Best dolphin laptop for <$600

[admin89]

Quote:~$600 seems to be the minimum for laptops hardware for running dolphin at 1080p for most games, IME. Assuming you buy a used laptop.

That's what I did
Some games definitely won't run well on Intel HD
Demanding games won't run well on a CPU that is slower than i7 4700MQ (I tried on my fujitsu laptop : i5 4300M @ 3.3GHz + HD 4600)

[OldWornSynchros]

(05-14-2016, 10:22 AM)admin89 Wrote: Some games definitely won't run well on Intel HD
Demanding games won't run well on a CPU that is slower than i7 4700MQ (I tried on my fujitsu laptop : i5 4300M @ 3.3GHz + HD 4600)

Definitely agree, the integrated graphics really can't compare to mid-to-higher-end dedicated GPU's.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, most "gaming" laptops will come with hardware such that the GPU is the bottleneck before the CPU (when running Dolphin, that is).

[admin89]

iGPU itself isn't that bad . I was talking about the drivers that kept my hand away from using it
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-artifacting-in-certain-games
Not only Dolphin , it also happens in PC games , Cemu , PCSX2 ...
I was a fool to think I could get away with a good iGPU . I still regret paying $450 for a laptop like that

[OldWornSynchros]

Huh, I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. (That adds one more reason to why I recommend dedicated GPU's to new Dolphin users)

[BFCE]

The system I got for $400 has been running smoothly. The CPU isn't throttling, and I get away with playing 1080p SMS with custom textures at 16:9 until the battery dies. I think alot of you thought I wanted the best computer possible for dolphin, and that's not what I wanted, I wanted the best *possible* computer for dolphin... at the price i was willing to pay. That doesn't mean it needs to do SBAO and play SMS at 8K 120FPS. It just needs to play the games, and the integrated graphics on that Intel HD chip gets the job done very well. I was more worried about the CPU, but that's been fine as well. As for the drivers, from my testing with my Minecraft mods, they're not as bad as AMD's drivers, but they're still bad (this is referring to the OGL 2.1 implementation so it could be very different for dolphin's OGL 4.5 implementation) AMD's drivers try to do alot of things and end up doing them wrong, where as Intel's drivers just don't even try to do certain things. I feel that this is actually to squeeze every ounce of performance out of things more than it is the developers being bad.

[Helios]

Have fun playing at 1.5x IR, I guess?

[mbc07]

(05-16-2016, 12:21 PM)BFCE Wrote: [...]
I think alot of you thought I wanted the best computer possible for dolphin, and that's not what I wanted, I wanted the best *possible* computer for dolphin... at the price i was willing to pay. That doesn't mean it needs to do SBAO and play SMS at 8K 120FPS. It just needs to play the games, and the integrated graphics on that Intel HD chip gets the job done very well.

Okay, try to run any of the Rogue Squadron games, F-Zero GX, Super Mario Galaxy, The Last Story, or go to Hyrule Field near the end of the game in Zelda TP (just to name a few) and you'll see what you've got. You'll be lucky to get 50% speed at 1x IR and no enhancements at all...

[Helios]

1x IR should be okay for F-Zero, maybe. If that haswell can maintain it's turbo boost, should be fine.

That's a huge *if* though, I don't think many laptops can maintain their full turbo boost speed for prolonged periods under load.

The rest of the games, haha yeah. They're going to have an awful time.

[esan]

I have had an ACER for a few years with no issues.

[esan]

Look at http://pc4u.org/best-gaming-laptop-under-600-dollars/