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?
With the way Dolphin is going, the best way to make a Dolphin box is to focus on both Graphics and Processor depending on what you want.
Bigger graphics card = allows for better ubershader settings + higher resolutions + GPU demanding games
Bigger Processor = Allows to run more demanding games + runs better during CPU demanding moments
4670K sounds great, but, a midrange gtx 7xx would be way better than a gtx 460. You're going to be very close to NVIDIA ignoring it for updates on the 460, as I think there are extensions we really want that sometimes stop happening getting updates on older GPUs. I'm not sure if GTX 460 is new enough for the latest extensions. I know the 280 stopped getting updates.
The hardware I've suggested using is based on the "Hardware & System Requirements" page here;
https://dolphin-emu.org/docs/faq/#which-...ould-i-use
I'm not looking to do any serious 4K gaming, I already have a pretty awesome desktop for my hardcore gaming.
All I'm looking for with this build is to run the retro games, but also the ps1, ps2, n64, gamecube, and why not throw the wii in their too.
small and compact, something I can take anywhere easily.
I guess what Im trying to figure out is the minimum spec for a CPU & GPU that will get me running flawlessly. I've read posts where people are using i3 cpu's and are saying they are running games fine, but then the Dolpin page starts by suggesting the i5's....Im a little confused as to what is really required, what is overkill etc...
I dont need this thing to be future proofed...just want it to run the systems mentioned previously....
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
The dolphin page recommends "Newer Core i5 and i7 processors such as the i5-4670K and i5-3570K" Which are now 4-5 Intel generations old and each generation does improve single threaded performance (some generations were better at that then others). So an I3 or even a pentium can work but those generally have to be newer to be useful (the Pentium would be Kaby Lake or newer, unless it is that 1 Pentium that is overclock able the 3258)
CPU performance is going to be far more important for PCSX2 (since it is more CPU dependent and you will want something from this
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html list that has a score above 2000+ if you want to be able to play most (but not all) demanding games at a reasonable speed.
The GPU information on that page is also old and does not take into account changes made to dolphin to improve compatibility and accuracy which can change which GPUs are recommended.
A cheep(ish) build would be a G4560 (1,983 stp) with a modern(ish) gtx (X)X50 card (so a 1050, 950, 750(ti)), as much ram as you really want to have (pretty much any emulator for the systems you mentioned do not need a lot of ram), a good quality power supply (unless you want a nice pile of junk), storage and other things you need for the build.
Generally under $500 easily, but with people realizing how good the G4560 is for the price and crypto mining doing silly things to GPU prices I can not guarantee the price.
Also there are no emulators for PS2, GC/Wii, Dreamcast (even combination of emulators for this one) that will handle all games without issue even if you had the fastest consumer CPU and GPU.
That FAQ is a bit old at this point, we need to remake it... Today, we'd recommend the i5-7600k or i5-8400k as minimum CPU. And a 570/580 or 1050/1060 minimum GPU.
Thank you, this helps me quite a bit now.
It looks like i should probably install dolphin on my Desktop, see how things handle and go from there.
I just spent $2500 on my PC with an i7-6700K & GTX-1080 which can run any of the new PC games on ultra settings on my 4K tv...Very happy with it but Im really into this console/retro-gaming build-project stuff now too...I feel like my Desktop can do whatever Im looking to do but I want something small to take to friends houses and what not, without spending $2500 again...
(10-18-2017, 06:10 AM)tk604 Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you, this helps me quite a bit now.
It looks like i should probably install dolphin on my Desktop, see how things handle and go from there.
I just spent $2500 on my PC with an i7-6700K & GTX-1080 which can run any of the new PC games on ultra settings on my 4K tv...Very happy with it but Im really into this console/retro-gaming build-project stuff now too...I feel like my Desktop can do whatever Im looking to do but I want something small to take to friends houses and what not, without spending $2500 again...
If I were you I'd get something along the lines of a Pentium G4560, 8GB of ram (maybe double if you're looking into using Graphics packs) and a nVidia GTX1030, and most games on Dolphin should run close to flawless.
The Dreamcast and the PS2 emulators require a lot of beef on CPU side though... but even most games I tried for DC and PS2 run great.
(10-18-2017, 10:24 PM)mstreurman Wrote: [ -> ]If I were you I'd get something along the lines of a Pentium G4560, 8GB of ram (maybe double if you're looking into using Graphics packs) and a nVidia GTX1030, and most games on Dolphin should run close to flawless.
The Dreamcast and the PS2 emulators require a lot of beef on CPU side though... but even most games I tried for DC and PS2 run great.
I like the sounds of this. I was actually looking at the G4620 last night, it is similarly priced to the 4560.
If a GTX 1030 will get me where I want to be, then great...Im just curious why others would suggest I need a 1050 at minimum though. Seems like about an extra $50 for the 1050, not a big deal to me.
Im wondering how much ram on the GPU I need too... seems like 2GB DDR5 is the most available choice...but having an 8GB 1080 in my Desktop makes me think 2GB is not enough...
Im seeing so many threads from 2016 where people are saying they are using GTX 960's or 760's without any problems running perfect games...So Im not really understanding how these people are operating fine but I need to be looking at something higher/newer...
Well, the GT 1030 provides roughly the same performance of the older GTX 750 ti, which still is powerful enough to run whatever you throw at it in Dolphin on at least 1080p, so, unless you're aiming crazy high resolutions, abusive amounts of AA and HD texture packs, the GT 1030 should perform fine.
(10-19-2017, 06:23 AM)mbc07 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, the GT 1030 provides roughly the same performance of the older GTX 750 ti, which still is powerful enough to run whatever you throw at it in Dolphin on at least 1080p, so, unless you're aiming crazy high resolutions, abusive amounts of AA and HD texture packs, the GT 1030 should perform fine.
Yea, this sounds good to me. Its not like any of the consoles are pushing out 4K graphics anyway...I'm sure they're all 720p.
I will be playing most of the time on a 50" 4K tv or 720p Plasma but I will keep the original aspect ratios of the games and probably stick with 1280x720 for resolution.
GTX 1030 is cheaper than a 750ti by about $100(Where I am at least)
GTX 1050 is only another $50 from the 1030 so might bite for the better depending on where I end up for final build costs.
Now to find a mini-itx-mobo for my project
