What have ye? I'm looking for something small, quiet and powerful with a nice front end, no faff or messing around that can run emulators upto PS2/Dreamcast nicely. Was considering a Shield TV but they only go upto DC apparently but are supposed to be quite good.
Anyone got a HTPC/NUC/Small PC they use for emulation?
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my hp prolinea microserver Gen8
upgraded to I5 3450T ( dual core 4 thread ) low power
1030 gtx
mainly used as my nas, Kodi and nzb server but tried Cemu on it (because its connected to our main tv ) and runs wii U games pretty well.
never tried anything else but these new amd ryzen APU mini pc's are doing great.
look for etaprime on youtube he has reviewed a load of these with ps2 / ps3 /xbox 360 / PSP / dc / cemu etc.
upgraded to I5 3450T ( dual core 4 thread ) low power
1030 gtx
mainly used as my nas, Kodi and nzb server but tried Cemu on it (because its connected to our main tv ) and runs wii U games pretty well.
never tried anything else but these new amd ryzen APU mini pc's are doing great.
look for etaprime on youtube he has reviewed a load of these with ps2 / ps3 /xbox 360 / PSP / dc / cemu etc.
What front end are you using? I've just picked up a PC and ugh, Windows is nasty as ever to use. Except now its even more safe spacey than before and totally illogical. YARRRING adds another layer of crap into the mix. If someone sold preconfiged emulation boxes I'd happily buy one as this is such a hoo hah. Coin Ops seems to be a nice option as its all pretty much sorted and ready to go, all you do is add the ROMs and no faff which is great. Anyone using it or can recommend something else?
Front end big box ( paid version of launchbox ) designed for a TV and used with a gamepad.
I've now installed an SSD for the OS and a couple of 12tb Toshiba drives in my Gen8 and intend to place every game console library on it.
google launchbox and Colpipes1978 and start looking around from there.
Colpipes1978 has made a very large archive if you have the HDD space ( the reason for 24tb extra space
)
Emulation has got that good there is no reason for me to keep my original hardware fighting with them to work on hdmi or media that doesn't deteriorate and the mechanical drive that use them.
Once all setup start adding your own roms. the above archives have all the media / videos / themes etc and some are already setup for you xbox gamepad etc.
I've now installed an SSD for the OS and a couple of 12tb Toshiba drives in my Gen8 and intend to place every game console library on it.
google launchbox and Colpipes1978 and start looking around from there.
Colpipes1978 has made a very large archive if you have the HDD space ( the reason for 24tb extra space
)Emulation has got that good there is no reason for me to keep my original hardware fighting with them to work on hdmi or media that doesn't deteriorate and the mechanical drive that use them.
Once all setup start adding your own roms. the above archives have all the media / videos / themes etc and some are already setup for you xbox gamepad etc.
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That is very handy. Insanely sized though as you'll spend more time deciding what to play than actually playing! When I modded my SNES Mini I purposefully only put a handful of extra games on there as going for an all out ROMfest As for controllers - do you have to use the Xbox gamepad (wired or wireless? Xbox one or 360?) as I've only got a spare PS3 pad here. Also upto what platforms are you emulating smoothly with that chipset/graphics card you're using?
Further to my sale thread, I'll leave the research I did here as a reference for anyone looking for a cheap entry into the SFF Gaming PC world:
Watch this one first to make sense of the actual base model Dell Optiplex you'll be buying as there are loads of variations out there which may have their own quirks when it comes to chipset, slot access, upgrade room, cooling and whether the standard PSU can power a dual slot SFF graphics card:
I found the 1050TI LP to be the best value for money, most compatible and fit for purpose card to upgrade with. @Sardine has used a 1650 with no issues (what model number Dell do you have BTW?) so may be worth checking if you need even more grunt.
This ones worth watching for general upgrade hints and potential:
And this guy ended up adding extra cooling and you can see some games running:
If you do pick one up its advisable to open it up, clean it all out and redo the thermals for best performance. Generally you're getting a rock solid, small machine with a great footprint (12x12x4 inches) that runs quietly and is perfect for the living room when paired with one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SZILBZ-Wireless-Keyboard-Backlight-HTPC-IPTV/
These remotes are awesome for couch use because they've got a really good build quality, huge responsive trackpad and serviceable touchscreen keyboard. They are also detected as standard by the Dell so you can use them to get into the BIOS menu etc without having to switch across to a wired keyboard which is quite handy when configuring.
The remote is miles ahead of that usual cheapo crap you see with those Kodi boxes and it really exceeded my expectations as the controller was the main thing (aside from potential noise) that was putting me off about a living room PC. This combo is perfect as its quiet and responsive, would recommend adding an SSD for the system to get the best startup speeds and a larger HDD for the ROMs/media etc.
One thing worth noting is that to add a graphics card like this means you must remove the onboard wifi so you'll either need to get a dongle or use the RJ45 to connect it to your network.
Hope this is of some help to anyone wanting to configure a small, quiet gaming PC relatively cheaply at some point.
Watch this one first to make sense of the actual base model Dell Optiplex you'll be buying as there are loads of variations out there which may have their own quirks when it comes to chipset, slot access, upgrade room, cooling and whether the standard PSU can power a dual slot SFF graphics card:
I found the 1050TI LP to be the best value for money, most compatible and fit for purpose card to upgrade with. @Sardine has used a 1650 with no issues (what model number Dell do you have BTW?) so may be worth checking if you need even more grunt.
This ones worth watching for general upgrade hints and potential:
Code:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEoC-kbqQ2sAnd this guy ended up adding extra cooling and you can see some games running:
Code:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyPOuaiodxs
Code:
youtu.be/golOUVmntXIIf you do pick one up its advisable to open it up, clean it all out and redo the thermals for best performance. Generally you're getting a rock solid, small machine with a great footprint (12x12x4 inches) that runs quietly and is perfect for the living room when paired with one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SZILBZ-Wireless-Keyboard-Backlight-HTPC-IPTV/
These remotes are awesome for couch use because they've got a really good build quality, huge responsive trackpad and serviceable touchscreen keyboard. They are also detected as standard by the Dell so you can use them to get into the BIOS menu etc without having to switch across to a wired keyboard which is quite handy when configuring.
The remote is miles ahead of that usual cheapo crap you see with those Kodi boxes and it really exceeded my expectations as the controller was the main thing (aside from potential noise) that was putting me off about a living room PC. This combo is perfect as its quiet and responsive, would recommend adding an SSD for the system to get the best startup speeds and a larger HDD for the ROMs/media etc.
One thing worth noting is that to add a graphics card like this means you must remove the onboard wifi so you'll either need to get a dongle or use the RJ45 to connect it to your network.
Hope this is of some help to anyone wanting to configure a small, quiet gaming PC relatively cheaply at some point.
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I recently RMA'd a 9th gen Z390 board but they deemed it End of Life so sent me a Z590 10th gen board back. I therefore upgraded my daughters pc and claimed her i7-2600k back. I've bought a mini itx board for it and it has 16gb ram, 500gb ssd and a 2tb hdd. Currently awaiting the case which is coming from Germany via Amazon EU. It has a built in intel HD igpu but i have a 2gb GT 710 i've put with it and its fine up to mega cd etc. Dreamcast works but not smoothly, playable with the odd stutter but audio is laggy. I'm hoping a gpu upgrade, something like a 1050 will help. The machine will be sat behind the living room tv and use an official xbox 360 receiver so can handle up to 4 wireless controllers.
The front end i'm using is coinops next but i do also have a license for launchbox/big box
The front end i'm using is coinops next but i do also have a license for launchbox/big box
So does the PC 360 pad with the wireless dongle work the same as a wired 360 pad in Coin Ops? Do you need to add any extra drivers or config or does it just recognize them? Can't get it to see my PS3 controller properly which isn't cool.
This element of faff and fiddle is very irritating to one who is non PC but thankfully those kinds of punks that hang around in the arcade made the ROM acquisition side a lot easier. Thats the one thing I really dislike about this format is whilst all the devs are PC based and they have the most optimized, widest range of emulators the lack of one "standard" as it were means countless hours spent messing around getting it just right.
Thats one reason why the OG Xbox was so good, esp with 128MB upgrade, as everything just worked and was super optimized. Apparently Big Box offers something similar but I haven't looked into it yet, maybe once I get my final spec sorted and am happy with the hardware. Spec wise the computer field is very moreish with the desire for shinier and shinier emulation quality because what I've got handles up to DC perfectly but those new mini Ryzens for about a grand go all the way up to PS3 and beyond easily so seem the best (current) future proofing option.
This element of faff and fiddle is very irritating to one who is non PC but thankfully those kinds of punks that hang around in the arcade made the ROM acquisition side a lot easier. Thats the one thing I really dislike about this format is whilst all the devs are PC based and they have the most optimized, widest range of emulators the lack of one "standard" as it were means countless hours spent messing around getting it just right.
Thats one reason why the OG Xbox was so good, esp with 128MB upgrade, as everything just worked and was super optimized. Apparently Big Box offers something similar but I haven't looked into it yet, maybe once I get my final spec sorted and am happy with the hardware. Spec wise the computer field is very moreish with the desire for shinier and shinier emulation quality because what I've got handles up to DC perfectly but those new mini Ryzens for about a grand go all the way up to PS3 and beyond easily so seem the best (current) future proofing option.
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if you get the official xbox 360 receiver it just works on windows 10, drivers are built in and it supports up to 4 wireless controllers. The official xbox one adapter supports up to 8 controllers. The coinops next program is designed for use with an xbox 360 pad and content is done in packs, i.e. sega master system, mega drive, nes, snes etc. PS3 controllers don't work natively on windows, they require some additional software which makes them act as an xinput (xbox standard).
Here's a video demoing coinops next (i think theres a v2 now but i have v1 setup so far)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQWu1dC0aQ
The original xbox is a fantastic machine and i do still have a few around
Here's a video demoing coinops next (i think theres a v2 now but i have v1 setup so far)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQWu1dC0aQ
The original xbox is a fantastic machine and i do still have a few around
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