Inconsistent performance on a good machine ( Macbook )

[Leyy]

Hey, I was looking forward to playing Monster hunter 3 and Windwaker on dolphin, and performance is very bad even though my computer is pretty good.
I'm running Dolphin 4.0 on OSX 10.7.5

i7 2.4Ghz
6670m
8 gigs of ram
750gb SSD

I'm also making sure i'm using the dedicated gpu instead of the integrated one.

I'm getting really inconsistent framerates, even at lowish resolutions in windwaker with no AA, no AF ( native resolution wich is 1920x1200 is constant 20 fps with choppy audio ), Monster hunter on the Wii seems to run a little bit better but i still get random fps drops, or consistent poor framerates.

Is running Dolphin on OSX more of a strain for the system ?

Please enlighten me.

[JMC47]

Dolphin does run quite a bit slower on OSX. Also, i7 2.4Ghz says very little about your processor. There is 3 generations of i7s, and then mobile variants. I'm going to guess, based on the video card, that it's a 2630ish QM i7. And if that's the case, to make Wind Waker go faster, you're going to want to edit the INI and make it so it doesn't force DSP LLE. That should enable your computer to run Wind Waker pretty well...

Monster Hunter Tri is a harder game to run; I think if you went into Windows on that PC you'd have as better chance, but I can't guarantee that will run full speed on a laptop.

[Garteal]

^ What he said.

If you're able to, find out what exact CPU model is in your Macbook so we can help you better.

To enable HLE in Wind Waker, do the following:
Right-click the game in Dolphin and go to properties. In the bottom-left, click on Edit Config.
In the config window add the following and save it.

Code:

[Core]
DSPHLE = True

This will increase your performance, but you will experience black screens (hanging) at times.

Monster Hunter Tri requires a fast CPU to maintain full speed when fighting against multiple minions and bosses at the same time. So if your random FPS drops and consistent low frame rates are related, then you know why.

[Leyy]

(10-10-2013, 03:44 AM)Garteal Wrote: ^ What he said.

If you're able to, find out what exact CPU model is in your Macbook so we can help you better.

To enable HLE in Wind Waker, do the following:
Right-click the game in Dolphin and go to properties. In the bottom-left, click on Edit Config.
In the config window add the following and save it.

Code:

[Core]
DSPHLE = True

This will increase your performance, but you will experience black screens (hanging) at times.

Monster Hunter Tri requires a fast CPU to maintain full speed when fighting against multiple minions and bosses at the same time. So if your random FPS drops and consistent low frame rates are related, then you know why.

How can I find exactly what my CPU is on OSX ?

[Garteal]

Did a quick Google search and found the following command. Not sure if it still works, but open up a command terminal and paste and execute the following command:

Code:

sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string

Paste the output here of course. (Should be one line)

[Leyy]

(10-10-2013, 03:53 AM)Garteal Wrote: Did a quick Google search and found the following command. Not sure if it still works, but open up a command terminal and paste and execute the following command:

Code:

sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string

Paste the output here of course. (Should be one line)

i7-2760QM CPU @ 2.40GHz

EDIT: Ok i played with this config edit you gave me and it's still the same experience, 20 fps while in combat on windwaker, sometimes random drops.

[LordVador]

In .ini file (User/GameConfig) turn "RAM" into "Texture" (EFBToTexture = True).

Also your CPU is good but not excellent for Dolphin. Some troubles in demanding games are expected

[Leyy]

(10-10-2013, 09:28 AM)LordVador Wrote: In .ini file (User/GameConfig) turn "RAM" into "Texture" (EFBToTexture = True).

Also your CPU is good but not excellent for Dolphin. Some troubles in demanding games are expected

Should run wind waker smoothly at least no ?

[admin89]

If you use Windows then ...Yes

[LordVador]

(10-10-2013, 07:09 PM)Leyy Wrote: Should run wind waker smoothly at least no ?

With EFB to Texture. EFB to RAM is too much demanding.

It will be even more demanding if you use LLE