Can you guys help me improve my PC for Dolphin?

[Furabixa]

Hello guys. I'm considering upgrading my computer especially for Dolphin and PCSX2 emulation. I currently use an i5 4690 with oc at 3.9 GHz and an MSI Geforce GTX 970. I am looking for a good upgrade that is not too expensive due to money limitation (Nothing like i9 9900k or similar). I thought of 3 processors, the Ryzen 5 2600x, the i5 9600k and the i7 8700k. For the video card I thought of a GTX 2060. Which processor would you choose especially to improve the performance of my emulation in Dolhin and the other emulated.

Thank you again for your time.

[Shonumi]

Your PC should be able to do quite a bit in Dolphin already. There shouldn't be many cases where your CPU isn't up to par, and your GPU should be good enough for a bunch of high-resolution settings (not sure about 4K, but 1080p and 1440p definitely). You could upgrade now, but I'm not sure what goal you're trying to reach as far as emulation goes. Having better hardware would help in other areas of computing though (e.g. PC gaming with respect to a new GPU).

Anyway, I've had no issues with my 9600KF in Dolphin at stock clocks. Even without an OC or turbo boost, it's pretty much overkill for many games in Dolphin, especially when using the latest development builds. The 2600X is a bit slower than the 9600K in Dolphin at the same clocks, but the difference in single-threaded performance isn't too much, so it'll handle most games in Dolphin just fine (again, probably being overkill in many instances). It's a "bang-for-your-buck" kinda choice. Splurge on the 9600K if you have the cash and want the most no matter the cost, or go for the 2600X if you want to save some money and still get great performance.

It might be worth waiting for Zen 2 if you're interested, which officially comes out in a few days. It supposedly closes (maybe even surpasses) the gap AMD has with Intel on single-threaded performance. I would avoid the 8700K though. Even though it's only one CPU generation behind, typically stick with the latest if you're concerned about performance. The updates to the 9th Gen vs 8th Gen may be small, but every bit counts if you're trying to maximize your hardware.

EDIT - The RTX 2060 is a monster of a GPU to use just for Dolphin. It'll easily set you up for 4K in pretty much any game, I think. Again, it's kinda overkill for the emulator, so hopefully you have other needs for it outside of Dolphin and PCSX2, yes?

[Furabixa]

Thank you friend, so i believe i will go with i5 9600k, but waiting to see amd next line. You helped me a lot.

[AwesomeMarioFan]

Your PC should be able to do quite a bit in Dolphin already. There shouldn't be many cases where your CPU isn't up to par, and your GPU should be good enough for a bunch of high-resolution settings (not sure about 4K, but 1080p and 1440p definitely). You could upgrade now, but I'm not sure what goal you're trying to reach as far as emulation goes. Having better hardware would help in other areas of computing though (e.g. PC gaming with respect to a new GPU).

Anyway, I've had no issues with my 9600KF in Dolphin at stock clocks. Even without an OC or turbo boost, it's pretty much overkill for many games in Dolphin, especially when using the latest development builds. The 2600X is a bit slower than the 9600K in Dolphin at the same clocks, but the difference in single-threaded performance isn't too much, so it'll handle most games in Dolphin just fine (again, probably being overkill in many instances). It's a "bang-for-your-buck" kinda choice. Splurge on the 9600K if you have the cash and want the most no matter the cost, or go for the 2600X if you want to save some money and still get great performance.

It might be worth waiting for Zen 2 if you're interested, which officially comes out in a few days. It supposedly closes (maybe even surpasses) the gap AMD has with Intel on single-threaded performance. I would avoid the 8700K though. Even though it's only one CPU generation behind, typically stick with the latest if you're concerned about performance. The updates to the 9th Gen vs 8th Gen may be small, but every bit counts if you're trying to maximize your hardware.

EDIT - The RTX 2060 is a monster of a GPU to use just for Dolphin. It'll easily set you up for 4K in pretty much any game, I think. Again, it's kinda overkill for the emulator, so hopefully you have other needs for it outside of Dolphin and PCSX2, yes?

Hi,

I have almost the same CPU as the OP (the benchmark difference between mine and his is 1 second). Would you be able to elaborate on when it wouldn't be up to par? I am also considering upgrading but not sure if it is worth it yet.

[Helios]

Probably like Rogue Squadron, but very few CPUs can handle that one game at all so don't worry about it

[AwesomeMarioFan]

Probably like Rogue Squadron, but very few CPUs can handle that one game at all so don't worry about it

Okay - thanks!

[Furabixa]

Helios, do you know a PC spec that can run Rogue Squadron fullspeed?

[Helios]

I'm not even sure they're playable on any configuration right now due to emulator issues. I haven't checked on that.

Don't worry about those games.

[Nintendo Maniac 64]

For the video card I thought of a RTX 2060

I just want to point out that we've since seen the release of the RTX 2060 Super, RTX 2070 Super, Radeon RX 5700, and Radeon RX 5700XT, and the original non-Super RTX 2060 and 2070 are apparently seeing price-cuts as well.

So it's not just CPUs that have seen much change recently, but GPUs as well.