u/SlontS

I recently built a home server / NAS that is running proxmox

i5-14500T 32gb ram (4-6gb free for a virtual machine)

I would like to run a retro game emulator on a virtual machine with the HDMI passed through, so it will act as a normal PC connected to a TV.

Which operating system offers the best console like experience? I'm really only looking for up to N64 / maybe more modern nintendo if the onboard GPU can handle it. My biggest concern is having nice menus for selecting the console, and a good layout for selecting games.

I have done some light research, but most of these operating systems don't have real screenshots on their websites.

Also I could use recommendations for controllers. I could go USB, but would prefer 4x rechargeable controllers that use the onboard bluetooth if possible.

Thanks in advance

https://preview.redd.it/20okp2niwmdh1.jpg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22457ab5100d259de01d4733635293c1bfe6da81

My goal is to move my 4 current 6tb SAS drives (ServeRAID M5210 / 2gb cache) over to a dedicated 8 bay NAS / media server. Not necessarily a budget build, but the criteria fell heavily on compact price / performance.

The case will be 3d printed. The final design will probably take another week. This will be sitting in the living room on a book shelf, so it has to be compact. Otherwise I would have just gone with a rosewill mid tower. IMO the SFF NAS cases on the market are overpriced or have too many compromises.

I landed on ITX lga 1700 for 12th-14th gen intel with DDR4 for a few reasons. I have DDR4 already, I don't want a dedicated GPU, and intel UHD Graphics 770 seem adequate for a media server.

I have been picking up used parts for the past month or so, so I can always resell and pivot if anybody has suggestions.

i5 -14500T - $130. Reviewing the full list with prices it appeared on paper to be the best option.

MSI MPG B760i EDGE WIFI DDR4 - $130. PCIE 5.0, 2x M.2, 2.5Gbps LAN, WIFI 6E, 10Gbps USBC

Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200 C14 (2x16GB) - Already have from an older system

Noctua NH-L9x65 Black CPU Cooler - $35

Seasonic SSP-300SUG 300W Gold Flex PSU - $62

LSI 9300-8i - $13. Flashed to IT mode

4x Hitachi 6tb SAS 7200rpm 3.5" Drives - $148. Purchased last year and haven't really used because of the heat in my current setup. +2 more for the final build.

8x Dell Y79JP Equallogic Hard Drive Trays - $50.

2x Chinese 4 bay 3.5" backplanes - $22

And probably another $125 for filament, noctua fans, cables, and connectors for custom PSU cables.

Other misc. parts:

m.2 to PCIE adapter (possibly for 10G network card)

ASUS Prime B760M-A D4 MATX - Purchased before the ITX board. It was very cheap.

i7-12700 - Was installed in a motherboard from ebay (free)

Intel 240GB SATA SSD

Crucial 1tb SATA SSD

Samsung 1tb 970 evo NVME SSD

Let me know if you have any feedback. As stated earlier I can always resell and pivot if there are better options.