About how well will dolphin run on this laptop?

[epickid37]

how well will dolphin run on this laptop? i'm thinking about buying it, but i wan't to know if it'll run dolphin before i do

https://www.costco.com/Lenovo-Flex-5-Series-2-in-1-Touchscreen-Laptop---Intel-Core-i7---2GB-Graphics---4K-Ultra-HD---Active-Stylus.product.100369299.html

Intel® Core™ i7-8550U Processor at 1.8GHz

16GB DDR4 (1-DIMM) RAM

2GB NVIDIA GeForce 940MX Graphics

[DJBarry004]

I guess it really shouldn´t give you any problems. The STP is over 2000 points (source: PassMark) so that is nice. Just make sure you always use High Performance mode and watch out for overheating.

[Nintendo Maniac 64]

While the GPU is enough for Dolphin, it's a last-gen part combined with a current-gen CPU which is an odd combination considering that even a current-gen GPU would actually be somewhat older than that CPU.

To put it into perspective, that GPU is on-par with the integrated graphics on a Ryzen 2500u (at least when paired with dual-channel RAM).

If you're going with an Intel CPU then I really would at least try to get an MX150 as your discrete GPU, otherwise for anything lower-end it could make more sense to instead go with Ryzen (though only with dual-channel RAM).

[mstreurman]

It should indeed work, but the real question is: How well?

I mean, it is an Ultra low power 2 in 1 laptop... meaning, it will probably throttle like hell because it also gets hot like hell at 4.0GHz, because a 1.8GHz base isn't really that high and that GPU will have quite some issues with running 4k/6x IR but 3x should be doable.

[Nintendo Maniac 64]

(04-20-2018, 05:24 PM)mstreurman Wrote: it will probably throttle like hell because it also gets hot like hell at 4.0GHz

Though we're talking about Dolphin on a 4c/8t processor here, and Dolphin isn't exactly going to be maxing out even half of the CPU threads.

Worst comes to worst there's always something like ThrottleStop which will at least eliminate any throttling due to power restrictions, and it may be able to reduce or even eliminate any thermal throttling via its undervolting functionality as well (assuming that said functionality works on an i7-8550U).

[JonnyH]

(04-20-2018, 05:31 PM)Nintendo Maniac 64 Wrote: Though we're talking about Dolphin on a 4c/8t processor here, and Dolphin isn't exactly going to be maxing out even half of the CPU threads.

Worst comes to worst there's always something like ThrottleStop which will at least eliminate any throttling due to power restrictions, and it may be able to reduce or even eliminate any thermal throttling via its undervolting functionality as well (assuming that said functionality works on an i7-8550U).

The problem with relying on stuff like throttlestop (or any overclocking/undervolting program) is that you end up playing the silicon lottery - while you *might* be able to save some power and allow it to sustain it's boost longer with a lower voltage, you might be unlucky and get a chip that needs the full default voltage to be stable. Intel sets those defaults for a reason - so they can still sell the chips that need that.

And I've seen chassis designs that are so thermally limited they still end up throttling with the best, golden chip you can think of - it just delayed the heat soak slightly. A 2-in-1 design may have more limitations on it's thermal solution than a 'normal' clamshell laptop - but it may have a great design with lots of headroom. You don't really know until someone has tried it.

[Nintendo Maniac 64]

(04-21-2018, 03:50 AM)JonnyH Wrote: The problem with relying on stuff like throttlestop (or any overclocking/undervolting program) is that you end up playing the silicon lottery

Throttlestop's primary function is not one of overclocking/undervolting, rather is one that just simply bypasses any power-limiting functions and lets the CPU run at its highest possible stock clock.

This is most apparent on my HP 8440p with discrete NVS 3100m and a 35w i5-520m (2c/4t Westmere 2.4GHz base) would commonly run below 2GHz in emulation tasks even though the CPU and GPU temps were only in the 50s or 60s.  This is because the laptop was excedding some arbitrary power limit even though everything was running cool enough, and bypassing these arbitrary power limits is exactly what Throttlestop was originally designed to do as older versions (such as v6.00) do not include such undervolting functionality.

So anything like undervolting is just gravy which is why I mentioned it as secondary to the removal of power throttling, not to mention I specifically used the word "may" as undervolting may not even function on that CPU seeing as that isn't even Throttlestop's primary focus (heck I didn't even know Throttlestop could undervolt until a couple months ago, and I've been using it for over 2 years now).

[JonnyH]

(04-21-2018, 05:46 AM)Nintendo Maniac 64 Wrote: Throttlestop's primary function is not one of overclocking/undervolting, rather is one that just simply bypasses any power-limiting functions and lets the CPU run at its highest possible stock clock.

This is most apparent on my HP 8440p with discrete NVS 3100m and a 35w i5-520m (2c/4t Westmere 2.4GHz base) would commonly run below 2GHz in emulation tasks even though the CPU and GPU temps were only in the 50s or 60s.  This is because the laptop was excedding some arbitrary power limit even though everything was running cool enough, and bypassing these arbitrary power limits is exactly what Throttlestop was originally designed to do as older versions (such as v6.00) do not include such undervolting functionality.

So anything like undervolting is just gravy which is why I mentioned it as secondary to the removal of power throttling, not to mention I specifically used the word "may" as undervolting may not even function on that CPU seeing as that isn't even Throttlestop's primary focus (heck I didn't even know Throttlestop could undervolt until a couple months ago, and I've been using it for over 2 years now).

You *do* know those throttle limits are there for a reason, right?

[Nintendo Maniac 64]

(04-21-2018, 08:18 AM)JonnyH Wrote: You *do* know those throttle limits are there for a reason, right?

And you realize that many of those power limits are due to battery life or the like and not due to actually running the hardware out of spec, right?

That same HP 8440p came with a 90w power supply (even the model without discrete graphics refuses to boot using a 65w PSU) and yet the laptop running the GPU and CPU at full blast with Throttlestop enabled only pulled ~67w from the wall, and temps always stayed in the 60s.

[admin89]

Apparently, you can unlock full power of 8th gen ulv processor with Intel XTU
You only have to change the power draw from 15W to 45W then bam! 4.0GHz all the time
https://techtablets.com/2017/10/boost-8th-gen-core-i5-i7-preform-like-i7-7700hq-mi-notebook-pro/
Don't forget to undervolt (reduce CPU voltage) to reduce heat