computer for game-ex

[milesady]

Hey guys just finished my first project building my arcade cabinet with alot of help from you guys (thank you so much) but I now want to make an even bigger project but have minimal budget so wanted to know what would be the best computer to buy to use all features of game-ex and hopefully be able to play psx games super smooth on I'm looking at this one at the moment

Inspirion 560

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/inspiron-560/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-560&cs=19&s=dhs

to be honest i dont really want to have to spend that much as long as i can run epsxe well on it and maybe the dreamcast emu ill be happy

[Draco1962]

Hey guys just finished my first project building my arcade cabinet with alot of help from you guys (thank you so much) but I now want to make an even bigger project but have minimal budget so wanted to know what would be the best computer to buy to use all features of game-ex and hopefully be able to play psx games super smooth on I'm looking at this one at the moment

Inspirion 560

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/inspiron-560/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-560&cs=19&s=dhs

to be honest i dont really want to have to spend that much as long as i can run epsxe well on it and maybe the dreamcast emu ill be happy

Milesady - you can go here to see the most recent minimum requirements for GameEx. As you can see, you don't really need much to do a whole lot with this front-end. Likely you can find a decent used desktop system through the classifides that will provide you with more than enough capability. If you are so inclined you can build your own and add-on as you progress. If not, then get someone you trust that can look at the used offerings near you so you don't get scammed into buying something that will not meet your needs and cannot be easily upgraded.

I would definitely pay-heed to Tom's suggestion of using an installed video card and not onboard (part of the motherboard) video. In some cases the motherboard may have additional RAM for the GPU for the onboard video, but you will find this mainly with higher-end laptops (in my experience anyways).

My desktop is a quad core CPU with Windows 7 64-bit with 8 GB of RAM, with a512MB nVidia 8800GTS video card. It is actually overkill for most everything I use it for (web surfing, photo editing, GameEx, MCE, etc.). I also have an older Toshiba P4 with 512 MB RAM and onboard nVidia GPU with 256MB RAM and 32-bit XP Pro SP3 installed (which I may use as a "portable" to run GameEx for media center and emulating arcade & some older console ROMs only as the HDD is not big enough to house much more than that).

[milesady]

thanks for your reply but as I already said I "or at least i think i did" that I already have game-ex set up on a very basic computer for my arcade cabinet what I'm looking at is buying a decent gaming computer for 500.00 so I can use it is a super media centre for my tv using game-ex again as my frontend so really i want to know what is the best gaming computer for 500.00 or under I only need a tower and no monitor

[bclinton]

I would build your own. I got an intel MB, 2 gigs of ram, and a Dual Core Processor 5200 I think from Amazon for around 200. I went with the green variety hoping that it would emit less heat. I work on PC's on the side and had an old HP case that I used that seemed to fit perfectly where the coin mechanism was. Here is a pic of mine. I still have a lot of tweaking to do (trim, cover holes etc...). I bought a used cab from a local arcade dealer for 50 rather than spend time building one. Painted the melamine sides (scuff it up, use oil based primer and cabinet paint). All together I have about 500 into this plus time. Another thing I read about and used was a smart power strip. You plug in one device to one of the outlets and when it detects power off it powers down all the other devices. It actually worked too. Now when I turn off the PC the monitor and stereo go off too. I would overbuild/overbuy your PC. They are super cheap now and more power is better than not enough.

My Arcade

[Draco1962]

thanks for your reply but as I already said I "or at least i think i did" that I already have game-ex set up on a very basic computer for my arcade cabinet what I'm looking at is buying a decent gaming computer for 500.00 so I can use it is a super media centre for my tv using game-ex again as my frontend so really i want to know what is the best gaming computer for 500.00 or under I only need a tower and no monitor

If you are looking for Super Media Center, I would not consider the Dell model for which you provided the link. While the mobo and chip has enough going for it, the upgradeability is non-existant and only onbaord video. When I think Super Media Center, I am thinking one or more tuner cards, DVD-RW, higher-end GPU & Sound card for integration with my home theater system. Maybe with a little more detail of your needs or expected end results it would be a little easier to provide some sound advice.

I have to agree with bclinton as I have been happier with machines I have built myself than the limitations forced by the proprietary PC makers.

[bclinton]

If you are looking for Super Media Center, I would not consider the Dell model for which you provided the link. While the mobo and chip has enough going for it, the upgradeability is non-existant and only onbaord video. When I think Super Media Center, I am thinking one or more tuner cards, DVD-RW, higher-end GPU & Sound card for integration with my home theater system. Maybe with a little more detail of your needs or expected end results it would be a little easier to provide some sound advice.

I have to agree with bclinton as I have been happier with machines I have built myself than the limitations forced by the proprietary PC makers.

One thing about those fancy media center PC's that I have seen throughout the years. They do not last very long after the one year warranty. A neighbor brought me one the other day - a souped up AMD quad core, 8 gigs Bluray etc etc....it had to cost them about 1500 from Best Buy. It was 14 months old and the MB was out. Best Buy wanted to charge them $600 to repair. My thinking is that heat ends up getting them in the end. AMD runs hot to begin with. I stay away from AMD's - personal preference......

[milesady]

thaks for all the help guys unfortunately you are probably right about putting a computer together for myself but I would'nt know where to begin I know a few little computer shops that i might ask to build me something, the guys are pretty good, but basically i want at least a 5.1 surround, blu-ray or the option to upgrade to blu-ray, hdmi output, a decent enough graphic card to play the most recent pc games, at least a dual core cpu, 4gb of ram and at least a 500gb harddrive i have seen a few acer computers which loook pretty good

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-M5201-Quad-Core-Gaming-PC-2-3ghz-Fast-UK_W0QQitemZ260581365453QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_DesktopPCs?hash=item3cabdc16cd

[Draco1962]

thaks for all the help guys unfortunately you are probably right about putting a computer together for myself but I would'nt know where to begin I know a few little computer shops that i might ask to build me something, the guys are pretty good, but basically i want at least a 5.1 surround, blu-ray or the option to upgrade to blu-ray, hdmi output, a decent enough graphic card to play the most recent pc games, at least a dual core cpu, 4gb of ram and at least a 500gb harddrive i have seen a few acer computers which loook pretty good

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-M5201-Quad-Core-Gaming-PC-2-3ghz-Fast-UK_W0QQitemZ260581365453QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_DesktopPCs?hash=item3cabdc16cd

That acer doesn't seem to be a bad machine, I would definitely consider doubling the RAM to 8GB. As bclinton noted, AMD does have a tendancy to run on the hot side, so consider that when buying - does the case hallow ample ventalation of heat, fan placement, etc. I was not a big fan of Acer when they first came out. We sold them at Office Depot at that time and it appeared that for every 4-5 we sold, 1 would come back with a problem due to inexpensive (cheap) materials or workmanship. I have found, however, that the office-grade machines from Dell and HP tend to outlast their warranties more often than those sold to the home user market. You will, of course, pay a little more.

[bclinton]

thaks for all the help guys unfortunately you are probably right about putting a computer together for myself but I would'nt know where to begin I know a few little computer shops that i might ask to build me something, the guys are pretty good, but basically i want at least a 5.1 surround, blu-ray or the option to upgrade to blu-ray, hdmi output, a decent enough graphic card to play the most recent pc games, at least a dual core cpu, 4gb of ram and at least a 500gb harddrive i have seen a few acer computers which loook pretty good

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-M5201-Quad-Core-Gaming-PC-2-3ghz-Fast-UK_W0QQitemZ260581365453QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_DesktopPCs?hash=item3cabdc16cd

That doesn't look too bad. As Draco mentioned be sure and keep the heat in mind. Heat will do you in quickly. Good luck and it sounds like you are doing right in your research. If you built an arcade I bet you wont have any problems building your own PC. There are a ton of tutorials on the internet. It's really not that hard. Everything now is pretty modular and plug and play. Unless you press real hard it wont wont go in wrong

[Nightlife]

I use a Mac mini running XP in boot camp. It's super-compact, stays cool, and looks great. Runs all emulators I've thrown at it juuuuust fine (but not ideal for hardcore PC gaming... e.g., runs SFIV like poo). Runs Dreamcast and PSX emulators just fine!

EDIT: Oh, and you can get a mini DisplayPort to HDMI converter for like $10 that lets you use HDMI with it to plug into any HDTV.