Games dropping frames on gaming PC

[NeoMatthew]

Hello all. I just put together a new gaming PC hoping I would have no issues running Dolphin with HD Textures. But when I start playing the games, it lags. Some games are worse than others. I did try turning off the "Load Custom Textures" but the problem still persists. I'm 100% confident it's not my CPU.

Specs of my system:
-Intel i7 4790k @ 4.0ghz
-Kingston HyperX Fury 16gb DDR3 Memory
-EVGA GTX 1060 3gb

The games I've tried so far:
1. Super Smash Bros Brawl
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee
3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Using Dolphin 5.0

What do you think the problem is? Are there ideal settings for what I want to do? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks! : )

[ExtremeDude2]

Have you tried the latest development version of dolphin?

[NeoMatthew]

Yes, I just tried that. It did not fix the issue.

[NeoMatthew]

Okay so brief update. After changing my graphics card's setting to Max Performance, using Direct3D 9, 2x 720p Internal Resolution, and Custom Textures off, the games run quite a bit better. They still drop frames, making it not playable, but it is nowhere near as bad as before.

I'd still like to run at least 1080p with HD textures without dropping frames. Given this information, could it be that I need a better graphics card? If so, what can you recommend?

[DJBarry004]

The GTX 1060 should be more than enough.

On latest dev build, activate "Compile Shaders before Starting" and use "Async (Ubershaders)".

[NeoMatthew]

(05-18-2019, 06:48 AM)DJBarry004 Wrote: The GTX 1060 should be more than enough.

On latest dev build, activate "Compile Shaders before Starting" and use "Async (Ubershaders)".

That seems to have helped quite a bit, but I'm still getting some dropped frames. At this point I think it's the specific settings I choose in the configuration. Do you have recommended settings?

[mstreurman]

(05-18-2019, 03:44 AM)NeoMatthew Wrote: Okay so brief update. After changing my graphics card's setting to Max Performance, using Direct3D 9, 2x 720p Internal Resolution, and Custom Textures off, the games run quite a bit better. They still drop frames, making it not playable, but it is nowhere near as bad as before.

I'd still like to run at least 1080p with HD textures without dropping frames. Given this information, could it be that I need a better graphics card? If so, what can you recommend?

Dolphin master doesn't have a Direct3D9 backend... You are either using a really old version or the Ishiiruka unofficial build and if you do you either have to update or go and "complain" in the Ishiiruka thread over in Development Discussions as that build is only supported there and nowhere else.

Please download the latest dev version from this site: https://dolphin-emu.org/download/ and set your back-end to DX12 (if available, otherwise use DX11) and use Async Ubershaders. If you do this, the games you mention should be VERY, VERY playable at 3x IR or more, also using custom textures. Please also make sure that you do not use any AA (not SSAA or MSAA) but use a higher IR instead. e.g. 2x IR + 8xSSAA = 16x IR, just keep that in mind also do not go above 6x IR/4k as that might be too much for your GPU. If a game still runs too slow, lower your IR first before doing anything else and make sure AA is turned off as well.

[NeoMatthew]

(05-18-2019, 11:34 AM)mstreurman Wrote: Dolphin master doesn't have a Direct3D9 backend... You are either using a really old version or the Ishiiruka unofficial build and if you do you either have to update or go and "complain" in the Ishiiruka thread over in Development Discussions as that build is only supported there and nowhere else.

Please download the latest dev version from this site: https://dolphin-emu.org/download/ and set your back-end to DX12 (if available, otherwise use DX11) and use Async Ubershaders. If you do this, the games you mention should be VERY, VERY playable at 3x IR or more, also using custom textures. Please also make sure that you do not use any AA (not SSAA or MSAA) but use a higher IR instead. e.g. 2x IR + 8xSSAA = 16x IR, just keep that in mind also do not go above 6x IR/4k as that might be too much for your GPU. If a game still runs too slow, lower your IR first before doing anything else and make sure AA is turned off as well.

Just did everything you said. It is close to working fully, but not quite. It tends to drop frames for a couple seconds then goes back to full speed. It's random when it happens. I just attached screenshots of the settings. Do you notice anything off?

[JMC47]

You can try asynchronous (skip drawing) to rule out shader generation altogether. It may result in some visual issues though. If it fixes the framedrops, then the issue is your graphics drivers stalling during shader generation. If it doesn't fix your issue and you're still dropping frames in Melee, you may want to consider looking for something else that would cause your computer to suddenly be occupied. Melee is super lightweight and shouldn't be bothering your computer at all.