Building an emulation set-top box.

[LivingtheDream]

I've been doing modifications or soft modding my consoles for years so I can run emulators and play my old games. But I've always ran in to issues with it. Two main problems always seem to pop up; 1. The console I modified simply doesn't have enough resources to emulate what I want to run on it. 2. The controls are funky and they never feel just right.

So I've been thinking lately that it might be a good idea to build a set-top box for emulation. This avoids a lot of the problems I've been having with console modification and will allow me to do a lot of other things like streaming video files over my network directly to my HDTV.

I'm wondering if any of you guys have done this and if so what type of PC (spec wise) did you build for the job? I'm personally looking to do something small in a custom case. I don't think I'd like having a big tower under my HDTV after all. Also...can anyone give me any help with tracking down controllers? I've heard there are some Saturn pads out there that hook up to a usb port..anyone know where I can buy some of those? I'm thinking for 3D games a PS2 or Xbox controller would be my best bet...any other suggestions?

[Citizin]

Logitech has a nice selection of pc controllers. If you want something good for both 2D and 3D, the "dual action" might be good as it has a nice d-pad and two analog sticks for games that need them. If you don't need analog, there is one without called the precision.

For graphics cards, it seems like most anything decent with low power consumption would do. Just don't settle with anything integrated as those usually suck. Which consoles will you be emulating?

[LivingtheDream]

I'm shooting for Dreamcast, Saturn, N64 with hi-res textures, PSX, and everything prior to them console wise. I'll probably throw in some older computers (like the C64) to boot.

I didn't plan on going integrated with the video card but I have been out of the hardware scene on the PC side of things for a while now. I'd like to find a graphics card that will allow me to have decent 3D acceleration but it needs to be able to fit into a smallish case without _too_ much cooling because I don't want this box sounding like a hair dryer. I don't need anything top of the line in other words..just a decent card with DVI and/or HDMI output. You guys have any recommendations? Also keep in mind that I'd like to find a video card that is unix/linux friendly.

As for controllers: I'm going to look into those thanks. I'm also wanting to support the native controllers (NES, SNES, Genesis etc.) as well though. I wonder how difficult it would be to rig up a usb adapter for these older controllers...anyone done that before?

[elvis]

Some general tips:

1) CPU clock speed wins. Most emulators won't see any advantage from multi-core design, so don't bother with a slower clocked quad-core when a faster-clocked dual-core will do.

2) Video power isn't high on the list. Go for a slower-but-cooler video card if you're going to be building a small box in a confined space to reduce heat and power issues.

3) There are a number of places that sell converters for console->USB. Retro USB is one:
http://www.retrousb.com/index.php?categoryID=79

But let google be your guide for others.

[LivingtheDream]

elvis is alive! O.O

Thanks for the link. I did a quick search on google and found instructions for building my own adapters for NES and SNES controllers. Since I'm a do it yourself kinda guy I think I'll be going that route for those two controllers at least. Now I just need to track down the instructions for the Saturn pads and PSX controllers.

For the main CPU: Are the new Intel chips still the best bang for the buck or is AMD finally catching up in the dual core department? I was planning on getting the fastest Intel dual core I can afford.

Video Card: I know it isn't the main thing I should be concerned about but I know some of the new emulators benefit a lot from a good video card. If you were me what type of card would you get? Also who's the best bang of the buck now..Nvidia or ATI? Last graphics card I bought was a Geforce 2 Turbo for my aging gaming rig at home (built it back when I had a Q3A addiction). Since then my only PC purchase has been a laptop and as I'm broke most of the time lately I couldn't be very picky about what came in it. I used to be really in to building gaming PCs but it just became too bothersome.

[gravitone]

I've been working on something similar but build with scrap hardware. One of the first things that came to mind concerning requirements were size, power usage, and noise. Since these are pretty much related, its all about selecting the right components for the job. Looking at the systems you want to emulate, pick a processor that has enough juice to emulate the dreamcast (the system with the highest requirements in your list) and work from there. omitting the ps2 means you dont have to go for a top of the line core2duo and other expensive hardware. Id go for a decent low power dualcore amd platform and motherboard build around the 780g chipset. This comes with a buildin radeon 3200 that could be enough to suit your needs. If not, slap in a radeon 3450 for a crossfire setup that would be more then addequate. this wont play top of the line pc games, but will do just fine in your case. an amd x2 5050e should be more then ample for your purposes. Even the lowly athlon 64 le-1640 could be enough, and consumes even less. although im not sure. These processors run nice and cool with low fan speeds. Add to this a 2.5" 5400 rpm laptop drive, that basically consumes almost no power, and makes no noise. Slap in 2gb or 4gb ddr2 ram. You could just go with 4gb since its dirt cheap these days. You can drive all this with a really small powersupply. No need for 500+watt ATX monsters, my system uses a 135w m-atx powersupply thats whisper quiet. Perfect for the living room. Slap this all into a small enclosure to your liking and you're good to go.

On the controller side its going to be a bit of a mess when dealing with different controllers for each emulator. Its going to create a giant jumbling mess of cables, and create a configuration nightmare. My premise was ease of use, which meant no walking back and forth to pick up different controllers all the time. Id find a decent controller that fits the requirements for the system I widh to emulate and go with that. Current im using 2 dualshock 2 controllers, which have ample buttons for any system, great buttons, dual analog sticks, and of coure a great d-pad that works great with 2d games. My xbox 360 controller is easier in the hands, but the d-pad is simply awfull and unusable. If going wireless id probably check out the logitech cordless rumblepad 2. They use a psx style layout, operate wirelessly, and look like a great solid product. Never used it though, so im not sure about how well the buttons, sticks, and d-pad respond.

As for the software side, thats a whole other matter. Take a stripped nlited xp install, preferable with pretty much everything stripped out and all non essential services disabled for nice fast booting. A great new frontend thats in the works is hyperspin although its not done yet, and currently in closed beta. That wont last forever though, and I encourage you to check out some movies of it in action on youtube. Hope this information has been helpfull.

[fox099]

I have a HTPC i built for my home theater and gaming needs, and it works great on almost everything though I would like it to have better video processing. THe stats are:

AMD X2 3800+
2GB DDR2-667
400 GB Samsung Spinpoint
MSI K9-AGM2 FIH Motherboard w/ integrated ATI x1250 video (HDMI out)
AverMedia 780 WhiteBox Dual TV Tuner

This works very well for my needs (watching tv, playing games, etc). Additionally, I use Vista Media Center for everything. VMC is very powerful and has a number of applications that will let you run your emulations right out of it, so you can browse your games like movies and hit play with a remote. Additionally, vista supports almost all controllers right off the bat, so there is no reason to go find pesky drivers. A setup like this would cost you no more than 200 dollars, and you can get very nice results!

[fumanchu]

how about a modded xbox for emulation.it emulates everything from n64,ps1,snes,gna,gb,gbcolour,mame,fba,sharpx68000,atari2600/5200/7600,amstrad,amiga......and lots more.

[gravitone]

If you had actually bothered to read the thread, he no longer wants to use a console for this purpose. He wants to emulate the sega saturn, dreamcast, and a number of other systems. The xbox is not going to cut it. Not by a long shot. Even n64 emulation on the xbox is not up to par. A pc also allows for a lot more customization then you could ever get from a console.

[scottykick]

This is a great idea, but never really getting into emulators myself I was wondering were roms for each system can be found. Any tips?