Unstable FPS since r6587

[Nolonar]

I updated Dolphin from r 6581 to r6587 not long ago and noticed unstable framerates with GCN games (tested on "Luigi's Mansion" and "Mario Kart: Double Dash").

With r 6581 I got around 30 FPS and normal sound (not sure if 30 FPS is full speed though)
Now I get > 50 FPS and when there are a lot of (potentially) mobile objects (e.g. objects that can move when activated) the FPS sinks to around 15-25 FPS (too slow)
And when there aren't any 3D (e.g. credits) the FPS rises to over 170FPS
Also, when I try to throttle the speed (e.g. AA 9x) I do get 30 FPS but then the sound becomes jumpy and the FPS remains unstable.

I didn't notice any similar problem with Wii games though (tested on "Mario Kart Wii" and "Monster Hunter Tri")

I thought you might want to know, I'm not expecting an answer or anything.

[xenofears]

You did try a build other than mine right? It has experimental optimizations. K.. glad to know it wasn't my build.

[NaturalViolence]

You have to wait until they finish the fifo work. Remember that this is essentially beta code that we are using, expect massive breakages and problems until they finish rebuilding the fifo. Until then just use an older revision.

[xenofears]

What's the best older revision to use NaturalViolence? 6553 I think?

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You do have frame limiting on, try audio throttle? It shouldn't go above 30fps in those games with those settings even with the fifo issues (?)

Zelda WW held fine at 30fps with the proper settings on 6587.

[Nolonar]

I always only download the builds from here: http://www.dolphin-emu.org/download.html
No idea what's experimental or not (I've got the newer r6591 now but the problem's still here)

Btw. This problem only exists on Gamecube games (I only got the ROMs for Luigi's Mansion and Double Dash, so I could only test these two)
Wii games run better than before.

[xenofears]

Ah, well I saw you commented on my thread. Any case, glad to know it's not my build.

Sounds like it is the WIP fifo issues. I'd like to build one before the issues, so hopefully NaturalViolence will tell me what's a good revision for both of us (I think he has his own pre-fifo rewrite build too, search the forums for it perhaps and give it a try.)

[Starscream]

There was no fifo work that caused his slowdowns. If you noticed the revisions he mentioned, no fifo code was added at that time. It was probably the "lock threads to cores" option from r6584. Stick with r6581 for now or toggle that option.

[xenofears]

Locking Threads is off by default.. and it wouldn't cause games to go too fast too? But you are right I guess I don't know what the change could have been. Do you have Lock Threads on? I'd really like to see some testing done with the new change. It works fine for me, I actually get it a bit faster on my rig.

If it's causing problems simply turn it off. It is not a necessary option by any means. What are your settings, do you have frame limiter and audio throttle turned on, what have you changed from default?

[Nolonar]

I don't think it's the Thread locking. The FPS doesn't really change much either way.

[Starscream]

I don't know what to tell you. Going by the revision numbers you mentioned, there is nothing that would have caused this otherwise. There is just nothing in the middle of r6581 to r6587 that would have any affect on speed other than that (unless you use the LLE audio plugin). You must have some settings different on the builds you tested. Right click on the game in the menu and see what options are checked off in properties.