# Thinking of getting a Surface Pro 3/4 for emulator gaming...



## pfizer (Oct 16, 2015)

Hi guys! I have a couple of questions regarding gaming on the Surface Pro 3 and 4, specifically how well they'd function as emulator machines.

I'm thinking of buying a top-of-the-line SP and I'm planning of using it as sort of a portable all-in-one console. I'm looking to run emulators for PS1, N64, PS2, GameCube and Wii, maybe some emulators for SNES and DS as well. I do own a gaming laptop but they are quite bulky to lug around. 

I'm not looking to play Crysis 3 or Battlefield on the Surface Pro models -- I've got my actual desktop and laptops for that -- but I do hear that running emulators requires quite a bit of horsepower for the games to run smoothly.

Here are my questions:
1) What are the best emulators for the systems I mentioned and where can I find them?
2) How well does the Surface Pro 3 run these emulators in terms of FPS and general playability? What can I do to make them run smoothly?
3) Will the Surface Pro 4, with the new Skylake processor, run emulated games even better (in theory at least)?

Any and all advice would be very much appreciated


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## leftyguitarjoe (Oct 16, 2015)

PS2 and Gamecube emulators are surprisingly difficult to run. You're going to have to get a decently powerful version to make it happen.
My specs are:
i5 4430
8gb ram
ATI R9 280x

Here are the emulators I use
ZSNES - Super nintendo
Project 64 - N64
Dolphin - Gamecube
ePSXe - PS1
PCSx2 - PS2
JNES or FCEUX - NES

For using PJ64, I highly recommend this if you have N64 controllers. I have two of them and can do 4 player splitscreen with no issues
Amazon.com: MAYFLASH N64 Controller Adapter For Pc: Toys & Games


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## Don Vito (Oct 16, 2015)

I'm not familiar with GC or PS2 emulators, but PPSSPP and older systems(PSX, N64, Genesis, ect..) runs perfectly on my old Celeron 4GB sh1ttop. Surface Pro is miles ahead of that thing, so I wouldn't worry.


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## QuantumCybin (Oct 16, 2015)

Just get the newly announced Surface Book, spec it out with a 6th gen i7 with 16 gigs of RAM and a dedicated GPU built into the keyboard. That thing is crazy. It's also over 2 grand lol.


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## pfizer (Oct 16, 2015)

Helpful stuff here guys, thanks, keep em coming.

@leftyguitarjoe: Hey, thanks for the emulator list! Do all the games you have run smoothly with the specs you listed? Is there anything I need to know to set them up and have them run games smoothly?
The controller I have is a wireless Xbox 360 controller. Will that work with the games?

@Don Vito: Yeah, I figured since I've seen even some decently spec'd Android phones run the retro-console emulators with little to no problem. I'm more interested in emulating the more modern consoles, within reason of course. I know I'm not going to be playing Arkham Knight on my Surface with a realistically playable framerate.

@QuantumCybin: Ehhh, if I wanted a laptop that can run games I'd get a Razer or the more reasonably priced Aorus. I agree that the Surface Book looks like a hell of a laptop, but I'm looking specifically for a high-powered _tablet_. The fact that it has most of its battery and processing power in the keyboard kind of defeats the purpose of a tablet, for me at least.


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## asher (Oct 16, 2015)

A Pro 4 is going to be a total monster, relatively speaking.

And, in conjunction with a type cover, can be both a tablet and a full laptop replacement.

And run even some modern stuff.

The chipset's definitely going to be an upgrade from the 3 to 4, as well as associated heat/battery life/etc. Plus the option for 16G ram and oodles of storage space.


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## leftyguitarjoe (Oct 16, 2015)

@leftyguitarjoe: Hey, thanks for the emulator list! Do all the games you have run smoothly with the specs you listed? Is there anything I need to know to set them up and have them run games smoothly?
The controller I have is a wireless Xbox 360 controller. Will that work with the games?

Download gigantic bundles of emulators. They're not too hard to find. Alot of the time there are 2 or 3 or more versions of each game. Some run better than others. Like someone in here said, everything up to ps1 should run pretty easily. I had a hell of a time with Dolphin running too fast because of my processor's clock speed. Weird stuff like that.

360 controller will work. I use one all the time. Most emulators have built-in controller mapping. NES games are pretty easy to play with a keyboard need be.


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## pfizer (Oct 17, 2015)

Thanks again for the great responses guys! 

I'm going to start saving up for a Surface; still not sure if I should get the current Surface 4, even if the specs sound sweet -- I have a feeling that Surface Pro 5 will have a gigantic upgrade, probably USB Type-C or a completely bezel-free screen. Til then, I've got my MSI GE60 and Alienware 17 for all my gaming needs.


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