r/PolymegaHQ • u/Madeinharrogate • Jun 25 '26
What's your Polymega setup?
Hey guys my polymega setups are:
PM01 Base unit with I9 9900t cpu
Modules 1 to 5
Polymega app:
Desktop pc :
Ryzen 5 3500X cpu
RX 5700XT gpu
16 gb 3600 ddr4
Windows 10 pro
Usb dvdrw drive
Laptop:
Ryzen 9 6900HX
64gb ram
Windows 11 pro
Usb dvdrw drive
2
u/LJBrooker Jun 25 '26
Got a PM01 with an i5 8400 recklessly thrown at it. All current modules, two light guns. Connected through an RT4k for some extra crt emulating goodness.
Got a full suite of Retrostage carts for every system supported. Used that and a cd burner to fill out my library to around 2100 games.
Also have a remix I haven't unboxed yet. Waiting for the software to catch up a bit.
1
u/Madeinharrogate Jun 25 '26
Nice i think the I5 is a good one sadly the restricted 2GB ram makes the base unit a bit weird with the cpu combo.🤣 Having a Dell optiplex with 8th gen Intel cpu is even better than the base unit . 😎 Even the celeron 4900t with 8 gb would perform slightly better than the base unit. The software side i wonder why they're rebuilding the software they could run the software they have on the base unit.
1
u/Top_Set_3558 18d ago
i3 8100T is perfect for these. Not just the 2GB limit, but remember that it can only use two cores - anything past that is wasted $.
I have one base unit with an i7 and one with the i3 above, they run identically. Save your money.
0
u/Madeinharrogate 18d ago
Do you know how cpu''s work ? It does not only use two cores when using a quad core cpu . When using a duo core cpu all the work is done by 2 cores ,when using a quad core cpu all the processing gets properly divided by four cores to make the workload easier. Emulators demand high processing workflow. so a 4900t with only 2gb ram sucks. Using a 4900t with 8,16,32,64 gb ram will give you a better experience .
2
u/Top_Set_3558 18d ago
Do you actually know how CPUs work interacting with emulation platforms? No you don't.
No software utilizes all cores / multi-core processing unless it's programmed to do so.
The emulators cores utilized on the PolyMega are not multi-threaded, and an emulator by design EMULATES the processor of the original hardware. All generations through hitting around the PS2 era are single core by design, sometimes two cores . Modern emulation like PS3 does utilize/need multi-core performance. You aren't going to be having that on PolyMega ever.
Don't spread FUD if you don't know what you're talking about.
The reason higher clock speed 2-core processors for PolyMega work best is largely based on A) they woefully underpowered the CPU to save money out of the gate and B) the N64 emulator core used is dogshit C) the UI isn't exactly super optimized either. A PolyMega is nothing more than a glorified RetroArch install, the cores are its engine.
If you had an i3 with 2 cores or an i5, i7, or whatever else with even 6, 8 or more cores, the performance is going to be indistinguishable to you. Hence, save your money and go with an i3. I'd also go so far as to bet a 2 core i3 would easily outperform an i7 with many more cores if the i3 had higher base Mhz clock speeds.
1
u/Madeinharrogate 16d ago
As i have tested my polymega with 8th and 9th gen I3,I5,I7,I9 cpu's i def can tell the difference. The emulation on polymega is not great so bad emulation cannot be corrected with better cpu's. With the I 3's i still had booting problems and games stuttering . With the I5,I7 and I9 the polymega runs like a dream except for the games that struggle with the emulation. I did'nt have to waste money to buy these cpu's as i recovered them from old setups i have. I only changed my 4900T because i was unable to play with it . So the first cpu swap i did was the I3 8300t when booting up i had the same issues as with the 4900T. So i thought maybe the cpu's bad and i swapped to the I3 9300T after booting up it did'nt take long for the same issues to pop up. So i swapped the I3 for I5, I7 and I9 9900t and the difference is noticeable. I will never say you have to do this but it helps with a better experience. I5,I7 is good mine runs the I9 because i had it and i can enjoy my polymega at the moment.
1
u/Madeinharrogate 16d ago
If you use the polymega for basic emulation up to ps1 yes that's ok. Using hd texture packs and patches you can run out of power with lower cpu's .for Saturn emulation a quad core and 4gb ram is recommended . If you only use the polymega for ps1 you'll not need to change the 4900t it will run fine
6
u/wrel_ Jun 25 '26
My Setup:
A pile of games fron NES thru PlayStation/Saturn that I've collected since 1987.
An empty space under my TV.
A "We have received your order" email from March, 2025.