Jump to content

Project MiniConsole

Hey everyone! This will be my first post the Build Logs section, and I plan on making this interesting.

 

My goal with this project is to make a fully functioning mobile PC that can emulate Gamecube/Wii games at full speed. I want this to be as small as I can possibly build it, with the most power I can squeeze out of it.

 

BUILD COMPLETION:Swt0wW1.gif 

 

Here's the parts list:

(☐= Don't have || = Ordered || Have)

 

 Case: M350 Universal Mini-ITX PC enclosure

 CPU/GPU: AMD A10-7850K Kaveri 3.7GHz Socket FM2+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor AMD Radeon R7 series UPDATE: Going for a 7850k instead of the 6800k, I can use that extra OpenCL performance to speed up GC/Wii emulation.

 CPU Cooler: Scythe Kozuti Low Profile (40mm Height) Universal CPU Cooler

 Mobo: ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ FM2+ / FM2 AMD A88X (Bolton D4) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard

 RAM: Team Xtreme 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory

 PSU: PicoPSU-160-XT+ 192W Adapter Power Kit (just enough to power this system)

 Storage: Crucial M500 120GB SATA mSATA Internal Solid State Drive UPDATE: I found out that due to the size of the CPU cooler, I will not be able to fit a regular hard drive into the case. So I'll be ditching the wifi card to put in a mSata SSD.

 GameCube Controller to USB Adapter

 GameCube Controller Extension Cables

 

I'll also be grabbing a GameCube controller to USB adapter, and 2 GameCube controller extension cables. I plan on mounting the GC/USB adapter to the top of the chassis, then drilling 2 holes in the front panel of the chassis to put the ends of the GC extension cables. That way I can always have easy access to plug in my GC controllers, no hassling with bringing extra stuff. I'll also probably permanently glue a Wii sensor bar to the top of the case, and route the wire inside to the front panel USB. In addition I'll also get a bluetooth adapter, so I can connect Wii remotes.

 

Luckily, because of the way this case is built, my goals should be pretty easy. I can route cables through the empty 80mm fan hole in the front, no problem. To mount the GC/USB adapter I'll probably just use hot glue or something.

 

Here's what I want to do inside the case:

H5UBryQ.png

 

The way I'll probably set this up in Windows will be to have Xpadder and Dolphin launch automatically on login. Xpadder is so I can move the cursor with a GC controller.

If I remember correctly, you can have your PC boot up when a USB device is connected. Maybe it will detect me plugging in a GC controller? That would be pretty cool.

 

I have figured out far better way to set up the system. I'll have XBMC launch at startup. There is an add-on for XBMC called Advanced Launcher that allows you to launch emulators through the XBMC UI, all you have to do is select the game. I'll still use Xpadder, but only for using the controller to exit the game. I will set up Xpadder so that it will toggle the select button to be the Escape key, but only when down on the D-Pad is held. I've tested this on my PC, and it works nicely since down on the D-Pad is hardly used for any game, and for the games that it is used for, you only have to tap it, not hold it.

 

That's all for now! I'm saving up for the parts, and I'll probably be able to have this done by late March. Plans have changed, I no longer know when this will be finished. Sorry about that!

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey everyone! This will be my first post the Build Logs section, and I plan on making this interesting.

 

My goal with this project is to make a fully functioning mobile PC that can emulate Gamecube/Wii games at full speed. I want this to be as small as I can possibly build it, with the most power I can squeeze out of it.

 

Here's the parts list:

 

 Case: M350 Universal Mini-ITX PC enclosure

 CPU/GPU: AMD A10-6800k w/ AMD Radeon HD 8670D

 CPU Cooler: Akasa AK-CC1101EP02

 Mobo: ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ FM2+ / FM2 AMD A88X (Bolton D4) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard (Built-in wifi :D)

 RAM: Patriot Viper II 4GB (2 X 2GB) PC3-19200 2400Mhz

 PSU: PicoPSU-160-XT+ 192W Adapter Power Kit (just enough to power this system)

 Storage: 500GB 5200RPM Toshiba 2.5 in. drive (This is an old laptop hard drive I have lying around)

 

I'll also be grabbing a GameCube controller to USB adapter, and 2 GameCube controller extension cables. I plan on mounting the GC/USB adapter to the top of the chassis, then drilling 2 holes in the front panel of the chassis to put the ends of the GC extension cables. That way I can always have easy access to plug in my GC controllers, no hassling with bringing extra stuff. I'll also probably permanently glue a Wii sensor bar to the top of the case, and route the wire inside to the front panel USB. In addition I'll also get a bluetooth adapter, so I can connect Wii remotes.

 

Luckily, because of the way this case is built, my goals should be pretty easy. I can route cables through the empty 80mm fan hole in the front, no problem. To mount the GC/USB adapter I'll probably just use hot glue or something.

 

Here's what I want to do inside the case:

H5UBryQ.png

 

The way I'll probably set this up in Windows will be to have Xpadder and Dolphin launch automatically on login. Xpadder is so I can move the cursor with a GC controller.

If I remember correctly, you can have your PC boot up when a USB device is connected. Maybe it will detect me plugging in a GC controller? That would be pretty cool.

 

That's all for now! I'm saving up for the parts, and I'll probably be able to have this done by late March. :)

Just so you know for low profile coolers you should go with zalman, unless you dont need quite low temps then go for the cheaper option with akasa but for the best low profile performance you should consider zalman coolers, their coolers have won the low profile sector for countless years, they even beat noctua(suck it linus).

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just so you know for low profile coolers you should go with zalman, unless you dont need quite low temps then go for the cheaper option with akasa but for the best low profile performance you should consider zalman coolers, their coolers have won the low profile sector for countless years, they even beat noctua(suck it linus).

I looked at the Zalman coolers, but they were too tall for this case. All of them were 60mm. The case is 62mm tall, so I had to look for something else.

 

EDIT: Just went to Zalman's website, and I found one that is only 48mm tall. I'll edit my main post to include that one rather than the akasa one I have on there now.

EDIT2: It looks like Zalman's cooler is only rated for FM2 cpus up to 65W, whereas the 6800k is 100w. Guess I'll stick with the akasa cooler.

EDIT3: Found something better than the akasa cooler.

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I would think of some more ram. Some gamecube emulators take a decent amount of ram. But im not 100% sure. Its something you could just get 4gb now and if its no good then you could get 8gb. Also, you dont need xpadder with dolphin usually. dolphin has built in controller settings. but you might know better than me. 

i5 3570 | MSI GD-65 Gaming | OCZ Vertex 60gb ssd | WD Green 1TB HDD | NZXT Phantom | TP-Link Wifi card | H100 | 5850


“I snort instant coffee because it’s easier on my nose than cocaine"


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I would think of some more ram. Some gamecube emulators take a decent amount of ram. But im not 100% sure. Its something you could just get 4gb now and if its no good then you could get 8gb. Also, you dont need xpadder with dolphin usually. dolphin has built in controller settings. but you might know better than me. 

My ps2 emulator was using 5gb of ram and at one point it maxed out my 8gb and of course froze everything.

cpu: intel i5 4670k @ 4.5ghz Ram: G skill ares 2x4gb 2166mhz cl10 Gpu: GTX 680 liquid cooled cpu cooler: Raijintek ereboss Mobo: gigabyte z87x ud5h psu: cm gx650 bronze Case: Zalman Z9 plus


Listen if you care.

Cpu: intel i7 4770k @ 4.2ghz Ram: G skill  ripjaws 2x4gb Gpu: nvidia gtx 970 cpu cooler: akasa venom voodoo Mobo: G1.Sniper Z6 Psu: XFX proseries 650w Case: Zalman H1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

My ps2 emulator was using 5gb of ram and at one point it maxed out my 8gb and of course froze everything.

Looking, my gc emulator hit around 4.5gb so im thinking more will be needed. 

i5 3570 | MSI GD-65 Gaming | OCZ Vertex 60gb ssd | WD Green 1TB HDD | NZXT Phantom | TP-Link Wifi card | H100 | 5850


“I snort instant coffee because it’s easier on my nose than cocaine"


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Looking, my gc emulator hit around 4.5gb so im thinking more will be needed. 

Thanks for the info. I'll update the main post with 8GB of RAM rather than 4GB.

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info. I'll update the main post with 8GB of RAM rather than 4GB.

I have team ram. Im very happy with it. good choice. 

i5 3570 | MSI GD-65 Gaming | OCZ Vertex 60gb ssd | WD Green 1TB HDD | NZXT Phantom | TP-Link Wifi card | H100 | 5850


“I snort instant coffee because it’s easier on my nose than cocaine"


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info. I'll update the main post with 8GB of RAM rather than 4GB.

 

You really need 8GB these days, 4GB just won't cut it any more. 

My Personal Rig - AMD 3970X | ASUS sTRX4-Pro | RTX 2080 Super | 64GB Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB DDR4 | CoolerMaster H500P Mesh

My Wife's Rig - AMD 3900X | MSI B450I Gaming | 5500 XT 4GB | 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 | Silverstone SG13 White

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

You really need 8GB these days, 4GB just won't cut it any more. 

Yeah, you're right. It seems like 4GB won't get you through hardly anything now.

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, you're right. It seems like 4GB won't get you through hardly anything now.

 

I'm 3.5GB in use and I just have Chrome open with a bunch of tabs (well a lot of tabs), but still, just web browsing. 

My Personal Rig - AMD 3970X | ASUS sTRX4-Pro | RTX 2080 Super | 64GB Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB DDR4 | CoolerMaster H500P Mesh

My Wife's Rig - AMD 3900X | MSI B450I Gaming | 5500 XT 4GB | 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 | Silverstone SG13 White

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I would think of some more ram. Some gamecube emulators take a decent amount of ram. But im not 100% sure. Its something you could just get 4gb now and if its no good then you could get 8gb. Also, you dont need xpadder with dolphin usually. dolphin has built in controller settings. but you might know better than me. 

I'll only be using Xpadder to move the cursor so I don't need a mouse. Though I might just settle on getting one of those mini bluetooth keyboards with a touchpad.

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is gonna be cooool!

  i5 4440, 8GB 1600 mhz, Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H, SX900 128gb SSD, 850w 80+ Gold, FD R4, 270

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is gonna be cooool!

I know, I'm so excited for this build!  :D

 

I'm considering getting a Xbox 360 wireless receiver as well to plug into the front usb (may have to get a hub), then I would drill another hole in the front the size of it, and use hot glue to mount it there. That way it could flush with the front of the case for easy access to the synchronize button. Then I could connect XB360 controllers, too.

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I know, I'm so excited for this build!  :D

 

I'm considering getting a Xbox 360 wireless receiver as well to plug into the front usb (may have to get a hub), then I would drill another hole in the front the size of it, and use hot glue to mount it there. That way it could flush with the front of the case for easy access to the synchronize button. Then I could connect XB360 controllers, too.

 

oooo that would really be cool!

  i5 4440, 8GB 1600 mhz, Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H, SX900 128gb SSD, 850w 80+ Gold, FD R4, 270

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Loving the main threads layout ;o

<a href="https://hashflare.io/r/311DC12A"><img src="https://cdn.hashflare.eu/banners/en/1280x628_1_eng.png" alt="HashFlare"></a>

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hi, I found this topic searching the web. I just would like to contribute with my experience.
 
A few weeks ago I built a Mini-PC/ HTPC/ MiniConsole Windows-based with almost the same parts as the ones sugested here:
 
 Case: M350 Universal Mini-ITX PC enclosure
 CPU/GPU: AMD A10-7850K Kaveri 3.7GHz Socket FM2+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor AMD Radeon R7 series
CPU Cooler: Akasa Aluminium mini-ITX cooler for AMD AK-CC1101EP02
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-F2A88XN WIFI Mini-ITX FM2+ Desktop Motherboard
 RAM: Team Xtreme 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory
 PSU: PicoPSU-160-XT+ 192W Adapter Power Kit
Hard Drive 1: OCZ Storage Solutions Vertex 450 Series 128GB SATA 6.0 GB/s 2.5-Inch
Hard Drive 2: Toshiba MQ01ABD 1 TB 2.5' Internal Hard Drive
Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows
 
The system works prety fine and is powerful enough as to power on in just 15 seconds (Windows 8) and execute almost every modern PC game (at low to medium settings). Regarding to emulation this PC is perfect for Wii, PS2, PSP, MAME, etc. games.

Edited 31/03/2014. Here a few photographs of mi MiniPC:

 

IMG_20140329_075638.jpg
 

 

IMG_20140329_075704.jpg
 

 

IMG_20140329_075809.jpg
 

 

IMG_20140329_075858.jpg

 

 

IMG_20140329_080108.jpg
 

 

IMG_20140329_080348.jpg
 

 

IMG_20140329_080405.jpg
 

 

IMG_20140329_080430.jpg

 

 

IMG_20140329_080513.jpg
 
 
This is how it gets mounted by a VESA system on my 32' TV:
 
IMG_20140329_210942.jpg
 

 

IMG_20140329_211111.jpg
 
 
IMG_20140329_211219.jpg
 
 
IMG_20140329_211249.jpg
 
 
And here the benchmarks of the system:
 
System has been setted with processor at 3.70 GHz, Radeon R7 at 720 MHz and memories at 2133 MHz (I was not able to set the memories at 2400 MHZ). 
 
3DMark 06 Results (A DirectX 9 Benchmark):
 
3_DMark_06_APU_A10_7850_K_3_70_GHz_Radeo
 
 
3DMark Vantage Results (A DirectX 10 Benchmark):
 
3_DMark_Vantage_APU_A10_7850_K_3_70_GHz_
 
 
 
3DMark 11 Results (A DirectX 11 Benchmark) with Performance settings (HD results):
 
3_DMark_11_P_APU_A10_7850_K_3_70_GHz_Rad
 

 

3DMark 11 Results (A DirectX 11 Benchmark) with Extreme settings (FullHD results):

 

3_DMark_11_X_APU_A10_7850_K_3_70_GHz_Rad
 
So hope you enjoyed this creation.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Happy news!

 

I have edited my last post with a few photographs of mi MiniPC.

 

Enjoy it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Happy news!

 

I have edited my last post with a few photographs of mi MiniPC.

 

Enjoy it!

Cool! Mind putting them in a spoiler? It's quite a large bunch of images.

 

So that small Akasa cooler can keep up with the 95W of heat the 7850K generates? 

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

An A10 may not be enough for Dolphin. It's very resource intensive. You better overclock that thing if you want to get some decent frame rates. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

An A10 may not be enough for Dolphin. It's very resource intensive. You better overclock that thing if you want to get some decent frame rates. Good luck!

An A10 will be fine for this scenario. I built a family member a computer with a 6800k and it can run Dolphin fine. 

 

There's no way I could overclock it, though. It would overheat extremely quickly, without OC'ing there's already hardly going to be adequate cooling for it in this tiny case.

 Motherboard: MSI Z97S Krait Edition █ CPU: Intel i7-4790K █ GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 780Ti █ RAM: 8GB AVEXIR DDR3 1600  █ Storage: 120GB Kingston HyperX SSD + 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD 


█ Monitor: 21.5" 1080p 60Hz  PSU: 700w █ Case: Fractal Define R4 █       ...LTT Dark Theme master race.


Project MiniConsole


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

An A10 will be fine for this scenario. I built a family member a computer with a 6800k and it can run Dolphin fine. 

 

There's no way I could overclock it, though. It would overheat extremely quickly, without OC'ing there's already hardly going to be adequate cooling for it in this tiny case.

 

I seen a guy with a 3570k overclocked to 4.5 and that's when he was finally able to get some really good frame rates. The problem is not so much in that the emulators are that resource intensive, it's rather that their not really optimized to run their systems (like N64 memory leaking like a son of a gun).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Cool! Mind putting them in a spoiler? It's quite a large bunch of images.

So that small Akasa cooler can keep up with the 95W of heat the 7850K generates?

The Akasa cooler is good enough for this system. I am having no problem with the temperatures. In fact at the beginning I bought a Scythe Kozuti for this purpose, but the cooler is too much big in large (not in height) and can not fit the processor hole (touches the memories). At that point I had to sell the Scythe and buy an Akasa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

An A10 may not be enough for Dolphin. It's very resource intensive. You better overclock that thing if you want to get some decent frame rates. Good luck!

That is not completely true. In fact I am playing Mario Galaxy with Dolphin at FullHD, but with a minimum set of graphical improvements.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×