Hardware Saving up for a PC build.... any idea how it will do Wii/GC emulation?

[GoldenSun3DS]

Agreed. Neither Corsair CX or Antec HCG is what I considered premium high quality PSU for expensive PC. They are mostly for budget user. You should look into reputable PSU like Rosewill Capstone, Seasonic Gold Rated PSU, etc.

Also, keep in mind that 3D gaming only works for games that support 3D in the first place. You are not going to see 3D effect on Wii emulation.

Dolphin supports 3D.

In most cases, i5 performs identical to i7 in gaming. The i7-4790K is a little bit of an exception because of the 0.5Ghz clock increase over the i5-4690K, and emulation gets respectable performance boosts from higher clock rates.

This might seem like a silly point to pick on.. but do you really need a DVD drive? After installing Windows (which can be done from USB) and motherboard drivers (which are better off downloaded from the official site in the first place), would you actually use it? If not, I'd put that $18 towards a better PSU (preferably gold rated).

Aside from that, the build looks fine to me. Personally I'd always make sure there's an SSD in the build, especially now that 120GB (what I consider the minimum for a fresh system) is so affordable these days (around the $75 mark).

It's only about $20, there's really no reason not to have one when it's this cheap. Plus if I ever want to put in a DVD to watch a movie, I can.

All GTX 970s support 3D, it's not a manufacturer specific feature, it's a Nvidia one.
You can just overclock with the i5 to match the i7, the difference is that the i7 has a feature called hyperthreading which isn't even used in games iirc.

I don't really want to overclock it (rather not take the risk). Is the MSi one really stronger than the EVGA one?

 

[GoldenSun3DS]

Current setup:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fPC33C
(Price went up to $1500 but that's with the 3D monitor and I don't really count the monitor as part of the computer)

 

[guitarheroknight]

Current setup:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fPC33C
(Price went up to $1500 but that's with the 3D monitor and I don't really count the monitor as part of the computer)

Your configuration is a total overkill and in my opinion a waste of money. You can go for a cheaper alternative that performs the same!

 

[guitarheroknight]

Here you go, roughly the same price but with much higher quality components.

 

[GoldenSun3DS]

Your configuration is a total overkill and in my opinion a waste of money. You can go for a cheaper alternative that performs the same!

If I was to go with cheaper parts, it wouldn't be as strong.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/3
Skip to the part about the Dolphin emulator test

(Assuming I'm reading this right) If you overclock both, it comes out to around the same performance, but when not overclocking, the i5-4690K comes out about 10% slower than the i7-4790K

 

[guitarheroknight]

If I was to go with cheaper parts, it wouldn't be as strong.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/3
Skip to the part about the Dolphin emulator test

(Assuming I'm reading this right) If you overclock both, it comes out to around the same performance, but when not overclocking, the i5-4690K comes out about 10% slower than the i7-4790K

Cheap doesnt always mean weak. I have a i5 4690k and I manage to run New Super Marion Bros. Wii all maxed out with 2 gb of RAM and a HD7850.
Take a look at the configuration I linked above, it runs exactly the same as your build but with much higher quality components almost at the same price!

 

[GoldenSun3DS]

Here you go, roughly the same price but with much higher quality components.

That monitor is not a 3D monitor.
The RAM is slower and more expensive.
The harddrive is about the same but more expensive.
Overpriced keyboard and mouse.
Inferior PSU (only bronze certification unlike the gold one) and more expensive.
Weaker CPU ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/3 )

 

[GoldenSun3DS]

Cheap doesnt always mean weak. I have a i5 4690k and I manage to run New Super Marion Bros. Wii all maxed out with 2 gb of RAM and a HD7850.
Take a look at the configuration I linked above, it runs exactly the same as your build but with much higher quality components almost at the same price!

What about something harder to emulate like Super Mario Galaxy? Full HD? 3D? Texture packs (if any for that game; haven't looked it up)? Still full speed with all that and the i5?

 

[guitarheroknight]

That monitor is not a 3D monitor.
The RAM is slower and more expensive.
The harddrive is about the same but more expensive.
Overpriced keyboard and mouse.
Inferior PSU (only bronze certification unlike the gold one) and more expensive.
Weaker CPU ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/3 )

It seems you are not very familiar with the PC scene. Slower RAM dont mean shit if youd pardon my french unless youre using an integrated GPU for gaming which you arent. Ive been using the same exact PSU for over 4 years now and I havent had a single problem. Im currently using it with my R9 290 tri-x which pulls more then 300w at full load. If youre not into Photoshoping or any other heavy CPU program an i3 could do the same job as the i7 you chose.

What about something harder to emulate like Super Mario Galaxy? Full HD? 3D? Texture packs (if any for that game; haven't looked it up)? Still full speed with all that and the i5?

Yes, I was playing SMG the other day all maxed out at 60 fps.

 

[GoldenSun3DS]

It seems you are not very familiar with the PC scene. Slower RAM dont mean shit if youd pardon my french unless youre using an integrated GPU for gaming which you arent. Ive been using the same exact PSU for over 4 years now and I havent had a single problem. Im currently using it with my R9 290 tri-x which pulls more then 300w at full load. If youre not into Photoshoping or any other heavy CPU program an i3 could do the same job as the i7 you chose.



Yes, I was playing SMG the other day all maxed out at 60 fps.

Is that with or without overclocking? Even if it was with overclocking, adding 3D would probably bring it under 60fps (assuming you're running it at or just above 60fps).

You might have had a point on the RAM except for the fact that the RAM you picked out is not only slower, but also more expensive.
Your personal experience with that PSU doesn't change its efficiency rating.

Even if the i7 isn't a huge upgrade over the i5 in terms of Wii emulation, the i7 is superior to it in nearly every other way. Overall, the i7 is better.

 

[CompassNorth]

I don't really want to overclock it (rather not take the risk). Is the MSi one really stronger than the EVGA one?

3.5 to 4.0 GHz is safe and there are plenty of guides to show you to do OC properly
If you don't want to overclock at all then don't get an unlocked processor, Z marked mobo and a CPU cooler.
And yes the MSI one is better. Top three cards are Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS in that order.

Also yeah faster ram isn't always better, at most you're paying extra for a 2 fps increase, it's really not worth.

And paying almost $100 for a non modular PSU seems silly to me, especially when it's bronze.

 

[GoldenSun3DS]

3.5 to 4.0 GHz is safe and there are plenty of guides to show you to do OC properly
If you don't want to overclock at all then don't get an unlocked processor, Z marked mobo and a CPU cooler.
And yes the MSI one is better. Top three cards are Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS in that order.

Also yeah faster ram isn't always better, at most you're paying extra for a 2 fps increase, it's really not worth.

And paying almost $100 for a non modular PSU seems silly to me, especially when it's bronze.

The only reason I'm getting the CPU cooler is to be safe, just incase. It's worth an extra $40 to prevent the CPU from ever overheating.
About the ram, the one he picked out was more expensive, so he didn't even have cheaper as a reason to downgrade the speed.
If the MSi one is stronger, then I may as well switch to that one because it's also a little cheaper.

 

[guitarheroknight]

Is that with or without overclocking? Even if it was with overclocking, adding 3D would probably bring it under 60fps (assuming you're running it at or just above 60fps).

You might have had a point on the RAM except for the fact that the RAM you picked out is not only slower, but also more expensive.
Your personal experience with that PSU doesn't change its efficiency rating.

Even if the i7 isn't a huge upgrade over the i5 in terms of Wii emulation, the i7 is superior to it in nearly every other way. Overall, the i7 is better.

Well if youre willing to pay 1.5 k for a build more expensive RAM shouldnt be a problem since they are very reliable.
I7 is better in every way, BUT it performs exactly the same as an i5 would in gaming.
I dont get what 3D are you talking about??? Im running every game at 60 FPS locked with all the highest settings including vsync (which is why the framerate never goes above 60). Also im running my CPU at stock speed, 3.5ghz

 

[GoldenSun3DS]

Well if youre willing to pay 1.5 k for a build more expensive RAM shouldnt be a problem since they are very reliable.
I7 is better in every way, BUT it performs exactly the same as an i5 would in gaming.
I dont get what 3D are you talking about??? Im running every game at 60 FPS locked with all the highest settings including vsync (which is why the framerate never goes above 60). Also im running my CPU at stock speed, 3.5ghz

3D as in stereoscopic 3D.

If by "exactly" you mean "slightly better", then yes.

EDIT:
Yes, you don't want the fps to go above 60, but if you turned that off, how much could you get at max settings with your build?

 

[trumpet-205]

Dolphin supports 3D.

It is not native 3D. GC and Wii by itself cannot do 3D, and Dolphin display 3D by making guesses. It will never amaze you like a native 3D will.

Also Dolphin does 3D in anaglyph, an old method of displaying 3D. Main downside of anaglyph are washed out colors and ghosting. You do NOT need 3D monitor/GPU for anaglyph, what you do need is colored glasses (blue on one side and red on the other).

Simulated 3D + Anaglyph = Not worth it.

 

[guitarheroknight]

3D as in stereoscopic 3D.

If by "exactly" you mean "slightly better", then yes.

EDIT:
Yes, you don't want the fps to go above 60, but if you turned that off, how much could you get at max settings with your build?

"Slightly" as in 2 fps...

I honestly dont know and dont care since i have a 60 hz refresh rate. The only thing that matters is the min. FPS which is never bellow 60.

 

[Issac]

It is not native 3D. GC and Wii by itself cannot do 3D, and Dolphin display 3D by making guesses. It will never amaze you like a native 3D will.

Also Dolphin does 3D in anaglyph, an old method of displaying 3D. Main downside of anaglyph are washed out colors and ghosting. You do NOT need 3D monitor/GPU for anaglyph, what you do need is colored glasses (blue on one side and red on the other).

Simulated 3D + Anaglyph = Not worth it.

I am certain I've heard that at least some games can be ran in "3D mode" where some hack renders two images "per frame" from different camera angles. Basically, a cheat code that make the camera stutter sideways to get the stereoscopic 3D effect.
And I'm also certain that I've seen it render "real 3D" and not just anaglyphic 3D.

 

[aofelix]

i have a 4670k and it runs very very very very well in dolphin. not one game has given me a problem (or in PCSX2).

your graphics card is overkill for emulation but if you are gaming too, a 970 is a sweet purchase. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 970 or the next iteration of nivida cards in the next year or so.

 

[trumpet-205]

I am certain I've heard that at least some games can be ran in "3D mode" where some hack renders two images "per frame" from different camera angles. Basically, a cheat code that make the camera stutter sideways to get the stereoscopic 3D effect.
And I'm also certain that I've seen it render "real 3D" and not just anaglyphic 3D.

If there is GameCube or Wii game that supports 3D it is in and only in anaglyph 3D. (Unless it requires the use of an active shutter glass as an accessories to console, which I have never seen)

GameCube and Wii are incapable at hardware level to do other types of 3D. I have never seen a 3DTV that can do other types of 3D such as H-SBS over composite/component cable.

Wii U can do 3D (not sure if it is FHD3D or H-TAB used by PS3) over HDMI, but so far no Wii U game leverage this feature.

 

[marcus134]

I'd like to second the choice of WD Black hdd over the Hitachi, as the failure rate seems quite high on newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149408
and also because WD Black drive are oriented toward performance.

for 3dvision:
1. The active shutter glasses are not included with the monitor
2. It requires direct 3d and Dolphin is in openGl, there's a wrapper but I have no idea how it performs with dolphin http://3dsurroundgaming.com/

for the RAM:
Intel ram controller can't go any faster than 1600 mhz, spending money on anything faster is a waste http://ark.intel.com/products/80807

for the cpu:
4690k and 4790k are physically the same unit, they're both devil's canyon revision, they both have 1400 million transistor, they both have a 88w tdp and they both came out in june 2, 2014.
they are simply binned and sold as different product, the only thing the 4790k has over 4690k is hyper-threading (HTT) and 500 mhz.
HTT doubles the the amount of logical threads (to 8) but it doesn't benefit games and emulators, as most of them can't even make proper use of 4 threads. Potentially worse, HTT can cause some problems with games, while this concern might be outdated as the last title I heard of that had major problem with htt was BF4 at launch. (considering that bf4 was a mess on launch, it may not mean much)
about the 500 mhz, overclocking probably isn't the right word, 10+ years ago faster speeds were achieved by raising the base clock speed of the motherboard, which also raised the speed at which the ram, the chipset, and other on-board component operated, halving components life expectancy, or even cause certain controller to be unstable or in-operational. Overclocking back then was hell of a thrill, but risky and potentially an expensive one.
Today, however "overclocking" a K chip, is done by changing the cpu multiplier, which is how Intel determine at which speed which cpu runs at in the factory. Even better, Intel enhanced speed step and turbo boost (both feature present and activated by default on core i cpu) are actually switching the multiplier in real-time according the cpu load.

PSU:
nvidia recommend a minimum of 500w for the gtx970 considering that the reference card can draw up to 150w, however on tom's hardware we can see OC variants going as high as 243w.
While I could see a 450w working with the reference 970, OC variants may chew it through in no time.
rosewill is newegg's homebrand and all of their product are rebadge, in the case of capstone series, the oem is super flower which isn't a well known company, anandtech did however have a positive review about one of their recent model.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2643/9
if you want to compare build quality:
super flower 650: http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/250#6
antec (seasonic) edge 550: http://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/3971#1