Recommends for a gaming pc that supports most emulation or all and including steametc

[relic]

hi guys 2015 is when im building a gameing pc could anyone recommend me stuff i should get for hyperspin use including gameing and most emulatiin playable thanks i might be going at a range of 1000 odd not sure yet what ever is in my money tins just looking for answers and hints thanks for your time

[relic]

hey why no body help now im let down _ _

[dougan78]

Relic if you have 1k price range any 4th gen i5 and up will due nicely imho. Then just pic a decent vid card. I would go with nvidia imho. No worries if no one posts back asap.

[Iggy]

Hey Relic....with emulation, clock speed trumps the amount of cores your CPU has. Usually PC games take advantage of multiple cores than emulators do. I would consider going the Intel route and look at an i5 4670K (K means it has an unlocked multiplier to overclock your CPU which is a must to play almost all the games). An example of CPU performance for Dolphin just to give you an idea (CPUs are running stock speeds with no OC):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AunYlOAfGABxdFQ0UzJyTFAxbzZhYWtGcGwySlRFa1E#gid=0

However; take a look at the most demanding PC games you want to run and see what the recommended requirements are (I usually dont look at the minimum requirements). You will have to come to an agreement with what the most demanding emulation games and the most demanding PC games you want to run. (You have to meet in the middle between PC games and emulators....unless you have money to burn )

Once you select your CPU....its cake from there.....select your Motherboard (my preference is Gigabyte boards) and get the max speed for you memory (I would go at 6-8 GBs minimum RAM.....I love Gskill memory and its cheap!).

Next a SSD drive is a must! At least for your OS.....because higher SSD capacities are still expensive...you will need to do a SSD and regular hard drive combo in your PC (unless your roms are stored over the network such as a NAS.) Also look at the amount of space your artwork, themes, and videos for HS will take. If your PC will be the only housing roms and HS related items, consider buying multiple hard drives to RAID them (so you dont lose your precious collection when a hard drive fails).

Video card is next........buy what you can afford....I always love the Nvidia line so make sure you look at GTX cards (this might be the most expensive single item on your build)

Dont forget a good power supply to run all your components....pay attentions to the 12V rails requirements of your new video card

Finally look at how you are going to control your PC....XBox 360 controller, PS4 controller, etc

If you go a little over 1K, I would compromise....when do you usually have the opportunity to build PCs? Its a one time investment that you should consider spending a little more so that you can play the latest and greatest without have to upgrade later down the line because of an initial decision you made when building your PC.

Good luck!

[Dogway]

I recommend you an i5-4690K and a GTX 970 or 960 depending on your budget and rest of components, with these you will be served.

[gigapig]

I don't need to post, the advice here is spot on.

My specs however.

I5 4670k

Asrock Fatal1ty Z87 Professional (like Iggy I prefer Gigabyte boards)

MSI 770 Lightening

8gb Hyperx Ram

850 watt PSU (never go cheap on this part)

3 SSD's

loadsa hard drives

Don't forget.

keyboard and mouse

mouse mat

monitor

DVD drive

Windows

A decent CPU cooler or closed loop liquid cooler.

Beer

Pizza

You can see my build on my Pig Pen youtube vid.

[diago]

I'm in the middle of spec'ing up a PC and here's a overclock version and non-overclock version. Hope it helps.

Before I buy the disks I still need to work out what directories will sit on which drives. Any suggestions appreciated on that.

Non-OC version - ~AU$1150

CPU: Intel Core i5 3.5 Ghz 4690 (uses stock cooler)

Mobo: ASrock H97M-Pro4

PSU: FSP 550W Raider Series 80 Plus Silver

RAM: G.Skill 8G (2x4) DDR3 1866Mhz PC3-14900

GPU: Sapphire R9 280 3GB GDDR5 Dual X OC Version

SSD for OS: Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA III

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 3TB

Case: Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 White

CO Version: ~$1250

CPU: Intel Core i5 3.5 Ghz 4690K

Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V CPU Water Cooler

Mobo: Gigabyte Z97M-D3H

PSU: FSP 550W Raider Series 80 Plus Silver

RAM: G Skill 8G(2x4G) DDR3 1600Mhz PC12800

GPU: Sapphire R9 280 3GB GDDR5 Dual X OC Version

SSD for OS: Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA III

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 3TB

Case: Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 White

[dark13]

There's a little problem with overclock: To overclock a 4670k you need a 70€-80€ heatsink. I would prefer an "air" heatsink because they're more realiable, spending so much money and knowing you may need a new heatsink in 3-4 years it's not that great. These cpus get really hot while overvolting (considering a decent "safe" oc: 4.3ghz-4.5ghz). If you don't plan overclocking, instead, you can also consider a 4790k: it's already at 4ghz and with turboboost it reach 4.4ghz while using one core. If you plan windows gaming don't consider the g3258: most windows games need 4 cores.

A 120gb SSD is useful only to get a faster booting time: damn, these days games ranges from 10gb to 40gb once installed. I would take at last a 240gb or would NOT buy a SSD right now, considering it as an upgrade as far as you can afford it. And... well, on z97 you should buy a m.2 SSD. The pcie 1x is such a wonderful bus, an m.2 SSD is much faster than a sata SSD.

Buy a DECENT PSU. You don't need crazy wattage (650w are enough for a single GPU rig) BUT you need a good PSU.

The r9 280 is a good videocard BUT Some emulators have problem with ati. I would wait for gtx960 or take a gtx770. If you really want to be sure to not have problems with modern games at 1080p, enthusiast setting, you should buy a 290x or a gtx970 but for this you need an higher budget...

[dark13]

With overclock usually you can get better performance sparing money but 4690k need a really high end heatsink. On core2quad/core2duo a 35€-40€ heatsink was enough, even with sandy bridge/ivy brigde you don't need a monster but haswell has SERIOUS overheating issues while overvolting. The cores temperatures you'll see in overclock with haswell and an hi-end heatsink are really close to the ones you got with standard heatsink on a c2d while overcloking... 80°-85° is considered "decent"...

[diago]

Thanks for the useful comments guys. Much appreciated.

I'll swap a few things around on my build.

[relic]

much appreciated guys this will help alot now i only need a recommend on a case that has good cooling and takes lots of hardrives so i can begin

[diago]

Can I ask how do people configure their directories? Do you use an SSD for OS (I've read Win7 is still recommended) and then all HyperSpin files/media/roms on a seperate SATA3 disk, or do you seperate out more than that (eg. OS on SSD, Hyperspin on seperate SATA3 and roms on another SATA3)...?

I (and relic too maybe) am interested in any case suggestions. I think a case with a hot swap bay would be convenient. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[gigapig]

Can I ask how do people configure their directories? Do you use an SSD for OS (I've read Win7 is still recommended) and then all HyperSpin files/media/roms on a seperate SATA3 disk, or do you seperate out more than that (eg. OS on SSD, Hyperspin on seperate SATA3 and roms on another SATA3)...?

I (and relic too maybe) am interested in any case suggestions. I think a case with a hot swap bay would be convenient. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

I have Hyperspin and a lot of media for the 80 systems I have set up on a 250gb SSD. It's has current 86gb free of 232gb.

Cases, well what a mine field of choice, Mine is a NZXT 530 Phantom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUJr4U6RCQ8o2bJj2wR1gGwA&v=6QIK-CcRuCA&feature=player_detailpage#t=187

[marxkemp]

Some of my new stuff

Silverstone rvz01 case

Big shuriken 2 cooler

Pentium G3680 (cheap emu cpu)

Asus z91i plus (future proof)

Crucial mx100 (256gb ssd)

Crucial 8gb balastix memory

Msi gfx750ti 2gb gaming videocard

Just tried mario kart wii and runs nice without overclocking

[diago]

I have Hyperspin and a lot of media for the 80 systems I have set up on a 250gb SSD. It's has current 86gb free of 232gb.

Thanks GP. So do you keep your roms on another physical drive?

PS very nice case. I'm thinking of going small footprint but still not too limiting. Something like this:

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-q25/

It will fit 5x 3.5" disks + 3x SSDs + up to a 320mm GPU.

[Iggy]

Just tried mario kart wii and runs nice without overclocking

How bout The Last Story or Xenoblade Chronicles?

[marxkemp]

From what ive read it should run ok. I just dont play those games. There is a topic about a trunk of dolphin wich plays games better and i tried that one on my new rig

[ghutch92]

I've been keeping a purchase list of my pc, I hope it helps somebody.

Summer 2014. (USD $)
---------------------

$125 :case: fractal design node 605

SubTotal (case first for dimensioning purposes) - purchase 1
$125
---------------------

$90  :Power supply: SILVERSTONE ST55F-G 550W
$85.00 :storage: SAMSUNG 840 EVO 120 GB
$190.00 :cpu: Intel Core i5 4670K
$40.00 :cpu cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
$14.00 :accessory: fractal design SSR2-120 fan
$90.00 :motherboard: ASRock Z87M Extreme4 Socket LGA 1150 mATX
$73.00 :memory: (2x4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
$3.30 :accessory: black 120 fan grill
$3.30 :accessory: black 120 fan grill
$3.40 :accessory: 92mm Chrome Fan grill
$3.40 :accessory: 92mm Chrome Fan grill
[--I got the grills to keep loose cables and my fingers out of the fans--]

SubTotal (functioning pc) - purchase 2
$720.40 = $125 + $595.40
----------------------

$47.00 :wifi & bluetooth: Intel 7260HMWDTX1
$115.00 :storage: Toshiba 3.0TB 7200RPM PH3300U-1I72

SubTotal (better functioning pc) - purchase 3
$882.40 = $720.40 + $162
----------------------

$75 :optical drive: Panasonic UJ-265 Slim 6X Blu-ray Writer SATA (Slot Load)
$221.00 :gpu: MSI Gaming N760 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 760
$115.00 :storage: Toshiba 3.0TB 7200RPM PH3300U-1I72
$20.00 :usb 2.0 internal header expander: NZXT IU01
$25.00 :cable: Silverstone PP05-E flat flexible short cables for power supply

SubTotal (gaming pc) - purchase 4
$1338.4 = $882.40 + $456
---------------------

$22.00 :accessory: AcoustiPack EXTRA 7mm
$0.60 :accessory: 3mm white led
$0.60 :accessory: 3mm white led
$1.00 :accessory: black zipties

_mod_ :case: widened optical drive mount holes to allow optical drive to be centered in case opening
_mod_ :case power button: replaced (1mmx3mmx4mm) blue power leds with 3mm white leds using a soldering pen (and sandpaper to shave white leds to fit)

SubTotal (current state)
$1362.60 = $1338.4 + $24.20

____________future_________________________________

$50 :ir receiver: <shop.inteset.com> Inteset PC-IRS5-01 + extender
$115.00 :tv tuner: <www.newegg.com> or <www.amazon.com> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2255
$2.00 :accessory: <www.tapplastics.com> transparent smoke acrylic sample 1/8" Thick - 4" x 4" Sample
_mod_ :case: cut a (20mm_Hx30mm_W) or (3/4"Hx1.25"W) hole in the front of the case for the ir receiver

___________________________________________________

Grand Total
$1529.60 = $1362.60 + $167 

If I had to do it now I would get the Nvidia GTX 960 gpu, an asrock z97m motherboard, and the intel i5 4690k cpu

You could definitely cut costs somewhere in there.

[dark13]

Do you overclock? What about cores temperatures with a NH-U9B SE2? Have you done some tests with all 4 cores full loaded?

[ghutch92]

Do you overclock? What about cores temperatures with a NH-U9B SE2? Have you done some tests with all 4 cores full loaded?

I haven't tried to overclock it yet.

Ran Prime 95 for an hour after I got it and the core temps never exceeded 100 degrees. Normal usage is never greater than 35 degrees Celsius.

It's an HTPC case which means it's a smaller enclosure and more about looks than air flow.

The NH-U9B SE2 fit the case and was one of the best not vertical cpu fan coolers I could find that could fit.

It does look nice under the tv.

[MaskedMavel]

I recently switched from wired 360 controllers to wireless Wii U Pro controllers with a mayflash adapter. They sync just as easily as they do on the Wii U and you can use up to four controllers with the one adapter. I haven't set them up with that many things yet but they feel much better for old games than the 360 pad does. The first thing that came to mind when I used the pro controller was that it just feels more "robust" than a 360 controller.