CPU help

[flanker22]

is there a guide i looked through the site but it just explains how to configure after you've bought a cpu

i'm looking more for a comparison guide / buyers guide / benchmarks !!SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO DOLPHIN!!

also how do the cpus measure up with each other most people seem to have core 2 duos

assuming similar clock speed. (worst to best or am i wrong?)
core 2
i3
phenom II
i5
i7

is this right because i never see many ppl with i5 or i3. are they difficult to overclock or something? wanna get my feet wet but cant even decide on a processor.

so what i know so far is that dolphin only utilizes 2 cores so thats why i thought i5 would be the sweet spot since i7 typically is for quad or hexa cores so those 2-4 extra cores are untilized.

or does the cpu architecture not really matter and its just the raw cpu clockspeed that matters most.

[kernel64]

Cpu architecture is important, but most modern systems are at least dual cores, which is just fine for Dolphin. If you are low on budget, you should begin with the fastest i3 you can find to get decent framerates on most demanding games, overclocking it can help even more if you know what you are doing.

EDIT: My core i5 750 (which is a quad core) can keep up with all of the games I've tried so far, even the most demanding ones (SMG, SMG2, Sonic Colors). Although I'm not in the OC wave, I know that can yield a few frames more.

[NaturalViolence]

i3 hands down. i3/i5/i7 have by far the best performance per clock with dolphin right now. However since they all perform similarly and dolphin only uses 2 cores you could/should save money by buying an i3. If you want a quad core just in case (for other applications) go with an i5 750. Or wait for sandy bridge to come out in February.

[mohmah3]

The core i5 750 is able to run dolphin at full speed ? also with Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 ?

[kernel64]

The core i5 750 is able to run dolphin at full speed ? also with Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 ?

Most of the time, yes. Oddly SMG2 has the best framerates.

Or wait for sandy bridge to come out in February.

Let's wait a few months until it's tested extensively, not to mention cheaper.

[mohmah3]

kernel64 it run it at full speed without overclocking ? And what's your opinion about the AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 3.4 Ghz ? AND THANK YOU !!

[kernel64]

As I said, it's full speed most of the time and I'm not overclocking it.

I've never tried AMD processors. Sorry.

[NaturalViolence]

A phenom II would be fine for MOST games. However some of the heavier games like smg NEED an i3/i5/i7 to run at fullspeed in most places.

[mohmah3]

Ok thanks I will choose the core i5 750 like kernel64 ^^ If it's a bad choise please advice me ! And thanks

[slaQ]

It all really depends on your budget, and your overall computer usage. If you're upgrading just for dolphin, there's no need to go overboard.
But if you also play lots of pc games, I would advice going for something a bit faster.
Just so you're not gonna find yourself wanting new hardware again within a relatively short period of time.