speed issues when running GC...?

[Fortuna]

Hi, I'm kind of new to this whole thing...
Anyways, I got Dolphin 4.0 some time ago and I only recently decided to use it.
I took my favorite games from the Gamecube (Super Mario Sunshine, FF Crystal Chronicles, Mario Kart DD) but I'm having a somewhat annoying speed issue with all of them. Not significant enough to make the game completely unplayable, but noticeable enough to make things that require quick reactions unpleasant...
I'm running them according to the way the wiki pages for them suggest, but I still can't rise above 22-25 fps in Sunshine, for example (I am using JITIL as per the wiki's suggestion to avoid death in a certain stage, if that might be the problem... Also, characters that get "buried" in paint can't be rescued... I don't know whay this happens D.
My specs:
Lenovo Ideapad z570
Intel Core i-5 2450M CPU @ 2.50 GHz
NVidia GeForce GT 630M
4.00GB RAM
Windows / x86 (Home Premium)
Dolphin 4.0 (September 23, 2013)

I also used to have an issue where Dolphin wouldn't "recognize" my graphics card, but I realized that's just what it said and apparently it was using it anyways :/

[kinkinkijkin]

There's a laptop performance guide. I don't have a link to it, and I think it should be stickied, but it exists, and it's been linked in many threads involving laptops in the hardware section.

Because it's really sounding to me like it's actually going through the CPU's IGPU, because that's the usual case. There's a guide in the laptop performance guide going over the slightly convoluted method required to make it NOT happen.

[pauldacheez]

The paint issue sounds like you just don't have EFB to RAM checked. Graphics > Hacks, click the only radio button in there that says "RAM". (And uncheck "Cache", it can break things.)

...The game .ini system should be handling that (e.g. if a game requires EFB to RAM or some other setting, it'll start with that setting enabled unless you open the Graphics config while in-game), but I've heard weird nonsensical reports of games still showing EFB to Texture bugs when they have RAM specified in their .ini. Could all be user error, but I can't be entirely sure.

[DJBarry004]

The CPU may have an influence in those slowdowns too.

[KHg8m3r]

Yeah, its most likely a CPU slowdown. Try one of the latest dev builds (4.0-1001 as of writing), and use the OpenGL backend.

On an unrelated note, welcome back DJBarry. Please don't get banned again

[Fortuna]

Alright, the dev build made it run at a semi-constant 30fps
(though it very sporadically goes down to 23 for a little while ... It even went to 13 once :/)
I'm about to start using the program the laptop performance guide mentions and see if that makes it go full 30fps.
Thanks for the replies!

[Fortuna]

Alright, now I really don't know...
I followed the laptop performance guide, but even when I use throttlestop to the possible max, I still can't keep a constant 30fps :/
Is that just the game/emu, or is something else afoot D: ?

[KHg8m3r]

Sounds like you're getting throttling. When running Dolphin, check your temps on the CPU and GPU with a program like RealTemp