Android GPU driver update

[cruise871]

Hello everyone

The most frustrating part of running Dolphin on Android is poor drivers thanks to slow or poor OS updates.

There is a way to update your drivers if you have root with a custom recovery.

I want you all to know that I have tried this with all 3 of my Android devices with great success.

Most android devices with Nougat have Vulkan but it's an older version that doesn't work well with Dolphin.

To update all you need to do is download and flash the files using recovery.

Keep in mind only Adreno 5xx devices will be able to flash the latest version.

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B5ePoKNP9UFtQ21RZXM4ZGUtdk0

Don't forget to restart your device after installing and booting up for the first time.

[cruise871]

Link to the XDA orginal and the project leaders page
https://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/mod-adreno-vulkan-drivers-snapdragon-t3555141
List of included drivers
5xx drivers updated with OpenGL ES 3.2.
-Adreno 530 GPMU (Graphics Power Management Unit) FW updated, should help lower the power usage.
-Latest Vulkan API drivers backported. API Level 1.0.31.
-OpenCL drivers updated.
-Best supports for Adreno 530, surpassed all other S820/821 devices in Vulkan test.
-Added supports for VR High Performance (DayDream VR) 
This is all truly amazing work to have updated flashable drivers for all devices and most phones even brand new devices like the Galaxy S8 and LG G6 don't come with the latest Vulkan drivers even with the latest software updates.

[Guilherme]

Is there any actual performance improvment running Dolphin or PPSSPP? I watched a video of SD devices running PPSSPP using Vulkan, and the performance was very unstable and sometimes lower than OpenGL. Meanwhile on NVIDIA Shield TV the performance gain is up to 100% compared to OpenGL.

[cruise871]

(07-21-2017, 05:46 AM)Guilherme Wrote: Is there any actual performance improvment running Dolphin or PPSSPP? I watched a video of SD devices running PPSSPP using Vulkan, and the performance was very unstable and sometimes lower than OpenGL. Meanwhile on NVIDIA Shield TV the performance gain is up to 100% compared to OpenGL.

PPSSPP has disabled Vulkan due to a screen orientation glitch that they are working on so what you were seeing was an early implementation.

Using Dolphin the changes are much.more noticeable 

One major one is in Twighlight Princess where Open GL is less than half speed in areas where Vulkan reaches full speed.

To truly understand how it helps with speed you will want to read it up online. It is very beneficial especially on PC where all devices are running the latest version.

[Guilherme]

(07-21-2017, 06:15 AM)cruise871 Wrote: PPSSPP has disabled Vulkan due to a screen orientation glitch that they are working on so what you were seeing was an early implementation.

Using Dolphin the changes are much.more noticeable 

One major one is in Twighlight Princess where Open GL is less than half speed in areas where Vulkan reaches full speed.

To truly understand how it helps with speed you will want to read it up online. It is very beneficial especially on PC where all devices are running the latest version.

This problem with screen orientation happened too much time ago, it has been fixed and Vulkan enabled again, and works fine if your GPU has good drivers. Check out OpenGL vs Vulkan on Shield TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfNvGUee5ko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O-QbjFhvQQ

[Guilherme]

And here's the video of PPSSPP (not Dolphin) running on Mi6 and Mate 9 (Vulkan test at the end):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk-4JHTjHQ0

[cruise871]

(07-21-2017, 06:27 AM)Guilherme Wrote: And here's the video of PPSSPP (not Dolphin) running on Mi6 and Mate 9 (Vulkan test at the end):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk-4JHTjHQ0

It's still not enabled with the play store version of PPSSPP must be only available with the dev builds.

I'm checking those videos right now

[Guilherme]

Yes, you must download at http://buildbot.orphis.net/ppsspp

Theorically Vulkan should help Android devices a lot, as it reduced the CPU usage, according to my test on PC, by less than the half, compared to OpenGL. I made a video comparing OpenGL and Vulkan on my PC, running two CPU-bound games, God of War Ghost of Sparta and Midnight Club 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKlB-f11ocE

[Whatnoww]

Flashing through normal recovery works?

[cruise871]

(07-23-2017, 06:15 PM)Whatnoww Wrote: Flashing through normal recovery works

I would give it a try , some recoverys will not allow you to install unverified zips