I was just thinking about it..What is the strongest computer you need before the hardware becomes obselete and the software (dolphin) is the last part that will help stability and performance.
Since I've read it doesn't utilize more than two cores a dual with perhaps 3.5 to 4.0GHz should be ideal. My E8400 is running 3.0GHz and it's not enough, I have it running and it's 100% all the time (while that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing it doesn't leave room for a heavy situation, better safe than sorry as always
)
About RAM..I have 3GB and I've never seen it drain more than 200MB so much isn't needed there except I guess DDR3 could have a minimal gain over DDR2 (as well as a new, strong motherboard).
About GPU, I have no idea. I don't think how dolphin uses the GPU and I would like some clarification on that part, thanks!
in terms of cpu, my 2.33 ghz runs a certain game at 20fps which means you would need an 8ghz dual core. obviously they don't exist and other things like l2 cache size would help reduce that requirement, so that would kind of make dual core not enough but others argue it's enough and they refuse to implement more than dual core support. so that means you need a cpu with highest ghz, overclocked to as much as safely possible. and with a 12mb cache size.
gpu is important. if you take intel graphics, it won't run opengl plugin (which is the most complete)
directx 9 is good, (i use this most)
and directx 11, you need to have atleast a directx 10 card and is pretty pointless as it is the most incomplete but has good graphics and is pretty easy to implement according to devs, compared to say directx 9.
(note: dx11 games won't work on dx10 grafix card on computer games, however this is different from dolphin. maybe they're implement dx10 and just called it dx11)
A better IPC, which will come with Sandy Bridge and hopefully Bulldozer.
Ya, I also heard that about DX11 so hopefully as time goes that plugin will get its potential. Can some dolphin creator or mod answer why more cores won't be implemented? I read somewhere that it would take major source code reconstruction, hopefully it wont..
i have already asked about 3+ core. they say that dual core is sufficient and yes, they would need to re-write the code and it would take too long and maybe not even possible. i.e. dual core max
It would still be ideal to get a newer CPU like core i7 considering it has higher l2 cache like you said and is faster clocks for clocks.
yes, i7 would be brill. if you have a look around the forum, many users have i7. and if you get i7 extreme then
1) you're loaded :-)
2) you'd probably get great speeds on all playable games.
but lets not forget, these are top systems. if there was simply quad support, you could get it working perfectly on a quad.
the other option is wait. in the future you'd probably get a new dual core which is so powerful it can run dolphin on relatively low clock.
though it would be like the pj64 era, where it was difficult to get n64 to run. now everyone can run n64.
for the l2 difference on performance visit
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2352/2
it shows ut3, (relatively demanding game) and the difference l2 cache size makes
When I can run the Wii perfectly with the new hardware/revisions I will probably already either 1)lost interest and moved to PC games/another console or 2) bought a real Wii anyway.
That said, the last couple of days I've been having HUGE improvements when it comes to stability, speed and controls (saves work at last!) which make both Other M, MP3 C, Mario Galaxy and Smash Brawl playable.
Quote:It would still be ideal to get a newer CPU like core i7 considering it has higher l2 cache like you said and is faster clocks for clocks.
Although IPC is better with an i7/i5/i3 running dolphin but it has nothing to do with the cache. Anything above 4MB won't impact performance in a noticeable way. If you need proof of this just compare performance per clock in dolphin between an i7 and phenom II X4. The higher bandwidth (particularly memory bandwidth) and out or order pipeline contribute a lot to improving performance per clock in dolphin, especially when efb to ram is being used.
Quote:About GPU, I have no idea. I don't think how dolphin uses the GPU and I would like some clarification on that part, thanks!
What would you like to know? Dolphin runs a video plugin (on the cpu) that recompiles instructions intended for the GC/Wii gpu into opengl or directx functions. The functions are then carried out by the gpu to draw the images that are sent to your monitor. In terms of how much gpu horsepower you need well that depends on your resolution, how the efb is being handled (efb to texture/ram), how much AA your using, which game your running and how demanding that game is, and some other stuff that I won't bother thinking of since I'm tired right now. Nvidia gpus tend to handle opengl a bit better than equivalent ati gpus due to their more opengl oriented drivers while both brands handle directx about equally. I would say a 9800GT/5670/4830 should be enough to run any game at 1080p without slowdowns related to the gpu (you can still get cpu related slowdowns obviously) at 1080p if no AA is being used. For 4xSSAA at 1080p I would recommend a 5870/470. Most games will need a lot less than that but some games like wind waker need several times as much graphics throughput as most games need. For most games the gpu requirements should be less than half of what I have listed. Any other questions you want to ask me?
Quote: Can some dolphin creator or mod answer why more cores won't be implemented? I read somewhere that it would take major source code reconstruction, hopefully it wont..
It's a slightly long answer and I have to go right now but I'll answer this in detail when I get back in a few hours.
As for the rest of your questions I'll have to answer them when I get back as well.
Wow!!! Now there is someone in the know how and plenty of time. On the other hand, maybe not enough time :-P