Dolphin PC buying guide

[abfab126]

About your GPU there is a 5670 under 100 box coming this week!

[muakaka]

So, I'm still trying to figure out what I should be replacing in order to play ToG at full speed.

Reposting my specs :
System Model: G31M-ES2L
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q8400 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs)
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Graphic card : NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT

I CAN play ToG with the current specs, but the battles start to slow down when I had 3 party members, and now with the 4th member, battles slow down to 30-40 FPS.
I've tried to overclock with the help of a friend(As CacoFFF suggested) to 3.4 GHz, but it only increases my FPS by 5 or so....

Any ideas? Thanks ><

[CacoFFF]

You'll have to wait for a new CPU generation, or any optimization in the code (if there is any room for that).
It's like what happened to those poor guys who bought Crysis with the intention of playing it on Max details when it came out.
So no solution for now.

[Ocean]

(07-26-2009, 03:40 AM)THELUKESTIR Wrote:

(07-26-2009, 03:39 AM)Klotzek Wrote: I doubt ghz really matters in dolphin. A i7 920 only has 2,6ghz but will beat the sh*t out of a q6600 with 3,6ghz.

Proof?

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

i7 processors use a totally different architecture and data transfer model. Also, instead of front side bus (FSB), it has been replaced by QPI (quickpath interconnect) which is considerably quicker and enables more processing power.

Also all i7's have at least 8mb of L3 memory, a new type of buffer cpu memory, plus it allows for hyperthreading so you get 8 logical cores.

I have a q9550 overclocked to the limits, and a i7 950, I can easily say, even on stock without overclocking the i7 destroys older dual and quadcores no matter how much you overclock them.

You can't just look at the ghz and think that's the only thing worth mentioning. Processor architectures develop.

A 2.1ghz core 2 duo today is going to be better than a 3.2ghz pentium 4 overclocked to 3.8. These numbers don't mean anything when you consider the older CPU is constructed with a bigger dye size, has a poorer instruction set, less transistors, etc..

[CacoFFF]

(01-20-2010, 06:18 AM)Ocean Wrote:

(07-26-2009, 03:40 AM)THELUKESTIR Wrote:

(07-26-2009, 03:39 AM)Klotzek Wrote: I doubt ghz really matters in dolphin. A i7 920 only has 2,6ghz but will beat the sh*t out of a q6600 with 3,6ghz.

Proof?

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

i7 processors use a totally different architecture and data transfer model. Also, instead of front side bus (FSB), it has been replaced by QPI (quickpath interconnect) which is considerably quicker and enables more processing power.

Also all i7's have at least 8mb of L3 memory, a new type of buffer cpu memory, plus it allows for hyperthreading so you get 8 logical cores.

I have a q9550 overclocked to the limits, and a i7 950, I can easily say, even on stock without overclocking the i7 destroys older dual and quadcores no matter how much you overclock them.

You can't just look at the ghz and think that's the only thing worth mentioning. Processor architectures develop.

A 2.1ghz core 2 duo today is going to be better than a 3.2ghz pentium 4 overclocked to 3.8. These numbers don't mean anything when you consider the older CPU is constructed with a bigger dye size, has a poorer instruction set, less transistors, etc..

Did you run a single-core test on both cpu's?

[RupeeClock]

This isn't a buying question, though it's a question about what I recently bought so I'll go ahead and shoot.

I just installed this new Core 2 Duo E8600 and I'm loving it, and I've tried overclocking it already.
Stock speed 3.33ghz? All good.
Overclock to 3.5ghz, great, 3.66, great, 3.80, Windows wouldn't boot.

This is with stock cooling and no voltage adjustment, I was just wondering if it's even safe to be overclocked right now.
From what I understand this is a relatively mild overclock, but I think 3.8 should have at least booted.

[CacoFFF]

(01-22-2010, 12:56 PM)RupeeClock Wrote: This isn't a buying question, though it's a question about what I recently bought so I'll go ahead and shoot.

I just installed this new Core 2 Duo E8600 and I'm loving it, and I've tried overclocking it already.
Stock speed 3.33ghz? All good.
Overclock to 3.5ghz, great, 3.66, great, 3.80, Windows wouldn't boot.

This is with stock cooling and no voltage adjustment, I was just wondering if it's even safe to be overclocked right now.
From what I understand this is a relatively mild overclock, but I think 3.8 should have at least booted.

Stock cooling? You better measure full load temperatures right now, if they exceed 65º, get better cooling asap.
Well, at least you didn't touch the voltage settings.

About booting, i don't think your cpu will reach more without voltage tweaking, and that is killing cpu life, also, it even might be unstable around 3.6-3.7.
Run a full load test for 1 hour to see if it doesn't reboot.

[RupeeClock]

(01-22-2010, 02:29 PM)CacoFFF Wrote: Stock cooling? You better measure full load temperatures right now, if they exceed 65º, get better cooling asap.
Well, at least you didn't touch the voltage settings.

About booting, i don't think your cpu will reach more without voltage tweaking, and that is killing cpu life, also, it even might be unstable around 3.6-3.7.
Run a full load test for 1 hour to see if it doesn't reboot.

I've been using the system at 3.66ghz for the past day, playing on Dolphin, Folding@Home, and it seems to be entirely stable.
Despite the stock cooling, the system idles at 29C and under load works at 40c, it's doing well.
It lasts all day quite safely it seems.

Considering the processor is clocked at 3.33ghz anyway...

When you say "and this is killing CPU life", do you mean voltage tweaking does that, or just overclocking?

[CacoFFF]

(01-22-2010, 04:04 PM)RupeeClock Wrote:

(01-22-2010, 02:29 PM)CacoFFF Wrote: Stock cooling? You better measure full load temperatures right now, if they exceed 65º, get better cooling asap.
Well, at least you didn't touch the voltage settings.

About booting, i don't think your cpu will reach more without voltage tweaking, and that is killing cpu life, also, it even might be unstable around 3.6-3.7.
Run a full load test for 1 hour to see if it doesn't reboot.

I've been using the system at 3.66ghz for the past day, playing on Dolphin, Folding@Home, and it seems to be entirely stable.
Despite the stock cooling, the system idles at 29C and under load works at 40c, it's doing well.
It lasts all day quite safely it seems.

Considering the processor is clocked at 3.33ghz anyway...

When you say "and this is killing CPU life", do you mean voltage tweaking does that, or just overclocking?

Every cpu should have a standard lifetime on normal conditions, there are 2 main factors that can affect that time.

Temperature, even if you slightly overclock your cpu, if you keep it even better cooled than before, then there will be no problem at all. In fact, better cooling will ensure more durability.

Voltage, going simple, the more voltage you apply the lesser the cpu will last. It's the same for opposite cases, some low clocked Core 2 cpus can be 'undervolted' without affecting stability, thus increasing durability.


To sum up the thing about voltage tweaking, more voltage (even at same mhz) will mean more power consumption, which will lead to even more heat generation. That's the reason why reducing voltages on low clock cpu's brings the benefits of durability, power consumption, better heat dissipation.
Just think of the exact opposite if you try overclocking with voltage tweaking.

Your CPU temperatures right now couldn't be any better, if your cpu doesn't boot, it's because the cpu itself (or the motherboard) can't remain stable enough to boot safely. The only way to solve this is increasing voltage, and you are aware of what the risks are.

This is because your cpu reached its limits on stock voltage, some cpu's even in the same batch can have lower stability/voltage relation than others, meaning that some cpu's will overclock better than others on same voltage, even if they are the same model.

Why do you think professional overclockers get special samples from the manufacturers?
Or why in the middle of manufacturing, some cpu with the exact same architecture are designed to be low clocked and others to be top clocked, even Extreme (or Black) Edition?
AMD takes this even further by recycling some defective quad cores as dual or tri cores.

About your cpu voltage/stability relation compared to others, don't guide yourself with some professional overclocking pages, those are special samples, difficult to match. Check out amateur results on other forums to see if your cpu is doing well or not having the potential it should.

---

Here we go http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overvolting

[RupeeClock]

Uh, all I asked was "Is this dangerous to overclock slightly" not, "Why can't I acheive crazy overclocking like those guys who use liquid nitrogen and water cooling for their sport?"