Hey guys I'm wondering if some of you guys could help me out with a little PC I'm looking to build.

Basically I'm wanting to make a little emulation box that my girlfriend can hook up to her TV. I'm looking at using a GameEx front end and load it upo with a bunch of emulators and games, so the most strenuous tasks the PC will be undertaking is this front end running a N64 emulator or whatnot, and I don't think that's a whole lot. A big note is that I'll need an easy way to output video and audio to TV, either S-Video and audio, or whatever. I don't think I really need an optical drive, or a huge hdd. I was thinking it'd probably be pretty easy to have a solid-state pc.

I'd prefer to keep this as cheap as possible, under like $150. I think this can be done if I don't splurge for a small form factor case.

I have a bunch of hard drives lying around I could probably use if needed.

Thanks for any suggestions guys, I appreciate it.

This is what you want to start with: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121342
N64 emulation is pretty intensive though but the integrated Intel GMA 950 should be able to handle it. I know it will work well for psx.

According to this topic it should work fine:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=62392

N64 emulation is also pretty incomplete and same for PSX. Some stuff still won't work or work perfectly well years later. Not even that stuff is perfected yet, and even the Dreamcast is just now getting to a state that isn't completely terrible.

Yeah, if my memory is correct, games like Smash Bros and Kirby don't work quite right - often having issues with sprites and invisible stuff.

Sweet thanks for the tips.

I think I'm gonna go with that mobo since I've found it for around $70. However it doesn't really make the video out easy, it seems like I'd have to probably buy a $30 converter or something, and I feel like I'd probably just be better off buying a cheap video card with video out or a different mobo.

Thoughs?

Yea, a huge majority of onboard video cards will not only be extremely weak, but not have s-video/composite out. You should probably get a geforce 4 or 5 series nvidia card, or a radeon 9600-9800. Strong enough for most emulation, and able to at least play most PC games if she wanted.

i use an nVidia card for emulation, and this work fine. Though my computer isn't exactly in the 'under $150' range, but i've had no problems with nVidia

Wow, I was looking at the above mentioned cards online, and I'm finding Geforce 6600's and Radeon x600's for cheaper. Really, just get the cheapest radeon/geforce you can find, and it will be fast enough. Emulation is mainly dependent on CPU, and you could get away with even a Geforce 2 MX or Radeon 7000.

I'm thinking about this one of these now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135060
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135091

with probably a cheap card like this just for video out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141052

and one of these cases:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811192069
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154087

any thoughts?

Wow, I was looking at the above mentioned cards online, and I'm finding Geforce 6600's and Radeon x600's for cheaper. Really, just get the cheapest radeon/geforce you can find, and it will be fast enough. Emulation is mainly dependent on CPU, and you could get away with even a Geforce 2 MX or Radeon 7000.

hell you can get away with anything from up to like 8 years old when it comes to emulation


that graphics card is pretty much perfect i dont think it will have any problems

hell you can get away with anything from up to like 8 years old when it comes to emulation


that graphics card is pretty much perfect i dont think it will have any problems

Both those cards came out in 2000, so I wouldn't go slower than those.
If you are REALLY skimping for cash, something like this would work too http://3btech.net/jeatira92648.html

Sempron 3000+ should be plenty fast enough for your emulation needs, but as for the case, $50 is more than a third of your maximum limit. I suggest checking out something far cheaper like anything from this list http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090007%204025%201295819208&bop=And&Order=PRICE

Sweet.

Haha, and thanks for sticking to my budget more than I was! ;)

I went ahead and got that case anyways because total it was only going to come to around $170 with shipping which is good enough for me, I expected the shipping was going to be an extra cost after the budget anyhow.

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Try to get a RCA/Component out because the sole fact that they are neat and round (AND COLOR CODED) tends to scare people who don't know much about pcs less.

I don't think it's worth getting a worse image quality with component just because it's easier to plug in.

I don't think it's worth getting a worse image quality with component just because it's easier to plug in.

Dude, it's a N64/PSX emulator, what do you want? HDMI? That's retarded. Also, since component/rca cables are analog, the quality of the cable matters, so... If he gets a good cable, it'll look good. (You could try a monster cable, one of those belkins, etc)

In fact, it's probably a good idea to remember that the actual consoles are usually plugged in via RCA.

Dude, it's a N64/PSX emulator, what do you want? HDMI? That's retarded. Also, since component/rca cables are analog, the quality of the cable matters, so... If he gets a good cable, it'll look good. (You could try a monster cable, one of those belkins, etc)

In fact, it's probably a good idea to remember that the actual consoles are usually plugged in via RCA.

He wants s-video, like he said in the first post. It's not retarded to have a better cable. S-video is superior to even really good component cables. In fact, an average s-video cable will have a better image quality, and be cheaper than very high quality RCA cables like monster.

I suggest maximus arcade for managing your roms/emulators on this baby.

You could try a monster cable

dude, get the fuck out of this forum. if you even think of suggesting monster cables again i will fuck you up