get a nVME m.2 SSD for a startup disk, my Windows 10 x64 Fall Creators Update has less than 5 seconds COLD boot time on that with auto log in with my G4560. Which is faster than my TV gives an image. I came from a Samsung EVO 830 SSD on SATA3 which took about 25 seconds with a clean install and went to a Samsung EVO 960 PRO. In this way you get a near instant on experience.

I would advise you to get one with WIFI as well so you can move it around without having to change the cables (if you want to take it to some-one you also don't have to worry if they have a UTP cable near their TV). Also, if you are using a discrete GPU (eg. a GTX1030) you don't even need an HDMI connection because those are always connected to your iGPU (in case of the G4620 the Intel HD630) but because you hava a mini-ITX formfactor it will always have an HDMI connection and all mainboards nowadays have a headphone jack since all mainboards have integrated audio, so that is something you will never get rid of (at least on a consumer board)

Threw something together without a case: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gwBhCy > add a case and a silent fan that will keep the rest of the system cool, maybe change the videocard... and you're good to go. Once you get all the stuff, remove all the thermal paste from the Cryorig cooler and change it to AS5 (syringe added to the build already) and do the same for the videocard and you should have a very silent build, capable of running almost all emulators, even CEMU should do well on most games except maybe for Breath of the Wild (Dunno, don't own the Wii U version since I have a Switch )

Diskspace should be enough (you clock in at about 600GB including your SSD) a full US NES set is about 125MB, SNES 1.5GB, GB/GBC 500MB, GBA 5(?)GB, SMS at around 125MB, Genesis+32x 1.5GB, GG 250MB, Atari 2600/5200/7800 250MB, Atari Jaguar 300MB, Atari Lynx 200MB, MAME 75GB, TurboGrafx/PC Engine 800MB, Watari/Quickshot Supervision 25MB (Gheghe, I own this thing since childhood with all available games and still play the good ones every now and then ) and then add a selection of your favourite disk based games PS1, PS2, SegaCD, Saturn, Dreamcast, TurboGrafx/PC Engine CD, NGC, Wii and Wii U(watch out games can become big on the WII U, up to 35GB including patches)

Is Arctic Silver still recommended these days? I thought it was more expensive than MX-4 and not statistically significantly better, while also being conductive, which makes it easier to kill components with.

(10-21-2017, 07:18 AM)mstreurman Wrote: [ -> ]I have found the following:
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B250I-GAMING/
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-H270I-GAMING/
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B250I-GAMING-PRO-AC.html
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/H270I-GAMING-PRO-AC.html
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-B250N-Phoenix-WIFI-rev-10#kf
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-H270N-WIFI-rev-10#kf

So depending on the features and what you want to spend, it is all up to you
I would like to advise you to get a nVME m.2 SSD for a startup disk, my Windows 10 x64 Fall Creators Update has less than 5 seconds COLD boot time on that with auto log in with my G4560. Which is faster than my TV gives an image. I came from a Samsung EVO 830 SSD on SATA3 which took about 25 seconds with a clean install and went to a Samsung EVO 960 PRO. In this way you get a near instant on experience.

I would advise you to get one with WIFI as well so you can move it around without having to change the cables (if you want to take it to some-one you also don't have to worry if they have a UTP cable near their TV). Also, if you are using a discrete GPU (eg. a GTX1030) you don't even need an HDMI connection because those are always connected to your iGPU (in case of the G4620 the Intel HD630) but because you hava a mini-ITX formfactor it will always have an HDMI connection and all mainboards nowadays have a headphone jack since all mainboards have integrated audio, so that is something you will never get rid of (at least on a consumer board)

Threw something together without a case: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gwBhCy > add a case and a silent fan that will keep the rest of the system cool, maybe change the videocard... and you're good to go. Once you get all the stuff, remove all the thermal paste from the Cryorig cooler and change it to AS5 (syringe added to the build already) and do the same for the videocard and you should have a very silent build, capable of running almost all emulators, even CEMU should do well on most games except maybe for Breath of the Wild (Dunno, don't own the Wii U version since I have a Switch )

Diskspace should be enough (you clock in at about 600GB including your SSD) a full US NES set is about 125MB, SNES 1.5GB, GB/GBC 500MB, GBA 5(?)GB, SMS at around 125MB, Genesis+32x 1.5GB, GG 250MB, Atari 2600/5200/7800 250MB, Atari Jaguar 300MB, Atari Lynx 200MB, MAME 75GB, TurboGrafx/PC Engine 800MB, Watari/Quickshot Supervision 25MB (Gheghe, I own this thing since childhood with all available games and still play the good ones every now and then ) and then add a selection of your favourite disk based games PS1, PS2, SegaCD, Saturn, Dreamcast, TurboGrafx/PC Engine CD, NGC, Wii and Wii U(watch out games can become big on the WII U, up to 35GB including patches)

Wow, thanks Dude! Your build is very similar to mine so far. I just wish the price was the same in Canadian dollars haha.

The one thing I'm not 100% clear on right now is cooling.. I thought you only needed a cpu cooler if you overclock?
I'm gonna go with the Gtx 1050 since it's not much more than the 1030, and it has its own fan.
Most of the cases I'm looking at have at least 1 fan included... But I understand the importance of cooling so I guess what I'm wondering is..  is the cpu cooler required and which other types of fans are required..?

No, you need cooling period. Depending on the size of the case you are going for you might be able to get away with less case fans (bigger case with a larger volume of air inside with a higher heat capacity) or you might need more (smaller case with different "zones" of heat and not much air flow between the "zones"). This can also be influenced by typical ambient tempratures or where you are are even placing the pc. If you have a warmer then normal house, using a small form factor case, and placing that case in a home theater area with limited airflow around then you better put a lot of thought into fans and cooling. If it is a large tower style case (in which case why the m-itx board), in a well cooled room, and placed in an area with excellent airflow then you can even get away with limited case fans and are able to use things like the power supply fan to help move air (though 2 would still be recomended).

The Cpu cooler could be the intel one, but it is loud and if you do not have good cooling in the rest of the case it will not be able to handle high load situations well. If you have good cooling or you can't do anything else you can use it.

Ok.. Cool... No pun intended.
I want to go with the slimmest case possible. Something like console size is perfect. Not too many to choose from without breaking the bank, they're damn near more expensive than the cpu or GPu!

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163174&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Cases+%28+HTPC%2FMedia+Center+Cases%29-_-N82E16811163174&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvabPBRD5ARIsAIwFXBl-CcHTYnt3Bn93x4YCe1xRqjSezLklB-ySeOPLJlidWa278L72C3QaArtbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

not sure if it breaks the Canadian bank, but it is less then the GPU or even CPU. They have a lot more designs in what they call a media center or htpc case, but since I am really old I just call a IBM PC case since they were all kinda that size back when turbo buttons were a thing (not as cool as it sounds).

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/kj604/saved/YGQd6h


Here's my build. It's $830 right now....thats about as good as it gets in Canada.. I dont want to make any sacrifices here so I'm okay with the costs. Do you think I'll save a lot by waiting for black Friday or cyber Monday though? If it's not going to be significant then I'll probably start buying pieces now.
What do you think?