SNES Emulation

Manufacturer: Nintendo / Release Date: 1990

Good SNES emulators have been around since 1998 or so, and thus playing these games is one of the easier and breezier experiences in console emulation. However, while you can pretty much run SNES games well on a potato at this point, after 20 years there is still not just one SNES emulator that meets every need perfectly.

SNES Emulation Guide for PC

Recommended Emulators: SNES9x,  ZSNES,  Higan  

My personal setup for over a decade now has been SNES9X and ZSNES. They're both old emulators that haven't been officially supported for some years, but I keep using them because a) they keep working well in each new iteration of Windows (up to 10) and b) every game I throw at them runs well on one or the other. 

I usually go to SNES9X as my first option, simply because I like the interface better. Unfortunately, it freezes/crashes with some games and doesn't play the music right with others (seems to have trouble with fan translations in my anecdotal experience). But when a game doesn't run right in SNES9X, it does in ZSNES. I haven't found one yet I've been unable to run in one or the other and the emulation experience is very good in either. These should both run right out of the box and be very straightforward to use - I don't think either even needs an SNES bios image. 

If you want the most modern emulator with the highest accuracy, then you want Higan. The downside of Higan is that it has higher system requirements. Still no problem for a modern computer, but an older laptop or even a newer netbook might not do so well. 

Another modern open-source (and currently updated) emulator you might check out is LakeSNES , I haven't tried it personally but it's supposed to be very fast and have very good compatibility.

Minimum System Requirements: Basic Emulation

Peripherals:

SNES USB Gamepad: Updated replica of the original SNES controller for use with a USB connection

SNES Classic console

Links:

Guide to creating your own SNES reproduction cartridges   

Deep technical dive into the XBAND modem

• Trouble with SNES9X always crashing after 10 minutes or so?  It's probably your sound driver. In the emulator menu, switch the default "XAudio2" output (which has problems with a bunch of them) to the "SNES9X Direct" one