Need Help for Specs For Naomi/ Model 3 Emulation

[starwarsfan54321]

I am working on my second project, and wanted to delve into the higher end emulators.  I already have a copy of Windows 7.  I have a little other 300$ plus I will be getting some graduation money soon.  So does anyone have any recommended specs for Model 3 emulation that wont kill me financially?

[BadMouth]

I'm using a 3.4Ghz Athlon X3 and Nvidia 8600GT in two different systems and it is just barely enough...or not enough depending on which emulator is being used.

On my driving cab, it's running Crazy Taxi & Jambo Safari in Demul just fine with no slowdown.
Daytona 2 has slowdown on the 2nd track.  It's a texture loading issue that was improved in a later build, but it's not completely gone.  A faster processor would overcome it. 

On my upright cab, I am running most of the Shmups and Dead Or Alive 2 in Makaron because they ran too slow in Demul.
In Makaron, they're almost perfect, but in some games I do still experience slowdown when the screen is filled with enemies.
All the Atomiswave games work great in Demul.

A better video card would help with these emulators, but I wouldn't drop any lower in processor speed.

[starwarsfan54321]

Would this bundle be sufficient for it?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7983359&CatId=14


Its an AMD Quad-Core A10-5800K 3.8GHz Radeon HD 7660D APU
8GB RAM
MSI FM2-A85XMA-E35 AMD FM2 Motherboard

[Fursphere]

For your budget, it seems like a good fit.

[starwarsfan54321]

For your budget, it seems like a good fit.

Okay, should the APU be sufficient graphics power or should I buy an additional graphics card.  Also, are the AMD FX any better or worse compared to a lower clocked i5?

[starwarsfan54321]

Okay, decided I didnt want to go with an APU so-

AMD Phenom X4 Black Edition 3.4 Ghz (plan to Overclock to 3.8 eventually if needed)
4GB 1600 Mhz Ram
EVGA 1 GB GDDR5 GeForce GTX 460 Video Card
A750-1010 ::ARCTIC Freezer A30 CPU Cooler - For AMD
E436-500F12 ::ENYLE 500W ATX Power Supply
Biostar A780L3C AMD 760G/SB710 Motherboard - MicroATX, Socket AM3

So, should this be enough.  I figured if the x3 3.4, could run most of it, an X4 should be an extra boost and can overclock if needed and I believe the GTX 460 is more powerful, so should this be good enough of a rig?

[BadMouth]

Okay, decided I didnt want to go with an APU so-

AMD Phenom X4 Black Edition 3.4 Ghz (plan to Overclock to 3.8 eventually if needed)
4GB 1600 Mhz Ram
EVGA 1 GB GDDR5 GeForce GTX 460 Video Card
A750-1010 ::ARCTIC Freezer A30 CPU Cooler - For AMD
E436-500F12 ::ENYLE 500W ATX Power Supply
Biostar A780L3C AMD 760G/SB710 Motherboard - MicroATX, Socket AM3

So, should this be enough.  I figured if the x3 3.4, could run most of it, an X4 should be an extra boost and can overclock if needed and I believe the GTX 460 is more powerful, so should this be good enough of a rig?

...most likely 
There are just too many factors to be able to say a system will definitely run everything unless it's complete overkill.
I have networking disabled and don't run antivirus.  Someone running AV may have different results.   
A 64bit OS also makes a big difference on some games in MAME.

I think that system would be fine and is probably as good as it gets for the money, but I'm not willing to guarantee it.

[starwarsfan54321]

Thanks, I am just trying to make sure it wont be under powered, the graphics card was recommended by the guy who makes the supermodel emulator, and I wont run AV and will likely disable some other stuff to it if it helps performance.

[Someinterwebguy]

To be honest, I'd lean going towards AMD's newer APU's. As much as I like Intel, AMD's newer APU's are really hard to argue with, especially in your situation. I'd go for the AMD APU build, with the idea that you can pair it up with an AMD card down the road if you need to.

I've pieced together a system for you that would be really good and leave you the ability to upgrade as you see fit. You didn't list a case, so I didn't pick one out, and I kept the RAM at 4GB as you had it, though I'd recommend 8GB if you can swing it. Also, avoid cheap power supplies at all costs. I won't even get into some of the stuff I've seen them do to client computers. 

Power Supply - $69.99 SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

Motherboard - $54.99 ASRock FM2A75M-DGS FM2 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157331

RAM - $34.99  CORSAIR XMS3 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M1A1600C9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145328
$69.99 (-$10 till 6/12 $59.99) CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315

$159.99 or $184.97

This is where you decide the final cost of your rig. Any of these APU's would be good.
APU - $149.99 AMD A10-6800K Richland 4.1GHz Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor - Black Edition AMD Radeon HD AD680KWOHLBOX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113331

$129.99 AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7660D AD580KWOHJBOX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280

$119.99 AMD A8-6600K Richland 3.9GHz Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor - Black Edition AMD Radeon HD AD660KWOHLBOX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113333

$314.96 gets you 8GB of RAM and the second best APU that AMD makes AFAIK.

Just my two cents.

[BadMouth]

To be honest, I'd lean going towards AMD's newer APU's. As much as I like Intel, AMD's newer APU's are really hard to argue with, especially in your situation. I'd go for the AMD APU build, with the idea that you can pair it up with an AMD card down the road if you need to.

Are you running these emulators on an APU?
So far, nobody who owns one has ever weighed in here on how they perform with the more demanding emulators or the known processor hogs in MAME.  It would be nice to get an idea from someone who owns one.

[Someinterwebguy]

I haven't run these emulators on these APU's as these models are new and I have no need for one at this time because the 2400S I use for a secondary emulation machine works great. There are quite a few reviews of the APU out there, and they seem to indicate that it's a fairly competent APU. I was only mentioning what I thought was a good way to go with future expansion in mind.


Also, I accidentally included a Trinity APU as the middle selection instead of another Richland APU, so it's quite likely the $ spread on the APU's is different.

Good luck on whatever you choose.

[twistedsymphony]

I'm subscribing to this thread because I'm interested in building a pair of Model 3 emulator PCs...

I've got a Virtual On Twin machine with the original Model 2 hardware, I wanted to upgrade to Virtual On Oratorio Tangram (which runs on Model 3) but the only place I can find actual model 3 hardware is importing them from japan at about $400 a pop before shipping and import fees. So I figure emulation would be a more cost effective way to go, and I can also emulate the Model 2 and NAOMI variants of the game along with other games with similar controls like T-MEK and Cyber Sled.

Anyway, to go along with this discussion what OS would be best for Model 3/NAOMI emulation?

And does anyone have suggestions for a case? Obviously something small enough to fit in the cabinet base and cheap...

[SegaOutrun]

Okay, decided I didnt want to go with an APU so-

AMD Phenom X4 Black Edition 3.4 Ghz (plan to Overclock to 3.8 eventually if needed)
4GB 1600 Mhz Ram
EVGA 1 GB GDDR5 GeForce GTX 460 Video Card
A750-1010 ::ARCTIC Freezer A30 CPU Cooler - For AMD
E436-500F12 ::ENYLE 500W ATX Power Supply
Biostar A780L3C AMD 760G/SB710 Motherboard - MicroATX, Socket AM3

So, should this be enough.  I figured if the x3 3.4, could run most of it, an X4 should be an extra boost and can overclock if needed and I believe the GTX 460 is more powerful, so should this be good enough of a rig?

This is what I have (your video card is better so, that should help). Playing at 800x600 is fine but anything higher will slow down.