Is my computer too weak to be using direct11?

moonshadow86 · (This post was last modified: 08-07-2014, 08:51 AM by moonshadow86.)

First of all, here are the specs for those wondering.

Windows 7
8.00 GB RAM
AMD Phenom X4 965 Processor 3.40 GHz
ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series
ASUSTeK Computer INC M48A9GTD-PRO/USB3(that is the motherboard)

Version of Dolphin used: 4.0-2450

Now, awhile ago I was playing Skyward Sword on Dolphin using Direct11 but then all the sudden my computer just froze, screen went black and it turned off. I tried turning it back on and it came back on but the monitor wouldn't activate and no sound would play. Five minutes later the power went out in my room(computer went out first, the whole room went out later). After replacing the fuse in the fusebox, I was able to turn the computer up and finally I got a message saying "overclock failed, press F1 to configure or F2 to use default settings", or something very close to that. I hit F2 because I didn't want to risk tampering anything and now I'm back on my computer again. I know, odd.

Now, I did NOT overclock my computer, apparently I do not know why I got that message. Still, is my computer strong enough for Dolphin on Direct11? I hear Direct11 takes a bit more power than Direct9 on Dolphin but I could be wrong.

**DJBarry004** · 08-07-2014, 08:51 AM #2

Not just weak, but old. Tecnically, your GPU supports D3D11 (and OGL 4.3).

moonshadow86 · 08-07-2014, 08:53 AM #3

So, in other words, would my computer just be better off to use old versions of Dolphin(which are not supported) and use the Direct9 option instead?

**DJBarry004** · 08-07-2014, 09:20 AM #4

Use any build that comes after the Zelda HLE audio fix. Those will handle demanding games like SMG and ZTP with almost no problems.

**JMC47** · 08-07-2014, 09:28 AM #5

The AMD 58xx graphics cards have some issues with D3D11.

moonshadow86 · (This post was last modified: 08-07-2014, 11:41 AM by moonshadow86.)

HLE Audio fix? Are you referring to that hack I saw on the "patches" tab in Twilight Princess? As far as I know, that speeds the game but I'm not sure if it fixes the audio in cutscenes.

Anyway, back on topic. What would be a good card to use for D3D11 in Dolphin? The reason I want D3D11 for Skyward Sword is so I can use the projection hack with zFar enabled. By doing this it fixes the distant blur ahead of me.

I also forgot to address this but despite rather or not my hardware is weak/hold, there wasn't any serious bottleneck. I was able to maintain around 25-30 FPS the whole time.

moonshadow86 · 08-07-2014, 09:29 PM #7

Also forgot to say, I've had this hardware for almost 4 years. Yet despite no real bad bottleneck, it just spontainously froze my computer, the monitor turned off and then it took awhile for me to turn it back on.

**DJBarry004** · 08-08-2014, 02:32 AM #8

Make sure that -anything- (not just the CPU and GPU) are overheating. Use CPUID HWMonitor to get detailed temps of your PC´s components.

**KHg8m3r** · 08-08-2014, 06:51 AM #9

(08-07-2014, 09:48 AM)moonshadow86 Wrote: HLE Audio fix? Are you referring to that hack I saw on the "patches" tab in Twilight Princess? As far as I know, that speeds the game but I'm not sure if it fixes the audio in cutscenes.

No, you're thinking of the map hack that made it so the game doesn't slow down later on in the game. The HLE Audio fix was a rewrite of the HLE audio system so that games that used to require LLE Audio (read as slower and more strain on the CPU, which was most of the Zelda/Mario games) can run on the faster HLE audio.

moonshadow86 · (This post was last modified: 08-08-2014, 08:30 AM by moonshadow86.)

KHg: That does sound cool, except in some games, I am hearing a lot of audio grobble for some games such as Skyward Sword and Starfox Adventures. I did not get this in 4.0.2 or older emulators. Also, was the "Audio" option in the frame limit temporarily removed or was it completely done away with?

DJBarry: Though I'm not in Dolphin right now, I do have that HWMonitor program and I will post a pic of it soon. At the time of my big freeze that I mentioned earlier. There was nothing really hot surrounding the box of my computer. Let me know what you think of in this image below. I even did a virus scan and no bad malwares were found.

Edit: Ok, so at the time of when I took screenshot, my virus scanner was doing a full scan but the scan is complete with nothing found. This may explain some of the risen temperatures with the cores.

UPDATE: Ok, so I went into Skyward Sword using Dolphin and all 4 cores jumped up to between 70-73 C, in fullscreen and windowed mode AND also with Direct3d and OpenGL.