I know very little about PC components and am considering buying or building a system mainly for emulation. I'd like to run PS1 and PS2 games at the highest practical resolution and frame rate, and I'm also curious whether Xbox 360 emulation is realistic. My budget is flexible, since I assume this will cost less than a PC designed for modern AAA games. I'm based in the United Kingdom.
4 Answers
For PS1 and PS2, you really don’t need an especially powerful computer. A desktop with a Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel i5-12400-class processor, 16GB of RAM, and a used GTX 1060, GTX 1660 Super, or similar graphics card should handle high-resolution emulation comfortably. Even some mini PCs with Radeon 680M or 780M integrated graphics are capable enough. A used complete PC is often better value than building from scratch, especially in the UK.
For a budget build, look for a used office or gaming tower with at least a four-core Ryzen or newer Intel processor, a suitable power supply, and an SSD. Then add the best-value used graphics card you can find. Something around an RX 480 or GTX 1060 is already plenty for PS1 and PS2, and you could probably put together a capable system for roughly £200–£300 depending on local deals.
Xbox 360 is the difficult part. The emulator situation is still inconsistent, and some games have major issues regardless of how powerful your PC is. That’s mostly due to emulator compatibility and ongoing development rather than a lack of raw hardware. PS3 emulation is further along in some respects, but individual games can still vary a lot. If PS1 and PS2 are your main goals, a modest modern desktop will be more than sufficient.
A used ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme chip is another option. It can run most PS1 and PS2 games at 4K and 60 FPS when connected to a display, and it also works well for many regular PC games. It’s worth considering if you want something small and portable rather than a full desktop.
That sounds much cheaper than I expected. I’ll probably focus on finding a used desktop with a decent power supply and upgrade the graphics card if necessary.