Picking out a PC

[mbasile35]

Hey everyone

I'm getting ready to start my next build and this time around i'm going to use a pc with a little more power. This cabinet is going to be a driving cab so i think i'm gonna need the extra power anyway. I want to get something with a dual core 3.0 GHz or so processor, but my question is, is this going to be powerful enough to run Model2 Emulator roms like Daytona, and other newer driving games. Any input would be greatly apreciated. Thanks!

Mike

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

a "dual core 3.0ghz processor" could be any number of chips, some of which are over 5 years old, with a very wide range in performance among emulators.

for non-mame 3d based emulators, you need to make sure you also pair the system with a capable video card.

What's your budget?

[mbasile35]

Lol well I guess ya caught me..I know VERY little about computer hardware. Anyway I guess ideally I'd like to stay around 350 or so for a motherboard, cpu and graphics card but like I said I know almost nothing so I have no idea what's that's gonna run me. Basically I'd like to spend no more than 350 but I'm willing to do what it takes to build a half way decent system.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Are you planning on putting it in a case, or just mounting the components directly inside the cabinet?

[mbasile35]

Most likely just mounting them in the cabinet

[Blanka]

Have a look at dual core i5's that are 32nm baked. They boost very well to high Ghz and beat Core2Duo's by a thick margin.

[mbasile35]

Okay so I looked at the i5 650. It says "onboard graphics core" does that mean I won't need to buy a separate graphics card or it this just like regular on board graphics? I was also looking at the the i3. Do you know anything about that?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

The next big question is "What is your display?"

If you are planning on using a proper arcade monitor, on a newer 31kHz arcade monitor, then there are further considerations for videocard.

If you are planning on using an LCD, then the onboard i5 graphics MIGHT be sufficient. I haven't looked closely enough at them.

[mbasile35]

I'm going to be using an LCD tv. And by the way thanks for the replies!

[mbasile35]

Uquick update, I found this bundle through tiger direct (HERE: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=176188&Sku=B69-5311) My main concerns are playability in demul (atomiswave games), m2 emulator. Everything else plays fine on my current system so im sure itll work with this. I would most likey run this with 2GB of ram, the CPU is 3.10 GHz dual core, and it had the intergrated graphics core but i'll also get a graphics cards if need be. will that be enough to play games like daytona in m2 and extreme hunting 2 in demul?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

The i5 will be a much more capable processor than the i3.

How about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148701
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive $40

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power $44

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396
G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory $26

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241
ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K $220

Shipping ~$2
Total: $388

[mbasile35]

thank you so much, i'm sure that took a bit of time i really appreciate it. i will hopefully be putting in that exact order tonight or tomrrow. thanks again everyone for your help!

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

didn't take too terribly long. Keep in mind that it does not include an OS. Win7 home pro OEM can be found for around $99.

For an LCD only based system on modern hardware Win7 is probably the best option.

[mbasile35]

Will I see any major drawbacks with xp pro? I have a copy of it laying around I was planning on using

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

under 32bit WinXP you will not be able to use all 4gb of ram:
http://members.cox.net/slatteryt/RAM.html

You will also lose out on the performance boost of running 64bit emulators:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=72776.40

[mbasile35]

Hmm interesting. What if I could get my hands on copy of 64 bit xp? I'm just not familiar with 7 at all.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

WinXP64 is what I run on my cab on a slower processor. It works very well for everything I've thrown at it.

[mbasile35]

cool, thanks a lot again for all of your help, you've made this much easier for me