Hamfighter Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) I’ve toyed with Launchbox for a lot of years off and on. I love it, but by no means any expert! I have an ancient HP slimline PC (used to be my Windows Media Center hub!) that I’ve satisfactorily run my old school arcade favorites with my X-Arcade TankStick. I’m ready to try to do it up right! Nothing extreme, but all the old school arcade stuff, consoles from Atari through perhaps 360/PS3/Switch. (Assuming XBone and PS4 may be cost prohibitive for a sufficient pc?) Looking for the most bang for the buck in a mini PC. I think about a gaming pc someday, but for now just something snappy for LB/BB. These days, I have my Tankstick I bought new on an Xtension pedestal I picked up on Craigslist, an ancient 4-player CRT converted arcade machine with XP and a pentium at best that will hardly even boot I got for free (also Craigslist), and the spark for this fire, an X-Gaming Arcade2TV I picked up from FB Marketplace that I always coveted (but not for $2,000!). I’d like to get all three up and going, so will really need 3 PCs ultimately, but figure I’ll start with one. Anything that’s just a slam-dunk easy buy I should pick up? Watching a lot of YouTube and Googling, and it’s sounding like Ryzen based may be the way to go? Thank you for any suggestions!!! *Followup question… I’m assuming I can’t realistically buy a large enough internal SSD for all those games. What’s the best mix of internal vs external storage? Edited February 7 by Hamfighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christhed Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I don't know about a mini PC being able to emulate Xbox360/PS3/Switch. My setup is on a decent gaming laptop with a RTX 3060 and I struggle with those platforms. Your best bet might be something with the new Ryzen 3D series? For storage you could be alright with internal SSD. I have about 13000 games on 1,5tb of storage. It really depends on what kind of modern games you like playing. I mostly play indie games so I get by with 500gb dedicated to PC games (79 games) and 1tb for everything else (mostly older platforms) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamfighter Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 I really appreciate the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_rollo Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 (edited) I have a Ryzen-based mini-pc called SER5 MAX 5800H. It can do PS3/Switch upto 1080p and XBOX (2x upscale). I don't bother with X360, so you'll have to test that one out. If you want my actual demo, look here: The practical mix of internal/external storage: Internal (SSD) - for games you are going to play at the moment External (HDD) - for archival purposes Edited February 10 by k_rollo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamfighter Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 Thanks, k_rollo, I’ve had that exact one in my cart. I’ve been worried whether it was too underpowered having watched so many videos on the Ryzen 7000 & 8000 series, but the price sure is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamfighter Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 (edited) Also, your review is great and so helpful! So I plan on hitting all the major 80s-90s arcades, and consoles up through PS3/Switch/360 (seems like 360 is about on par with PS3, so assuming it should work). I like your recommendation of 32GB. Do you feel 1TB SSD internal is sufficient and 2 TB SSD external? Would a larger external non-SSD HD gum up with works? Any particular brand of drive you’ve preferred? Finally, do you think there’s any reason on these games to push beyond the SER5 Max? Thanks again…really feeling better about the whole thing with the good guidance! Edited February 10 by Hamfighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_rollo Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hamfighter said: Thanks, k_rollo, I’ve had that exact one in my cart. I’ve been worried whether it was too underpowered having watched so many videos on the Ryzen 7000 & 8000 series, but the price sure is right. It will more than suffice for 1080p/60fps in most cases for high-end emulation. Frankly, most people don't really need beyond that for a good emulation experience. Buy a capable mid-range unit and walk away with more money left in your pocket. 😉 1 hour ago, Hamfighter said: Also, your review is great and so helpful! So I plan on hitting all the major 80s-90s arcades, and consoles up through PS3/Switch/360 (seems like 360 is about on par with PS3, so assuming it should work). I like your recommendation of 32GB. Do you feel 1TB SSD internal is sufficient and 2 TB SSD external? Would a larger external non-SSD HD gum up with works? Any particular brand of drive you’ve preferred? Finally, do you think there’s any reason on these games to push beyond the SER5 Max? Thanks again…really feeling better about the whole thing with the good guidance! I have FBNeo, Arcade64 (MAME), Flycast, Supermodel, and Model 2 Emulator running on it perfectly for arcade emulation. 1TB NVMe is what I have and if you don't plan to hoard every single game (which you won't be able to play anyway), just add another SATA SSD to it. There are links to the storage and RAM upgrades I did in the review article as well (scroll to bottom). Your food for thought: Strike a balance for performance, quality, and practicality. You don't need the highest-end machine for good emulation, you just need to know what you're doing. Have fun! Edited February 10 by k_rollo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamfighter Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 k_rollo, I think the mini you recommended seems to be the way to. IF, I were considering an upgrade, what might your next one or two models be that you’d recommend? Sorry to punish you for being such an excellent resource! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_rollo Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Honestly, none - as of the moment. There has not been a reliable Ryzen 6000 and 7000 series from any brand since last year. Multiple users reporting WiFi/BT connectivity issues and random reboots. I am still on the look out for a good one after 5800H as well. For now, best not to get greedy with specs. A lower-spec but usable and stable machine outclasses a higher-spec but unreliable and frustrating one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamfighter Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 (edited) Hey that’s great…I won’t waste the brain power (or money)! Thanks again Of course not finding a 32GB/1TB on Amazon at the moment. Edited February 10 by Hamfighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k_rollo Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 You can always upgrade at a later date. I didn't install 32GB RAM until after a few months when I was emulating harder titles on Yuzu. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamfighter Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 (edited) k_rollo, touching base one more time… I’ve got two SER5’s in my cart right now. 32/1TB for $399 and a President’s Day sale 32/500mb for $305. First thought? Also don’t mind spending more for a completely different PC that you might recommend as a favorite upgrade! Having fun looking, but makes/models/specs all start running together Thinking maybe I have “Good” and “Better” in my cart. Is there a “Best”? Edited February 16 by Hamfighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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