How is the Pixel C?

03-22-2016, 02:02 PM #1

I read that the shield TV had great performance on current Wii games thanks to the X1 SoC

So I was curious if that's still true and if the Pixel C is as good

zxcvbad · 03-22-2016, 09:06 PM #2

It's quite weird we've never seen anyone running Dolphin on Pixel C. Performance though should be pretty much equal to a Shield TV

03-22-2016, 10:34 PM #3

(03-22-2016, 09:06 PM)zxcvbad Wrote: It's quite weird we've never seen anyone running Dolphin on Pixel C. Performance though should be pretty much equal to a Shield TV

That's what I'm hoping for, but generally GPU performance is better off screen than on screen(the Pixel C would be on screen while the Shield TV is off screen).

$400 is a steep price for a portable emulation machine that may or may not have solid performance on newer Wii games. If I knew it was though, I'd be more inclined to pick one up.

YellowDart · 03-22-2016, 11:42 PM #4

The Nvidia Shield doesn't have good performance because it has a Tegra X1. It has good performance because it is a device designed by a gaming device manufacturer (Nvidia) marketed and designed specifically for the purpose of playing games. The X1 is part of this, but there are many other parts - active cooling, constant AC power, the fact that it doesn't need to worry about not burning your hand, a full OpenGL 4.5 driver, etc. (and even then, it only runs some games at close to full speed.)

The Pixel C doesn't have active cooling, has to dissipate heat into your hands, and is battery-powered. These things will put significant limits on performance. Last I heard, it has an OpenGL ES 3.2 driver, which has enough of the features Dolphin requires to not cause a huge performance drop, but there are at least minor differences.

The point is, you should not buy a Pixel C for Dolphin. Buy it for other reasons and try Dolphin on it, absolutely. But you will be disappointed if you think you're getting a portable Wii.

nex86 · (This post was last modified: 03-26-2016, 07:26 AM by nex86.)

I wouldn't get a Pixel C if you plan to use Dolphin on it.
If you like Android and the apps that are available on Android, then yes.
Otherwise I'd get a Surface Pro which also gives you the ability to play regular PC games on the go including all emulators that are available for PC.
I'd recommend to use a controller because most games don't have touchscreen controls.

03-26-2016, 02:54 PM #6

Pixel C is not a gaming device. It will get hot with extended play and Id be concerned about the temps.
The Shield on the other hand has enough cooling. Im lucky enougn to bave tested each on some games and fpse/ play store fps.

It doesnt seem to be working however Im new to Dolphin so who knows what Im doing wrong. I shoved my wii disc into the usb port but nothing is showing up.
edit1
Ok things seem to be working.
My uNwrapper wasnt unwrapping the disc so i had to get a new one from the store.

However all the onscreen input button are mushed in the corner so i have to set them up.

Ok the latest version doesnt seem to have a way to fix the on screen buttons somits currently unplayable.

04-05-2016, 06:29 AM #7

I went a bought a Pixel C after being impressed with the performance on the Shield TV and so far it's been working pretty well. The frame rates on Double Dash for example are arround 45 to 55 with internal resolution set to x2so perfectly playable.

No overheating after a couple of hours play, I am going to try a few other games and see how it goes

**leolam** · 04-05-2016, 07:22 AM #8

Double Dash is considered a pretty lightweight game. If you can't get to full speed even in it, well, your performance is not going to be great with any game that's any more intensive. This results in crackling audio, which personally annoys me a lot…

**degasus** · 04-05-2016, 09:26 PM #9

@leolam: I think there is no point in requireing full speed all the time here. Else you have to buy a desktop Wink

At least I hope everyone here in the android forum knows it....

**leolam** · 04-06-2016, 01:46 AM **#10**

Yeah, I don't think there's actually an Android device that can run games at full speed all the time. But, I was wondering, doesn't running slower than full speed make audio crackle? Or is that not an issue on Android devices? Because I wouldn't be able to play with anything less than 100%, just because the audio would be very annoying.