6700k / 970 underpreforming

[Shadow19231]

I put on 8xIR with maxed everything and the load was 99% GPU, with a degress of 75C, and a frame count of like 8 ... That all said, it sounds like my hardware CAN reach its max potential, as to why it's not? I am out of my element here with emulation!

[mimimi]

Sounds like you are cpu limited. I mentioned that some graphcis settings increase the load on the gpu thread and not just the gpu.

Dolphin has 2 main cpu threads: the cpu and gpu thread. The cpu thread is for emulating the gamecube/wii cpu, and the gpu thread is translating the gamecube/wii graphics to the pc's graphics format as well as working on some of it directly. Since you can't split a thread to be run on different cpu cores, a quad core runs a program with 2 threads as fast as a dual core cpu, and 2 of the cores are just useless in that scenario. Now if one of those threads is maxed out, Dolphin will lag, even if the other thread and the gpu are basically sleeping.

[Shadow19231]

(01-17-2016, 09:05 AM)mimimi Wrote: Sounds like you are cpu limited. I mentioned that some graphcis settings increase the load on the gpu thread and not just the gpu.

Dolphin has 2 main cpu threads: the cpu and gpu thread. The cpu thread is for emulating the gamecube/wii cpu, and the gpu thread is translating the gamecube/wii graphics to the pc's graphics format as well as working on some of it directly. Since you can't split a thread to be run on different cpu cores, a quad core runs a program with 2 threads as fast as a dual core cpu, and 2 of the cores are just useless in that scenario. Now if one of those threads is maxed out, Dolphin will lag, even if the other thread and the gpu are basically sleeping.

If other people can run more demanding settings with lesser hardware, is the quesiton whether or not my cpu is configured correctly? How would i troubleshoot that, and how could i work on fixing it?

EDIT: Here's some food for thought: With the unofficial DX12 + possibly shady speed hacks, I'm running 7x IR with max settings @ 60 frames consistantly. How can i get a compromise between accurate emulation and visually pleasing at little cost to code/minor bugs?

[Skywolf]

What are your settings? You might be using the wrong CPU Emulator Engine (should be JIT Recompiler). Also try using OpenGL if you havent do so already.

[leolam]

Actually, could you perhaps show all of your settings? That'd help in seeing if this is a config issue or something wrong with your system or PC.

[Shadow19231]

I'll take some screenshots tomorrow morning of my settings. Thank you for your responses

I recently bought a gamecube adapter and i'm having so much fun with the controllers that i am making due with what i currently have. I think it's a fantastic purchase! Official controllers apparently run a cheap $20 usd, too. I prefer the wavebird, though :3

[Shadow19231]

I am using a clean install of the revision that i had downlaoded. 4.0-8711

This clean install seems to be working. I must have modified a setting i truly didn't understand. Here's my current config in working condition:

General: http://postimg.org/image/mqtuvwre5/full
Enhancements: http://postimg.org/image/4gi26xx7r/
Hacks: http://postimg.org/image/6jsfqzs6x/full/

My wavebird seems to be giving me trouble, but no worries. This thread was about incorrect graphics settings on my own fault. Thank you to everyone who has replied!

[YellowDart]

So I know you've said your performance has improved, but there's a few things in those settings that you should correct:

1) Do not use an Internal Resolution setting that is significantly higher than your Fullscreen Resolution. Choose the option, in your case, ; anything more is wasted GPU heat that will have no impact on the image. (Discussion here)

2) If you ever do upgrade to a 4K monitor, feel free to turn up the IR setting to 6x; however, don't waste your time with 8x MSAA at 4K. 2x is more than enough at that resolution. Unlike in the previous point, where there is absolutely no difference whatsoever, higher AA values may actually produce a difference, but I assure you it will not be one you will notice. If you don't believe me, find a place in-game where the camera is mostly static (I used first-person-view in Metroid Prime) and use the hotkeys to increase/decrease the MSAA level and compare.

3) Not a performance tweak, but you should either leave the "Aspect Ratio" setting at "auto", or enable the widescreen hack. Using a forced 16:9 aspect ratio will stretch most Gamecube games; the widescreen hack will make it so that instead of stretching, extra geometry will be rendered where the black bars would have been.

[Shadow19231]

(01-21-2016, 04:36 AM)YellowDart Wrote: So I know you've said your performance has improved, but there's a few things in those settings that you should correct:

1) Do not use an Internal Resolution setting that is significantly higher than your Fullscreen Resolution. Choose the option, in your case, ; anything more is wasted GPU heat that will have no impact on the image. (Discussion here)

2) If you ever do upgrade to a 4K monitor, feel free to turn up the IR setting to 6x; however, don't waste your time with 8x MSAA at 4K. 2x is more than enough at that resolution. Unlike in the previous point, where there is absolutely no difference whatsoever, higher AA values may actually produce a difference, but I assure you it will not be one you will notice. If you don't believe me, find a place in-game where the camera is mostly static (I used first-person-view in Metroid Prime) and use the hotkeys to increase/decrease the MSAA level and compare.

3) Not a performance tweak, but you should either leave the "Aspect Ratio" setting at "auto", or enable the widescreen hack. Using a forced 16:9 aspect ratio will stretch most Gamecube games; the widescreen hack will make it so that instead of stretching, extra geometry will be rendered where the black bars would have been.

I have turned down the settings that you suggested. I agree it's more in my mind using an IR that i can't process. I have a question about the hacked section. Since I have so much free GPU power open, what hacks can I turn from "performance" to "quality"?

[leolam]

"Per Pixel Lighting" can improve the lighting in some games (but has no or almost no effects in others). You may want to uncheck the "skip EFB access from CPU" hack since that can cause issues with some games.

Also, SSAA is better than MSAA, but could be very demanding with a 6x IR. And I don't think the difference will be very visible at 6x IR