is this iMac ok for ps2 / gc emulator ?

hey guys
I wanna buy an iMac ( then I'm going to put windows 7 on it )
I want it to support PS2 ( pcsx2 ) and GC ( dolphin ) emulator full speed with full screen
and I want it to support COD black ops if possible

so these are the specifications :

# 3.06GHz Intel Core i3
# 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
# 500GB Serial ATA Drive
# ATI Radeon HD 4670 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM
# 8x double-layer SuperDrive

thanks .

 

A 3.06Ghz dual core i3 should be good enough, but if you want to run games with full speed with it, you might be disappointed, the PS2/GC emulators are not optimized well enough to run some of the games efficiently, no matters what hardwares you might have. Anyway, the 3.06ghz i3 is a decent choice for ps2/gc emulation, just don't expect to run all the games at full speed.

 

ok
so intel i3 is not enough
how about i5 ( instead of dual core i3 ) ?
is it good ?
or should I buy i7 ?

 

The PS2/GC emulators are programmed to only utilize 2 cores at the moment, so having 2 extra cores won't help much in this case. If you really want to have smooth gameplay in as many PS2/GC games as possible with the emulators, just shoot for the highest clocked dual cores you can get, both the PCSX2 and dolphin LOVES high end dual cores.

 

ok thanks

 

I thought i3 was a single core cpu (with maybe hyperthreading or something it's dual core?) Eh, I suck at computer terms and technology

 

i3 = 2 core cpu, 4 threads (2x2), each thread uses hyperthreading, 4, so that would be 16 (4x4).
i5 = same as above but with turbo boost function which is an overclock method like Xtreme cpus unlocked multiplier, or an evolved IDA mode if you like.
i7 = all the above but bigger cache and higher clockrates specially with TB mode.

Back on topic, Dolphin and PCSX2 needs at least 3,40 ghz cpu (dual core mainly as quad cores arent supported) to run most of the library at fullspeed, and it needs a GPU with at least 256bit bandwidth for optimal performance.

I was able to play FF12 on my cousing 2350-el DV3 (core i3 330m,hd4550) with speedhacks at maxm getting from 20 to 30 fps. Anything else was unplayable....lets not talk about dolphin, the performance was horrid.

Things got much better (near to my desktop performance tbh) with my Eurocom in Sig, due to the x9100 clocked at 3,6ghz.
Things are getting much much better with my XPS m1730 now that i got an x9000 clocked at 3,8ghz daily. As an example, Tatsunoko Vs Capcom, 720p, 4xMsaa runs at 70-85fps with no Frame limit.

For comparison sake, my desktop runs a GTX260 superclocked core 216 and an e8500 @ 4,25ghz (air) and nearly all the games runs @ 60fps with vsync on both emus.

But there are some games that just wont run good, and thats an emulator issue, like Punch-Out on Wii.

 

Is there a reason you're buying an iMac to put Windows on it? If you're not going to run OSX, there's no reason to buy a Mac. The price/performance ratio is horrible compared to most any PC.

 

thanks guys
and yeah I will use mac osx
I think I'm going to take i7 >.<

 

Well both pcsx2 and dolphin have been ported to macosx anyway..they dont have the same performance of windows thought, but those are very playable.

 

w8 guys
srry for disturbing u again >.<
but can i5 handle this ?

 

That depends on the clock speed of the i5, a higher clocked i5 would be even better than a lower clocked i7 for pcsx2 and dolphin, remember they can only use up to 2 cores, the two extra cores of quad i7s won't help you much in this case, although turbo boost makes the other 2 working cores a bit faster.

 

to be clear, the i5-750 is not a dual core, but a quad core with no HT functionality. the i7 is a quad core with HT. so the i7 can utilize 8 threads.

the i5-6xx is a dual core series, but i'd opt for 4 physical cores over 2 if you're going for the i5.

 

oh ok , I got it now
thanks =)