Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

If you can wait then you probably will be able to save on some things.

The GPU will probably have at least one place with it on a sale.

The CPU/Mobo will probably not be on sale since usually it is higher end parts with higher markups that go on sale from the CPU/Mobo side, but if you are willing to change parts to something else you might get more performance for the same amount of money (i3 or maybe even a big sale on an i5)

The RAM will have a sale, you just might end up with a different one since there is no guarantee that Ripjaw V specifically will be on sale, but it is a safe bet that some DDR4 RAM will be.

The SSD and HD should both be on sale and while the HD you will probably find in a higher capacity cheaper the SSD will be like the RAM and if you are fine with a different manufacturer/capacity (possibly nicer quality and higher capacity) odds are you will find a few sales.


Unless Silverstone specifically runs a sale you might not find a sale on that case\PSU, but if you are willing to compromise on which case you might find one you like on sale, but this one would be the least likely.


This is based off of US holiday tech sales and even weekly Fry's sales, so I can not guarantee anything for Canada.

(10-18-2017, 03:00 AM)tk604 Wrote: [ -> ]Hello all,
My first post here, just signed up this morning but have been reading these forums for a while now.

I recently configured a Pi3 with Retropie and have all the retro emulators on there up to PS1. Now Dreamcast, N64 and some PS1 games don't work too well, so I'm looking into bigger and better things already.

After discovering Dolphin shortly after my Pi3 was completed...My new ultimate goal is to create an Emulation Console that is capable of running the following emulators;
NES, SNES, SEGA, Dreamcast, Mame, N64, PS1, PS2, Gamecube, Wii

I want to create something that you turn on, and it boots into something very similar to Retropi on the Pi3. No desktop, no need for mouse or keyboard, just like a regular gaming console. Everything done on a bluetooth gaming controller.

My questions for everyone are to do with what the best build would be for me to put together, as far as motherboards, CPU's, & GPU's go.
I want to be able to run everything without any lag or problems.

I currently have the idea to build a Mini-ITX board with a i5-4670K & an Nvidia GTX 460...is this too much though?
I dont want to spend upwards of $500 on this, however Im not entirely apposed to the idea just yet if thats what it will take.

I've looking into the pre-built mini boxes like the Gigabyte Brix, Intel Nuc, Zotac Zbox but they all seem overpriced and not maybe too much spec.


What do you guys recommend for what id like to accomplish?

I'm rooting for you, dude. That's the ultimate dream!

Just a little update, I've purchased everything for my build now except for a GPU. Once I have a final parts list together I'll post it up here with the costs.
Decided not to wait for Black Friday - 1) because I'm too excited/can't wait & 2) because I've found some pretty good deals already that I cant see getting much better come black Friday.
I'll be using Windows 10 on it, and I'm going to use a front-end called BigBox/Launchbox (Check it out on Youtube!) and have the system boot straight into Bigbox so you'll never know its a Windows 10 PC - a real console experience.
I'm also going to use the new Xbox One S controller to operate the console using my Motherboards built in Bluetooth. No need for dongles. The new Xbox controllers use Bluetooth where as the older ones used a special WiFi type system, which is why you needed a dongle. Once the initial setup & config has been done, I wont have any need for a mouse or keyboard...except for when I add a new game or something...
I can't wait to post some pictures and videos when it's all completed, its looking like I'll have it done by the end of November.
I've definitely gone over my $500 budget, but it's going to be so damn cool I don't care anymore haha.