Hardware Best computer for Dolphin

[MushGuy]

Hello, my old laptop's GPU has fried, and I was wondering which computer you would recommend to use Dolphin on. I'm trying to decide from these choices:

http://www.costco.co...lang=en-US&Sp=C
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/CasioyberPower+-+Gamer+Ultra+Desktop+-+16GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5079051.p?id=1218610016006&skuId=5079051
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Slimline+Desktop+-+4GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/4706914.p?id=1218511831519&skuId=4706914

Any recommendations, you guys?

 

[Hunter X]

The CasioyberPower one is decent, but the best ones are ones you build yourself. They are tailored to your specific need and they come out cheaper than a name brand stock computer.

 

[KazoWAR]

you might want something that has a decent GPU with it if you plan to play at 1080p

 

[Rydian]

I wouldn't go with any. The first has shit graphics, the third has a weak processor, and the second is overpriced and unbalanced.

they come out cheaper than a name brand stock computer.

Careful with blanket statements. Building your own does not instantly equal a lower cost. There's lots of things that big-name companies can do that you can't to get parts cheaper, and even afrer their markup the prices are sometimes lower, for more (integrated card reader and stuff like that they tend to toss in).

 

[Hunter X]

True the second one is overpriced, especially since it has an AMD processor, which imo is shit. Go Intel all the way. Some stock computers are cheaper but thats because they include other crap i dont need (card reader, optical drive, etc.). I'd rather go with something that has only what I need and nothing more. All the computers i've built have come out way cheaper than a comparable OEM computer so I'm not completely wrong.

 

[DCG]

I wouldn't go with any. The first has shit graphics, the third has a weak processor, and the second is overpriced and unbalanced.

they come out cheaper than a name brand stock computer.

Careful with blanket statements. Building your own does not instantly equal a lower cost. There's lots of things that big-name companies can do that you can't to get parts cheaper, and even afrer their markup the prices are sometimes lower, for more (integrated card reader and stuff like that they tend to toss in).

That's correct, My pc is more expensive than a pre-build one, however my cooling sollution is better than a cheap watercooling kit.
The worst thing in a pre-build PC is the Motherboard, mostley brandless, "quality" MoBo's cost a lot more than cheap ones.

The cardreaders are always a nice thing. However, when I'll get my watercooling loop (need to save up some more), I'm almost gonna be short on front slots to put the things in (1 blu-ray, 1 fan controller, 1 2-slot water resevouir etc.)
A cardreader will be hard to place then.

 

[CCNaru]

Most prebuilt computers only stock their PSU with what you need borderline (have you ever heard of 270v PSU? lol) so if you want to add anything interesting, you'd have to buy a new PSU along with the part and you'll have to rehook everything too...heh

 

[Langin]

My Dell Inspiron R17

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-17r-n7110/pd?~ck=mn

it plays okay with a few extra USB sticks. ^^

 

[Lostbhoy]

Get a Wii..... and mod it!

 

[Rydian]

The second includes things like 12GB of RAM, which is way more than the OP needs.

 

[MushGuy]

Ok, then how much ram do I need to run the emulator? And yes, I do have a Wii, but I want to experiment, too, as well as play it in HD.

 

[Aijelsop]

Or you could, you know, buy a Wii and an ext hdd

http://www.gamestop.com/ Wii's $99.

I got my 80gb hd for about $70

 

[MushGuy]

^ I mean High Definition.

Edit: OK, now I went to Newegg, and Ive been debating myself between these three builds:

http://www.newegg.co...8^83-229-288-TS

Any recommendations, guys?

 

[Rydian]

Ok, then how much ram do I need to run the emulator? And yes, I do have a Wii, but I want to experiment, too, as well as play it in HD.

About 4GB will be all you need (some systems come with up to 6 standard and that's fine, but more is almost always wasted). In general emulators aren't RAM-heavy, Dolphin only uses 300MB when emulating a 2-character game of Brawl in the Lylat stage, as a quick test. The main points are having a semi-decent GPU, and a powerful CPU.

^ I mean High Definition.

Edit: OK, now I went to Newegg, and Ive been debating myself between these three builds:

http://www.newegg.co...8^83-229-288-TS

Any recommendations, guys?

Going with a machine that focuses on the processor more while still having a baseline level of graphics will net you better performance. This is sort of the opposite of normal gaming, which focuses mainly on the GPU with the CPU as secondary.

The CPU is going to be the first concern, and the first computer looks to be the worst at first glance... but that's because the second two show up as way more powerful on benchmarks, though that's likely because they have way more cores so things that are highly-threaded (such as benchmarks of total performance) will show a large increase, but emulation is still generally single or dual-threaded (as far as the threads that concern performance) so for performance in few-thread situations it looks like the Core i3 machine will be more powerful, though that seems to go against what people normally think of. That particular Core i3 model seems to out perform many of the first Core i5 series anyways since it's from a later revision.

Then considering the GPU second... the first machine has the worst. When talking about actual emulation speed the CPU is key, but when talking about upscaling the video rendering, that's passed right onto the GPU so you'll want a certain level of performance there. The 7450's kinda' weak, I wouldn't count on it for much.

This one looks to be your best bet below 1K.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229283

Otherwise, this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229284

 

[ShawnHousby]

get an alienware computer (go to dell.com and search for alienware)

 

[10_0ARMY]

Doesn't dolphin emulate Wii or Gamecube or whatever so why do you need 1080p output? All Laptops now have HD displays standard and most can play games fine with low graphics settings. I'm no computer expert so I can judge those choices, but I'd think cost is the number one thing to think about, at least that's what I would do.

 

[the_randomizer]

get an alienware computer (go to dell.com and search for alienware)

Their prices are a little too much. You can get a laptop with similar hardware for a lot cheaper.

 

[Rydian]

That, and saying just "alienware" doesn't tell them what specs to aim at.

 

[Drud1995]

Over dishing out hundreds of dollars on a computer that is powerful enough to emulate GameCube games, you are best off actually buying a GameCube. They are only around $30 at GameStop and I am sure the controls would be difficult on a computer compared to just using a GameCube controller.

 

[Rydian]

Adapters can be gotten. I use a PS2 controller.