onebadveggie Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 So, here's the plan. I want to build something I can take to friends houses, and just work. I'm building it for 1080P displays, using launchbox and rocketlauncher. The idea is to run old school game up till Dreamcast/PS2/Wii. Everything will be running in their native resolutions to ensure a sense of authenticity. So, crazy UHD graphics and such is not a concern. Size isn't too big of a deal, as it's not terrible to lug around PC with you, but if anyone has any good ideas, perhaps knows a good portable case, I'm all ears. The idea is to make something cost effective while still having a quality experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmonkus Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Well for starters you didn't give any idea of budget and what you are willing to spend. Second off you talk about 1080 but not concerned about UHD 4K resolution and "running at native resolution for authenticity". That in itself is a bit of a problem since even running at 1080 is well above the native 480 that the PS2, Dreamcast and Wii runs at to begin with. At 1080 you will still be upscaling and losing that "authenticity". In the end though for PS2 you will want a decent CPU since that will be the most power hungry emulator of the systems you mentioned. I really wouldn't go below a decent 3 GHz Intel for this, though a higher clocked AMD CPU would be just as fine for it. If you are planning on running any sort of shaders at all you will need something more than just an on board video chipset but you don't need anything overkill here. A simple lower end 1 gig gddr5 vram video card will handle any shader no problem. I have an old Radeon 7800 series with 1 gig gddr5 vram card in my HTPC and it's good with any shader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cauptain Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I have a Lenovo Tiny. Its play till DC/PSX2 in native resolution, but without enhanced gfx. Good side, bluetooth 4.0 get X360/DS3/DS4 controls work perfectly Claudio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute64 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I have a Portable Arcade Machine aka PAM, did a write up on it last year some time so i have done alot more work on it since then. It great for taking around to a mates, everything i need fits into my backpack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebadveggie Posted July 8, 2017 Author Share Posted July 8, 2017 5 hours ago, lordmonkus said: Well for starters you didn't give any idea of budget and what you are willing to spend. I'm not super concerned with budget, but "best cheapest" is kind of the idea. 5 hours ago, lordmonkus said: Second off you talk about 1080 but not concerned about UHD 4K resolution and "running at native resolution for authenticity". That in itself is a bit of a problem since even running at 1080 is well above the native 480 that the PS2, Dreamcast and Wii runs at to begin with. At 1080 you will still be upscaling and losing that "authenticity". I can clarify more what I mean by that. The media, as in Fades, Videos, etc will all be stuff that looks good on 1080p displays, but the games themselves will run at native resolutions. 3 hours ago, Mute64 said: I have a Portable Arcade Machine aka PAM, did a write up on it last year some time so i have done alot more work on it since then. It great for taking around to a mates, everything i need fits into my backpack. I like that a lot, and I think that's more along the lines of what I'm looking for. Actually I was wondering what Cooling you were using, as I see it was a water cooling device. This is the current build right now, I think it may be a little overkill, so critique and suggest alternatives! Current Build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmonkus Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 9 minutes ago, onebadveggie said: I can clarify more what I mean by that. The media, as in Fades, Videos, etc will all be stuff that looks good on 1080p displays, but the games themselves will run at native resolutions. Fair enough but you will still be upscaling no matter what when using a modern display, it's just how things work. For example a 240p console such as an NES or SNES will still get scaled up 4 or 4.5 times @ 1080 depending on if you use integer scaling or not. In the end though if you don't plan on using shaders you don't need a relatively fancy graphics card. If you do want to use shaders you will want something a little better than on board video. That current build you linked looks to be very good. that CPU will handle PS2 and Dreamcast no problem and the graphics card will allow you to use shaders or if you decide after you want to upscale the internal resolution in PS2, Dreamcast and Wii games it will handle it just fine. The most important thing in emulation when you start getting into the more modern systems is the CPU. The new stuff needs a lot more CPU power than the older stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute64 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 20 hours ago, onebadveggie said: I'm not super concerned with budget, but "best cheapest" is kind of the idea. I can clarify more what I mean by that. The media, as in Fades, Videos, etc will all be stuff that looks good on 1080p displays, but the games themselves will run at native resolutions. I like that a lot, and I think that's more along the lines of what I'm looking for. Actually I was wondering what Cooling you were using, as I see it was a water cooling device. This is the current build right now, I think it may be a little overkill, so critique and suggest alternatives! Current Build Yea i have a AIO 120mm in the front of it.. love the portability of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaazu Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 (edited) 22 hours ago, onebadveggie said: I'm not super concerned with budget, but "best cheapest" is kind of the idea. I can clarify more what I mean by that. The media, as in Fades, Videos, etc will all be stuff that looks good on 1080p displays, but the games themselves will run at native resolutions. I like that a lot, and I think that's more along the lines of what I'm looking for. Actually I was wondering what Cooling you were using, as I see it was a water cooling device. This is the current build right now, I think it may be a little overkill, so critique and suggest alternatives! Current Build Why not go for the i5 7500? Its only a couple extra dollars and its a bit more efficient Also, how do you plan on transporting this PC? If you have to carry it for long distances I think the Fractal Nano S will still be a bit too big. Try something like this http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=536 . I tried to look for smaller cases a while back but all the small form factor cases don't have room for a full size 3.5" drive. If you want to get your hands dirty and have the tools, you could always make or modify your own case. Shameless plug: Edited July 8, 2017 by Zaazu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinra358 Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 hp pavilion laptop is what you need. If you're running in the game's native rez with no graphical upgrades, these will do the job. 15" screen. If wanting to use bigger screen, you can hook it up to your tv with hdmi. These laptops are $300-$500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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