Instant-on dedicated Dolphin PC

andykara2003 · (This post was last modified: 09-13-2017, 08:36 AM by andykara2003.)

I'm looking to build a PC exclusively for Dolphin that I want to behave like a console in the way of being able to be put into a suspend mode and woken up in as little time as possible by the touch of a button on the PC case like the rest mode on the PS4. The idea is that if I'm playing through a game, I want to be able to suspend it and restart almost instantly with a button press without ever needing to ever quit to or even see Windows, giving the feel of playing on a console. The PC will be hooked up to my plasma via HDMI via an HDMI switch.

Can this work flawlessly with either the sleep or hibernate function on the PC using a button on the case? Are there any problems that might occur or can I do that without a hitch time after time without problems, bearing in mind the PC won't be used for anything else?

Also would hibernate or sleep be a better option for this? I'm looking for speed, although I heard that hibernate can be almost as fast as the sleep function when using an SSD.

Thanks.

**Helios** · 09-13-2017, 08:51 AM #2

I honestly have no idea. You could try it with any x86_64 PC you currently have and see if it would work.

Hibernate vs sleep probably makes no difference. I can tell you that hibernate isn't instant in an SSD though. You still have to boot the system and post, which takes time

andykara2003 · 09-13-2017, 09:06 AM #3

Thanks for that - my current laptop has problems with sleeping unfortunately so I can't test it.

I do understand that neither waking up from sleep or hibernation won't be instant - I'm just looking for the fastest option. If they're about the same I'd go with hibernate as it uses no power...

**Helios** · 09-13-2017, 10:40 AM #4

Tbh suspend now a days uses so little power. I measured my core i7 desktop a few months ago and it uses a couple watts at most.

andykara2003 · 09-13-2017, 11:37 PM #5

So I managed to get my laptop's sleep/wake function working and I can confirm that Dolphin does indeed perform perfectly with the game running full screen when the laptop wakes up!

My next question is - will the remote/nunchuck automatically connect to the bluetooth dongle when the laptop/PC wakes up? Or will I have to reconnect it in the settings? I'll get a decent dongle but I don't know anything about how the remote/nunchuck works with Dolphin..

**Helios** · 09-14-2017, 12:18 AM #6

oh. Bluetooth will definitely disconnect.

I also imagine Bluetooth Passthrough won't be happy at all.

andykara2003 · 09-14-2017, 12:25 AM #7

Damn - what would be the easiest way to reconnect it with the least hassle when the PC wakes up? I'm trying to have the setup console-like without the need for having to access the keyboard/mouse if possible. Could I simply rig up a button to reconnect or would I need to go into settings etc?

**ExtremeDude2** · (This post was last modified: 09-14-2017, 01:35 AM by ExtremeDude2.)

(09-14-2017, 12:18 AM)Helios Wrote: oh. Bluetooth will definitely disconnect.

I also imagine Bluetooth Passthrough won't be happy at all.

Would the wii's bluetooth adapter work?

SCheeseman · 09-14-2017, 01:43 AM #9

You could probably use a flavour of Linux. You'd sidestep a lot of the nonsense that Windows forces on you and everything would be far more configurable.

There's also Lakka, but then you're stuck with their Dolphin branch which will always be a bit behind and possibly contain additional compatibility issues. It may work well enough for your purposes though.

andykara2003 · (This post was last modified: 09-14-2017, 02:38 AM by andykara2003.)

(09-14-2017, 01:34 AM)ExtremeDude2 Wrote: Would the wii's bluetooth adapter work?

I hadn't thought of that - could this be the answer? Sounds promising as the connection is usually made by a button press on the Wii. Would anyone have more insight into this?

(09-14-2017, 01:43 AM)SCheeseman Wrote: You could probably use a flavour of Linux. You'd sidestep a lot of the nonsense that Windows forces on you and everything would be far more configurable.

There's also Lakka, but then you're stuck with their Dolphin branch which will always be a bit behind and possibly contain additional compatibility issues. It may work well enough for your purposes though.

Nice one - I was wondering about Linux actually but I'd much rather stick with windows as I'm much more familiar with it. Might be an option if I can't get things set up right in Windows.