Building a computer from scratch, need an expert's advice

[MydknyteStyrm]

Hi everyone,

I am currently upgrading my computer to play most of the emulators, from Stella to Dolphin, and have been researching as much as I could to find the right specs. The items below are what I will be getting, and wanted to know if I made some good choices or not. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

CPU    - Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core

CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing

Mobo - Gigabyte GA-Z87-DS3H ATX LGA1150

Memory - Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-1600

Power Supply - Corsair CSM 550W 80+Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX

Sound Card - Asus Xonar DGX 24bit 96kHz

Wireless Network Adapter - TRENDnet TEW-805USB 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0

Video Card - EVGA GeForce 650Ti

[GeoMan]

I built a system last year around the i7-2600K CPU@3.4Ghz. This CPU is unlocked so you can push it up to 4.8Ghz (with a very good cooler). Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe that allows for easy overclocking.

I picked a HAF-X box for good airflow and the huge Noctua NH-D14 cooler for the overclocked CPU.

The PSU is very important so it is a good idea to go with a good one (Gold rating). I installed a Corsair 1.200W.

As for memory i installed 8GB G.Skill and for graphics an ASUS 7870 (2GB).

With this setup i have no problem playing PCSX2 (Playstation 2 emu) full speed, Dolphin, all games in MAME and of course PC games at the highest settings.

[Generic Eric]

Hi everyone,

I am currently upgrading my computer to play most of the emulators, from Stella to Dolphin, and have been researching as much as I could to find the right specs. The items below are what I will be getting, and wanted to know if I made some good choices or not. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

CPU    Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing

Hardware and system requirements
What operating systems are supported?
Dolphin is a cross platform emulator that runs on Windows (Vista and up), Linux, Mac OS X (Lion and up), FreeBSD, and Android devices. For its ease of use and additional graphics backend options, Windows 7 x64 is recommended.

Which CPU should I use?
Dolphin is a dual core application that relies upon IPC (Instructions Per Clock) for performance. Additional cores will not make Dolphin go any faster, though an “extra” core that Dolphin isn’t using may help slightly by keeping background tasks from using the same cores as Dolphin.

Intel: Newer Core i5 and i7 processors such as the i5-4670K and i5-3570K are extremely fast and very affordable considering their relative power. The K series allows for overclocking, which can further improve the performance of those CPUs. Core i7 variants yield almost no benefit in IPC over the i5s they are based on, so save the cash if you’re building a Dolphin machine. For laptops, you can rely on the i7-4700MQ and i7-4930MX for the absolute best performance. Most games will run very well on any of those processors.

AMD: Due to very low IPC, AMD CPUs are poor choices for Dolphin. The FX8000 line of processors is the best they have, and even then most of those processors will be around half the speed of the 4670K’s performance with Dolphin.

Note: For more information regarding CPU performance, please checkout this handy benchmark that contains results from tons of users. Just remember that Dolphin is a console emulator: it does what the games instruct it to do. Every game has its own needs and requirements. Some games run well on most modern processors, while some won’t run full speed at all times on even the most powerful of processors.

[lamprey]

Granted the sound card isn't too expensive, but it seems like a waste of money given that the MB has built in audio or you can use the video card to output sound via HDMI (if that is an option for you). Other than that, that looks like a fine list of parts. 

[dcninja]

i'm using a dell p4 and i run everything. done. got it free.

[ark_ader]

i'm using a dell p4 and i run everything. done. got it free.

Seriously this.  +1   

[GeoMan]

i'm using a dell p4 and i run everything. done. got it free.

Sure! Even PCSX2 full speed i guess! 

[brad808]

.

[nitrogen_widget]

I can say from experience that Super Mario sunshine gamecube will not run smoothly on a 1.8ghz core2duo.
Sound is choppy.
Luigi's mansion however will.

My 2.4ghz quadcore AMD is not very smooth with monster hunter on linux build of PS2 emulator.

I believe in building the system I need.
I'm building a classic cab.
I actually think the 1.2 ghz p3 with gforce 2 is overpowered to run advance mame & menu but getting a small footprint minimal linux distro to install & boot properly on older hardware is just too damn annoying.
And don't get me started on rotating the screen at boot for a vertical cab. 

So someone looking to run dolphin & PS@ emulator should get a system with some grunt.
They will need it.

People who buy an i3 or i5 to play classics just confuse me though.

[MydknyteStyrm]

Thank you all for the advice. I discovered a store called MicroCenter in upstate NY that has everything at hand. I purchased my own build for 700$.

The parts I chose were:

Intel Core i5-4670K @3.40GHz
16GB Ram
Nvidia GeForce 650 ti (Had in old computer, not part of the final tab)
ASUS ATX motherboard
Windows 7 Ultimate

So far no problems running the working Dolphin games, and watching everything else move perfectly.

[blitzd]

I live right around the corner from a Microcenter and I feel like a kid in a candy store whenever I go in there. Computer geek paradise. Since you already purchased your computer parts its a bit too late but as someone who has been using a PC for emulation for years I can give you my two cents.

PS2 is the latest video game system I believe you should try using as a PC emulator. I know a lot of people love Dolphin and it's good for what it is but due to the fact that it's just easier to buy a Nintendo Wii, homebrew it and play your games full speed on it. I hate the process of linking a wiimote via bluetooth since sometimes it can conk out and sometimes the remotes take a whole lot of running the same 3 steps over and over till they sync.

[BadMouth]

I think that's an excellent setup. 
You could always spend more, but I doubt you'd get many more things playable.

Granted the sound card isn't too expensive, but it seems like a waste of money given that the MB has built in audio or you can use the video card to output sound via HDMI (if that is an option for you). Other than that, that looks like a fine list of parts. 

It depends on your speakers and how picky you are, but I was unable to get the sound quality I wanted out of onboard audio.
The onboard audio even had an EQ and very good array of other settings. 
We're getting into very subjective territory here, but it sounded condensed and monotone to me.
I am picky to the point that I swapped out the mylar tweeters that came with my speakers for silk dome ones so they'd be smoother and less directional.
After installing a Xonar card and tweaking the EQ on the included software, it sounded like I thought it should sound.

It makes no difference if all you're going to play is old games that had speakers with a very limited range anyway (most didn't even have a whizzer cone, let alone tweeters).  But for the NAOMI shmups and Steam games, it's worth the extra $30 IMO.  I imagine the newer console games would benefit as well, but I do not have them on my cab.

It's not something I'd worry about from the outset, but once everything else is done it is a nice addition to make your experience just a little more perfect.