Do later Dolphin versions have higher CPU requirements?

[anakin1138]

(02-08-2017, 10:08 PM)Benze Wrote: 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 thinks 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.

Thank you both for the ideas.  It's good to know what a 2500k should be able to do.  I'm overclocked to 4.0 Ghz, so close to yours, but obviously not with the performance.

All my cables seem connected, and the GPU driver is updated, so I don't think it's anything there.  Other modern games seem to run fine, but obviously something is effecting performance.  The CPU showed running at 4 when I loaded Dolphin last night, and I didn't see anything in the task manager when I tried to monitor it while running Dolphin.

The mystery continues!  Thanks for the advice.

[leolam]

Perhaps you're in power saving mode? Dolphin's GPU workload is different from modern games.

[Benze]

I attached my settings here just for comparison. I used Dolphin 5.0-1823.

You could try to update your chipset drivers. That helped me once. You should also check if your cpu is really the bottleneck. Set internal resolution to 1x native and disable any graphical enhancements. If the game runs at higher fps, the issue is the gpu.

[anakin1138]

(02-09-2017, 01:28 AM)leolam Wrote: Perhaps you're in power saving mode? Dolphin's GPU workload is different from modern games.

I checked the power settings.  On the OS, I'm fine.  In the BIOS, I disabled the power feature (defaults to "Energy Efficient") to see what effect it might have.  Surprising to me, it appeared to lock the CPU speed at 800 mhz, or at least the reading never varied from there while running the emulator.  When I turned it back on, the CPU speed would vary between 800 mhz and 4 Ghz, which is what I'm overclocked at.  When it was at 800mhz, the performance was the worst of the lot.

Thanks for the image postings, Benze.  I changed one setting to match yours, but it didn't help performance.

Watching the CPU speeds reported on Toverclock, it would seem that getting the CPU to run at 4 Ghz when the emulator is on would probably help, but I'm not sure how to force that.  If it is adjusting speed based on performance, the process list in the task manager would suggest that the emulator isn't taxing the CPU.  It shows at most 12% CPU usage when the game is running.

Thanks for the help.  I wade deeper into the mystery!

[Kurausukun]

Remember that Dolphin only uses two strenuous cores maximum, and even then there's no guarantee it can use them fully since the GPU thread needs to wait for the CPU thread. Also, I think Throttlestop or something similar can force CPU clocks, but I've never needed to mess with it, so I'm not really sure.

[anakin1138]

(02-09-2017, 11:06 AM)Kurausukun Wrote: Remember that Dolphin only uses two strenuous cores maximum, and even then there's no guarantee it can use them fully since the GPU thread needs to wait for the CPU thread. Also, I think Throttlestop or something similar can force CPU clocks, but I've never needed to mess with it, so I'm not really sure.

After much troubleshooting on many areas, I noticed my CPU temp was running at 98C when the game was playing.  I'm going to do some cleanup work and try to get those temps down to a more stable level and see if that impacts performance.  It would seem like it would.

[G00Glethis1]

(02-09-2017, 01:42 PM)anakin1138 Wrote: After much troubleshooting on many areas, I noticed my CPU temp was running at 98C when the game was playing.  I'm going to do some cleanup work and try to get those temps down to a more stable level and see if that impacts performance.  It would seem like it would.

What operating system are you using? If windows, which version of windows are you using>?

[G00Glethis1]

If you are not running Windows 10, I highly recommend you upgrade to Windows 10!

DirectX12, only available for Windows 10, makes Dolphin run like a champ!

[G00Glethis1]

Also, what kind of GPU do you have installed into your system?

[anakin1138]

(02-09-2017, 02:33 PM)G00Glethis1 Wrote: Also, what kind of GPU do you have installed into your system?

I'm running Windows 10 and an RX 480 for the GPU.

It looks like one of the screws for the cpu heatsink/fan had come loose and the heatsink had pulled away from the processor.  I've shut the machine down until Friday when I'll put some new thermal compound on, clean up the heatsink, and reattach everything.  Hopefully, that takes care of the heat problem, stabilizes the CPU, and lets me see what Dolphin can do!