Lenovo G405s - AMD A8 5550M Processor. Not powerful enough?

[Handepsilon]

I'm getting pretty much confused on how to speed my Dolphin up. Basically I want to test my GameCube game (Shadow The Hedgehog) up in here, but all I get is mostly <30 FPS without frameskip, and <15 FPS with frameskip set to 1 at gameplay. I played at the lowest settings possible, with the hacks in the performance guide, even switching back and forth between OpenGL and Direct3D 9 just to see which is the fastest. It just pains me that this lag happens to GameCube emulation, who knows what'll happen to Wii games emulation?

Specs
OS : Windows 7 x64
Processor : AMD A8 5550M
Graphics : AMD Radeon Dual Graphics 8550G + 8570M
RAM : 4.00 GB

P.S : I'd say that I can play CoD4 MW1 and MW2 with mediocre system without lag when battery's full/not charged and minimum lag when charged (nature of my laptop : lags when charging), but I don't think such comparison is considered relevant

[KHg8m3r]

Dont compare PC games to Dolphin. They rely more on the GPU, Dolphin relies heavily on the CPU.
Your CPU is not the greatest, as AMD has low single-core speeds, and since Dolphin is only a dual-core program, it won't play the more demanding games.

HOWEVER, to get the most out of your CPU, make sure you have your laptop plugged in and set to high performance. And then get the latest dev build, as in the past month alone, it has gotten about 30% faster.

[Link_to_the_past]

You could try the latest dev build with opengl that is about 40% faster, but probably you will still have issues. Thing is mobile cpus are weak compared to desktop cpus, and when it comes to Dolphin AMD cpus are weak compared to Intel. So having an AMD laptop is like having the worst possible scenario for Dolphin.

[Handepsilon]

Dont compare PC games to Dolphin. They rely more on the GPU, Dolphin relies heavily on the CPU.
Your CPU is not the greatest, as AMD has low single-core speeds, and since Dolphin is only a dual-core program, it won't play the more demanding games.

HOWEVER, to get the most out of your CPU, make sure you have your laptop plugged in and set to high performance. And then get the latest dev build, as in the past month alone, it has gotten about 30% faster.

Yeah, a lot of people says that, that's why I put it on a PS. And actually, my laptop lags more when plugged in (don't ask. I'm confused as well with the logic, but it happens, and looks like I'm not the only one.)

You could try the latest dev build with opengl that is about 40% faster, but probably you will still have issues. Thing is mobile cpus are weak compared to desktop cpus, and when it comes to Dolphin AMD cpus are weak compared to Intel. So having an AMD laptop is like having the worst possible scenario for Dolphin.

And yeah, the dev build is significantly faster... at times. It can't do frameskipping without unacceptable lag though.

I bought this laptop since my parents preferred having a mobile computer I can carry anywhere, especially in the campus. It's a bit cheaper and a lot stronger than my Dad's intel celeron (except for some lower grade games. WTF) Well, I guess now that I'm told by a lot of people, AMD's not that strong. I'll try running it on my friend's i7 laptop later cause there's no way I'm getting at least an Intel i5 laptop anytime soon

[admin89]

AMD mobile APU is utter craps . Unlike desktop APU , Latest mobile APU is much slower than latest mobile i3
Combine the power of all 4 cores , it's only on par with outdated i3 2310M @ 2.1GHz (Sandy Bridge , 2011)

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-A-Serie...639.0.html

Since Dolphin is a dual core application , only 2 cores is used . That would make it even worse
If you want to buy a laptop for Dolphin . At least get an i5 4200M @ 2.9GHz or the newer i5 4210M
The recommended mobile CPUs for Dolphin are : i7 4700MQ @ 3.2GHz or i7 4750HQ or i7 4710MQ or i7 4702MQ
Thing to keep in mind , outdated i7 CPUs are weaker than latest i3/i5 in Dolphin . For example : i7 3630QM is weaker than i3 4100M
And non-gaming laptop will run hot . 80-90% multi-media laptop with dedicated GPU overheat when running Dolphin
If you want a cheap multi-media laptop that will run dolphin well without overheating then you must get laptop with integrated GPU : Intel HD 4600 or Intel HD 5200
Btw , here is Official Dolphin Benchmark (included mobile APU results) :