Dedicated Emulator PC 2013 Build Thread!

I have recently got the urge to make another Dedicated Emulator PC, basically something that's got a lot of horsepower and sits next to my living room TV and allows me to enjoy classic Console/Arcade games from the comfort of my sofa without having to dig out my precious collection of real hardware. I'm aware that Emulation will never replace original hardware but that's not the point, this is going to be a gigantic project and probably take months to get my head around but it's going to be fun and rewarding to see the final piece.

I have previously posted videos of simple Emulator boxes I have made in the past; these have now been sold to fund the new project.
Acer Revo R3610
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szLCe8IzB_s
Acer Revo RL70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTa5K7QrFr8

In comparison to the new project, these machines are quite basic in both specification and operation. The purpose of this thread is to document as much as I can about the project as I have been contacted hundreds of times about the above videos and asked how it's done. So let's begin...

I have been collecting components of the last few weeks and this will be the final specification of the hardware

Intel Core i3 3220 3.30GHz Socket 1155 3MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Asrock H61M-ITX H61 Socket 1155 onboard graphics CPU required 8 channel HD Audio mini ITX Motherboard
Bitfenix Prodigy White Case
Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Elite Memory Kit CL8 1.5V
Sapphire Technology AMD Radeon 7770 HD 1GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI
Corsair Hydro Series H60 2013 model High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Seagate 2TB BARRACUDA 3.5" SATA-III Hard Drive - 7200RPM 64MB Cache
Corsair 60GB Nova Series 2 SSD - 2.5" SATA-II - Read 270MB/s Write 240MB/s Affordable Performance Upgrade 3YR Warranty
Corsair 430W CXM Builder Modular 80 Plus Bronze PSU 3 Year Warranty
Extras: Side Window Panel for case, 230MM BitFenix Spectre Pro Fan
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Just waiting on the Corsair SSD (I bought it a year ago but recently RMA'd it) I will probably start the build tonight and post some pictures. But to start off, here is most of the kit from a few days ago...



I have previously used Maximus Arcade for a frontend, but it's a bit simple. For this build I’m going to get to grips with HyperSpin as it's a lot more impressive. I also haven't decided on a control method as of yet. I used to roll with wireless Xbox 360 pads, but I want something a bit special for this setup.

The PC will hopefully emulate the following...

Nintendo SNES
Nintendo NES
Nintendo Game Boy/Color/Advance
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Nintendo 64
Nintendo GameCube
Sega Genesis/32X/Sega CD
Sega Master System & Game Gear
Sega Saturn
Sega Dreamcast
Sega Model 2 & 3
Sega Naomi
PC-Engine/PC-Engine CD
Panasonic 3DO
Sony PlayStation
Sony PlayStation 2
Sammy Atomiswave
Taito Type X, X2
MAME (Inc. Cave SH3)
SNK Neo-Geo
SNK Neo-Geo CD
SNK Neo-Geo Pocket/Color
Atari Jaguar
Amiga
Commodore 64
Arcade LaserDisc

& M.U.G.E.N, Streets of Rage Remake Final, PC Arcade Ports (House of the Dead 2 & 3, Outrun 2006 C2C)

Until next time...

 

Cool...I've got ideas too for doing the same thing, but a different frontend. I'm not sure what to use for gamepads yet. I've been liking ps3 controller so far.

 

Get i5-2xxxK or i7-xxxxK, you'll need 4+GHz if you want to play some demanding GC/Wii games which require DSP LLE

get at least 2x2Tb, CHDs and ISOs are huge, also do you really need 7200 for large HDD, 5400-5900 are quite fast for storage drives and make a lot less noise.

 

I was going to say you could probably use something like this:

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...PC-RK3066-1-6Ghz-Cortex/810525_659384842.html

But that probably wouldn't be up to PS2/Gamecube/Dreamcast level stuff.

 

I'll be watching this thread closely.

 

Agreed. I have an i7 2600k @ 4.7 GHz in my current rig and there isn't much that doesn't run at full speed.

 

I already have the hardware and it's more than enough for what I want to run. I have no plans to have any Wii Games on there. GameCube games will run fine (Already confirmed). The 2TB drive is also plenty for what I need, I have about 1.5TB data to go on there and I can always install an extra drive if needed. I'm not planning on having every PS2 and GameCube game, just a healthy selection of titles.

Far too underpowered. And it's Android?

Anyway, build is coming along nicely...

 

I have been thinking about making a dedicated gaming emulation PC HTPC forever but how do you decide what to play when you have 500.000 games to chose from?

 

x

 

Ok, Thanks for the advice on hardware but as previously stated I have already bought the kit and it's more than enough for what I want. I'm a computer engineer by trade and know the capabilities of what I have bought. So, please stop with the "You should have bought <Insert Preferred hardware here>" TBH the GameCube and PS2 is just going to be a bonus, I’m not focusing on those systems. I'm more interested in Saturn, PS1 and Dreamcast and Arcade systems like Naomi and Atomiswave. Believe it or not, this i'm not a complete emulation n00b...

 

You'd be surprised.

1.6GHz quad core Cortex A9. It will do all the consoles you listed, save for the PS2 era stuff (which you want, so yeah, underpowered for your setup ).

There are stacks of emulators for Android, but it runs Linux too. Between the two you'd have most systems covered.

I know you've bought your hardware so it's a null point, but might be helpful for anyone else reading the thread looking for ideas!

 

i'd like to do something like this, i may even convert my current rig when i build a new one.

i'd probably choose linux(but theres no reason a dual / multi boot with windows couldnt be done), and would like to build it into an arcade cab with some nice speakers / amp screen and joystick setup.

still nice setup.

 

Not quite. While a great price, that device has some caveats:

1) ARM processor. This isn't a bad thing, as more and more emulators are being ported to ARM, but itll take a while for emulators to become as mature as they are for x86
2) The 1.6 GHz is misleading. I'm not sure if it has changed, but for the first device in that series it was a 1 GHz processor with a GPU running at 500 mhz (Source: I own one). These are definitely not equal to a 1.5 GHz processor. I wouldn't doubt it's changed for this one, I know of no A9 devices that clock up to 1.6 GHz.
3) Power. Like you said, playstation 2 won't work, but you can add gamecube to that as well, and most likely dreamcast.

All in all, I'm not saying it's a bad device, it's great for the price really, but its not a one stop shop for the ultimate emulator experience.

 

So Radeon? Really? Nvidia has tons of options to low budget video cards that have far better firepower than anything AMD would do.

BTW, where are the pumps of your water cooler system? I see the radiator, the block but no pump.

 

his card is more than capable of dealing with anything hes going to throw at it on this rig.

by the size of the block and radiator i would assume its integrated? could be wrong though

the drive bay reservoirs they had out a while back looked cool i always liked them but the pumps in them were prone to failure

 

I've been looking into getting a revo for a htpc/emulator machine, how well did the RL70 perform if you don't mind me asking?

 

The Radeon 7770 is more than enough for the job. It actually outperformed the equivalent card from nvidia (650) I'm not a fan of AMD at all but it offered more bang for buck. Plus I got 3 games with it that I have sold,making a £80 card £50. That's a great deal.

The cooler is a closed loop system, pump is part
Of the CPU block.

Sorry for the delay on progress, been busy this weekend. Will have an update this week

The revo performed well for anything up to N64. Saturn wouldn't run well at all though.

 

So.. you're saying you never have to replace the fluid?!

I never knew anything like that existed.

I sold my water cooler system because it was a pain.. it had 2 radiators, 2 pumps, 2 reservoirs.. the fluid kept evaporating.. sold and got a notebook.

What brand and model are you using? Does it work with any block?
What's the size of the radiator?

 

Neither did I and if it does, I'm definitely going to get one down the line. I've steered clear of liquid cooling solutions because of the hassle and risk of failure being too high for my taste. Something like this could get me to try it out.

 

Amazing, I can get a revo l80 for £120 and just want it for emulators upto N64 so that's great news, thanks for replying.