Dolphin's CPU Recommendations

[danebouchie]

So as if now, dolphin's recommendations are the "i5-4670K and i5-3570K". I'd like to rethink this a little starting with the following:

"In Dolphin, the only demanding tasks that can run well in parallel are the CPU, the GPU and the DSP ... That's why Dolphin only runs on 3 cores..."

So first off, I believe dolphin only uses 2 cores now (with the exception of a minor third for windows processes on a separate core), as DSP is now handled on the same thread and the option for additional threads is now disabled. When I ran dolphin I discovered there were at most 3 "Important Processes". I have a i5 Quad (4570 @ 3.6 Ghz) and was running Brawl as a benchmark (Because that game still gives me lag every now and then, and its a well played game).

CPU %      Cycles Delta      Thread
24.75      3,210,255,691      MSVCR120.dll!endthreadex+0x90
11.81      1,533,424,896      MSVCR120.dll!endthreadex+0x90
2.75          333,944,978      nvwgf2umx.dll!NVAPI_Thunk+0x41bb9c

What's my point? The bottom two are way less than 25% (a core) and could be considered "running on a single core". If someone could update me on what these threads are, that could be useful too. I believe the first two are the main process (CPU Emulation) and GPU interaction threads respectively.

Now I'll make my current point. I would love to see a benchmark of the i3 4370 and the i3 4170. Both are "cheap" relatively and I believe would make a great recommendation for an "top of the line" dolphin system and here's why.

I first relate to the Dolphin Benchmarks off the FAQ page, we see the top Stock Only Scores

Brand Architecture Model OC/UC? Measured           Max TDP            OS           Time
Intel Haswell i5-4570 Stock 3,600    3,600         84.00 W       Windows 8.1 0:08:36
Intel Haswell     i3-4130     Stock        3,400           3,400              54.00 W            Linux                0:09:24

Just in comparison the i3 gave a 9:24 @ 3.4Ghz. Now if we do a little math, the i3 4370 would (in theory) give ~8.31 and ~8.41. One potentially better than the i5. (But this has a lot to do with OS's a well, but just here me out for a while). Since the i3's are like $80 cheaper, and get around the same, if not better performance I think formatting the FAQ recommendation to recommend would be a better choice, which also implies that any intel CPU will work. And thus I recommend my changes to the FAQ (but I'm really asking this thread to see what you're guys' opinion is on this.

Which CPU should I use?
...

Intel: Newer Core i3, i5 and i7 processors such as the i3-4370 or i5-4670K are extremely fast and very affordable considering their relative power. Typically the faster the process clock (in Ghz) the better. For enthusiasts, the K series allows for overclocking, which can further improve the performance of those CPUs. Core i7 variants yield almost no benefit in IPC over the i5s, likewise i5s with similar clock speeds barely out-perform the i3s as dolphin is dual core. So save the cash if you’re building a Dolphin machine. For laptops, you can rely on the i7-4700MQ and i7-4930MX for the absolute best performance. Most games will run very well on any of those processors.

[Fiora]

It uses two cores: one for the CPU thread, one for the GPU thread. But for a game that doesn't use the GPU thread much (for example), the GPU thread will sit idle a lot of the time. Not all games are the same though, and some games even bottleneck on the GPU thread -- or bottleneck on both, in that they're constantly stopped waiting for the other to finish.

So in practice Dolphin is still very dual core, though how much each thread is used depends on the game, and there are definitely some games where it's not utilizing anywhere near the full two cores.

[admin89]

For Dolphin only ? Pentium Anniversary Edition G3258 is better than any i3/i5/i7 :
_Same performance as i7 4790k @ 4.4GHz when the G3258 is clocked at 4.6GHz
_Does not need extra cooler unless you go over 4.6GHz
_Cheaper than i3/i5/i7 . Last year , Microcenter offered G3258 + MSI Z97 combo for only 90$

[Garteal]

^ Don't forget that the two extra cores give an approximate increase of 20% in performance.
And don't forget about summer ;p. You might need a better cooler with this heat if you jump in right now.

@OP the FAQ (hardware section) is quite dated at the moment and could definitely use a rewrite.
I think the G3258 is a better fit to put there. It's a very popular (and probably the most recommended CPU atm) for Dolphin if you are purely going to use Dolphin.

[MayImilae]

H-hey! It isn't that outdated, only about a year old... I'm planning to touch it up before 5.0 comes out anyway.