Looking to emulate GameCube using Dolphin

[dillontimothycottrell]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cdcH3b

Not looking to do a whole lot with this machine and I will be buying it piece by piece as I do not have a lot of disposable income but I was wondering if this build would run Dolphin Emulator (GameCube/Wii games) at 720p or 1080p fairly well (console equivalent fps) and maybe play last generation games (PS3/Xbox 360)? Also I have almost no experience with building a PC so any and all input is welcome if you know a better or cheaper way to go about this. Thanks in advance.

 

[Supernova1138]

It should be okay for Dolphin, but you aren't emulating PS3/360 games. Only PS3 has anything close to a working emulator with RPCS3, and it is extremely CPU intensive and needs much more than an older i3. I would suggest getting a 300 series motherboard eg. H310 or B360 and a Core i3 8100 instead, which should cost about the same but get you 4 cores and 4 threads rather than the 2 cores and 4 threads of the i3 6100. One of AMD's lower end Ryzen chips like the R3 1200 and a B350 motherboard might be had for a bit cheaper and would still be better than the i3 6100. Intel is better for Dolphin emulation though.

 

[dillontimothycottrell]

Would the quad core be alright for Dolphin? Appreciate the reply, by the way. I think I read something about it relying on individual core clock? I don't really know a whole lot about how PC processors work.

 

[dillontimothycottrell]

Forgot to mention this but I didn't mean emulating 360/PS3 but rather playing games of that era that were ported to PC. I know the GT 1030 is more on the weak side being out muscled by older GPUs.

 

[Supernova1138]

Would the quad core be alright for Dolphin? Appreciate the reply, by the way. I think I read something about it relying on individual core clock? I don't really know a whole lot about how PC processors work.

Current quad cores are clocked high enough that they do well running Dolphin, and realistically you don't want to be getting a dual core chip in 2018. A GT 1030 would run older games from 2013 or earlier though perhaps not at max settings for the more demanding titles from that era.

 

[dillontimothycottrell]

Is there a GPU in the same price range new or used that you'd recommend over the 1030? Already changed the CPU to the one you recommended paired with a Gigabyte - H310M A.

 

[Supernova1138]

I would try to spring for at least a GTX 1050, but that would be more expensive. If your budget is restricting you to the GT 1030, you're not going to really get anything better unless you look at the used market.

 

[dillontimothycottrell]

Okay. Well I appreciate the help.