Interested in buying a PC that will run Dolphin (specs included)

[Pixelvision]

Hey there,

So, I got a hyperspin machine and I'm wanting to upgrade to include pcsx2 but, more importantly I want it to run Dolphin for the Wii games (and a few GC).  

Firstly, I'm on a tight budget.  However, I do have a PC in mind (at the $700 range) but I was wanting to ask around with people that already have working knowledge with Dolphin on what I can expect with these specs.  

Specs are as follows:
Intel i5 7400 3.0Ghz Quad Core
8Gb RAM DDR4
AMD RX 480 4Gb

So in theory this rig should work as it meets the vague requirements that I've found for Dolphin (sse2, pixelshading, dx9, etc?) but the question is "how well?".

To further help paint a picture on what I can expect with this set of specs, I have a few games that I'm more interested in than any others which I'll list below:

GC: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Killer 7, LoZ: Windwaker, Ultimate Muscle

Wii: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Mario Kart Wii, Muramasa, No More Heroes, Punch-Out! (this is the one I'm MOST interested in running), Super Mario Galaxy

I'm interested in running these particular titles as close to the real thing (within emulation boundaries of course).

Looking forward to hearing from the community on whether this is the PC for the job.  

Thanks  

[Helios]

Should run all of those games fine. I'm mildly concerned about the clock speed of that i5 but it's Kaby Lake so as long as you're getting that turbo clock of 3.5 ghz, you should be more than okay for Dolphin.

However, due to using an AMD GPU, I highly recommend either using the Vulkan graphics backend (included in the latest dev builds), or Direct3D 11. We default to OpenGL because it's the most mature/tested, but it's only reasonably fast on Nvidia and Intel. AMD is very slow on GL.


I have a question. Are you building just an emulation PC or is this PC going to be for general usage and PC games too? If it's just an emulation machine I can likely recommend something better for cheaper.

[GreenT]

(05-13-2017, 12:59 AM)Helios Wrote: However, due to using an AMD GPU, I highly recommend either using the Vulkan graphics backend (included in the latest dev builds), or Direct3D 11. We default to OpenGL because it's the most mature/tested, but it's only reasonably fast on Nvidia and Intel. AMD is very slow on GL.

I've seen this repeated a few times but I don't understand it. I haven't done any rigorous comparisons, but on my iMac OpenGL works fine, and that's good because it's the only real option for rendering in Mac OS. (The iMac has an AMD mobile GPU -- the Radeon R9 m395X). I can dual boot the Mac to Windows and try it out there to compare, but Dolphin 5 running on Mac OS with OpenGL works pretty well. (I don't use it for Dolphin much anymore because I have a dedicated Dolphin rig plugged into the TV now.)

[JosJuice]

(05-13-2017, 06:19 AM)GreenT Wrote: I've seen this repeated a few times but I don't understand it. I haven't done any rigorous comparisons, but on my iMac OpenGL works fine, and that's good because it's the only real option for rendering in Mac OS. (The iMac has an AMD mobile GPU -- the Radeon R9 m395X). I can dual boot the Mac to Windows and try it out there to compare, but Dolphin 5 running on Mac OS with OpenGL works pretty well. (I don't use it for Dolphin much anymore because I have a dedicated Dolphin rig plugged into the TV now.)

OpenGL on AMD (and also OpenGL on any macOS driver) is slower than you could've gotten from other backends, but that slowdown might not be enough to make you drop below full speed, depending on the computer, game and settings.

[Pixelvision]

(05-13-2017, 12:59 AM)Helios Wrote: "I have a question. Are you building just an emulation PC or is this PC going to be for general usage and PC games too? If it's just an emulation machine I can likely recommend something better for cheaper."

Hey thanks for the detailed response.  As for your last question:
It's sole purpose would be as an emulation machine, stuck in an arcade cabinet with controllers sticking out of the side of the box. 

[Helios]

Sweet! Then you don't really need a core i5!

I'm assuming you live in the US and have access to online stores so, how does this look?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hpnxm8

I left out storage and a case as that's really user preference.

The idea with the GPU is you don't need a beefy GPU for dolphin at all. Dolphin doesn't push the GPU very hard, even at HD resolutions (there are some exceptions to this with EFB nonsense, but don't worry about that). On top of that, having an Nvidia GPU lets you use the OpenGL backend *almost* as fast as the Vulkan backend is. And considering that our OpenGL backend is the most stable and mature, that's good if you find you have issues with Vulkan or don't want to use it.

And the CPU. Dolphin doesn't use more than two hard working threads. There's no need to get a Core i5 with 4 beefy cores when the Pentium G4560 gets the job done just as well at a fraction of the price. There aren't really any emulators right now anyways that can saturate more than a few threads not counting RPCS3 (Which isn't really ready for users anyways). At the same clock speeds, Dolphin's JIT would be just as fast on the Pentium than on the Core i5.

[Pixelvision]

(05-13-2017, 11:09 AM)Helios Wrote: "Sweet! Then you don't really need a core i5!

I'm assuming you live in the US and have access to online stores so, how does this look?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hpnxm8

I left out storage and a case as that's really user preference.

The idea with the GPU is you don't need a beefy GPU for dolphin at all. Dolphin doesn't push the GPU very hard, even at HD resolutions (there are some exceptions to this with EFB nonsense, but don't worry about that). On top of that, having an Nvidia GPU lets you use the OpenGL backend *almost* as fast as the Vulkan backend is. And considering that our OpenGL backend is the most stable and mature, that's good if you find you have issues with Vulkan or don't want to use it.

And the CPU. Dolphin doesn't use more than two hard working threads. There's no need to get a Core i5 with 4 beefy cores when the Pentium G4560 gets the job done just as well at a fraction of the price. There aren't really any emulators right now anyways that can saturate more than a few threads not counting RPCS3 (Which isn't really ready for users anyways). At the same clock speeds, Dolphin's JIT would be just as fast on the Pentium than on the Core i5."



Ok, you just saved me a LOT of money!  and gave me some free hand holding as well    That's pretty much exactly what I need at the right price.  Appreciate the help!

[Helios]

Just note, if you're looking at resolutions higher than 1080p, I'd get a GPU with more VRAM. Maybe a 1050ti.