Console emulators for PC torrent. The best Android emulators on PC

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In this article we will talk about how you can install Android on your computer. Why is this necessary? First of all, this is necessary for programmers mobile games and applications for testing your developments on Android. But, as a rule, such a need arises also for ordinary users who just want to launch and play their favorite games created only for the Android OS, which do not have PC versions.

And so, how to install Android system on Windows? This is actually quite easy to do, but to do this you will need to download a special emulation program onto your computer. Currently, there are many emulators, but we will try to tell you only about the 10 best simulators with which you can run Android games and applications on your PC running Windows OS.

First, let's clarify what an Android emulator is and list the basic requirements for installing it.

Emulator is special program for PC, which serves to simulate the operation of the Android system, without loss functionality and distortion of results.

System requirements:

1. Memory (RAM) - must be at least 2 GB; with a smaller volume, games may slow down.
2. The processor must support virtualization technology.
3. For correct operation, it is recommended to download latest drivers video cards.

If your computer or laptop meets the specified characteristics, then you can safely start choosing emulators. Below is a list popular programs, in descending order.

Android emulators on PC

One of the most popular programs is Android emulators for computer, created in 2011. To work, you just need to install and run the program, then create and log into your account Google. After this, you will be able to download and run almost any game or application from Android.

• Free trial (you can pay $24 for a year or download two applications from the sponsor once a week)
• High speed.
• Russian language.
• Full screen mode.
• Opportunity getting Root Right
• Installing applications and games from Google Play.

• There are no settings for screen resolution and amount of RAM used.
• Large system requirements for running 3D games.

The second most popular emulator on this moment. Andy completely free program, which acts as an Android device version 4.4 on your computer, with a standard interface. Installation and launch is carried out in a few clicks, which will not take you much time.

Advantages:

• Completely free.
• A large number of settings.
• Synchronization with mobile devices.

Flaws:

• Advertising.
• Not all games can handle it, especially 3D ones.

An excellent emulator with wide capabilities, originally created not for games, but for testing applications by developers. Genymotion is easy to install and allows you to emulate almost all versions and models of Android.

Main advantages:

• Quick start.
• Supports multiple devices.
• Works with Windows, Mac, Linux.
• Paid or free versions.

Flaws:

• There is no Russian language.
• Applications created by Adobe Air Mobile are not supported.

A good Chinese emulator with high speed and stability. And also, in comparison with similar programs, it is a more compact and convenient way for emulation.

Externally, NoxPlayer resembles the Genymotion simulator, as they have almost the same sidebar. By default, the program is set to English, but through the settings you can easily change it to Russian.

Main advantages:

• Ruth is right.
• Transfer files from your computer to the emulator (and vice versa) by simply dragging and dropping a file.
• Convenient, customizable controls.

The only disadvantage we can note is the presence of old versions of Android 4.4-5.1, but for many this is enough.

Quite an interesting functional emulator with good speed and performance quality, but has a rather overloaded interface. The simulator is based on Android v. 4.2.2, with 16GB of internal memory and 32GB external memory. Droid4X is suitable for both developers and ordinary users.

Main advantages:

• 99% game compatibility.
• Convenient controls.
• High performance.

Flaws:

• Old version of Android.
• There is no Russian language.

Another fairly fast emulator with powerful performance, running on VirtualBox. An interesting feature of LeapDroid is the “Multi Account” feature, with which you can run more than two accounts at the same time.

Advantages:

• OpenGL support.
• adb compatible.
• Key mapping (to configure control using a mouse with a keyboard).
• Highly compatible with more than 95% of Android models.

Of the minuses, many do not like the lack of any settings for Android itself, but not everyone needs this.

7. MEMU

A free program from Chinese programmers for running Android games on your computer. Memu is visually similar to the BlueStacks emulator, but when tested with the AnTuTu application, it surpasses it in many ways.

Another distinctive feature that is worth mentioning is that in Memu, users can independently set the necessary parameters of the emulated device in the settings, which is sometimes very necessary.

Other benefits:

• GPS simulation.
• Synchronized file access between Windows and Android.
• Install APK with simple drag and drop.
• Run multiple Androids at the same time.

Possible disadvantages:

• Does not start if Avast antivirus is installed on the PC.
• After closing the program, processes remain in memory that need to be disabled manually.

Another powerful and convenient product from Chinese developers that successfully imitates operating system Android on desktop Windows desktop. It is worth noting that Windroy supports downloading applications from both Google Play and APK files.

Peculiarities:

• High speed.
• Flash support.
• Works on all versions of Windows.
• Supports different screen resolutions.

At the moment, the only drawback of the simulator is the lack of Russian language.

A good program that completely imitates the interface and functionality of an Android device version 5.1 Lollipop (lollipop). The main features of YouWave are the SD memory card function for saving the game, support for multiplayer online games, as well as volume buttons.

Main features:

• Windows XP/Vista/7, 32/64 bit.
• High performance.
• Easy to use.
• Supports most Android applications.

A couple of years ago I didn’t even think about downloading an Android emulator for my usual Windows computer. But the popularity of Google’s brainchild cannot but surprise, of course it affected the entire industry information technologies- it turned out just unrealistically a lot various applications and games that work exclusively on Android and can be downloaded from, which I wrote about recently. This is actually why it was decided to write this guide on choosing the best emulator - it won’t work in a nutshell, there’s plenty to choose from.

In fact, there are really many reasons why there is a need to run an Android Emulator on your personal computer or laptop. For example, application developers can test their programs before publishing it in the App Store on various configurations. Fans of a wide variety of games can use their favorite mice and keyboard over the years as controls in games - and this is really necessary (however, I don’t think they will replace gyroscope control). In any case, emulating Android applications in Windows is possible, and my task is to tell you about the best in this niche.

Two years ago I had the imprudence to install a game on my tablet Hay Day, well, I hung there for several days. The habit has done its job - playing on a computer is more familiar and convenient for me, but the online version does not exist in nature and it was decided to install the Bluestacks emulator. At that time, probably the only adequate option for running Android games on a PC under Windows control.

Important Note: For some emulators to work, it is necessary to enable support for Intel VT-x or AMD-v hardware virtualization in the BIOS (or UEFI). Usually they are always active, but if you are experiencing problems with some of the emulators on the list, then check these settings. However, that’s not all, I noticed that when installing the Hyper-V component on the system, many of the above emulators simply refused to start - I never found a solution to this problem, so choose what is more important to you. (There are quite a few alternatives to Hyper-V and they do not conflict - this is not meant to offend Microsoft)

Since we are talking about virtualization in general, we should understand that the Android emulator is a rather power-hungry thing and requires a sufficient amount of RAM. You can view its quantity in the system properties (for beginners there is a detailed note on how to determine computer parameters -), if you have less than 4 gigabytes of RAM, then most likely you will not be able to achieve comfortable work.

Don't forget that for correct operation and maximum performance, it is recommended to install the latest versions of drivers for your graphics adapter. I did not include commercial versions in this review, because I understand that most likely it is needed to satisfy interest, and in general, to see how it happens there.

Nox App Player is perhaps the best emulator

To be honest, I only recently became acquainted with this emulator, but nevertheless it deserves the first line in our review. More recently, I thought that Bluestacks was the best for our tasks, but I was very wrong (although it probably was like that before). Now there is healthy competition in this segment and many truly worthy options. Most likely, if you don’t have any problems with NOX App Player, then your acquaintance with Android virtualization will end there - you simply won’t find anything better. Everything works great even on modern Windows 10 and I didn’t find any problems with installation or settings, everything is intuitive and simple.

After installing and launching the program, and it installs quite quickly - literally a couple of minutes, we will see a familiar Android screen(unfortunately, not the latest version, but only 4.4.2, but this is enough to run a huge number of games and applications). Google is already pre-installed in the system Play Market, so there shouldn’t be any problems with choosing what to play. A small note: be prepared to confirm your Google account, authorization in NOX App Player causes distrust among the “good corporation”.

Unfortunately, the program is not localized into Russian, but Android itself allows you to switch to Russian - you can do this in the same way as on a phone or tablet. But all the program settings will remain in English, but this is not the biggest problem, set it once and forget it.

Now let's move on to the settings (you can open them by clicking on the gear icon at the top of the program). We are interested in the “Advanced” tab - by default the emulator will launch with a resolution of 1280x720, for some this may be too much, or vice versa - too little, just select the one you need and restart the application. You can also configure your emulated device here, for example, Perfomance Setting - these are performance settings; as it turned out, even in the minimum configuration nothing slowed me down, which indicates good optimization.

For the test, I tried to install the game Need For Speed: No Limits - everything works extremely smoothly and there are no problems with the controls. Of course, racing is not the best example, but as far as I know, this game is quite demanding on resources, but everything works just fine.

I would like to write a few words about the action icons that are located to the right of the emulator window, let's go over some of them:

• It is possible to install applications from APK files from a computer, this function useful if you have problems with the Google Play Store.
• You can select your location manually and the emulator will think that it is receiving the real ones GPS coordinates receiver, but we set them ourselves.
• Creating screenshots, I think there is nothing special to explain here - the most ordinary picture with the contents of a window at a certain moment.

What can be summarized after the mini description of the Android emulator Nox App Player? If you need to install Prescope, Instagram or similar programs, then this emulator is ideal for these purposes. There are no questions about the speed of operation, even heavy 3D toys work great, but you must understand that a lot depends on the performance of your computer.

UPD: If Nox App Player does not start for you or refuses to install, then most likely the username contains Russian characters. You can create a new user using only English characters or rename an existing one

You can download NOX App Player completely free of charge on the official website http://en.bignox.com/

Andy is my choice

I can’t say why, but I settled on this emulator - it seemed to me the most thoughtful and convenient. Unfortunately, the interface is similar to the previous one - on English language, but Android itself is in the familiar Russian language. There were no particular problems with installation and startup; everything went like clockwork.

This Android emulator has a pre-installed application store and for the test I tried installing Township and checking how everything works. To be honest, I got stuck and lost for about an hour - everything works smoothly, doesn’t crash or glitch.

There’s nothing special to configure; I think it’s worth highlighting the emulator’s screen resolution settings if suddenly the window turns out to be too large or small. The settings are called up by clicking on the program icon in the taskbar next to the clock, the menu item is called Set Resolution@DPI, and here the desired resolution is selected. Naturally, after applying the parameters, the program must be restarted for the settings to take effect.

If you are worried that this emulator has few settings, then you are mistaken, it has everything you need. You can also configure the allocated amount of RAM (do not forget that it cannot be more than what is physically installed in your computer) and the number of processor cores. On this I think we can finish the description of this wonderful application.

You can download Andy Emulator Android by going to the official website http://www.andyroid.net/

Bluestacks is a former favorite

Bluestacks is probably the most popular and well-known emulator of the Android operating system for a computer running Windows. The big advantage of this program is the presence of the Russian language, but it is not quite an emulator - rather an environment for running games. This is probably why Bluestacks shows excellent performance in gaming applications; if you don’t need anything else, then you can choose this option.

Unfortunately, after the update, it is no longer completely free - you will be forced to install certain applications every day or will be asked to pay a subscription of $2 per month. However, no one is stopping us from deleting unnecessary programs immediately after installation, but as they say, a residue remained...

Test Hay game Day installed and launched without problems and synced perfectly with facebook account. I had no desire to play, but I didn’t have any problems with this emulator before and I don’t think there will be any now.

The main feature of Bluestacks TV is the ability to broadcast games online on Twitch. I think this feature will be especially in demand by streamers and will help make reviews of Android games simpler than ever before.

Complex and demanding games also launch without problems, but it feels slower than the same Andy or Nox App Player, so the choice is yours.

You can download the Bluestacks emulator by going to the official website of the program http://www.bluestacks.com/ru/index.html

Droid4x - Gamers' Choice

I often saw the Droid4X emulator in the comments - so I decided to test it too. As it turned out, it has a lot of problems - this concerns stability; during testing I constantly had problems. However, it has a lot of useful and necessary functions, so let's not discount it.

Of course, I can’t say that my computer is weak. (Core i5 and 24 GB RAM, HD5870 video card), but the configuration is quite old by computer standards, but I didn’t notice any hints of slowdowns in games, everything goes very smoothly. There is a fly in the ointment, I was never able to launch Plants VS Zombie 2 - the game constantly crashed and did not want to start under any circumstances, there were some problems with the keyboard that resolved themselves. The most unpleasant thing is that the emulator simply froze several times literally in half an hour of work, this will probably be very annoying. Maybe I have these problems specifically - it’s quite possible that everything will work stably for you, but, unfortunately, it didn’t work for me.

Of course, he also has a bright side - this concerns management. The fact is that out of the box it is remarkably adapted to the usual keyboard and mouse (scrolling left or right, zoom in or out using the mouse wheel - this is all native and familiar to us for a long time).

Droid4X also allows you to bind computer keyboard buttons to the desired areas of the screen, this can be very useful for games, in my opinion, this emulator was intended for games - there were no problems with the Play Market.

In general, the verdict is a good and productive Android emulator for a computer, but I have problems with it, as you will have - I can’t say, try it.

You can download Droid4X on the official website http://www.droid4x.com/

Genymotion - the best for developers

The Genymotion emulator is very different from all the programs presented on today's list; it allows you to emulate not only Android itself, but a wide range of real-life devices. It works quite quickly and supports hardware graphics acceleration, which is good news. The Russian language is not provided here, so some users may have difficulty mastering it.

The audience for this emulator is not avid gamers, but most likely software developers, and I simply wasn’t able to run many games. To get the program we are looking for, we need to register on the site and we will be able to download the distribution kit for personal use. I recommend using the version with VirtualBox - it's first on the list. There is no need to launch VirtualBox separately - you launch Genymotion and it does everything without your intervention.

So, as I already wrote, here you can choose the Android version and model real device, I don't think that's it required function for the average user, and developers will certainly be happy with this functionality. Click Next and the emulator automatically pulls everything from the Internet, we just have to make fine tuning applications.

In the configuration, we can choose the number of cores and the amount of RAM for the device, and we can also change the resolution - everything is only the most necessary.

Next, we need to select our newly created device in the list and click “Play”; in a couple of minutes, the ready-to-use image of the system we have chosen will launch. The emulator's capabilities are well documented, but again, a language barrier may prevent you from working with the program.

You can download Genymotion as usual, on the official website of the program https://www.genymotion.com/. This emulator has paid version with expanded functionality, but we are not interested in this, we look for the one that is For Personal Use and are happy.

Test results and my thoughts

Currently, there are a lot of Android emulators, for almost every taste and color. I distributed them based on my subjective opinion and it is not necessarily the only correct one - it is possible that for you, the presence of some functions will be decisive and then the favorite of this review will not be Nox App Player or Andy, but perhaps Bluestacks - it is the only one who can stream to Twitch out of the box , and the price of 2 bucks, in general, is rather symbolic and does not hit the pocket of a modern gamer much.

It would seem, why emulate the Android mobile operating system on a computer if you are not a developer? There are plenty of reasons for this, and one of them is the huge ecosystem of applications and games that are created specifically for Android, but are not present on Windows, Linux or OS X. What to do if you want to continue playing Clash of Clans on your computer or upload a high-quality photo to Instagram from PC? Of course, you should resort to the help of emulators. The best of them are presented in this article.

Bluestacks - all in one

One of the most popular and fast-growing Android emulators for Windows and OS X. With update 2.0, the emulator has literally changed - a fresh, but sometimes overloaded interface has appeared, the developers began to position Bluestacks more as an opportunity to play Android games and for this they added several useful functions.

Most programs and games are compatible with Bluestacks - as the developers themselves say, and in general the software library for the emulator is quite extensive. It is worth noting that all games and applications in the Bluestacks internal catalog are specially optimized, that is, they will definitely work on the computer. If you install a third-party APK file, then its correct operation, of course, is not guaranteed. Some programs are completely built into the emulator and work almost out of the box, for example Instagram. All the functions characteristic of an emulator are present: changing the screen orientation, simulating shaking, creating screenshots, GPS emulation, convenient work with files - drag and drop from Windows Explorer or Finder OS X into the program, copy/paste, and audio controls.

Between open applications and you can easily switch between games using tabs, just like in a browser. Among other things, games now support gamepads. If Bluestacks has any shortcomings, then they probably include only low performance and sometimes an overly cumbersome interface. You can download Bluestacks for Windows and OS X on Trashbox or on the official website of the emulator.

Nox App Player - convenient and functional

It is a more minimalistic, convenient and functional solution. Compared to the same Bluestacks, Nox does not have any cumbersome menus with recommendations, various synchronizations with your own account, and other functionality that will be superfluous for most users. When you launch Nox App Player, the user will see the familiar working Android desk with a side panel where there are quick function buttons, as well as the usual “Home”, “Back” and “Recents”. The developers decided to remove the bottom bar with control buttons to save space.

One distinctive feature is immediately noticeable - when running applications that only work in portrait orientation, the emulator screen and window are adjusted. That is, there will be no situations like in Bluestacks, where portrait programs take up ¼ of the screen and the rest is empty space. By the way, in the settings you can adjust the window size and orientation, as well as performance, allocating processor cores and memory.

Geeks in Nox App Player will be pleased with the function of receiving by switching one toggle switch in the settings. You can also set custom keyboard shortcuts here. Even without rooting, Nox App Player can record screen videos. This could not even be mentioned if the emulator used a fresh Android version(video recording is available from 5.0), but, unfortunately, the Nox developers are still stuck on 4.4.2 KitKat.

Nox App Player is not the best for games - many display graphics incorrectly. The emulator is more tailored for applications and working with them. For example, to create videos and beautiful screenshots without upper and lower bars. The emulator is also integrated with the system Windows notifications 10. You can download the Nox App Player emulator for Windows on Trashbox and the official website of the project.

Genymotion - for developers

Genymotion is an emulator created specifically for Android game and application developers, but it can also be used simple people. Unlike the two previous emulators, Genymotion is present on all three popular desktop platforms - Windows, OS X and Linux.

Since Genymotion is an alternative to the emulator built into the Android SDK, the most templates are available in it. different devices from Android - from smartphones and tablets of the Nexus line to some little-known budget devices. The emulator of each device has a set of relevant characteristics: screen size and resolution, processor and video chip, battery, GPS and support cellular networks, as well as some others. When you launch an application or game in the emulator, you can call up a special panel to control all these device parameters. For example, you can find out how the program behaves when GPS or the Internet is turned off. Also, device parameters can be freely edited.

For ordinary users who would like to play and use mobile applications on a computer, Genymotion is not very suitable, but for geeks it is quite suitable. You can download the Genymotion emulator for Windows, Linux and OS X on the official website of the project.

MEMU - for games

It is another emulator focused mainly on mobile games. There is a special keyboard layout for them and even gamepad emulation. For example, you can bind keyboard keys to on-screen buttons. Such features are often missing from Bluestacks, which is also positioned as a mobile gaming platform for PC. Otherwise, MEmu is a standard emulator with a good set of features.

At the time of writing this article, MEmu does not use the most a new version Android - 4.4.2 KitKat, but Lollipop or even Marshmallow are not particularly needed in emulators, because most software is optimized specifically for KitKat. Some interesting additional features of MEmu include: sending applications from your computer to your smartphone or tablet for quick installation, convenient change of screen orientation, as well as full screen mode for games. The picture quality in the latter often leaves much to be desired, but still. Surprisingly, most of the “heavy” games in MEmu are emulated well - there are no problems with graphics.

Since the failed collaboration between Sony and Nintendo, the PlayStation line of consoles has become one of the dominant gaming platforms in the world. PS has a long history and a large library of classic games in its arsenal. Now you can immerse yourself in the past by playing good old projects using emulators for desktop PCs. We present to your attention a selection of the best emulators for PlayStation 1 and 2, as well as the portable PSP.

Please be aware that if you are located in the US or other countries with similar copyright laws, legal issues may arise. Emulators themselves are not illegal, but downloading games and console BIOSes from the Internet may be a copyright violation.

Mednafen – all-in-one emulator

When it comes to multi-platform emulators that support PlayStation emulation, one cannot help but remember Mednafen. It supports many older gaming platforms such as NES (known to us as Dendy), Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance and PlayStation. The emulator supports many platforms, but with some caveats.

In order to emulate a PlayStation, you need to install the console's BIOS files. In addition, interaction with the program is carried out through command line, and to interact using the graphical interface you need to install the MedGUI add-on. After this, the program needs to be configured, which can be difficult, but overall Mednafen is a good emulator, and the support for multiple platforms is an obvious plus.

RetroArch – emulator for different OS

RetroArch is another multi-platform emulator that features open source code and runs on Windows, Linux and Android OS. It has its own convenient GUI and allows users to download a wide range of emulators for various gaming consoles. The PlayStation emulator core is used from the already mentioned Mednafen.

RetroArch supports some additional features such as multiplayer support, custom shaders, resolutions, screen refresh rates, saves and other options. Since the Mednafen kernel is used, PS emulation also requires console BIOS files. However, downloading them should not be difficult, so RetroArch is a good general-purpose emulator.

ePSXe – PlayStation emulator

The ePSXe emulator traces its lineage back to old program PSemu, from which he inherited a system of plugins that allows you to choose the method of emulating the graphics core, sound, and disk drive, depending on the characteristics of your PC. This allows you to achieve best optimization. With a little tweaking, the emulator is compatible with most games.

Like most PlayStation emulators, ePSXe requires the original console's BIOS file, but downloading it is easy. Among the possible difficulties in setting up ePSXe, it is worth mentioning the need to select optimal parameters to ensure support for most games. But despite this, the emulator is one of the best and offers ample opportunities.

BizHawk – PlayStation emulator for speedrunners

Using hardware and software features console allows you to achieve the fastest (as well as tactically or technically optimal) way to complete the game. BizHawk is an emulator capable of simulating all these features, using frame-by-frame expansion, saving, etc. It is the ultimate PlayStation emulator on PC used by speedrunners and combines the Mednafen engine with its own features.

BizHawk has a set of TAS tools for recording and entering data, monitoring RAM, saving the current state, rewinding and other options. The emulator requires installation of the original console's BIOS file, and also requires installation of additional data before installing the program itself.

PSX2 – PlayStation 2 emulator

When it comes to PlayStation 2 emulation, PSX2 is one of the best solutions this issue. Users can choose to directly emulate a classic system, or use various plugins to improve performance. This makes it possible to create different combinations of modules to obtain the best performance, or use graphics extensions such as 4K resolution, anti-aliasing or texture filtering.

The benefits of PSX2 include its compatibility with a large, ever-expanding library of games, as well as a large, active community that can help when things get difficult.

RPCS3 – PlayStation 3 emulator

Sony PlayStation 3 emulation was once considered nearly impossible. But the RPCS3 team has worked hard since 2012 to create a reliable and functional emulator that has proven that running PS3 games on a desktop is not only possible, but also feasible.

RPCS3 is fully compatible with over 440 games (playable from start to finish). Unlike other emulators, it is easier for users of this program to obtain firmware, since they can be downloaded directly from the playstation.com portal. The main difficulty is removing images from specially formatted Blu-Ray discs with PS3 games. But in our realities this is not a problem, everything is on torrents.

PPSSPP – PlayStation Portable emulator

The simply named PPSSPP (PlayStation Portable Simulator Suitable for Playing Portably) emulator does what its full English name suggests: it simulates an environment suitable for running PSP games. It is compatible with multiple hardware architectures and OSes, including Windows, Linux, and Android.

PPSSPP supports texture and resolution scaling options, anisotropic filtering, and saving. It also lets you transfer games from your PSP so you can finish long-abandoned playthroughs of games on the console.

PDroms.de – online repository of old games

Installing old console emulators for classic games is one thing, but you can get more by using these programs in conjunction with PDroms.de. This is a repository of free home use games and programs written for older computers and consoles. They can be launched using the listed (and other) emulators.

All programs available for download are free and have open source or are otherwise available for lawful free exchange. The range of applications ranges from nostalgic pixelated products to a combination of retro style and modern game design. This is a good portal for those who want to get more out of their emulator.