Emulation Pc Build .. Amd or Intel

Hardware Build a PC
1

Hi Everyone.

Yes, I wish to buld a pc for emulation.

I want to run emulators with out glitch or problems. (I understand some games will not run or run perfect by nature)

Every review I have found, looks at pc titles, nothing on emulation. 

I want an itx system, I just do not know wich will run better, Amd, or Intel. 

if I choose Intel, it with be a haswell i5 or i7(around $70 diffrence between i5 and i7 at my microcenter so not much of a diffrence in cost) . Ill buy my chip at Microcenter. So 1155 and 1150 chips are the same price. So if i go intel ill get haswell i7 unless someone can tell me why to pick an i5 or 1155 .The mobo i was thinking was- asus impact or asus z87i . I think id pick the z87i for the wifi , dvi out and the price . 

Or do I use the fm2 chips from Amd? They are cheaper and they are Amd cpu with built in video. Not sure what amd bord asrock maybe?

I guess I should mention that I am looking to use the build in gpu in the cpu to save money and size . Unless you guys think I have to have a video card to run the higher wii ps2 and game cube games.. 

i already have..

silverstones sfx psu 450w

2 ocz ssds agility 3 60 gig each (raid 0) 

so im open / need help with ........  

mobo (amd fm2 intell 1150 .. other?)

ram (16gig)

video cards (yes or on chip)

 

I was going to use hyperspin for a front end running over windows 7 . Open for ideas on that end too.

 

Thanks a ton

alan  

 

2

What emulator will you be running? I'm pretty sure emulators aren't exactly multicore optimized. So a cpu with high performance per core ratio. I'm thinking intel....

3

intel, whats your budget and anything else you want to do with the build

also don't raid SSDs that gives them excesive latenc which is the main thing about SSDs

you won't even need 4GB for emulation

4

Intel. Emulators DO use multiple cores, but only a maximum of 4, depending on which you use. I have an FX8150 and Radeon 7950, and can play most games at full speed, but intel runs them much better, and at higher resolutions. 

It's even in the documentation of the dolphin emulator.

Performance

Depending on the hardware of your system there might be some games which does not run completly fluently. If you want to play games at full speed make sure you have a good CPU. It's the most important component! For good results it's recommended to use Intel i5 Sandy or Ivy Bridge CPUs or higher (i7).

5

on that note I would recommend a GPU with at least 2GB of VRAM for high AA or internal resolution

6

I'm not sure, for my gaming I use my desktop, but recently I built a media PC for my parents. I was actually surprised by the performance of the thing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113331

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157332

It really kicks ass for a computer with an APU. I was really surprised. I haven't tried emulation on it. However, from my expirence, I am 100% sure EPSXE and other emulators will work on it.

Tonight I can try dolphin. I haven't looked at PS2 emulation in a while. (On my main gaming rig I couldn't even get that up to speed. However, I can try again. I think my problem was that I was trying to play "Shadow of the Colossus.")

BTW, I'm using Ubuntu x64 on the media PC. So, I'm sure that the Windows drivers for it are even faster.

However, the motherboard that I showed you is a Micro-ATX if you want a compatible motherboard that is Mini-ITX:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130664

I hope that I was of some help.
 

7

APU's are actually pretty bad for emulation.

8

Huh, I didn't know that. I will still test though. I've personally never had any problem with APUs.

9

It's not that theres a problem, lol. Just don't have the raw, per core performance needed.

10

Ok thank you for all the input so far.  Its sounding like intel so far My budget is between 900 to $1200.  And im not going to run my ssds in raid anymore.  So now i have to decided i5 or i7 i think im going to use asus z87i-deluxe..  Although now that im not running raid anymore asrock mini itx board with the built in msata connection ia looking good.. 

But my real question i have left is video..  Use the intel built in gpu or if not what video card? Thanksa guy's let me know your input.. On all of this stuff 

11

Everything..  Nes snes and stuff like that does not need much to run great im more concerned about n64 gamecube dreamcast mame ps2 and wii..  Haven't looked into xbox yet...? 

12

My budget is around $900 to$1200 .  Ill probably do alot of downloading and file extraction not much else on this one.  And yes 4gb is enough for os but not enough for roms.  Im going for a 2tb for roms.  Thanks didnt know that about ssds i just wanted fast boot and loads 

13

Hmmm i was starting to lean intel let me know how well dolphin works..  And ur not using a video card just the amd for video? 

14

Well you have to have a Decent card, as well. I used to use a 6870, but now im using a 7950. About a 15-20% increase in framerate. 

15

dedicated, so you can upsample your games textures, resolution, and AA, even $900 will be more than enough, do you want HTPC form factor?

16

Any recommendations on a video card..?  And not really going for htpc this build is going in the top half of my ultra e-torque x10 case as of now just wanted to use the space in that part of the cause and seamed like a fun build..  It might make its way into an arcade cabinet one day once i finish the front end..  That will take time with preview vids and box art and just getting emulation running perfect.. Oh and buttons set up....  Anyways ya video card let me know what should work..  Around $300 or so