Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the forum, and spend ages trying to figure out what (cheap) graphics card to buy for my existing HTPC to get the most out of dolphin.
I currently have an AMD Athlon II X2 235e CPU @2700 MHz. with an Onboard Radeon HD 4200 graphicscard and 4GB RAM running Windows 7 32 bit (I have to run 32 bit, because there are no 64bit drivers for the TV cards I use).
I figured out, that I can probably safely overclock the CPU to 3 Ghz.
Now, I'd like to buy a dedicated graphics card in the range of 50-70 EUR to play casual games like Wii Sports and the occasional racing game like Mario Kart preferably at least at 720p (otherwise I could just hook up a Wii to my TV set).
Is that doable? I've hard that Dolphin doesn't run that well on AMD CPUs. So does it makes sense to buy something like a passively cooled Radeon HD 5570 or should I abandon the idea, because one should rather get a I7@4 Ghz and a Radeon HD 6880?
A hd 5570 should work just fine for you.
Thanks!
I assume everything works fine for you? Can you run stuff in 1080p? The resolution is purely GPU dependent, isn't it?
I figured out, I still have an old Radeon 3870 lying around. But the fan is incredibly noisy. Despite it's age, is the 3870 superior over the HD5570 in Dolphin?
(05-13-2011, 01:31 AM)Airtrain Wrote: [ -> ]I figured out, I still have an old Radeon 3870 lying around. But the fan is incredibly noisy. Despite it's age, is the 3870 superior over the HD5570 in Dolphin?
It should be a little faster.
(05-13-2011, 01:31 AM)Airtrain Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks!
I assume everything works fine for you? Can you run stuff in 1080p? The resolution is purely GPU dependent, isn't it?
I figured out, I still have an old Radeon 3870 lying around. But the fan is incredibly noisy. Despite it's age, is the 3870 superior over the HD5570 in Dolphin?
Don't buy fools gold son and think that card would work properly after a while, the noise should give some warning signs and ring warning bells.
Go for a new 5570 as Bart suggested and save the trouble.
Well, I figured out that the 3870 wouldn't fit anyway. My current HTPC layout only allows a single-slot graphics card. I thought of buying a silent fan for the 3870, but I guess that wouldn't fit, eiter.
I just tested it with a borrowed HD5550 and I was seriously disappointed. I tried tweaking and tweaking, but I only had around 30-40 FPS in Wii Sports with noticeable lags at 720p.
I'm afraid the HD5570 won't be much better.
It works like a charm on my normal Desktop PC (core2duo E8500@3,16 GHz, ATI HD5770) with a 1680x1050 resolution.
I guess I have to go for a single-slot HD5750, but they're around 100 EUR. I'm not sure I want to spend that much for a (potentially loud and hot) graphics card in an HTPC.
Quote:should I abandon the idea, because one should rather get a I7@4 Ghz and a Radeon HD 6880?
Well if you could, then yes. That would be many times faster than what you are proposing.
Quote:Don't buy fools gold son and think that card would work properly after a while, the noise should give some warning signs and ring warning bells.
So he has a perfectly good modern video card lying around that he could be using and just because the fan is dying he should buy a whole new card instead of spending $20-30 to replace the vga cooler? That is really bad advice.
Quote:I tried tweaking and tweaking, but I only had around 30-40 FPS in Wii Sports with noticeable lags at 720p.
I'm afraid the HD5570 won't be much better.
Well no offense but your cpu is shit as far as dolphin is concerned so don't expect any miracles. Besides a 5550 might not be sufficient for some games at 720p.
Quote:I guess I have to go for a single-slot HD5750, but they're around 100 EUR. I'm not sure I want to spend that much for a (potentially loud and hot) graphics card in an HTPC.
If I'm not mistaken some passively cooled 5750s exist. And a 5670/6670 would be totally acceptable for 720p without any AA.
Quote:It works like a charm on my normal Desktop PC (core2duo E8500@3,16 GHz, ATI HD5770) with a 1680x1050 resolution.
That cpu should be about 60-80% faster for dolphin and that video card can easily handle all but the highest resolutions you can throw at it, so yeah, I'm not surprised.
The 5570 is 100 mhz faster in the core clock and has 80 more shaders than the 5550.
Check
Here for a full comparison of ATI cards.
I'm interested in hearing how well a 5570 performs in Dolphin.
@NaturalViolence if I knew a year ago about Dolphin, I would have certainly bought in intel CPU for my HTPC. Would a 5670 be totally acceptable with my inferior 235e CPU?
I would have loved to use my old 3870 but it's too wide. I don't think I can get a sufficient cooler that fits in one slot and is quite.
I'll see if I can find a small passive one.
@Bart1975 would 100 MHz and 80 more shaders give me an extra 15-20 FPs with my system?
Thanks for your help!