I'm planning to get a PC mainly for emulation and don't know much about computer hardware. I'd like to run PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games at their highest practical resolution and frame rate, and I'm also curious whether Xbox 360 emulation is realistic. My budget is flexible, although I assume this should cost considerably less than a modern gaming PC capable of running new AAA games well. I'm located in the United Kingdom, so used hardware suggestions and approximate UK pricing would be useful.
2 Answers
If you’re shopping on a tight budget, look for a complete used desktop rather than buying every component separately. A system with a Ryzen 2000-series processor or newer, or an Intel 8th-generation processor or newer, plus a suitable power supply, should give you a good base. Adding a used RX 480, GTX 1060, or anything faster would be plenty for PS1 and PS2. Depending on the deal, around £200–£300 could be realistic in the UK.
For PS1 and PS2, you really don’t need an expensive machine. A mini-PC with a reasonably modern Radeon integrated GPU, such as the 680M or 780M, can handle them very well. For a desktop, something around a Ryzen 5 5600 or Core i5-12400 paired with a GTX 1060, GTX 1660 Super, or a similar used graphics card would be more than enough for high-resolution emulation.
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