Cheapest Desktop PC for Emulation?

You mention PS1 and then show images from a PS2 game...

There are a lot of low res ~320x240 games for PS1 that definitely wouldn't look right upscaled to 1920x1080 and put through all those filters.

 

So because of anti-alaising and texture packs(custom made) you want to sacrifice seeing the games the way they were meant to be played, and 100% compatibility....and pay a metric butt ton for hardware?


Anyways, I can't help you for less than 500$, But I can tell you I am investing in a 35-36" widescreen tube tv, for all of my classic gaming and wii needs. I can pick these up on craigslist for a song! 5 feet away it all looks the same:lol:.

 

Lol dude there are no texturepacks out there for PS2 games right now.
Those are just upscaled and they look that good.
Also the only filtering going on is from downscaling and texture filtering. No more.

i've posted pictures in the past of games upscaled on a PS1 emulator that look superior to the original hardware in everyway except for 2D filtering.
PC upscaled emulators will always look better on an LCD than the OG hardware without a stupid expensive upscaler that only does that. Upscale.
A pc powerful enough to emulate gamecube/PS2 can do so so much more.

Of course, you narrow minded people wouldn't know or care about that now would you?

Maybe before you knock this stuff, you should actually do it, instead of un-Consciously forming an opinion of what it will be like/do before hand


Not only viewing at a close distance but at a large distance on an LCDTV it will make a huge difference in IQ.

 

3,200 x 900 is not PS1's resolution.

The reason you probably want to run emulators at higher resolutions is probably in part that on your PC's monitor running in the native resolution will look pretty bad. But PS1 in its native resolution on a proper display (RGB capable CRT) will look better.

Take something like an Xbox 360 game and then resolution difference between 640x480 and 1280x720 is a big deal and there is a noticeable improvement in detail. But for a PS1 game that detail just isn't there hiding. Higher resolution is going to help hide the ugly appearance on your PC monitor/HDTV that is generated by using such a display. But I don't think it makes it look better. If you do that's fine. Feel free to post real comparison pictures.

Personally I don't like to play games on emulators too much if it can be avoided. The real hardware and a quality display makes for a much more enjoyable experience to me.

 

Probably the best way to play PS1 games on an LCD is to use a PS3.

 

once again you fail to grasp the concept.

OK, I HAVE TWO SCREENSHOTS NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN 1 PICTURE.
HOW DOES THAT MAKE THE RESOLUTION OF THE GAME THE SIZE OF THE PICTURE?
Come on man use your brain.

 

You're the one who's confusing opinion with fact. Out of the two images you've posted, the second just looks wrong to me. I wouldn't play Brave Fencer Musashi that way. You'll notice I didn't say the first image looks outright "better", because that's an objective term and we're dealing in a matter of subjective personal taste. You could do with learning this distinction.

Maybe you should ask before you accuse. I've spent plenty of time in PSX emulators, thanks.

From my perspective, the problem with increasing the resolution in PSX games is that most of the art assets weren't designed for higher res. That image is a perfect example - the anti-aliasing on Musashi contrasts horribly with the low-res floor textures. It looks like a mess as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather play in the original resolution on the original hardware where everything fits together properly. If you prefer it the other way, that's your prerogative. Just don't tell me I'm wrong for having a preference, or make the assumption that it's because I'm ill-informed.

 

I didn't notice that because my monitor doesn't have a 3200 pixel width resolution, don't get all ragey.

Looking at your comparison I can tell you that is not how the game appears at its native resolution on a proper display. It won't appear that pixellated. The high resolution picture shows that textures look pretty awful. If a game were flat shaded it would probably look pretty good. But instead the textures don't fit and it puts more emphasis on the low polygon count. At the proper resolution the textures are fitting and you don't notice such errors and problems.

If you think that it's better, that's fine. If you think it's better and I'm wrong, you're the one with the problem. Plenty of people think that emulator filters like "Super Eagle Engine" look great when I think they look fucking awful. But I don't care as long as they don't act high and mighty saying I'm wrong for having a different opinion or that their opinion is factually better.

 

The game looks crap in both screens IMO, but people do forget old school consoles were blurred natively by the TV screen so looked a little bit btter (natural AA effect). It is only when you get clinicl with new tchnology that the odlr stuff actually looks worse.

 

scanlines are what saves old psx games. ps2 ones are great upscaled.

still ps1 games that do use a lot of polygons are ASTONISHING with the right filters...

try G-darius for example!

 

Anti aliasing and texture smoothing on that example, do what a low res crt already does. With the ps1 and before, the quality just isn't there. You could argue PS2, but go with an RGB monitor, and I bet it will look about the same as an emulator. Until emulation matures I'll take the cheap, and as you can tell by other peoples post(not just mine), arguably better looking way and go analog. whether I play PSX games on a computer or my psx, it still looks like poop. On both versions, I cannot tell what the main character is, I'm guessing it's sonic?????:clap:

 

I think I'll skip wanting to emulate using Dolphin.
With the announcement of Wii U's ability to play Wii games in HD, I may not have to wait so long. Though a HD Gamecube emulation solution would be nice at some point.

Though I'm definitely interested in PS2 and earlier.

I'll admit sometimes I've used original hardware b/c the emulators in the past weren't the easiest things to configure.
But, there's so much hassle with original hardware in most cases.

Problems with using original hardware for me.
1. I don't have enough space for so many consoles in my main TV room.
2. The systems don't always look great on a big screen HDTV.
3. While getting a old school TV wouldn't be expensive. I don't have a comfortable area I could set it up and play.
4. I can't really efficiently have a wired controller console set-up anymore. Especially with the distance from my couch to the TV.
5. It's expensive to buy memory cards, controllers and hardware for each system.
6. Having physical hardware & games, means you need space and time to store & organize everything. A big task in itself.
7. Being able to have less controllers is a good thing. E.g. xbox 360 controllers will work with most emulators.

 

Reggie said Wii games will not be upscaled on the Wii-U. You won't be playing Wii games in 1080P, only Wii-U games will be HD.

 

Eh, in other words, you just don't want to put forth the effort or organizing and arranging stuff to have a comfortable gaming experience.

Honestly, I don't understand what the big fuss about wanting to emulate stuff just to get it too look better. I prefer playing games on the console they were made for, hence the reason I have 6 consoles on my entertainment center.

 

I agree, it seems like it would be cheaper to rearrange things and get different furniture. But if you don't already own the systems then that is a problem. But if you don't own the systems then you probably don't own the games and now you're just a pirate. =(

 

I wouldn't consider it piracy to emulate old games that would cost a fortune to buy used. Earthbound comes to mind.
Also, emulation is great for translation projects.

I support these companies by buying current releases.

And it's not that I wouldn't love to have a ultimate gaming set-up with all my old consoles.But, I live with my family and they get upset at me having current gen systems hooked up.
I love the look of video games systems personally but the big screen isn't mine. According to them having 20 different systems set up in your main floor living room looks a little childish.

Also, some of my older stuff like my 32X doesn't work.

 

Fair enough. Everyone's situation is different. Emulation certainly does take up less room since it effectively takes up no additional room.

 

Like I used to be all about having all my systems hooked up back in the day.
Using original hardware certainly is the most genuine experience.

If I'm planning on playing a single game on a system over the course of a month, I'll usually just go ahead and bring out the original system if I have the original game or if it's cheap.
As my past experiences with emulation have been hit and miss.
If the game looks good enough I'm fine. This works great for adventure single player games, but if I need to involve multiple controllers or space allocation it gets messy.

But, for games like Mother 3 a GBA games, I'd feel more comfortable playing it on the big screen.

But, I to relate to people in the community more, compare it to arcade emulation. Obviously it'd be awesome to live in a mansion and have a personal arcade with all my favorite Arcade machines including a Tattoo Assassins original machine. :drool:

But, I'd settle for X-Arcade to simulate that "arcade controller feel", and I think most people would as well.
http://www.xgaming.com/
But, in fact, I don't even have that kind of money.

Some things are just too rare to own.

Plus believe me being a purist before there is plenty of heartache involved in maintaining that multi-system set-up with a budget.

Controllers cross wires & tangle, you run out of inputs on your TV, accessories get misplaced (e.g. I've lost countless acessories from a Rumble Pack to memory cards, etc).

It's annoying.

DDR Fans especially, it's bogus that you need to purchase a new matt upon every release.

Then you need storage for those matts, etc.

 

Yeah, no two ways about it. I play many systems regularly and even with decent housing for them all the tangling of the controller cables is a nuisance. It's best to be studious about returning pads on top of their console and tidying the cabling, but I'm lazy.

I'm also on the lookout for a decent SCART switcher with five or more inputs, they don't seem to be around though. If anyone knows of something suitable I'd love to hear about it, I've trawled ebay a few times without success.