4.0 runs better than 5.xxx????

[buzzkillbob]

Hello all! My first post here and a quick thank you to anyone who reads this. I have a bit of a STRANGE issue for the veterans here. I have looked the internet over for a resolution to my problem and nothing that matches my criteria has been found.

OK... here goes.

My specs are listed in my profile. Upon first look,they may seem pretty weak compared to todays standards,and I agree with you(to a point,that is). I have been using dolphin for quite a while now off and on for a couple years. Ive always used 4.0 and nothing else on the same hardware listed.

Metroid Prime is one of my favorite games of all time. I recently re-downloaded dolphin 4.0 and started it up with said game. It ran fantastic. FPS max=60 FPS MIN=54 Direct3d11(or D3D9)  1920x1080 fullscreen res, 1.5x native, no AA, AF=x1,everything else left default.

THE PROBLEM--- After about a couple hours of playing,i noticed a major drop in my fps. MIN=25-30. I thought my laptop was getting hot. NOPE. a cool 59c. So i looked at running processes. Nothing out of the ordinary. So i played with every setting i could click a button on and every combo i could create within. Nothing was helping. Then i thought "How about my gpu drivers?" Those got updated with no boost in performance. Thats when the internet surfing commenced. Page after page of issues that were similar,but nothing that matched ME. Eventually,i found dolphin 5.0 and the dev bulids. Tried a few of those including 5.0 base and the latest dev build as of this posting date. Tried Vulkan and ubershaders and all that with worse outcome than before. So after that was all said and done,i re installed 4.0 (all installations of all versions were clean with only mem card file saved and transferred). And what would you know? 60 FPS!!!!!! with exact settings as before.... for about 2 hours. then it slowed down again and we are back to square uno my friends. My question after writing half a book to you y'all is... WTF? What would be causing my emulator to slow down after about 2 hours or so of gameplay after a fresh install of an OLDER software build?

Ask me any questions you have if i left out any info and if y'all need screenshots of anything,i will be more than happy to provide them.
Again,thank you to all who read this and many thanks to the ones who know enough to attempt to help me solve an unusual problem.

[mstreurman]

(01-23-2018, 04:50 PM)buzzkillbob Wrote: Hello all! My first post here and a quick thank you to anyone who reads this. I have a bit of a STRANGE issue for the veterans here. I have looked the internet over for a resolution to my problem and nothing that matches my criteria has been found.

OK... here goes.

My specs are listed in my profile. Upon first look,they may seem pretty weak compared to todays standards,and I agree with you(to a point,that is). I have been using dolphin for quite a while now off and on for a couple years. Ive always used 4.0 and nothing else on the same hardware listed.

Metroid Prime is one of my favorite games of all time. I recently re-downloaded dolphin 4.0 and started it up with said game. It ran fantastic. FPS max=60 FPS MIN=54 Direct3d11(or D3D9)  1920x1080 fullscreen res, 1.5x native, no AA, AF=x1,everything else left default.

THE PROBLEM--- After about a couple hours of playing,i noticed a major drop in my fps. MIN=25-30. I thought my laptop was getting hot. NOPE. a cool 59c. So i looked at running processes. Nothing out of the ordinary. So i played with every setting i could click a button on and every combo i could create within. Nothing was helping. Then i thought "How about my gpu drivers?" Those got updated with no boost in performance. Thats when the internet surfing commenced. Page after page of issues that were similar,but nothing that matched ME. Eventually,i found dolphin 5.0 and the dev bulids. Tried a few of those including 5.0 base and the latest dev build as of this posting date. Tried Vulkan and ubershaders and all that with worse outcome than before. So after that was all said and done,i re installed 4.0 (all installations of all versions were clean with only mem card file saved and transferred). And what would you know? 60 FPS!!!!!! with exact settings as before.... for about 2 hours. then it slowed down again and we are back to square uno my friends. My question after writing half a book to you y'all is... WTF? What would be causing my emulator to slow down after about 2 hours or so of gameplay after a fresh install of an OLDER software build?

Ask me any questions you have if i left out any info and if y'all need screenshots of anything,i will be more than happy to provide them.
Again,thank you to all who read this and many thanks to the ones who know enough to attempt to help me solve an unusual problem.

1. Metroid prime makes hard use of EFB/XFB (always forget which one) which tanks FPS.
2. 4.0 is probably not emulating all effects so that might be the reason why it can keep 60FPS
3. Slowdown after X-hours, is that every single time you play it? If so, it probably IS a temp problem (if it's not your CPU then it's your GPU, keep in mind that if you Quit emulation or alt tab out of it, the machine will immediatly start cooling down so make sure to use a logger)
4. Always use the latest dev-build if you want support and on top of that make sure you download and install all the latest drivers for your hardware and have all updates for Windows installed as well
5. Do the slowdowns also happen if you keep 1x IR (or native res) and keep al settings at default? Those settings should always be the fastest. You did delete the c:\users\%username%\Documents\Dolphin Emulator folder as well?
6. Go into the nVidia control panel, set up a profile for Dolphin and make sure to keep everything at default except for the power option > set that to prefer maximum performance, also make sure to set it up so that it uses the 650m and not your iGPU
7. Go into the Windows Power options and make sure it is set to High performance
8. Always play with AC connected.

[JosJuice]

(01-23-2018, 05:32 PM)mstreurman Wrote: 1. Metroid prime makes hard use of EFB/XFB (always forget which one) which tanks FPS.

Metroid Prime (the GameCube release of the first game) actually requires EFB copies to RAM in 4.0 but not 5.0, and doesn't require proper XFB emulation.

[mstreurman]

(01-23-2018, 05:37 PM)JosJuice Wrote: Metroid Prime (the GameCube release of the first game) actually requires EFB copies to RAM in 4.0 but not 5.0, and doesn't require proper XFB emulation.

Oh, so the visor issues that people experience is only in the Wii version? (Don't know don't have the GC version) or is this a different issue altogether?

[buzzkillbob]

(01-23-2018, 05:32 PM)mstreurman Wrote: 1. Metroid prime makes hard use of EFB/XFB (always forget which one) which tanks FPS.
2. 4.0 is probably not emulating all effects so that might be the reason why it can keep 60FPS
3. Slowdown after X-hours, is that every single time you play it? If so, it probably IS a temp problem (if it's not your CPU then it's your GPU, keep in mind that if you Quit emulation or alt tab out of it, the machine will immediatly start cooling down so make sure to use a logger)
4. Always use the latest dev-build if you want support and on top of that make sure you download and install all the latest drivers for your hardware and have all updates for Windows installed as well
5. Do the slowdowns also happen if you keep 1x IR (or native res) and keep al settings at default? Those settings should always be the fastest. You did delete the c:\users\%username%\Documents\Dolphin Emulator folder as well?
6. Go into the nVidia control panel, set up a profile for Dolphin and make sure to keep everything at default except for the power option > set that to prefer maximum performance, also make sure to set it up so that it uses the 650m and not your iGPU
7. Go into the Windows Power options and make sure it is set to High performance
8. Always play with AC connected.

1. I didn't know that. 
2. I assumed that was why
3. I don't believe it is. I watch temps and resource usage any time I have odd issues and nothing changes between running good and not running good. 
4. If I use the latest dev build,the game is unplayable. I keep all drivers updated as I check those before doing anything else on my machine. 
5. Yes. No matter the settings after slowdown,nothing resolves it other than a CLEAN install. And yes,I do delete the "my documents" folder for dolphin.
6. That was one of the first things I do for every game I play to ensure the best performance.
7. It's always set to "power hungry"
8. My laptop runs like trash if it isn't plugged up. 

To add to things,I played a couple more hours last night to recreate the issue once more and sure enough,after a couple hours,it became unplayable. So I saved mem card, wiped dolphin out,reinstalled 4.0,and boom... 60fps anywhere I went. I'm about to go to work so I'll check this thread about 10:30 cst tonight. Thank you all for your support. I really hope this can get solved. Teamwork,right? Lmao. 

[AnyOldName3]

If you use Dolphin for a while but not quite long enough for the slowdown to appear and then restart it, does the slowdown come back as if you'd been running Dolphin uninterrupted or as if you started it from scratch?

[buzzkillbob]

(01-24-2018, 07:32 AM)AnyOldName3 Wrote: If you use Dolphin for a while but not quite long enough for the slowdown to appear and then restart it, does the slowdown come back as if you'd been running Dolphin uninterrupted or as if you started it from scratch?

About to test that thought now. Just got home from work... Will report back in a couple hours. Got about an hour of playtime in last night.

[buzzkillbob]

(01-24-2018, 07:32 AM)AnyOldName3 Wrote: If you use Dolphin for a while but not quite long enough for the slowdown to appear and then restart it, does the slowdown come back as if you'd been running Dolphin uninterrupted or as if you started it from scratch?

It turns out that it does NOT matter if i just restart the game. It seems like some kind of file is building as im playing that is getting too large for some component of either my machine or the software to handle. As per the quick fix for before,a reinstall of dolphin fixed it right up... I just dont understand

[mstreurman]

(01-24-2018, 07:49 PM)buzzkillbob Wrote: It turns out that it does NOT matter if i just restart the game. It seems like some kind of file is building as im playing that is getting too large for some component of either my machine or the software to handle. As per the quick fix for before,a reinstall of dolphin fixed it right up... I just dont understand

Have you tried making sure all applications you are not using (e.g. everything but Dolphin) are closed?
Did you check if maybe a Virus Scan, Defrag or other intensive application starts after 2 hours?
Did you turn off Virtual Memory/Pagefile or set it to anything different than "let windows decide"?
Do you have at least 20GB of free space on your C:\-drive and do you have enough free space (2-4GB) on the drive where your Dolphin Emulator settings folder is located (if you do not use a portable.txt it is on your c-drive so it comes on top of the 20GB free space)?

Why C:\-drive 20GB? 8GB Windows Hibernate file + 8GB Windows Pagefile + nVidia Shadercache folder + Dolphin Emulator folder (where also the dolphin shadercache is).

[Off-topic]
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The Hibernate file is always as big as your RAM, if you do not use hibernate (which is turning your DESKTOP Computer completely off, unplug it and then you can move it to a different place, plug it in again and be exactly where you left off, so it is different from stand-by at which you can not unplug your DESKTOP ) you can turn it off by opening a command prompt as an administrator and then typing powercfg.exe /hibernate off which saves diskspace on C:\ by the amount of the amount of ram installed into your PC. (Some say 75%, but mine was 16GB so yeah.)

How to use hibernate?
I'm adding this because nobody actually ever knows about this, also changing those settings mentioned does not remove the hibernate file from your drive, that only works with the command prompt thing, and even though Microsoft says it is not available on all PC's the file will always be there (hiberfil.sys, which is a hidden file on your c:-root) 

support.microsoft.com Wrote:Hibernate

This option was designed for laptops and might not be available for all PCs. (For example, PCs with InstantGo don't have the hibernate option.) Hibernate uses less power than sleep and when you start up the PC again, you’re back to where you left off (though not as fast as sleep).
Use hibernation when you know that you won't use your laptop or tablet for an extended period and won't have an opportunity to charge the battery during that time. First check to see if this option is available on your PC and if it is, turn it on.
To hibernate your PC:

1. Open power options:
   
   • For Windows 10, select Start , then select Settings  > System  > Power & sleep  > Additional power settings.
   • For Windows 8.1 / Windows RT 8.1, swipe in from the edge of the screen, tap Search (or if you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search), enter Power options in the search box, and then tap or click Power options.
   • For Windows 7, click the Start button , click Control Panel, click System and Security, and then click Power Options.
     
2. Select Choose what the power button does, and then select Change settings that are currently unavailable. Under Shutdown settings, select the Hibernate checkbox (if it's available), and then select Save changes.
   
   

[*]Now you’ll be able to hibernate your PC in a few different ways:

• For Windows 10, select Start , and then select Power > Hibernate. You can also press the Windows logo key + X on your keyboard, and then select Shut down or sign out > Hibernate.
• For Windows 8.1 / Windows RT 8.1, move your mouse to the lower left-hand corner of the screen and right-click the Start  button or press Windows logo key + X on your keyboard. Tap or click Shut down or sign out and choose Hibernate. Or, swipe in from the right edge of the screen and then tap Settings. (If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Settings.) Tap or click Power > Hibernate.
• For Windows 7, click the Start button , click the arrow next to the Shut down button, and then click Hibernate.
  

[MayImilae]

(01-24-2018, 07:49 PM)buzzkillbob Wrote: It turns out that it does NOT matter if i just restart the game. It seems like some kind of file is building as im playing that is getting too large for some component of either my machine or the software to handle. ...

What file is it? That's a critical detail toward finding out what's causing it!