Deciding which tablet I should get

[OzaL]

Hey, so the only reason I made an account is for getting help on deciding which android tablet I should get for emulating GameCube (maybe wii with SSBB). So far, I have three choices, but I'm open to other ones as long as they're under 1k$. Please don't say any computer tablets though, I know some might be cheaper and run dolphin better, but I'm already saving up for another computer, and I just want an android. My top 3 choices (so far) are:
-Google Pixel C
-Samsung Galaxy tab s3
-Xiaomi Mi Pad 3
Personally, I've never had any android tablet besides a galaxy tab, a few years ago. I only have a 2011 MacBook that can run dolphin at barely playable speeds, so I have little experience with dolphin and android tablets. I heard that the Nvidia tablet k1 works well, but it's a little old, and I don't want the new one that's a tv. Also, I'm looking to run games like SSBM, Spider man 2, and animal crossing, I really would like to play Smash the most though. Sorry for the long post, I'm just really looking for something specific.
Thanks in advance!

[JosJuice]

If you want to run games like Spider Man 2, I think every Android device is going to be too slow for you.

[OzaL]

(09-05-2017, 06:35 AM)JosJuice Wrote: If you want to run games like Spider Man 2, I think every Android device is going to be too slow for you.

That's fine, I mostly want to play SSBM anyway.

[JonnyH]

(09-05-2017, 06:32 AM)OzaL Wrote: I heard that the Nvidia tablet k1 works well

Careful - the tegra k1 came in 2 versions, one with 32-bit "Arm A15s" CPUs and another with 64-big "Denver" ones. I believe all tegra X1 chips are 64-bit though. Dolphin _requires_ 64-bit CPU (AND operating system!).

As a number of people have found out recently - having a 64-bit CPU doesn't always mean you'll get a 64-it OS - so always double check.

[degasus]

I wouldn't buy any mobile device just for dolphin. The android port is an unmaintained mess, sorry. I don't expect SSBM to run fullspeed on any of those devices. If you're going to buy such a device through for whatever reason, feel free to try dolphin. The other way will smash your expections.

And be careful with the K1 tablet. Through there are two versions of the K1 SOC, there is just a single K1 tablet version and it has 32 bit. So it doesn't run dolphin at all.

[OzaL]

(09-05-2017, 07:57 AM)degasus Wrote: I wouldn't buy any mobile device just for dolphin. The android port is an unmaintained mess, sorry. I don't expect SSBM to run fullspeed on any of those devices. If you're going to buy such a device through for whatever reason, feel free to try dolphin. The other way will smash your expections.

And be careful with the K1 tablet. Through there are two versions of the K1 SOC, there is just a single K1 tablet version and it has 32 bit. So it doesn't run dolphin at all.

Ok, well is there at least a few spec recommendations, like a certain procceser or android version?
I can't find anything in the FAQ about android specs.

[Nintonito]

I'm just gonna answer the question regardless. Best bet will be Pixel C, Nvidia Drivers hit the least amount of mobile specific issues. Second best is tab S3 if it doesn't throttle. Don't bother with K1 devices at this point, all of them are out of date.

[JonnyH]

(09-05-2017, 09:00 AM)Nintonito Wrote: I'm just gonna answer the question regardless.  Best bet will be Pixel C, Nvidia Drivers hit the least amount of mobile specific issues.  Second best is tab S3 if it doesn't throttle.  Don't bother with K1 devices at this point,  all of them are out of date.

I think the pixel-c is no longer getting updates - that may have implications WRT driver bugs and similar....


EDIT: I was mixing up nexus 9 and pixel c - as far as I'm aware the pixel C is still supported and getting updates

[MonadoBoy]

The galaxy tab s3 is pretty decent for emulation in general, I'm actually using mine right now. It's ok with dolphin, just don't expect it to run most games at more than 50-75% speed, besides lightweight games like super mario sunshine. All other emulators work great though. The pixel c doesn't have an sd card slot, so you can't fit a lot of games on the tablet. The s3 can use a 256 micro sd.

I'm pretty sure they stopped making the k1 shield tablet a few months ago, or I would have bought it instead, despite the fact it couldn't run dolphin. If you can find one its a good deal for the price.

Personally I would go for a pc for the money if you are going to buy something to run dolphin, for the price of an s3 you can get a mid tier laptop that can run dolphin at 2x or, maybe even 3x. If your lucky. It may even be a 2 in 1. Or get the samsung galaxy note 8 which comes out in a few days, supposedly it's even better than the s3.

[Nintonito]

(09-05-2017, 09:06 AM)JonnyH Wrote: I think the pixel-c is no longer getting updates - that may have implications WRT driver bugs and similar....

Mi Pad 3 is not getting any android updates ever beyond security patches. Xiaomi never contracts the code for successive updates. I'm selling my RN4 for that very reason. So it's stuck regardless. S3 will make it to 8.0 or so, so not particularly much further. And frankly the Pixel C's Nvidia drivers still smoke the pants off of every other vendor. The Pixel C and Shield TV will be the best devices for the next 2 years at this rate. The other vendors are just that far behind.