Homebrew Upgrade^Brigade

[penance]

Hi. I don't really post here often but I'm in need of some help and I figure this is the best place to turn. I've just become interested in DS emulation and the main problem is that my computer is an old piece of junk. I can't buy a new one, but I'm willing to upgrade if it's not going to cost an arm and a leg.

Right now my computer has an S3 ProSavage, 120MB of RAM, and a 1.20 GHz Athlon. I've already figured I need more RAM, probably a stick or two of 256, but what's the best graphics card for me to have, and do I need to do anything with my processor? I'm very ignorant when it comes to this sort of thing and I hope someone out there can give me some assistance. Prices would also be helpful. I only have so much money to spend on this venture and I'm not looking for something high end, just something to get me by, if that helps anyone.

Any help anyone can give is appreciated.

 

[PikaPika]

From what I've read on the subject on DS emulation, the cost of the upgrades your computer would need to be DS emulation-possible are about as much as an emulator-ready computer.

 

[penance]

That might be true, but A) what is the cheapest solution I can get away with, and B) if the solution is not cheap, which component would need the most upgrading?

EDIT: I mean, I don't think I should possibly need that much more than what I already have. I've tried Super Mario 64 DS on No$GBA and the graphics seem mostly fine, but it's just really slow. There's graphics problems with my N64 emulation too that I've heard I need a new graphics card for since S3 sucks, but I don't think I should need a really expensive one. Will I?

 

[AMPonzi]

The problem is a combination of all of the items. The CPU is too slow, the memory is too little, and the graphics card is horrific. All three components need updating which would require a new motherboard as well. Sorry, but I don't think a cheap solution will work here. You can try getting a motherboard/CPU/memory combo from Mwave or Newegg or one of those places for fairly cheap and just reuse the case, hard drive, and optical drives. Of course, then a graphics card is still necessary. For MB, CPU, MEM, and Graphics I'd say expect that all to cost about... hmmm... $300 if you go fairly entry level stuff. Maybe $80 MB, $80 CPU, $60 MEM, $80 Graphics. Go AMD though if you get a CPU that cheap, they're the best bang for the buck in the sub-$100 category. Good luck!

 

[penance]

Okay wait. So you're saying an AMD Athlon for CPU, okay. What kind of graphics card? And do I just need like one or two sticks of 256? Specifics would really be nice. I mean, I was just planning to pop over to Best Buy and see what they had. I wasn't really expecting this to be a massive shopping trip. Is there absolutely no way I could get by with just upgrading one or two things? I mean, I don't even understand why it would take that much just to make the games a little faster.

 

[penance]

Okay. Let's say for sake of argument that I was willing to buy a brand new computer. Would this suffice?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1179877267997

 

[Issac]

Instead of buy a new computer (or new parts) I would buy a DS and a R4 /m3ds simply.
I mean, if it's just for "emulating ds"...

 

[penance]

Thanks. I guess that is an option. I personally don't really like playing these games on the handheld system which is half the reason I'm interested in emulating them. Personal preference. But I guess if worse comes to worse, that is a solution.

The real problem is that I don't have very much money at all to spend on anything, which is why I was hoping there was just one key thing I needed to change that would at the very least fix most if not all of the problems. Since my major issue is speed, I thought if I just got more RAM that would fix things. Am I wrong?

 

[Darkforce]

Whoa hold up there! Listen to AMPonzi - There is no single component you will be able to upgrade to get the PC to the state where it will be able to emulate the DS well, to put it bluntly your PC is rubbish. Even if you upgrade the RAM the processor is still going to be too slow, if you want to change the processor you will probably need to change the motherboard, which will probably use a different type of RAM altogether, and so on.

Honestly it may sound like a crazy idea but if you want to play DS games then just get a DS, it'll be years before the DS is emulated 100% and even then I don't understand how you would be able to truly enjoy many games having to fake touch screen input via the mouse.

 

[penance]

Well I don't have the money to upgrade my computer, I definitely don't have the money to buy a system and games. It would be cheaper at that point for me to just buy a new computer. Thanks anyway. I guess I'll just have to keep saving my money. Or maybe just give it up entirely.

 

[Veho]

Well I don't have the money to upgrade my computer, I definitely don't have the money to buy a system and games. It would be cheaper at that point for me to just buy a new computer.

Are you sure? You can get a DS for $100, a flashcard for $30, and a memory card for $10. That's $150 for a DS and every DS game you'll ever want, and I don't think you can upgrade your computer to anything much for only $150.
On the other hand, upgrading your computer is a good long-term investment, because a better computer can be used for so much more than just DS emulation.

(Of course, 90% of the "so much more" stuff are PC games...

)

 

[Elrinth]

me I upgraded myself from:
P4 1.7 Ghz
1280 MB SDRam
200 + 80 GB HDD
Ati Radeon 9200
SBLive
100/10 Mbit netadapter

to:
core2Quad Q6600 2.4 Ghz
2048 MB DDR2 800 MHz (6400)
500 GB HDD 7200 RPM
Nvidia Geforce 8600 GTS 256 MB
SB Xfi Gamer

It took around two weeks to fill up my 500 GB hdd.. ._.

cost around 1000 euro in total for everything... that's with chassi, mobo and a chassi fan.

and I'm getting new gfx card, more memory (additional 2 gb mem), one more 500gb, new keyboard and new mouse for my new computer. will cost around additional 370 euro

oh and I don't recommend upgrading a computer that old as you have... It's better to buy new value stuff... Go for AMD then..

 

[penance]

Well I don't have the money to upgrade my computer, I definitely don't have the money to buy a system and games. It would be cheaper at that point for me to just buy a new computer.
Are you sure? You can get a DS for $100, a flashcard for $30, and a memory card for $10. That's $150 for a DS and every DS game you'll ever want, and I don't think you can upgrade your computer to anything much for only $150.
On the other hand, upgrading your computer is a good long-term investment, because a better computer can be used for so much more than just DS emulation.

(Of course, 90% of the "so much more" stuff are PC games...

)

Okay, let's discuss this, cause this sounds more worthwhile. What exactly do you recommend I get in terms of these things? This is a new thing to me too, and I don't want to waste money on something bogus. So, a DS, flashcard, and memory card, huh? Where would be the best place to get the cards? And how exactly does all this work?

EDIT: All the PC games I love are old and run fine on my piece of crap comp so I don't care about upgrading for those. Heck, even the new Bone games work fine on my comp, so as long as that holds I'm golden.

 

[Veho]

Well, I would recommend an R4 (read the review here). It's simple, easy to use, has excellent support. Dealextreme has a very cheap combo; R4 + 1GB microSD card + USB card reader for $47, with free shipping. Or, you can do some comparison shopping here, and maybe find a better deal somewhere.

As for the console itself, the DS Lite starts at $120, or try eBay for used consoles (but avoid the white DS Lite, they have issues

). Again, do some comparison shopping, you may find a great bargain somewhere.

 

[penance]

Thank you so very much. I'm not going to do this right away, but I think I'm going to take your advice and pursue that combo package. It seems like the cheapest, fastest, and easiest solution to my problem. Thank you again for your time, patience, and advice.