Cheap computer suggestions
#1
I am trying for hours to find a very cheap PC to play Pcsx2 on 60fps with a good single thread performance but most of the time if the processor is good the graphics card is *****.
I don't necessarily plan on playing on 4k but 2x - 3x native resolution would be nice and it should play on very reliable 60fps.
As I said this PC will ONLY be for emulation as I will set my PC up right beside my TV (4k output possible) so it should only be optimised for that.
Also please no AMD processor as Dolphin doesn't like AMD
Reply

Sponsored links

#2
I’m in the same position and I’ve spent about 3 days solid researching the subject. From what I can see the best value for money is probably an i3 4th gen. Also gives you the room to upgrade to a i5/i7 if you can get a good deal. So with that in mind you could start to look for for a tower unit with a i3 4160 or better. These run at 3.6Ghz so should be fine for native emulation.

I myself have settled on a Dell Optiplex mini tower with the cpu mentioned above however do plan on upgrading it either to I higher clocked i3 or maybe a cpu with 4 cores for other general pc use. You can’t really go any smaller than the mini tower if you plan on upscaling the games as your going to need a decent graphics card for that. If you try to go I with a smaller case (at least the dell and hp ones your limited by the power requirements.

I payed £80 for the cpu, 8gb ram and 500gb hardrive. Gonna drop a 750ti in which go for £40 and swap the psu for a 450w which is around £35. So I’d say you need to be budgeting for around £200 if you plan on upscaling ps2 and emulating things like 3ds, cube and wii.

What region you in? I can send you link to companies eBay if your UK. The guy has loads of these ex buisness machines.

So that’s my thoughts anyway. I’d suggest looking at ETA PRIMES YouTube channel. He covers the exact build I mentioned above and lots more. Hope this helps
Reply
#3
How does Dolphin not like AMD?

I've been using it for years and recently got an AMD cpu and haven't had any issues. It runs perfect on my PC and laptop.
-PC Specs-
AMD Ryzen 3600
16gb DDR4 Corsair 3200mhz
MSI Armor Radeon RX580 8gb 
Windows 10 Pro x64 
-Laptop Specs-
i7 6700HQ @ 2.9Ghz
8gb DDR3 
GTX 960m 4GB
Windows 10 Pro x64
Reply
#4
(05-06-2020, 07:33 PM)griesumblurak Wrote: I am trying for hours to find a very cheap PC to play Pcsx2 on 60fps with a good single thread performance but most of the time if the processor is good the graphics card is *****.
I don't necessarily plan on playing on 4k but 2x - 3x native resolution would be nice and it should play on very reliable 60fps.
As I said this PC will ONLY be for emulation as I will set my PC up right beside my TV (4k output possible) so it should only be optimised for that.
Also please no AMD processor as Dolphin doesn't like AMD
what's the budget?
Reply
#5
(05-07-2020, 12:27 AM)Seta-San Wrote: what's the budget?
Goddamn it... I forgot to mention that.
Considering I only want this PC to run the two emulators Pcsx 2 and Dolphin (and not even 4k at that) I would be uncomfortable spending more than 500 Dollars/Euros.
If you think it absolutely has to be more then maybe I'll change my mind but for the moment that is what I am willing to pay.

Quick edit: I would be extremely happy to spend less though.
Reply
#6
(05-06-2020, 09:50 PM)hallda12 Wrote: I’m in the same position and I’ve spent about 3 days solid researching the subject. From what I can see the best value for money is probably an i3 4th gen. Also gives you the room to upgrade to a i5/i7 if you can get a good deal. So with that in mind you could start to look for for a tower unit with a i3 4160 or better. These run at 3.6Ghz so should be fine for native emulation.

I myself have settled on a Dell Optiplex mini tower with the cpu mentioned above however do plan on upgrading it either to I higher clocked i3 or maybe a cpu with 4 cores for other general pc use. You can’t really go any smaller than the mini tower if you plan on upscaling the games as your going to need a decent graphics card for that. If you try to go I with a smaller case (at least the dell and hp ones your limited by the power requirements.

I payed £80 for the cpu, 8gb ram and 500gb hardrive. Gonna drop a 750ti in which go for £40 and swap the psu for a 450w which is around £35. So I’d say you need to be budgeting for around £200 if you plan on upscaling ps2 and emulating things like 3ds, cube and wii.

What region you in? I can send you link to companies eBay if your UK. The guy has loads of these ex buisness machines.

So that’s my thoughts anyway. I’d suggest looking at ETA PRIMES YouTube channel. He covers the exact build I mentioned above and lots more. Hope this helps
I just googled this computer and if it really runs Pcsx 2 reliably at 60 fps with at least 2x native resolution then I am just shocked.
You can literally find this computer for around 100 Euros in Germany and this would be more than enough for me.
How does this machine perform on more demanding games like Shadow of the Colossus? Can you at least play it at native resolution?
Reply
#7
(05-06-2020, 10:48 PM)Zangetsu21 Wrote: How does Dolphin not like AMD?

I've been using it for years and recently got an AMD cpu and haven't had any issues. It runs perfect on my PC and laptop.
[b]AMD[/b]: Dolphin's workload didn't match the strengths of AMD processors until the Ryzen line. As such, we can only recommend [b]Ryzen[/b] or newer for Dolphin among AMD's line of processors.

Maybe it wasn't completely right but you get what I mean
Reply
#8
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-902...B00IO5VJKS - This would be one hell of a base to start from.
amd tr 1950x                                                 amd ryzen 5 2500u
asrock x399 taichi                                         amd vega 8 
XFX Radeon rx570                                       16gb ddr 4 2400 ram
32gb gskill ddr4-3200                                   1tb nvme ssd
Debian Bullseye                                           480gb sata ssd
Custom loop water cooled                           HP envy x360
nzxt 340 case
Reply
#9
(05-07-2020, 02:57 AM)scythefwd Wrote: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-902...B00IO5VJKS  - This would be one hell of a base to start from.
I'll take a look at that machine as well. At the moment it's honestly between the two mini towers.
Also: Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I don't really plan on upgrading this PC at all. I am buying this as an alternative of buying a whole new PS2/Gamecube and Wii because they stopped reading disks or had other problems.
This should basically be considered like a video game console.
When I want to play other games I would use my Switch or PS4
Reply
#10
(05-07-2020, 02:50 AM)griesumblurak Wrote: I just googled this computer and if it really runs Pcsx 2 reliably at 60 fps with at least 2x native resolution then I am just shocked.
You can literally find this computer for around 100 Euros in Germany and this would be more than enough for me.
How does this machine perform on more demanding games like Shadow of the Colossus? Can you at least play it at native resolution?

You will see a lot of these ex buisness machines flying around eBay. I was very close to buying the small form factor HP Prodesk as it would have looked very neat next to my tv. I then realised that Your limited to what you can add she to the size and lower restrictions. It’s a shame because you can get an i5 6th at 3.8ghz for around £105

Just remember if you want to upscale you probably need a gpu and thus requiring a better psu. The gtx 750ti or anything around that performance is recommended
Reply




Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)