Do later Dolphin versions have higher CPU requirements?

anakin1138 · 02-07-2017, 01:21 PM #1

I'm new to Dolphin, running an old i5 processor (2500k) with a new graphics card (rx 480). So far the results on gamecube games have been underwhelming, and I'm exploring the different tweaks I can do. I'm running on 5.0 right now, but I'm curious if the CPU requirements are lower if I explored a 4 build, or 3 or 3.5. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

**JMC47** · 02-07-2017, 01:46 PM #2

On an i5-2500K, you should be able to run most games fine. What are you trying to play?

DrHouse64 · (This post was last modified: 02-07-2017, 10:58 PM by DrHouse64.)

5.0 needs less CPU requirements than older versions. Also, latest development versions are even faster thanks to improvements like branch following.

**Helios** · 02-08-2017, 02:42 AM #4

Lower CPU requirements. GPU requirements went up a couple notches though. Basically recent Intel HD GPUs mostly fine for 1x resolution, but 1080p+ resolutions need anything a couple notches above that. Doesn't even need to be a particularly good or recent GPU.

anakin1138 · 02-08-2017, 03:26 AM #5

(02-07-2017, 01:46 PM)JMC47 Wrote: On an i5-2500K, you should be able to run most games fine. What are you trying to play?

I started out trying Rogue Squadron, until I realized that was a tougher one to pull off. Since then, I've been testing with Smash Bros Melee and Mario Kart Double Dash. On Melee, I get static in audio in every setting, and FPS as low as the teens. The best level in Melee is only marginally playable. It just seems like it's not running like it should from everything I've read given my specs, and I just can't find any tweak in the settings that unlocks it.

From the other responses, it sounds like I should keep working with 5 and the 5 development versions instead of trying to go back to earlier versions.

Thanks for the responses. I'm not sure what I should do next.

**leolam** · 02-08-2017, 05:31 AM #6

Melee is one of the easiest games to run, so with a i5 2500K… you should be able to run it at more than full speed! Have you tried running Dolphin with default settings, without touching anything else?

And yes, 5.0 is more accurate, faster and more efficient than previous versions.

anakin1138 · 02-08-2017, 05:39 AM #7

(02-08-2017, 05:31 AM)leolam Wrote: Melee is one of the easiest games to run, so with a i5 2500K… you should be able to run it at more than full speed! Have you tried running Dolphin with default settings, without touching anything else?

And yes, 5.0 is more accurate, faster and more efficient than previous versions.

I did, then tweaked to try and improve performance. I can't remember what settings I changed off the top of my head, but one setting in particular seemed to help.
I will download the latest development kit tonight, delete my settings to try default again, and start rebuilding from there.
Thanks.

anakin1138 · 02-08-2017, 02:14 PM #8

(02-08-2017, 05:39 AM)anakin1138 Wrote: I did, then tweaked to try and improve performance. I can't remember what settings I changed off the top of my head, but one setting in particular seemed to help.
I will download the latest development kit tonight, delete my settings to try default again, and start rebuilding from there.
Thanks.

I downloaded the latest development version tonight and tried default settings. On Smash, I would get 30's-60's when two players were on screen, and drops into the teens when four were on screen. The audio skipped around as well, though it was unclear to me if that was just a sync problem trying to keep up with the frame jumps. I tried disabling the audio entirely, but it didn't improve the FPS performance.

On video, I tried switching to Vulkan and to Direct 12, but neither seemed to help.

I also pulled up my task manager to see if I had anything running in the background that was putting demands on the system. I disabled my cloud sync service just as a precaution, though it wasn't using much on CPU. There wasn't anything taking resources there.

Any thoughts on tweaks I should try? I can confirm that on both 5 stable and the latest development release, Smash for the Gamecube isn't in a playable state on my system with default settings.

Thanks for any advice.

**leolam** · 02-08-2017, 07:06 PM #9

Sounds like your system isn't set up properly. Have you made sure the GPU driver is installed? If the answer is yes, then I don't know what's wrong.

Benze · (This post was last modified: 02-09-2017, 02:41 AM by Benze.)

I run a 2500k @ 4.1 Ghz and i can play most games without any issues (especially Smash Melee). You have to check if everything is set up right. Even really dumb things like checking your monitor cable. Is it hooked up to the rx 480 and not the intel iGPU/mothermoard? Also drivers and check your CPU clock while running Dolphin.