Dolphin 5.0-8474: huge performance boost on Adreno devices

[r100]

Hi there,

So I noticed version 5.0-8474 has "FramebufferManager: Use D24S8 on Adreno when using Vulkan". This patch makes Adreno on Vulkan run a 24-bit buffer instead of 32-bit.

Using a Nokia 8 with the latest updates, I tried Smash Bros. Melee (PAL) and Metroid Prime (PAL), and the improvement is insane. The games run at a nearly perfect framerate whereas before Metroid Prime would be about 8-11 fps in the intro scene. Melee is also very smooth now, with only a drop to 42 fps on the heaviest 4-player fights. I've played Melee for 20 minutes straight, and it just keeps going.

Moreover, the black boxes on Super Mario Sunshine while running on Vulkan have disappeared. Performance improvement on this game is minimal, but from what I've read this game is a nasty one to emulate. And when pressing Z in Metroid Prime, no map appears on the screen. But hey, as far as I know this is easily one of the biggest performance improvements for Android users this year. For those who like Dolphin on Android and have a Snapdragon-based device, this is definitely a version to try.

FYI to whom it may concern: Nokia 8 has support for Vulkan 1.0.61 at the moment.

[JonnyH]

Interesting this affects performance, it was only really intended to workaround a bug in qualcomm's vulkan driver. Or do you mean now it renders ok, vulkan is a valid option, and that inproves performance compared to openGL?

[Sievn]

I am seeing both graphical and preformence improvement in vulkan.
Some games Graphics were completly fixed compared to open GL (sonic colors) and
Some slightly (like in sonic unleashed, in that game sonic's model is invisible).

[Nintonito]

Tried wind waker and SMS on vulkan.  I think it's actually worse than before, total black screen.   Running pixel XL on Android P.

[JMC47]

You may want to upgrade your drivers Vulkan is now working for me on a Snapdragon 835

[JonnyH]

Same here - wind waker renders fine on my SD835 (oneplus 5)

I can't test older versions myself.

[Nintonito]

I’m running android P. My drivers are r314 which should be newer than any of the S835 devices.

[JonnyH]

I’m running android P.  My drivers are r314 which should be newer than any of the S835 devices.

Did your wind waker work on this driver/device combination before this change? As on every device I had, adreno wouldn't clear the depth and show the ship 'smearing' across the intro, and lots of missing geometry.

It may be that qcomm have fixed their 32bit depth buffer issue. And in the process broken their 24bit format :/

[Sievn]

Vulkan is working better than ever.
And I am on Androir Oreo Note 8.

[Nintonito]

Did your wind waker work on this driver/device combination before this change? As on every device I had, adreno wouldn't clear the depth and show the ship 'smearing' across the intro, and lots of missing geometry.

It may be that qcomm have fixed their 32bit depth buffer issue. And in the process broken their 24bit format :/

It didn’t work properly before, blacked out rendering and the smearing. But now it’s fully black aside from a couple of boxes. Others games I tried exhibited the same behaviour (although wind waker was the only one I teated extensively prior on Vulkan).