05-26-2015, 10:01 PM
Pre-emptive apology for the length!.
So, I just built a brand new mini-PC to be as quick as possible at emulation, but still be small enough to fit in my Home Theater drawer (it's a pretty small space). The goal was to get the best equipment possible with size and decibels in mind, and be able to game on my big screen in leisure at max settings on games that allow it. I used to build my PC's all the time, but I have not touched this hobby for almost a decade - as all I've done since then is buy macs. So I'm a little rusty.
Keep in mind, although I've done some research here and there on PCSX2 in general, I'm pretty much a newbie with it and emulation in general!
Basic system is as follows:
Node 304 Case
i7 4790k (no overclock)
Noctua CPU Cooler
Asrock z97e mobo
Intel 480GB SSD
GTX 970 (full size card, not the mini).
Windows 8.1
etc etc....
I've got everything up and running, and the only game I've tested so far is Suikoden 3. But I put everything at max (6x IR, all the filters and eye candy enabled). It ran like a dream, no hiccups, no framerate drops...perfect. But I'm guessing it's not a very demanding game.
I have a few questions regarding the new build to ensure that I'm doing this correctly before moving too far forward into this:
1) I am currently running version 1.2.1. Should I be using this or the newer / unstable versions? Is it easy to switch update or go back to older versions (I'm sure this can be easily found via Google, but I thought I'd ask anyway). Should I just keep multiple instances / versions installed at all times (if even possible).
2) My goal was to build a pretty extreme emulation machine. The only compromises would be case size and noise. The case used was practically the LARGEST I could go without being too big. With that in mind, and assuming I DON'T want to overclock... is there anything obvious that I should replace or upgrade to get a lot more performance - or am I pretty much at max capacity / performance with this? I'm trying to keep fan noise down, so overclocking would be a last resort. At the time I researched, this was the quickest CPU I could get, other than those really spendy extreme CPU's - but was told they are not worth it. I was also told my video card was overkill for emulation, but I figured I better get a decent one if I want to PC game. Budget is not a big concern if I do need to upgrade / update, but I don't necessarily want to spend $500 to get a 5% increase in performance if that makes sense. This build was far below my budget, so there's plenty of room for upgrades if needed and will give a substantial boost.
3) Realistically - what kind of performance should I see across the board? I know this depends on games I play (I like JRPG's / RPG's quite a bit, but I'm also going to be replaying GoW, Grant Turismo, Ratchet Clank games, MGS series, etc). I just want to get my expectations in check and also recognize if there is a problem with my configuration (ie, if a game is running slow but it SHOULD be running fast, then I know it's in my power to fix). As stated before, Suikoden 3 was silky smooth at 6x IR, max settings, etc. In a perfect world, I'd like to be able to run these settings on every game I try. I tried to get the best (or near best) of everything because I didn't want to go in and constantly tweak and lower graphics to get things playable (or limit this as much as possible). I get busy with work etc, so I don't want to spend what free time I have messing around with settings. I know that I will be doing this to SOME extent, but I don't want it to be because my PC specs aren't up to snuff.
So, I just built a brand new mini-PC to be as quick as possible at emulation, but still be small enough to fit in my Home Theater drawer (it's a pretty small space). The goal was to get the best equipment possible with size and decibels in mind, and be able to game on my big screen in leisure at max settings on games that allow it. I used to build my PC's all the time, but I have not touched this hobby for almost a decade - as all I've done since then is buy macs. So I'm a little rusty.
Keep in mind, although I've done some research here and there on PCSX2 in general, I'm pretty much a newbie with it and emulation in general!
Basic system is as follows:
Node 304 Case
i7 4790k (no overclock)
Noctua CPU Cooler
Asrock z97e mobo
Intel 480GB SSD
GTX 970 (full size card, not the mini).
Windows 8.1
etc etc....
I've got everything up and running, and the only game I've tested so far is Suikoden 3. But I put everything at max (6x IR, all the filters and eye candy enabled). It ran like a dream, no hiccups, no framerate drops...perfect. But I'm guessing it's not a very demanding game.
I have a few questions regarding the new build to ensure that I'm doing this correctly before moving too far forward into this:
1) I am currently running version 1.2.1. Should I be using this or the newer / unstable versions? Is it easy to switch update or go back to older versions (I'm sure this can be easily found via Google, but I thought I'd ask anyway). Should I just keep multiple instances / versions installed at all times (if even possible).
2) My goal was to build a pretty extreme emulation machine. The only compromises would be case size and noise. The case used was practically the LARGEST I could go without being too big. With that in mind, and assuming I DON'T want to overclock... is there anything obvious that I should replace or upgrade to get a lot more performance - or am I pretty much at max capacity / performance with this? I'm trying to keep fan noise down, so overclocking would be a last resort. At the time I researched, this was the quickest CPU I could get, other than those really spendy extreme CPU's - but was told they are not worth it. I was also told my video card was overkill for emulation, but I figured I better get a decent one if I want to PC game. Budget is not a big concern if I do need to upgrade / update, but I don't necessarily want to spend $500 to get a 5% increase in performance if that makes sense. This build was far below my budget, so there's plenty of room for upgrades if needed and will give a substantial boost.
3) Realistically - what kind of performance should I see across the board? I know this depends on games I play (I like JRPG's / RPG's quite a bit, but I'm also going to be replaying GoW, Grant Turismo, Ratchet Clank games, MGS series, etc). I just want to get my expectations in check and also recognize if there is a problem with my configuration (ie, if a game is running slow but it SHOULD be running fast, then I know it's in my power to fix). As stated before, Suikoden 3 was silky smooth at 6x IR, max settings, etc. In a perfect world, I'd like to be able to run these settings on every game I try. I tried to get the best (or near best) of everything because I didn't want to go in and constantly tweak and lower graphics to get things playable (or limit this as much as possible). I get busy with work etc, so I don't want to spend what free time I have messing around with settings. I know that I will be doing this to SOME extent, but I don't want it to be because my PC specs aren't up to snuff.