Emulation Machine

[WizChrills]

I'm looking to build a system purely for Emulation from MAME to PS2/GC. I already have my Gaming Desktop, but want a portable system to bring to another house to play. Planning for something lightweight and as small as possible

 

1. As far as Budget, this system I want to last for years. I do not want to waste money, therefore all Hardware selections will be at the maximum Price/Performance

 

2. The biggest Hurdle with this build is likely the Case. I'm trying to find something with Similar size to a modern console, but with accessible Front USB ports. I'd love to have access to 4 USB-3 Ports (Built for 4 Player Games), but when searching I don't see a case that fits this criteria (Most only have up to two). I'm not sure an Additional USB Hub could power 4 USB Controllers. I have Several Gamepads (Wired 360 Controller, SNES, N64 that all have USB but I don't know their Power Draw) that ideally will be connected at once. 

 

3. PCSX2 and Dolphin mostly look for CPUs from a few years back with High Clock Speeds and good Single Threaded Performance. I haven't decided to either touch a Zen +/Zen 2, or an older Intel Processor secondhand.

 

Does anyone have good Case Recommendations, or know if a USB Hub could support multiple Controllers at once

 

[Skipple]

Are any of the emulators you will be using GPU dependent at all? I know PCSX2 is all CPU, but not sure of anything else. 

[WizChrills]

1 minute ago, Skipple said:

Are any of the emulators you will be using GPU dependent at all? I know PCSX2 is all CPU, but not sure of anything else. 

I do not think so, it will need to be a Dedicated GPU but something as old as a 750TI would be sufficient for anything 1080p60

[Hashiba]

Have you considered getting an intel NUC? plenty of usb's and it is portable af, would the radeon model be enough for your emulators?

[Skipple]

This was fun. Thanks!

 

Toss in the used low-profile GPU of your choice and you are good to go:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i3-9100F 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$85.75 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-L9i 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler	$39.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock B365M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard	$88.98 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill NT Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory	$31.99 @ Newegg
Storage	HP EX920 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$62.99 @ Newegg
Case	Silverstone ML05B HTPC Case	$59.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Silverstone 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply	$61.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$431.63
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-21 15:17 EST-0500

 

[WizChrills]

 

6 minutes ago, Hashiba said:

Have you considered getting an intel NUC? plenty of usb's and it is portable af, would the radeon model be enough for your emulators?

Although its Powerful, I feel like an All-in-one instead of building myself takes away the fun. Plus at around $1K it seems overkill for my purposes

[Skipple]

Just realized I forgot about your USB front panel thing. Honestly I don't think you are going to find something with 4 USB on the front at this price range. 

I would recommend looking into USB3.0 low profile hub, double-side taping it to the underside of the case and routing the cable underneath so it looks nice. 

[manikyath]

i'd say get a ryzen APU, mini ITX motherboard and toss it in some "living room-friendly" case.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($77.98 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.49 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($107.99 @ Adorama) 
Case: Silverstone ML05B HTPC Case  ($59.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Silverstone 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply  ($61.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $452.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-21 15:37 EST-0500

 

disregard the warning that one's showing, it's a limit for when you want to use a hard drive, optical drive, or an expansion card on a riser cable.

 

this thing could probably get you up and running all the way to the latest and greatest of actually working emulators.

[WizChrills]

3 minutes ago, Skipple said:

This was fun. Thanks!

 

Toss in the used low-profile GPU of your choice and you are good to go:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i3-9100F 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$85.75 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-L9i 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler	$39.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock B365M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard	$88.98 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill NT Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory	$31.99 @ Newegg
Storage	HP EX920 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$62.99 @ Newegg
Case	Silverstone ML05B HTPC Case	$59.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Silverstone 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply	$61.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$431.63
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-21 15:17 EST-0500

 

The case only has two USB Ports

 

Do you think a Hub could work?

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, WizChrills said:

The case only has two USB Ports

 

Do you think a Hub could work?

there's no reason a hub wouldnt work.

 

also, most compact cases have two ports at best, and this case in particular doesnt really have "front ports", they're more like "side ports".

 

a usb 2.0 hub costs a tenner, i'd suggest you just hook one up to the back, and run the cable under the case.

[WizChrills]

11 minutes ago, manikyath said:

there's no reason a hub wouldnt work.

 

also, most compact cases have two ports at best, and this case in particular doesnt really have "front ports", they're more like "side ports".

 

a usb 2.0 hub costs a tenner, i'd suggest you just hook one up to the back, and run the cable under the case.

Thanks,

 

I just picked up a Secondhand 2200G from a friend for around $30 which is a steal. Hoping I can find other discount 2nd-Hand deals to really cut down the Price

[Legendaryk4]

What ever came of this?