Speeding up dolphin

[woolf]

Before I commence with the explanation of my problem, I would like to give you my computer’s specs.

3rd gen Intel Core i5-3230M Processor (2.6GHz, 3M cache). Memory: 8.0GB, DDR3-1600MHz SDRAM. Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive. Video Card: Intel ® Hard Graphics Family and NVIDIA NVS 5200M (GDDR5 1GB) Discrete Graphics

First of all, yes, I am quite awhere of the fact that the NVS series of video cards are not “gaming Cards,” but never the less, it’s the best I can do as of now.

I have been using dolphin for the last few months with hardly any issues (and the issues that I have encountered have been relatively insignificant and easy to fix).

I have successfully emulated several games such as super smash Broes brawl, Mario Party 8, some Zelda games, and a few gamecube games.

My problem arose when I tried to emulate Pokemon Battle Revolution. As soon as I started the game I knew something was wrong as the speed was just at 48-55%, and my FPS ranged from a pathetic 28-32 FPS. I was quite shocked at this since I have been able to run SSBB at 100% speed with 50 FPS on a constant basis.

My question is, what can I do to speed up my game play to at least 70%, and why have I only encountered this problem with Pokemon Battle revolution.

[Shonumi]

Sorry, had to edit your post. Using fonts and sizes that differ from the default is jarring for many users, and the frequent line-break made it hard to read :p

My problem arose when I tried to emulate Pokemon Battle Revolution. As soon as I started the game I knew something was wrong as the speed was just at 48-55%, and my FPS ranged from a pathetic 28-32 FPS.

Well there's your problem. You're trying to emulate a very demanding game when your hardware can't handle it at fullspeed. Pokemon: Battle Revolution has been known to cause trouble even for Sandy and Ivy Bridge systems overclocked at 4.4GHz. Your i5-3230M is nowhere near fast enough to run this game without slowing down.

I was quite shocked at this since I have been able to run SSBB at 100% speed with 50 FPS on a constant basis.

SSBB is a very "light" game that doesn't demand a lot of CPU processing power. Just so you know this, every game in Dolphin will have different hardware requirements; naturally how demanding it is in Dolphin will vary from game to game. GC games aren't necessarily more difficult to emulate than Wii games. It all depends on how the game was made and how Dolphin needs to emulate it. Again, Pokemon: Battle Revolution is extremely demanding on your CPU whereas SSBB isn't.

My question is, what can I do to speed up my game play to at least 70%, and why have I only encountered this problem with Pokemon Battle revolution.

There's not much you can do, short of getting new hardware. Even if you constantly use Turbo Boost on 2 cores, your i5-3230M is too weak to run this game consistently at fullspeed.

['Arith]

-snip-


SSBB is a very "light" game that doesn't demand a lot of CPU processing power. Just so you know this, every game in Dolphin will have different hardware requirements; naturally how demanding it is in Dolphin will vary from game to game. GC games aren't necessarily more difficult to emulate than Wii games. It all depends on how the game was made and how Dolphin needs to emulate it. Again, Pokemon: Battle Revolution is extremely demanding on your CPU whereas SSBB isn't.

Is there a list of demanding games and light games that's available somewhere? google no halp

[Shonumi]

There's no comprehensive list (though some people have proposed making one); you kind of just have to hang around here and/or look at the Dolphin Wiki a lot.

Some "light" games:

Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Time Splitters 2
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Legend of Zeld: Four Swords Adventures
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Super Smash Brother Melee
New Super Mario Bros.
Bomberman Blast (a lot of Wiiware for that matter, especially 2D games)
Animal Crossing games

Some demanding games:
The Last Story
Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (both are GPU intensive and become CPU intensive with LLE audio)
Metroid Prime games (some parts are CPU demanding, some parts are GPU demanding like the Chozo Ruins in MP1)
Pokemon: Battle Revolution
All WWE games
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Hyrule field specifically slows down, especially later in the game when more of it opens up)

And there's more; that's just scratching it.

['Arith]

There's no comprehensive list (though some people have proposed making one); you kind of just have to hang around here and/or look at the Dolphin Wiki a lot.

Some "light" games:

Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Time Splitters 2
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Legend of Zeld: Four Swords Adventures
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Super Smash Brother Melee
New Super Mario Bros.
Bomberman Blast (a lot of Wiiware for that matter, especially 2D games)
Animal Crossing games

Some demanding games:
The Last Story
Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (both are GPU intensive and become CPU intensive with LLE audio)
Metroid Prime games (some parts are CPU demanding, some parts are GPU demanding like the Chozo Ruins in MP1)
Pokemon: Battle Revolution
All WWE games
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Hyrule field specifically slows down, especially later in the game when more of it opens up)

And there's more; that's just scratching it.

So.. That said, If I used LLE audio with super mario galaxy 2 in theory I would better fps than using HLE considering my i7 cpu and igp gpu?

hmm... Gonna have to lurk a while longer. sifting through forum searches are giving me a headache.

Thanks for your incomplete list btw.

[LordVador]

There's no comprehensive list (though some people have proposed making one)

I will when I have more time. Been inventoring these demanding, or very demanding, games. Much more than you could think

[Shonumi]

I will when I have more time. Been inventoring these demanding, or very demanding, games. Much more than you could think

That you would make such a list doesn't surprise me. Don't you own all of the games ever made anyway? :p

Of course I'm joking, but I get the impression that you have access to a lot of games based on how knowledgeable you are here in the forums. You can never have too many games by the way

So.. That said, If I used LLE audio with super mario galaxy 2 in theory I would better fps than using HLE considering my i7 cpu and igp gpu?

It's the other way around. Your Intel HD 3000 will bottleneck your performance even at 1x IR, since it creates a GPU bottleneck (in this game especially) so you won't get fullspeed regardless if you use HLE audio or LLE audio. LLE audio is more demanding on the CPU than HLE audio, so if you use LLE audio, you will create a CPU bottleneck. With HLE audio, you'll only have the GPU bottleneck thanks to the Intel HD 3000. With LLE audio, you'll have a GPU bottleneck and a CPU bottleneck, so you'll get lower FPS.

['Arith]

So.. That said, If I used LLE audio with super mario galaxy 2 in theory I would better fps than using HLE considering my i7 cpu and igp gpu?

It's the other way around. Your Intel HD 3000 will bottleneck your performance even at 1x IR, since it creates a GPU bottleneck (in this game especially) so you won't get fullspeed regardless if you use HLE audio or LLE audio. LLE audio is more demanding on the CPU than HLE audio, so if you use LLE audio, you will create a CPU bottleneck. With HLE audio, you'll only have the GPU bottleneck thanks to the Intel HD 3000. With LLE audio, you'll have a GPU bottleneck and a CPU bottleneck, so you'll get lower FPS.

So I'm boned either way. Oh well. Thanks for the info.

[LordVador]

That you would make such a list doesn't surprise me. Don't you own all of the games ever made anyway? :p

I've always owned a lot of games. From 80's old systems (CPC, Commodore, Spectrum, Atari...) to actual ones (Wii, PS3).
My wife says I've got as many games as books. I should open a museum .

I get the impression that you have access to a lot of games based on how knowledgeable you are here in the forums.

I try to share the experiments I've been able to make here and there. If it can help some people then it's fine.

You can never have too many games by the way

Never. It reminds me of a conversation with Gabriel Belmont/Duke Nukem in which he'd been getting bored with playing. I've never been fed up with playing. It has never become a drug either