I'd like to emulate Prime and Prime 2 (GC)...

Iron14 · 09-25-2022, 07:43 AM #1

So, I have a i5-6500 CPU, 8 GBs of RAM and in the future, I'm planning on buying a GTX 1650 (GDDR6) or maybe a 1050 ti (I'm on a budget+don't want bottleneck) so, my question is, can I emulate these games without any issues? (stable 60 fps with little to no dips in the framerate). How big is the difference in performance when comparing a 1050 ti to a GTX 1650 (GDDR6)? I really don't want to do anything fancy when it comes to graphics, I'm fine with 720p, even 480p but I'd like a 16:9 ratio with no screen culling.

Also, not sure if this is the right place to ask but would it be better to use ubershaders in hybrid mode or exclusive mode given these specs? Should I use Ishiiruka?

Nintendo Maniac 64 · (This post was last modified: 09-26-2022, 05:05 AM by Nintendo Maniac 64.)

You may want to refer to my posts in this thread where a user was inquiring about almost the exact same system, except they were inquiring about the i5-6500T which is a bit slower than the bog-standard i5-6500 non-T:

https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-a-mini-pc-for-dolphin

The tl;dr is that your PC is fine and even the integrated graphics should be fast enough for something like 2x internal resolution (960p), especially if you have two sticks of DDR4 RAM rather than one (worse still if it's DDR3), though you'd definitely not want to run exclusive ubershaders with the integrated graphics on the i5-6500 - hybrid ubershaders would be the maximum you could realistically get away with (and that may or may not require 1x internal resolution aka 480p - I am uncertain).

I also want to really emphesize that Intel + Vulkan + Linux really is the best way to maximize Intel's iGPU hardware (as a side benefit, getting the official 1st party GC USB adapter to work is much easier on Linux; I personally like Linux Mint as a "baby's first Linux" though Mac lovers would likely prefer ElementaryOS).

BTW, either of those Nvidia GPUs is honestly quite overkill for what you're trying to achieve - unless you're getting an absolutely amazing steal-of-a-deal, you could go with a waaaaaaaaay cheaper GPU and achieve the same result or straight up spend the same amount of money on a modern integrated graphics solution via the form of a newer CPU + motherboard, retain your existing RAM (assuming it's DDR4), and then you'd get better performance in both the CPU and GPU (heck, even the "just for diagnostics" 2 compute unit iGPU on the about-to-launch Ryzen 7000 will outperform your i5-6500, though Ryzen 7000 requires DDR5 due to being the AM5 platform - I'm just trying to put things into perspective rather than say "go buy Ryzen 7000 when in launches in 2 days").

Oh and psst, have you by chance heard of Prime Hack? It's particularly notable for mouse+keyboard control with the Trilogy versions of all 3 Metroid Prime games (though it also supports making them work with a traditional dual-analog control scheme rather than the GC's "tank controls" for lack of a better term). And protip - on Linux it's much easier to just install the Flatpak.

Iron14 · 09-26-2022, 10:32 PM #3

(09-26-2022, 04:35 AM)Nintendo Maniac 64 Wrote: You may want to refer to my posts in this thread where a user was inquiring about almost the exact same system, except they were inquiring about the i5-6500T which is a bit slower than the bog-standard i5-6500 non-T:

https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-a-mini-pc-for-dolphin

The tl;dr is that your PC is fine and even the integrated graphics should be fast enough for something like 2x internal resolution (960p), especially if you have two sticks of DDR4 RAM rather than one (worse still if it's DDR3), though you'd definitely not want to run exclusive ubershaders with the integrated graphics on the i5-6500 - hybrid ubershaders would be the maximum you could realistically get away with (and that may or may not require 1x internal resolution aka 480p - I am uncertain).

I also want to really emphesize that Intel + Vulkan + Linux really is the best way to maximize Intel's iGPU hardware (as a side benefit, getting the official 1st party GC USB adapter to work is much easier on Linux; I personally like Linux Mint as a "baby's first Linux" though Mac lovers would likely prefer ElementaryOS).

BTW, either of those Nvidia GPUs is honestly quite overkill for what you're trying to achieve - unless you're getting an absolutely amazing steal-of-a-deal, you could go with a waaaaaaaaay cheaper GPU and achieve the same result or straight up spend the same amount of money on a modern integrated graphics solution via the form of a newer CPU + motherboard, retain your existing RAM (assuming it's DDR4), and then you'd get better performance in both the CPU and GPU (heck, even the "just for diagnostics" 2 compute unit iGPU on the about-to-launch Ryzen 7000 will outperform your i5-6500, though Ryzen 7000 requires DDR5 due to being the AM5 platform - I'm just trying to put things into perspective rather than say "go buy Ryzen 7000 when in launches in 2 days").

Oh and psst, have you by chance heard of Prime Hack? It's particularly notable for mouse+keyboard control with the Trilogy versions of all 3 Metroid Prime games (though it also supports making them work with a traditional dual-analog control scheme rather than the GC's "tank controls" for lack of a better term). And protip - on Linux it's much easier to just install the Flatpak.

Thank you very much for your exhaustive reply, I know about prime hack but I already own Prime Trilogy on Wii even though it's stuck inside the console (disk won't eject); wether or not I mange to get it out and repair my Wii or find a cheap new one, I'd like to play the original GC experience for Prime 1 and 2 one day.
With that said, if I were to use Windows instead of Linux do you think that Vulkan is still better?

Nintendo Maniac 64 · (This post was last modified: 09-27-2022, 04:25 AM by Nintendo Maniac 64.)

(09-26-2022, 10:32 PM)Iron14 Wrote: Thank you very much for your exhaustive reply, I know about prime hack but I already own Prime Trilogy on Wii even though it's stuck inside the console (disk won't eject)

Have you not soft-modded your Wii? If the disc is stuck then you should still be able to read games from USB drives and/or SD cards.

Heck, Nintendont (and Devolution, but that's not an option for you with your borked disc drive) doesn't even require you to install any fancy custom IOS stuff - it just requires the Homebrew Channel and that's it (I tested this exact scenario on a Wii U with USB Loader GX + Nintendont & Devolution).

Protip: I can vouch for the following USB SATA adapter for working flawlessly on both a Wii and Wii U if you happen to have any spare 2.5" SATA drives laying around:

https://vantecusa.com/products_detail.php?p_id=92

Protip #2: if you have a Microcenter nearby, then strongly consider this steal-of-a-deal combination of a free 256GB 2.5" SATA SSD for new customers combined with the above USB SATA adapter for a mere $8

(if you aren't aware, Microcenter is quite possibly the most reputable brick & mortar computer electronics store in the US)

(09-26-2022, 10:32 PM)Iron14 Wrote: With that said, if I were to use Windows instead of Linux do you think that Vulkan is still better?

It'll work, but I do not know how well it will; I just know that the Intel mesa drivers are definitely superior.

So sure, you can give it a whirl but, if the experience is sub-par, then perhaps Linux could be the next step (heck you can actually try it even without installing it; just put Ventoy on a USB drive, stick the Linux ISO of your choice onto the Ventoy-formatted USB drive, and then simply boot your computer from the Ventoy-formatted USB drive).

One fun thing is that Linux (well, at least Linux Mint anyway), can have the actual operating system itself (not just its ISO) installed to a USB drive. Sure it'd be slower, but Dolphin doesn't require fast storage in the slightest.