Destinaxe Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 As much as I love linux, I must say that I've always had an easier time getting things up and running on Windows. That being sad, if you are a technical person and like to tweak things and make your own modifications various Linux distros can be Decent for emulation. A few that immediately come to mind are: RetroArch Ubuntu (Xubunutu,Lubuntu,etc) Puppy Linux Arch Linux One nice thing about linux emulation is that you get get yourself a $25 raspberry Pi and a PS3 controller and be good to go. That is what I have set up in my living room and I love it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I put my money where my mouth is. I bought a "late 2006" Core 2 Duo iMac on Craigslist for $125. It came with OSX 10.4.11 installed, which wasn't much use, so I purchased 10.6 from Apple for $19.99. I downloaded all the emulators that I listed above, even though I haven't heard of some of them, being from the US. Only problem, the system is a little slow due to only having 1 GB DDR2 ram. I will boost that to the maximum and see how it works. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I'm so surprised how the original XBox just works. And it's dirt cheap, I'm watching a few auctions now to get another one for the living room TV. Just goes to show what an improvement it makes when Windows is pared down to the essentials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I put my money where my mouth is. I bought a "late 2006" Core 2 Duo iMac on Craigslist for $125. It came with OSX 10.4.11 installed, which wasn't much use, so I purchased 10.6 from Apple for $19.99. I downloaded all the emulators that I listed above, even though I haven't heard of some of them, being from the US. Only problem, the system is a little slow due to only having 1 GB DDR2 ram. I will boost that to the maximum and see how it works. What is the latest OS that can be run on that system. Some of the better ones require at least Mountain Lion or Mavericks. Yes... you may want to expand the Ram. What kind of video card is inside? if it used integrated graphics (GMA 950). You might me limited to Lion as the highest OS you can run without some time consuming work arounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 What is the latest OS that can be run on that system. Some of the better ones require at least Mountain Lion or Mavericks. Yes... you may want to expand the Ram. What kind of video card is inside? if it used integrated graphics (GMA 950). You might me limited to Lion as the highest OS you can run without some time consuming work arounds. According to everymac.com, the latest OS that can run on this system is : 10.7.5, although I have 10.6.8 on it and am quite happy. it is using integrated graphics GMA 950. I don't have a problem with that, I have the same in my Dell. From what I have seen on Craigslist, a system that can support Mountain Lion or Mavericks is going to cost alot more than $125, closer to $500. By the way, I am replacing 2 512MB memory modules for 2 1GB memory modules for $16. here are the complete specs: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-1.83-17-inch-specs.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 As far as OS.... Windows is a no-brainer. As far as Bliss-Box.... Awesome!! I love mine!! Sean created one hell of a product!! I can not wait for the Four Play to be released! Highly recommended!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremtorres Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 im also wanting a rig just for retro gamming. What os out of these would be the best and why? 1. Windows xp 32-bit 2. Windows xp 64-bit 3. Windows 7 64-bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 It's really a no-brainer. Windows XP-64 is out. Finicky, limited software, limited hardware support. DirectX and openGL limitiations. And like Windows XP 32-bit, it won't make use of the latest hardware. Windows XP-32 is probably out because you can't use the latest graphics hardware. And newest CPU instruction sets and SSD aren't supported here. Then there are DirectX and openGL limitations again. I'm sure there are many more arguments against those two. So that leaves Windows 7 64-bit. You'll get the broadest support here, both from emulators, and manufacturers, and other developers. You can get up to date video card and driver support and the latest APIs. If you need to, you can even run older versions of DOSMAME in DOSbox, or set up virtual machines if you are experiencing any compatibility issues. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 It's really a no-brainer. Windows XP-64 is out. Finicky, limited software, limited hardware support. DirectX and openGL limitiations. And like Windows XP 32-bit, it won't make use of the latest hardware. Windows XP-32 is probably out because you can't use the latest graphics hardware. And newest CPU instruction sets and SSD aren't supported here. Then there are DirectX and openGL limitations again. I'm sure there are many more arguments against those two. So that leaves Windows 7 64-bit. You'll get the broadest support here, both from emulators, and manufacturers, and other developers. You can get up to date video card and driver support and the latest APIs. If you need to, you can even run older versions of DOSMAME in DOSbox, or set up virtual machines if you are experiencing any compatibility issues. Agree 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 To be fair, I've seen people in this forum and plenty of other places using PC to mean a "personal computer" in general, Mac or Windows. I've even seen people lumping iOS and Android devices under the general term of PC! It fits. PC = Personal Computer. iOS and Android devices are in fact, computers. Personal means privately owned. There was a time when individual people did not own computers. But IBM's branding of "PC" has added that twist in it so that sometimes, and expectedly so, it is interpreted as a computer with lineage back to IBM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaughan Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 The best OS to use is the one with the emulators you want on it first. Second to that is the OS you know best, since you may need to play with things later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) Now that I have pulled the windows SSD out of my PC, I am using linux for emulation. I'm very happy with: atari800, higan, mame (gnome video arcade), mess, openmsx-catapult, stella, zsnes, and mednafen. I am also re-living the 90's with chocolate-doom, fredoom, and prboom+ Edited June 1, 2015 by airsoftmodels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiki Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 It is sad there is no real deal for CRT purists. Of course, if you are using an LCD, which I have no doubt majority of people do, you have no reasons to care. The image is going to be distorted either way, the lag input is going to be either way. But there is no kernel mode OS available for really optimized stuff and MS DOS is long dead. Xbox is kernel mode but noone has managed to get custom video timing on it - it is all distorted image at fixed interlaced resolution (laughing at people claiming Xbox emulators looking like original...). And there is no advantage of Linux over Windows - it is the opposite. Windows was proven to have much faster input lags - it is simply much more geared towards real gaming although far from my view of a realtime powerhoused kernel based system. Lately I have seen some improvements on Raspberry Pi firmware to output 240p over composite but it is actually no significant improvement for the community. The image is very much distorted like on Xbox or Wii by the fact the output is still fixed, especially no custom horizontal resolutions... And the weak performance of Pies can hardly match that of desktop CPUs often needed for MAME and other emulators. I guess even good old Xbox can sweep the floor at least with older Pies. Sadly, the only reasonable solution is Windows + GroovyMAME + CRT Emu driver + 15 kHz ATOM BIOS card... what a mess isn't it. I hope one day we will see a proper compact device with the power of desktop CPU to do the proper job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamemoose Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 I tried Retropie for Linux on an older i5 workstation-style laptop. I installed Linux Mint and then Retropie. The step-by-step instructions I read worked well for initial install and additional core installs used a bit of computer common sense and observation. Emulation was pretty smooth. I played Banjo-Kazooie with no slow down and Mario 64 ran great. The only real hiccup was programming my USB N64-style pad so the proper buttons worked. I haven't gotten aroubd to figuring out the button remap after controller setup. I think one could have a lot of fun gutting a laptop and making your own "console". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Indeed. There've gotta be a lot of ratbaggy laptops that have bad keyboards, cracked and falling apart housings, a one-single bad USB port, or a depleted battery, or busted display. But otherwise have a fully functioning motherboard, memory, and cpu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 It fits. PC = Personal Computer. iOS and Android devices are in fact, computers. Personal means privately owned. There was a time when individual people did not own computers. But IBM's branding of "PC" has added that twist in it so that sometimes, and expectedly so, it is interpreted as a computer with lineage back to IBM. I always found it funny that the cheap ~$200 early computers were called "Home computers" while the $4000 systems were called "Personal Computers" You could buy a 'personal' home computer for every member of your family for the price of one PC back then! Lol yeah I know the origin of the word is in business. personal meaning a computer a worker could have on their desk vs logging into the mainframe or whatever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamemoose Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I always found it funny that the cheap ~$200 early computers were called "Home computers" while the $4000 systems were called "Personal Computers" You could buy a 'personal' home computer for every member of your family for the price of one PC back then! Lol yeah I know the origin of the word is in business. personal meaning a computer a worker could have on their desk vs logging into the mainframe or whatever Then Apple muddied the waters by doing the "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign where a "PC" is anything Windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 2600 H.E.R.O Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 I always found it funny that the cheap ~$200 early computers were called "Home computers" while the $4000 systems were called "Personal Computers" You could buy a 'personal' home computer for every member of your family for the price of one PC back then! Lol yeah I know the origin of the word is in business. personal meaning a computer a worker could have on their desk vs logging into the mainframe or whatever Yes. As I Did For Myself and Friends. My Old PC (Intel Pentium 200) Without HDD and Without Audio Device. 32MB Memory, Old CD-ROM Drive + CRT Monitor and Keyboard, Only. PC + OSx16 Version 6.22 BOOT-CD (350 Atari Games Included) + Low Coast USB Sound Card (~$3) + Speaker (or Headphone) ==>> Atari 2600 + Many Games And Real Atari Sound ! (A Complete Console). OSx16 became the only DOS that Supports USB SOUND CARD (Unique !). OSx16 Version 6.22 BOOT-CD is FREE, and I Can Use USB SOUND CARD with My modern PC, Also (And You Too). Why Not ? Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Windows. Get a Dolphin Bar and use real Wii controllers. Works GREAT!! Also the BlissBlx 4Play is a MUST HAVE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 So I'm thinking about building a PC with the sole purpose of Emulating video game consoles. I'll probably get a Blissbox to use original controllers. I've only ever built Windows PCs and have never built a specialized machine. Basically I'd be looking to emulate everything from the 2600 to the Wii and up if possible. Anyone have good experiences with a specific linux distro that I should try (that is reasonably user friendly)? So what did you end up doing? This thread has kept on going without you, it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeculiarSatyr Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 So what did you end up doing? This thread has kept on going without you, it seems. Nothing yet. I'll probably build something with a Raspberry Pi at some point. Been too busy to have much time for video games anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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