Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Hello!

I'm new to the forums (whoa!)

Recently my PSU (generic 450w, cost me about $15) died, so I'm going to buy Cool Master 460w one. The problem is that the PSU is bigger than my old one and won't fit properly in my PC case. So, I'm going to buy a Raidmax Quatum case, so the PSU can fit properly and just for the sake of having a good case (and not a generic one ). I currently have a Nvidia Geforce 9400GT that I have been planning in upgrading. My fan in the 9400 is broken, so, the only way I could play games (pre-2006 games) without problems was to open the case and spin the fan until it worked. So, I'm going to get a GeForce GTX460 768MB for $150-170. In total, my PC upgrade (PSU $50, Case $80, GPU $150-170) will be about $280-300.

That's $280-300 I'll be spending to make my PC work correctly again. Everything else in my PC works perfectly, but... my CPU is a bid outdated. It's a Core 2 Duo running at 2.4GHz, and if needed, I'll overclock it. I'm not planning in replacing my CPU because it's still working good and there is no need. I know that an emulator is CPU hungry, because, logically... it has to emulate the console hardware. I'm not going to play games at max resolution (my monitor native resolution 1400x900), max AA, Directx11, etc... I just want to play old gamecube games that I have (Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario Party 4, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, etc...) with some friends. Or just go solo and play Windwaker or Super Mario Sunshine. I'm ok with playing those games at 720p. Is my CPU capable of running some Wii games at full speed (also in 720p)? I only have New Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart...

tl;dr: I'm spending $300 to upgrade my PC. Should I upgrade also my CPU (Core2Duo 2.4GHz) to play Gamecube and Wii games at full speed?

if you dont want to spend money for a cpu, try buying a aftermarket cooler
and overclocked it.

You shouldn't get that Coolermaster 460w because it's just as bad as all those other generic PSU's you've had in the past. You are very lucky your last PSU didn't take out your whole PC.

(11-13-2010, 03:47 AM)Atom Wrote: [ -> ]You shouldn't get that Coolermaster 460w because it's just as bad as all those other generic PSU's you've had in the past. You are very lucky your last PSU didn't take out your whole PC.

Is it really bad? Then what you recommend me? I don't live in United States, and I can't buy stuff online (unless I pay expensive shipping). How about a Thermaltake PurePower 450W? There is a Logisys one, but I'm not planning buying it because it doesn't sound good. A-Power AK 800W is another option... but it's only 50 bucks, and I'm not sure.

choose a brand of psu that is well famous and has great reviews
just because is cheap doesnt mean its good.

(11-13-2010, 04:00 AM)knglrk Wrote: [ -> ]choose a brand of psu that is well famous and has great reviews
just because is cheap doesnt mean its good.

Yeah, the Cooler Master has great reviews, so I was going for that. The A-Power AK 800W is cheap compared to the Cooler Master (450W vs. 800W), so I wasn't sure about that.

remember were just giving suggestions and the choice is yours.

Ok. I think I'll go with the Cooler Master PSU unless I find something better.

Back to the topic... Is my CPU going to have difficulties running those games at fullspeed?

EDIT:

I think I'll just go and buy a Corsair or Seasonic PSU in the internet and pay the shipping.

As long as your mobo, psu, and aftermarket cpu cooler are good enough you should have to problem hitting 3.2-3.6GHz with that cpu. This is a much better choice for you than spending the money to buy a whole new cpu.

(11-13-2010, 04:55 AM)Slodnulius Wrote: [ -> ]Ok. I think I'll go with the Cooler Master PSU unless I find something better.

Back to the topic... Is my CPU going to have difficulties running that games at fullspeed?

games like mario galaxy you will need 3.2ghz (core 2 duo or better)
to be able to get 60 fps stable on 99% of game.

hint : core 2 duo e7500 (2.93ghz) then OC it to 3.2-3.4ghz its the safe and cheapest way to run dolphin games, and dont forget to get a decent noctua cooler.

Incase you have spare cash go to icore7 processors.

for psu brand get a corsair or thermaltake 450W or better (depends on your system too, maybe you will need a higher one) a good practice is having around 50-100W to spare even with full load, this will prevent your psu getting too hot and this practice will make it last longer.

some facts:

-dolphin gives better performance on windows 7 ultimate x64
because it takes advantage on 64 bits.
-intel processors(core 2 duo or higher) with same clock as amd processors tend to give better performance
-getting a icore 7 same clock as a core 2 duo wont give you any advantage on dolphin
-in most cases games will need 2.0ghz to 3.2ghz to be able to run fullspeed, depends on game and settings