Getting iMac, need help for dolphin

11-23-2011, 08:54 AM #1

Guys I am in the need to know if my iMac is good for dolphin
27-inch: 3.1GHz
3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
2560 x 1440 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1GB
I am getting it in january, first time with OSX. If you guys could help me with anything, please do, first time I am runny dolphin too. Is it better to run it in OSX? or do I download Parallels or bootcamp? please help, also, do Twin Snakes, Twilight princess and wind waker run good? Help please

11-24-2011, 06:56 AM #2

Runs pretty good on my mini. Frankly, I'd buy some more RAM, because it's really cheap to get up to 8GB and you can do it yourself (no need to pay the Apple Tax on the RAM).

I'm using Release 7719 for Zelda: Skyward Sword and it works pretty well. The only real issue I have is that I have to connect my Wiimote twice before it will stay synced, but that's a minor annoyance. I get 22-25FPS outdoors, and pretty close to a solid 30FPS indoors at 1080p. I feel like I'm re-centering the motion plus all the time, but I think that may just be the controller/game and not a Dolphin problem.

Anyway, don't expect miracles, but yeah, that setup should run most games satisfactorily, I would think.

Can I not edit my own posts?

Anyway, forgot to mention, don't use Parallels. Just use one of the standard Mac OS builds. Parallels won't be good enough to get Dolphin to run. You could try running the Windows version in Boot Camp, but I think you'd be better off sticking to the Mac OS side of things. I'm brand-new to the Mac, too (only had my Mini a month or so) and it's been easy getting Dolphin set up.

HawaiianPunch · 11-24-2011, 10:57 AM #3

(11-24-2011, 06:56 AM)SuperRob Wrote: Runs pretty good on my mini. Frankly, I'd buy some more RAM, because it's really cheap to get up to 8GB and you can do it yourself (no need to pay the Apple Tax on the RAM).

I'm using Release 7719 for Zelda: Skyward Sword and it works pretty well. The only real issue I have is that I have to connect my Wiimote twice before it will stay synced, but that's a minor annoyance. I get 22-25FPS outdoors, and pretty close to a solid 30FPS indoors at 1080p. I feel like I'm re-centering the motion plus all the time, but I think that may just be the controller/game and not a Dolphin problem.

Anyway, don't expect miracles, but yeah, that setup should run most games satisfactorily, I would think.
Can I not edit my own posts?

Anyway, forgot to mention, don't use Parallels. Just use one of the standard Mac OS builds. Parallels won't be good enough to get Dolphin to run. You could try running the Windows version in Boot Camp, but I think you'd be better off sticking to the Mac OS side of things. I'm brand-new to the Mac, too (only had my Mini a month or so) and it's been easy getting Dolphin set up.

Dolphin only needs less than 1GB of RAM, so upgrading from 4GB to 8 won't make much of a difference.

**NaturalViolence** · 11-26-2011, 12:51 PM #4

Make sure that you use bootcamp for dolphin.

11-26-2011, 01:06 PM #5

Thanks! Why not just use it from OSX?

HawaiianPunch · 11-26-2011, 01:35 PM #6

(11-26-2011, 01:06 PM)Giampiero15 Wrote: Thanks! Why not just use it from OSX?

OpenGL (the only render backend available on OSX) is slower than DirectX.

**NaturalViolence** · 11-26-2011, 01:50 PM #7

Slower, fewer options, buggier, etc.

gamereye · (This post was last modified: 01-02-2012, 05:25 PM by gamereye.)

That mac is good. I have one similar except slower processor. 2.5 ghz with turbo boost so usually boosts to be around 3 ghz. I assume yours boosts as well so probably will be faster than mine. All gamecube games get full speed and most wii games get full speed or close to full speed.

Some more demanding wii games such as donkey kong country returns, Metroid prime 3, Mario Galaxy,etc still run very well but can drop down to 75-80 % at times. Yours likely will not go below 80%. I run mac os version so bootcamp is not really necessary.

Wind Waker and Twilight Princess will play full speed even with graphics beefed up(make sure cpu access is disabled though) even Skyward Sword will run very good( has not gone below 98% for me as of yet) Not sure on twin snakes, I don't have that game.

**abfab126** · 01-04-2012, 12:12 AM #9

With your computer almost every games is playable , WII and GC , and definitely in Very High definition ... you can apply Antialiasing and eye candies anytime !

Anyways , TP without Antialiasing in 2560X1440 is already something !!

Some games are as fast in OpenGL than in DirectX , so play them under Osx .
Some others are better be played with DirectX , just use bootcamp .

Enjoy !