Suitable pc for gaming

Hi folks,

First off would like to apologise if i've posted in the wrong section.

I'm looking to buy a pc that will run ps1/ps2/mame/makaron and possible dreamcast but i'm a bit confused with advice i was given.

I was looking at buying a 2.8ghz dual core dell on ebay as it was very cheap But was told by a guy in pc world that it wouldn't do gaming very well, I got told that a single core pc at 3+ghz would serve me better or even a quad core but sadly money rules me out on that kind of pc, Then this morning i had to pop in to currys and got talking and got told that the dual core pc would be ok but might need to upgrade the graphics card.

Just wondered if the 2.8ghz dual core pc would be good enough to run the emulators listed above?

Any advice would be great :)

Nik

Whoever told you a single core would be better in general, and then contradicted themself by saying "or a quad" - that person is an idiot. Stay away from them with PC questions, or at least emulation ones.

I can't give you any guarantees on those systems running flawlessly on a PC, however the general idea if that we are reaching the point where for these newer consoles, a dual core CPU and mid-ranged GPU are gonna be the very minimum to guarantee any kind of playability.

I've got a Core 2 Duo running @ 3.2Ghz from 2.13, although my GPU is a little old. I don't really have problems with emulation unless its compatability or lack of emulator maturity.

Doubting you want to O.C but a good minimum for a CPU would be a 2.8Ghz - 3Ghz Dual or Quad Core system.. Frankly quad cores don't get much use, but if you like to multi-task when gaming/emulating then they can come in handle to dump other processes on and keep your games running smooth.

If you're in the market for a GPU as well (and likely so) A Radeon HD4870 or 4890 would be a good choice for the cost concious.. Otherwise go for a Nvidia GTX 275, 285, or 295

8GB of RAM should suffice most systems, depending on whats going on the background, and its pretty cheap these days.. You could probably get away with 4GB in the future when Windows 7 has been out for a while and programs shift over.

Thanks for the advice zach :) I'm a bit clueless when it comes to computers :o

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Originally Posted by nikku

Hi folks,

First off would like to apologise if i've posted in the wrong section.

I'm looking to buy a pc that will run ps1/ps2/mame/makaron and possible dreamcast but i'm a bit confused with advice i was given.

I was looking at buying a 2.8ghz dual core dell on ebay as it was very cheap But was told by a guy in pc world that it wouldn't do gaming very well, I got told that a single core pc at 3+ghz would serve me better or even a quad core but sadly money rules me out on that kind of pc, Then this morning i had to pop in to currys and got talking and got told that the dual core pc would be ok but might need to upgrade the graphics card.

Just wondered if the 2.8ghz dual core pc would be good enough to run the emulators listed above?

Any advice would be great :)

Nik

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You don't mention which dual core chip is in the PC, it can make a massive difference particularly if its a pre-Core2Duo chip.

As a rule, Dell don't make particularly good PC's anymore. While the processor might be ok, a lot of the other components are likely to be bottom end stuff.

A lot of the staff in PC World aren't usually a good source of information in terms of whats what.

Currently Core2Duo's are where its at, if at all possible go for one of those. You can get a rig with a mid range C2D, decent Ram, and a respectable Graphics Card for well under 500 notes nowadays.
To maximise your systems performance (particularly with emulators like Mame) use 64 bit windows.

Don't neglect the core components, try to get a rig with a decent motherboard and power supply as it makes future upgrades far easier and gives you maximum flexibility.

ps1 emus and mayority of games on MAME (95% of them) does not require a high end pc... ps2 emulaters requires a beast and wil probly stil lag due 2 unmature emulation... just my 2cents

PS1 emulation runs even on a Pentium III computer, so it doesn't require a powerful PC. Unless you want to run it at high resolution, you'll need a graphics card.

As for PS2, a multi-core processor (Core 2 Duo or better), 2 GB of system RAM and a reasonably fast video card are required to maintain playable (if not full) FPS.

Thanks for the advice guys, I ended up swapping a ps1 guitar hero guitar for a Brand new motherboard and ram, The motherboard can handle upto quadcore and the ram Is 2gb but can handle 4gb.

Sadly this is gonna have to be put on hold for now my 360 drive has popped out and need to save up for a new one :-(

Umm...warranty ?

Long story they failed to pick it up when it had the rrod and it went on for nearly two months with the company saying they tried to pick it up on a hand full of times so i ended up fixing it myself in the end :mad:

Up side is i managed to get a drive cheap and is on its way as we speak :)

Now to look for a core 2 duo cpu :)