buying a vostro 3400 laptop w/low end gpu, will this run games at full speed?

[skins4thewin]

Hi, I am thinking about purchasing a new Vostro 3400 laptop with the I5 460 processor and a 310M geforce card.

From what ive read the I5 processor should be more than capable at running the Dolphin emulator, however my concern is with the low end 310M card. Unfortunately that is the only gpu I can get with this computer, and I want to be sure that it will be capable of running games at full speed in full screen mode.

Im not concerned with turning up the graphic settings to full blast, I would be more than satisfied with everything set low and at a basic resolution as long as I can get the games running full speed in full screen mode.

Will this be possible with this setup? Here are the detailed specs

I5 460M - 2.53Ghz Turbo Boosted to 2.8 - 4 Thread 3MB L3 Cache
Geforce 310M GPU - 512MB DDR3 Ram - Fully Supports OpenGL and DirectX but is low end from what ive read...
3GB DDR3 System Ram
Windows 7 32 Bit

[hungry man]

You're wrong about the i5. I have an i5 520m, better than yours (slightly) and I'm able to max out most games but not all of them. Any time there's a really large area (zelda in the fields, RE4 in large maps) it'll drop down a good 10FPS if not more.

My laptop also comes with a better graphics card (ati 5650 1GB, which I overclock) and 4gb RAM.


FYI dolphin uses TWO cores, so your turbo boost will actually be 2.55ghz on each core as opposed to 2.8ghz on one core.

If you want to emulate dolphin you absolutely need to upgrade that cpu.

[hansenderek]

my laptops in my sig and it runs most dolphin games fairly well...I have some lowend things....cpu and graphics card...but it runs them realy well...normally 80-100% except in big rooms and such....and certain games like super mario galaxy run about 50-100% depending on where im at but never any lower.

[skins4thewin]

funny... cus ive read and seen several things with ppl running core 2 duo's at the same or less Ghz than my processor and they are able to run games at full speed on low settings....although they all have had better graphics cards than me.

I see what your trying to get at about the cpu, but thats not really what I asked, you kind of answered something I didnt ask you. I need to know about the gpu, noone has answered that question yet. Please, can someone help me?

Im hoping for an answer as soon as possible as I would like to go ahead and get this laptop ordered today. So please, lets stay in the topic of whether the gpu is powerful enough to potentially run games at full speed (on all of the low settings). I will most likely make a topic later about the I5 CPU.

[gaiachaos]

funny... cus ive read and seen several things with ppl running core 2 duo's at the same or less Ghz than my processor and they are able to run games at full speed on low settings....although they all have had better graphics cards than me.

Graphics card hardly matters. Like all other emulators, they rely heavily on CPU power. I think the one you have should be good enough. However, I wouldn't use any CPU-intensive applications on laptops. You'll end up frying the laptop in a few years.

[skins4thewin]

..... I understand the concern about using Dolphin on a laptop, however it has already been proven that Dolphin can be ran on capable laptops just fine, and with settings turned up. Thats not even an issue anymore, and has already been proven wrong.

All it takes is a quick Youtube search to see many, many video's of ppl running games like Zelda - Wind Waker on lesser laptops than mine at full speed, at high resolutions. Most of these laptops did have a higher end GPU than mine however, which probably had a lot to do with the resolutions they were able to play the games at. I think some ppl are giving the system requirements of the Dolphin way too much credit... it really shouldnt take THAT much to get it running smoothly, but you will need the complete package. If there is a bottleneck in your system somewhere, then the Dolphin program will choke. Hence the need for a decent GPU.

Anyone that has been involved with Dolphin for a while knows that the GPU DOES in fact have a big part in how Dolphin runs, as the GPU has to be able to process and display the 3D graphics that the Dolphin program puts out, specially when dealing with higher resolutions and special effects such as AA. It may be secondary to the CPU in terms of importance, but it is a close 2nd.

To make it clearer, even if I had the fastest I7 processor available, if I were using something such as the integrated Intel Chipset for my GPU, Dolphin wouldnt run very well, and would run even less so if I were to crank up the Resolution or use AA or such special effects. The GPU would become the choke point of my system. Same as if I had an I7 processor with only 256MB of RAM, Dolphin wouldnt run well in that instance either. So therefore, the GPU IS an important aspect in how well Dolphin runs, and im kind of looking for responses from ppl who are at least knowledgeable enough to know these things.

I dont know how to make it clearer that I need an answer about the GPU, and nothing else. I dont need responses about the GPU not mattering, when I know for a fact that it does. So, is there anyone at all that can tell me whether or not my entry level Geforce 310M GPU would be able to handle the graphics in Dolphin at full speed on low res full screen settings with no special effects turned on? Please, someone help.

[iluvdolphin]

..... I understand the concern about using Dolphin on a laptop, however it has already been proven that Dolphin can be ran on capable laptops just fine, and with settings turned up. Thats not even an issue anymore, and has already been proven wrong.

All it takes is a quick Youtube search to see many, many video's of ppl running games like Zelda - Wind Waker on lesser laptops than mine at full speed, at high resolutions. Most of these laptops did have a higher end GPU than mine however, which probably had a lot to do with the resolutions they were able to play the games at. I think some ppl are giving the system requirements of the Dolphin way too much credit... it really shouldnt take THAT much to get it running smoothly, but you will need the complete package. If there is a bottleneck in your system somewhere, then the Dolphin program will choke. Hence the need for a decent GPU.

Anyone that has been involved with Dolphin for a while knows that the GPU DOES in fact have a big part in how Dolphin runs, as the GPU has to be able to process and display the 3D graphics that the Dolphin program puts out, specially when dealing with higher resolutions and special effects such as AA. It may be secondary to the CPU in terms of importance, but it is a close 2nd.

To make it clearer, even if I had the fastest I7 processor available, if I were using something such as the integrated Intel Chipset for my GPU, Dolphin wouldnt run very well, and would run even less so if I were to crank up the Resolution or use AA or such special effects. The GPU would become the choke point of my system. Same as if I had an I7 processor with only 256MB of RAM, Dolphin wouldnt run well in that instance either. So therefore, the GPU IS an important aspect in how well Dolphin runs, and im kind of looking for responses from ppl who are at least knowledgeable enough to know these things.

I dont know how to make it clearer that I need an answer about the GPU, and nothing else. I dont need responses about the GPU not mattering, when I know for a fact that it does. So, is there anyone at all that can tell me whether or not my entry level Geforce 310M GPU would be able to handle the graphics in Dolphin at full speed on low res full screen settings with no special effects turned on? Please, someone help.

The GPU does not need to be nearly as advanced as the CPU. Emulation (with all emulators) do almost all work on the CPU. That is in the nature of emulators. Emulators work NOTHING like actual computer games. The GPU is not nearly as much of a worry as you act like.

As for the system requirements, they aren't very exact. You have to look at the game threads and look at what other people are getting with what hardware. As far as I know, your GPU should be fine for Dolphin.

When you say "low res," "no special effects," and "settings turned up," it seems to me like you don't quite understand how Dolphin works. GameCube and Wii games are nothing like computer games. Computer games have tons of graphical detail settings, resolutions, etc. Do Wii games have these settings? No. Consoles don't have detail settings like computers. There are plenty of options to get games to run correctly or at better speeds. There may be some extra graphical "enhancements" but these aren't even in the original games in the first place. (Note: I'm not sure how your GPU would run any of these enhancements)

Also, the Wii only runs at 480p. Any higher resolutions in Dolhpin aren't "normal" and the game isn't optimized for them. Emulating with Dolphin is NOT like playing PC games. You don't necessarily want/need the highest "settings" as all these settings are "hacked" into the game in the first place. Turning up settings in a PC game is sometimes considered "playing the game it was intended to be" but with Dolphin, anything "extra" is changing the original game. Playing on anything other than max settings in a PC game is turning settings down. It isn't like that with Dolphin and extra graphical settings/enhancements are relatively minor.

More stuff: How well games run varies a lot. Each game is different. Even within each game the speed is different.

Please don't be angry with people for trying to inform you on how Dolphin actually works. You've already been told that your GPU is fine. Your CPU will certainly be a problem in some/many games.

Even if you saw a YouTube video of someone supposedly playing a game with a certain speed on a certain computer that does not make it 100% reliable. The emulator's forums will, of course, be far more trustworthy than YouTube videos.

Just because someone can play, say, Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii at a decent speed, doesn't mean they can play the first Metroid game for GameCube or Zelda Twilight Princess for GameCube. Most people have to settle for whatever speed in games they can get, unless they are building their own computer or buying one right then and even in those circumstances, it takes one heck of a CPU to get full speed most of the time in certain games.

A word of warning: Dolphin will heat up your laptop like crazy. Even though it is possible to run game X on Dolphin, it'll probably leave your CPU close to 100% and that is very bad for laptops. Laptops can't take heat like desktops can. It depends somewhat on how much cooling you have, but no laptop has enough cooling to run an i5 at 100% for long periods all the time. You'd probably fry your HDD and who knows what else.

What games do you want to play anyway? Your CPU is underpowered for games like Metroid Prime, but if you mainly want Smash Bros., it should be fine.

Um, yeah, my post is long. I'll stop now. I think it had some good points though. Maybe Dolphin needs a new FAQ...

[skins4thewin]

thanks, that was some good info. I am aware of most of the things you mentioned, I realise that emulation isnt like a normal pc game. Even so, the GPU is still responsible for displaying the graphics that need to be displayed. The GPU would still be responsible for handling the level of graphics that are being displayed.

However, I was not aware that my CPU would be tested so. I figured it would be the other way around, that my GPU would be tested moreso than the CPU. The I5 hertz per hertz, is a bit more powerful than the Core 2 Duo, and at 2.5, it should be enough to handle the Dolphin emulation. I thought that it had progressed farther than you say it has. Im basing this on the dolphin Requirement FAQ's and testimonials ive read and seen by other ppl. I am suprised that an I5 such as the one I want to get would have such a hard time with it. But yea, I didnt expect certain games to play at 100%, im speaking more along the lines that more will play at full speed than not. I already know that there are some games that are virtually impossible to get up to full speed without the absolute best computer money can buy. I dont plan on trying to play those games.

Knowing that my Laptop could handle some of the lesser games, I am tempted to buy it. However, there is another one that im looking at, another Vostro 3400 with almost the exact same specs, but with an I3 370M 2.4Ghz and no dedicated graphics, that is $120 less than the one with the I5 and GPU. Obviously I wouldnt be able to emulate the Dolphin very well at all on the lesser one, but if the more expensive one will end up having that hard a time with the Dolphin emulation, then I may just go ahead and save the money and go with the lesser one and save the Dolphin emulation for the Desktop im building.

It would certainly be nice to be able to use the Dolphin emulator on the go, but im wondering if I should just go with the I3 one and save the money. What do you guys think? Im having a hard time making up my mind...

[gaiachaos]

These are my specs:

CPU: i7-860 (2.8 GHz, stock)
GFX card: HD Sapphire Radeon 4650 (core: 110 MHz memory: 400 MHz)

My GFX card is low-end. I didn't have major problems running the Dolphin emulator (FPS dips in large areas: note that there are a bunch of low-resolution textures everywhere). This disproves the notion that GFX card matters.

[hungry man]

LOL I'm not reading the essays some people are posting... anyway you'll be fine for some games. That graphics card isn't amazing but for dolphin you really rely mostly on your CPU so that's what you should be concentrating on. That's why I Was talking about your CPU, because the GPU does very very little.

edit: OK I did read them actually >_> your GPU is only going to be used for things like AA and higher resolution. Your laptop will hit at least 70C while playing most likely (that's fine honestly, I keep a fan on mine sometimes or just take a break once every 15-25 minutes)

You'll get very different results game to game. Some games run really well on mine, especially gamecube games. Some games won't run well at all. Your graphics card is fine for what you need but if I could make a suggestion for you:

Buy a low end laptop and a high end desktop/ build a desktop.

A high end desktop + low end laptop will run you the same price as a high end laptop and you'll get more functionality. Just keep that in mind.