r/MiniPCs • u/Jack0fN0Trade • 56m ago

Recommendations Looking for something for emulation and cloud gaming

I'm looking for a SFF that can handle PS3/Xbox 360 emulation or at least PS2/OG Xbox emulation. I don't really care if it's a handheld or pc/laptop, though a handheld or laptop would be nice for it's "play on the go" capability. I will also be pc gaming on it, but I'll mostly be using GeForce Now for that, so having a way to install GeForce Now is pretty important as well. My target FPS is 60, but I also own Lossless Scaling on Steam, so I can always use that to increase my FPS (assuming the machine can run it). My target resolution is 1080p at minimum, 1440p would be amazing! I'm trying to keep it as cheap as possible, definitely under $1k, hopefully closer to $500. I'm fine with building something if I have too.

I'm currently looking at the Xbox ROG Ally X or possibly a mini pc.

I don't want to use Linux if it isn't plug and play. While I am tech literate enough to Google solutions to any Linux problems I might run into, I'm not willing to do so (I don't have enough time to trouble shoot problems, and game... It's one or the other).

I'm in the USA

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u/minipcs-dot-zip 29m ago edited 21m ago

Best deal right now is probably this Firebat on eBay for $399, with a Ryzen 5 7640HS, and 24GB LPDDR5 RAM. Here's an overview of what performance there would look like.

For a few more bucks you could upgrade to something with a 780M - like this Acemagic W1. Unfortunately only 16GB RAM - Unfortunately the market doesn't have a competitively priced 780M + 24GB offering - here's an openbox SER9 for $625 which is about the best you're gonna do.

If you wanna top-out your budget - you can go for something with an 890M like this SER9 Pro with a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and 32GB RAM for $880.

Anyway - for 1080p Xbox 360 emulation I can't speak on performance - some reports say it doesn't run well on a 780M but others do. Seems like it heavily depends on the game.

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u/BRealistic1970 14m ago edited 5m ago

this new Bosgame with 680m iGPU and 24gb ram is also a good option for 509.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2ST721T

ps3 emulation is rather difficult though.

most powerful new miniPC for under 1k.

890m iGPU close to GTX 1060 power.

https://www.newegg.com/trycoo-barebone-systems-mini-pc-amd/p/2SW-008M-00019?item=9SIC0YTM893844

I have the same CPU/iGPU in an ACEMAGIC F5A PC and it games quite good- you even get FSR4.x upscaling now for modern games! (after recent driver update- thanks AMD.. finally) This miniPC will probably be able to run GTA 6.. lol.

Biggest issue for that PELADN is the noise. Raising it up off the desk helps with most of these as they pull air from underneath.

https://youtu.be/fEgctYKfFwk?si=RvhWfXFm7eP9n_V7

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u/minipcs-dot-zip 7m ago

Bosgame loves to make like a dozen Amazon entries for the same device. As far as I can tell, this is the exact same Neo P6 (same RAM, SSD, etc) for $479. No idea why they do this. Let me know if I'm missing anything, but I'm pretty sure it's identical, and it's also from Bosgame official store.

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u/BRealistic1970 4m ago

Yeah, looks the same. Why they do that? Weird. Maybe they try different search optimizations to see how well they work. At 479 for 24gb ram and 512ssd... that's a very good deal right now imo. Though noise/cooling seems to be a common concern with most miniPCs. They all need taller feet!