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PC Build for Emulation


MotoRacer

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Well, instead of collecting more and more plastic, I've gotten to a point where I want a cleaner approach. I decided to build my own PC, and one that wasn't on the weaker side. I figured if I was going to go all out, I'd do just that.

 

Really happy with how it came out. Have a super ultra wide samsung monitor, NZXT case, Asus Prim-Pro mobo, Ryzen 7 2700x, 32GB of Tridentz G.Skill ram, a 1080ti Asus Strix, a Fractal Designs AIO, 750w Corsair PSU, and two M.2 drives (one 250GB and one 1TB).

 

First build without a traditional HDD, so that was interesting. The SATA cord is only being used to power the lighting and a few fans. This is coupled with Redragon rbg blue cherry keyboard and a Redragon rgb mouse.

 

I also fooled around around with some RGB LED lighting for the first time. I have three clip on lamps behind my monitor with rgb led bulbs inside. I looped each lamp to a power supply that's all mounted under the desk, so all I have to do is reach under and flip a switch and all the lighting turns on. No reaching behind the desk to turn each one on.

 

The 32:9 monitor has picture in picture, and I have my Nintendo Switch plugged into another input, so I can have both the computer and that on at the same time.

 

I plan on doing streaming on my channel, and my old ROG GR8 pc was losing about 98% of the frames because it was so underpowered. This made streams look like a slideshow. The Ryzen 7 should do a much better job with this.

 

Took a couple more hours than I anticipated, but I'm really happy with it. Figured I'd share. I will be emulating on this, so I figured this was an appropriate section.

 

 

 

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Video:

 

https://i.imgur.com/HQNYEHd.mp4

Edited by MotoRacer
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That monitor is bananas. Enjoy!

 

Have you read Blake Patterson's stuff about his No Man's Sky obsession?

https://www.bytecellar.com/category/no-mans-sky/

 

 

I kind of get weird when I read stuff like that...

 

 

 

All my life I have dreamed of exactly this in gaming — an interesting, alternate universe, massive in scale, in which I can freely wander and explore at my own pace. There is a lovely feeling of solitude to the whole experience of discovering a world, leaving your mark on it, and moving on to the next.
... two years later, I feel no differently and have had the pleasure of seeing that dream realized every time I return to this other universe of mine.

 

 

Those comments strike me as someone who is very intelligent, and wasting their brain and time on this planet. I'm being a bit dramatic here, so I apologize in advance. But, I see the level of exponential development and design that's gone on over the past 100 years, and it seems like we've stopped thinking big. Since I graduated high school in 1996... what's really changed? We had cell phones back then, sure they were analog, but we still had them. We had computers, we also had the internet. The only thing I can conceivably see that's really all that different is the speed and size of computers. They are much faster, and much smaller... and we've integrated them into a lot more things... IE: my oven has a Linux busybox.

 

But... the leaps and bounds innovation, I'm just not seeing it.

 

Haha... sure, people should play games... but that's what's caused me to stay away from big immersive games. The last online multiplayer game I played was Ultima Online. I was addicted for two weeks straight... that's all I did. I was doing shit like making clothes, building a house, and then it hit me... I'm an idiot... why am I not doing this shit in real life?

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Well, yes, everything is a rehash of what's come before. It's all about refining technology and ways to get into your wallet. It always was about that - just that we didn't have those ways and means early on. Everyone had to throw shit at the wall to see what stuck.

 

Mobiles and apps and subscriptions and in-game purchases are an example of what stuck. And they've become highly refined because they are successful at transferring money from you to them.

 

Other attempts that may have been marginally successful are mistaken by the hobbyist of today as wild bouts of creativity. In reality it was just the industry fretting upon a stage that had no boundaries. No definitions.

 

So.. Yeh..

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On a more upbeat note the opening post is great to read. The space savings & elegant approach should bring a whole new level of enjoyment. It might even let you feel like you're starting right back at the beginning. Great nostalgia in the making!

 

Collecting emulators and everything that surrounds them, like documentation, magazines scans, disk images, tools/utilities.. and much more.. can really be quite fun. You're building out your own library of classic material in your own style, at your own pace, at a time that's convenient. Take one step at a time, and keep adding and building and organizing in an organic way. And don't forget to make backups of everything, I don't care how new or super any machine is. Just make backups anything you want to keep. A golden rule across all aspects of computing.

 

---

 

It's also interesting to think of emulators as cores for your super processor you got going in there. Each emulator is a loadable "core" that transforms your CPU into another classic machine entirely. And it's more close to heart than you'd think, emulators do everything in software and don't use much (if any) of a GPU. They might do scaling/sizing, or overlaying/texturing, or somesuch CRT effects, but that's about it. It's all about the processor, cache, and memory

 

Some emus like Altirra, WinUAE, AppleWin, or Vice, are sophisticated enough to be labeled as virtual machines. They're pretty complete when it comes to bells and whistles - allowing you to set up interesting and amusing hardware configurations or work with disk images or special rom images like from utility kits and things like that. Lots of good communication between the VM and Host.

 

So much work has been done on the established & popular emus that they are highly compatible; and all that remains is adding features or fixing corner-case bizarro bugs. Call it the refinement stage, and most emus are now in this category.

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Thanks guys. Took a lot of planning, and I'm proud with how it came out.

 

And yeah, you've all seen pictures of my old setup. It was organized, but it was way too much. Every bloody system with a computer, a CRT, etc all in one spot. I've moved the CRT to the side for VHS viewing, and now the desk is completely clear. Maybe I'm just getting older, maybe I realize that stuff is just clutter I ultimately can't take with me, but I just didn't want to deal with it any longer. It stifled fun, and most of it was rarely used. With things like Saturn emulation becoming simple, etc. I don't feel like I need to have 90 systems cluttering my work station any longer to have fun and enjoy my old games.

 

I know emulation is a tricky subject, but the way I see it is I've paid so many times over for these games, I just don't really give a ****. :grin: It's inconvenient, and until Nintendo, Sega, etc. will offer a service where I can pay to play all of these at my whim, emulation affords me this luxury.

 

Either way, I feel like I have the "80's" arcade feel in my office brings me more joy than a bunch of old boxes from that era. It's been an absolute blast seeing what can be done on this monitor, and I'm definitely not used to having a PC this fast. I've thrown everything along with the kitchen sink at it and I'm getting fps that I didn't think where even possible at this resolution.

 

I'm excited about this new path, and I think it'll be a fun one. I still have a lot to setup emulation wise, but I'll get there. Until then, I have a host of PC games and Switch games to play on this setup and I'll be having a blast with it :).

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Thanks guys. Took a lot of planning, and I'm proud with how it came out.

 

And yeah, you've all seen pictures of my old setup. It was organized, but it was way too much. Every bloody system with a computer, a CRT, etc all in one spot. I've moved the CRT to the side for VHS viewing, and now the desk is completely clear. Maybe I'm just getting older, maybe I realize that stuff is just clutter I ultimately can't take with me, but I just didn't want to deal with it any longer. It stifled fun, and most of it was rarely used. With things like Saturn emulation becoming simple, etc. I don't feel like I need to have 90 systems cluttering my work station any longer to have fun and enjoy my old games.

 

Yes indeedeo, too much of it makes it completely unenjoyable. It isn't so much that stuff is just stuff, that's true. But that isn't the reason here. Nor is it the notion you can't take it with you. It's about dilution and richness.

 

For example, everyone who has a VCS probably wants all the games and they want it to look nice. Laudable. Understandable. But you have to dedicate a literal 10x10 wall to hold thousands of cartridges. And you're not going to be playing those carts on a daily bases. I guarantee that. The additional challenge is to incorporate that into hi-class home decor. Modern or Rustic or a mix. And do it without the nagging feeling you're wasting space on filler material.

 

Filler material, yup, filler material dilutes a collection faster than food coloring going through a water pump. We want it, we hate it, it is necessary for completion, and it has to be there, but be there out of sight.

 

So with your aesthetically pleasing emulation rig you can get the sweet spot. A PC, big or small, and monitor can fit into a lot of interior designs. Much more so than a wall of vintage plastic cartridges. Carts are nothing but housings for a semiconductor chip that stores a "game program". A 512GB NVME SSD is just as adept as doing that as a vintage 1980's ROM in a cartridge. And cartridge plastic and especially labels are likely to degrade in time. Whereas the digital data and scans (with migration) can last thousands of years - not that that is important in this context. But it always comes to mind.

 

Some happy mediums are flash cartridges and original hardware. It's a good solution if you have 1 or 2 favorite systems you don't want to give up ever.

 

 

I know emulation is a tricky subject, but the way I see it is I've paid so many times over for these games, I just don't really give a ****. :grin: It's inconvenient, and until Nintendo, Sega, etc. will offer a service where I can pay to play all of these at my whim, emulation affords me this luxury.

 

Many people feel the same way. But that aside, most people feel emulation is "wrong" when it comes to gameplay. A vocal minority likes to pick out subtle inaccuracies which totally and utterly destroy any possibility of having fun with an emulated system. Of course they conveniently ignore the incredibly huge advantages and conveniences.

 

 

Either way, I feel like I have the "80's" arcade feel in my office brings me more joy than a bunch of old boxes from that era. It's been an absolute blast seeing what can be done on this monitor, and I'm definitely not used to having a PC this fast. I've thrown everything along with the kitchen sink at it and I'm getting fps that I didn't think where even possible at this resolution.

 

Yes. That's very true. A nice gaming environment is a huge plus with many intangible benefits. Stacks of cardboard boxes have their own appeal in their own way. Mostly nostalgic in nature. Nostalgia of a specific time. The actual playing of the games is more transcendental. More atmospheric. More fun.

 

You can always build a collection of scanned boxes and view them just as you would as if you took one off the shelf. The art is there, the text is there.

 

 

I'm excited about this new path, and I think it'll be a fun one. I still have a lot to setup emulation wise, but I'll get there. Until then, I have a host of PC games and Switch games to play on this setup and I'll be having a blast with it :).

 

Yes it will take some setup time. Each setup and hardware combo is different. Think of the time you spend on emulation setup as the time (and money) you'd spend chasing down and restoring a console or even a full-size arcade cabinet! You'll come out ahead.

 

There'll be some hiccups and perils along the way, but most problems are solvable on either your end or a developer's end.

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Great reply.

 

I totally agree with you, and I think you hit the nail on the head. The community pressures you to "get it while you can", and every gaming channel on Youtube has a guy sitting in front of 19 bookshelves of old carts and cds, as if that's the only way to illustrate that you like games. For me, you get to a point where you realize, "I play F-Zero X, Wave Race 64, Super Mario Kart, Road Blasters and Daytona USA 99% of the time, and most of the rest rots for years sitting on a shelf". All just so I can say, "yeah, I own Demon's Crest with box and manaul". Who the hell cares?

I will say this about me. When I make up my mind, there's no turning back. One day, I simply had enough. I listed everything for sale, and that was that. The amount of dust that hides between consoles and wires was alarming. And I vowed that the system I build be clean and simple in its orientation.

 

For everything but the Saturn and DC, I kept the SD cards, so all those "illegal Nintendo roms" are here at my disposal. I just need to download Retroarch and I should be good.

 

But yeah, there's a peace of mind with this setup. The clutter was claustrophobic and served no meaning than for potential bragging rights, which I didn't feel the need to do. Over the years, I've kept trying to zero in to what I wanted out of my office area setup. Nothing has felt 100% right. I think I've finally found what I've been looking for.

 

For those who collect, good luck. In a way, much like classic cars, you're doing a service. You're a temporary guardian of history until you either give up and sell it or die. But for me, the bookshelves of crap never did much for me, especially when 99% isn't used on a regular basis. I think it's our childhood dream to own all those games you couldn't afford when you were young. But once you have it, it's just a mountain of plastic and cardboard, most of which holds little meaning outside the collective thought they represent.

 

I'm glad to have moved on.

Edited by MotoRacer
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Bragging rights and I own this game, that game, and those games - it's all overrated man. I mean consider the people that are impressed by that, are they the kinds of people you want to impress?

 

EXAMPLE:

I always mention the extensive Apple II stuff I have. And you know what? I'm getting bored of it. Not of the ecosphere, but of all the idle stuff that's accumulated. It doesn't impress anyone. In fact there are times I have to defend it. Why there is so much un-used stuff? For example I don't need two Alpha Syntauri setups. Nor do I need 3 Expansion Chassis. Or 3 AE PC-Transporter cards. Or a carton of those SuperDrive controllers and Overlay boards. And I know with absolute certainly no one gives a rat's ass that I have a SpaceTablet-3D!! No one!! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!

 

If I focus exactly on my early, productive, sentimental, years with the Apple II I would end up with two or three consoles, two or three CRTs, two rubbermaid tubs of supporting equipment like drives, cards, cables, chips, and minutiae. A tub of disks and 2 tubs of manuals. Not necessarily stored that way, but for indicating how few items would remain. This is eminently manageable and near nothing compared to the piles now. And when going on a nostalgic flight of fancy, the hardware for the necessary trip is rather modest.

 

I'm looking forward to the time when I can purge it.

 

---

 

My existing day-to-day computing and emulation stuff is rather low-key. A Shuttle XPC and several Intel NUCs. The Shuttle XPC I keep for Space and Flight Simulation and emulation. The NUCs are tiny 4" cubes we have scattered around the house and serve as emulation stations and media-centers and general purpose use. These things are so tiny you have to look for them.

Edited by Keatah
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..... I think it's our childhood dream to own all those games you couldn't afford when you were young. But once you have it, it's just a mountain of plastic and cardboard, most of which holds little meaning outside the collective thought they represent.

 

I'm glad to have moved on.

^^^ What he says ^^^

 

(I'm still in the "own it" camp, so I have some 30 clunkers [but relatively little SW, 50 so cart-only N64, around the same for Saturn, DC, XB-OG and XB360], I'll see what I will do, I was really hoping Kevtris would come to the rescue and release the mother of all FPGAs all-in-one covering all the way to SNES/Genny/PCE but it has not happened yet .... we'll see, I am no stranger to emu but it still just not the same for me ... it will change eventually, just not yet)

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it's just a mountain of plastic and cardboard, most of which holds little meaning outside the collective thought they represent.

 

I wouldn't agree. These are real things with real value, with added bonus of ownership, artwork, perhaps nostalgia - for those who like this kind of thing. Something that a bunch of zeroes & ones that constitutes a "rom" lacks.

 

I see this "total purging" attitude - quite popular nowadays, it is the same with other media - as the other end of the spectrum, a bit akin to hoarding. Seems maybe some collectors had this cathartic moment and "liberated" themselves, while others got their heads turned by the digital-only drive. I prefer to stay somewhere in the middle: do have terabytes on HDDs but also some shelves filled up. It's nice to have things :) It always amuses me a bit to read the tales of people who got rid of all those records/games/films/books, and are awed by the newfound space. But what will do they do with it? Probably put more things in there, or maybe it goes along with the modern "minimalistic & clean" fad.

 

Sure, if it works for you, no problem - it's just there's probably no need to take that extra step and denigrate the other way. They both have their pros and cons.

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As babies and children we learn that if something is out of sight it is still there. It might be in a drawer or a box. But it is still there. The old adage "out of sight, out of mind" is inaccurate. The mind maps all your stuff, some of it to exact positions, some to general areas. But nonetheless a huge collection becomes a mental burden. It's why most folks feel uneasy if their collection is out of order or expanding to mega-sizes. It's why a organized collection demands things are put in their exact place. It's not only the amount of space something takes up, but the amount of different items too.

 

This spatial mapping phenomenon applies to collections or any grouping of a large number of objects. Videogame cartridges are no exception.

 

Conducting a purge of excess physical objects lightens the load on your psyche. It's very real. And it's a good feeling. And the urge to purge happens when something becomes hard to access or too numerous or sprawling.

 

Emulation is interesting because you can continue to play your classic games, all them, thousands of them, on one computer, and not have to deal with spatial overload.

 

A key enabler is that bits on a disk consume practically zero space compared to a physical cartridge that might store 16K or whatever. This zero-space consumption does not go unnoticed by your sub-conscious. Data itself being bits and bytes, with no intrinsic meaning, helps the brain remain clear. Your psyche knows they are being properly managed by a hard disk and filing system, and is therefore completely comfortable forgetting about them.

 

It might seem like a good idea to strictly organize a virtual collection by media type or alphabetically or by system type or any other number of criteria. Truth is that becomes boring and acts like a straitjacket. Most collections are going be organically organized and branching out like a tree. Eventually connections form from one category to the next and some of it becomes nested. Some it references something else. And in time it mimics your own personal mind-map. And bits and pieces will follow traditional numerical or alpha sorting. This cannot be easily done in the physical world. In the digital domain it happens without you even realizing it! And that's a good thing. That's one intangible advantage of emulation over a physical collection.

 

Making the transition to digital-only may not be easy because of old habits and familiarity and all that. But once you start in that direction it can snowball pretty quickly.

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It might seem like a good idea to strictly organize a virtual collection by media type or alphabetically or by system type or any other number of criteria. Truth is that becomes boring and acts like a straitjacket. Most collections are going be organically organized and branching out like a tree. Eventually connections form from one category to the next and some of it becomes nested. Some it references something else. And in time it mimics your own personal mind-map

 

This is a good example of why this subject is best approached on personal basis without trying for vast generalizations. If the logical way of organising feels like straitjacket to you, than it's fine, interesting even - but as somebody who've spent decades hanging out with rom-hoarders, I can assure you most people do stick with the un-organic, A-Z/by system, boring way. So it's not really a proof of any perceived digital advantage and even if it was it would be quite a laboured one.

 

It's besides the point anyway, I already said both sides have pros and cons, and that my way is the mixed one. Obviously it's more convenient to sort and handle digital collections. But for some people who have time, space and derive pleasure from it, such operations are not a problem and do not come with any mental baggage - to the contrary, even when it comes to a basement-sized collections.

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Very nice setup. Here are some 3 screen Arcade games you may want to try out:

 

Ninja Warriors | MAME sets: ninjaw/ninjawu
Darius | MAME sets: darius/dariusu
Darius II | MAME set: darius2
TX-1 | MAME set: tx1
Buggy Boy-Speed Buggy | MAME set: buggyboy

 

 

Don't forget X-Men 6 Player & Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga III, it's also nice having wide screen or dual display for the Playchoice-10 & Punchout games with multi monitors side by side.

 

Man, I would love to have a ultrawide curved screen like that to replace my dual screen setup. I figure I can run 4:3 emulators and older 16:9 games in borderless windows while having modern games take up the whole screen (that's how it actually works right?).

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