Here are my specs:
-
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (pretty much the exact same performance as a Q6600)
-4 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz (5-4-4-12)
-Radeon HD 36xx Graphics (lol)
-Win7 x64
Now, I know my GPU is awful -- I never really planned on using this machine for gaming as I primarily do so on console, but Xenoblade is too good to ignore and I want to play it in HD.
So basically I am wondering if my CPU is good enough, and if so, what GPU do I need for ~30fps performance? Hoping I can find something for under $100-150.
Thanks...
(09-05-2011, 04:16 AM)dotgamehero Wrote: [ -> ]Here are my specs:
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (pretty much the exact same performance as a Q6600)
-4 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz (5-4-4-12)
-Radeon HD 36xx Graphics (lol)
-Win7 x64
Now, I know my GPU is awful -- I never really planned on using this machine for gaming as I primarily do so on console, but Xenoblade is too good to ignore and I want to play it in HD.
So basically I am wondering if my CPU is good enough, and if so, what GPU do I need for ~30fps performance? Hoping I can find something for under $100-150.
Thanks...
Hi I currently playing the game with a Athlon II 630 oc 3.5 ghz and a hd 4670, I can do x2 scaling with somo slowdowns in intensive battle scene; your processor if more powerfull than mine (I think), tried to overclock your cpu for avoid slowdowns, and for your grafic mantein native resolution. Sorry for may bad english
No need to apologize; I understand you.
Your CPU is probably similar to mine but it is clocked higher @ 2.8GHz. If Dolphin only uses 2 cores then my CPU at stock settings is essentially a Core 2 Duo @ 2.33 GHz x 2 which is not that good. I don't know how much I will be able to OC this CPU on air.
I would run it at 1280x1024 res.
(09-05-2011, 06:43 AM)dotgamehero Wrote: [ -> ]No need to apologize; I understand you.
Your CPU is probably similar to mine but it is clocked higher @ 2.8GHz.
Yes you have right, but intel is clock for clok faster than amd since the core 2 duo era, amd hope to revert this with bulldozer, but with the delaying maybe in the launch date of bulldozer will be ivy bridge era. You have a chance of overclock the cpu maybe to 3.3 - 3.5 depend of the HSF. Afaik I doubt your grafic card let you play in that res.
Yes, I would upgrade the graphics card.
Unfortunately I am having problems overclocking. Going from 2.33->2.8GHz reached thermal threshold for stability (70-71C) risking cpu failure. I had to revert to stock settings. I could invest in better cooling, but it's really not worth it for just one game especially considering my hardware is fairly outdated anyway.
So now the question remains... can I get 25-30fps with the right GPU? Because I'm definitely not going to spend another $200-300 for a new Core i5 build just for, again, playing one game as everything else I play is on console.
If not I suppose I could just hook up my Wii to a SDTV and put up with scanlines and low res.
Maybe I'd have to turn down some of the extra filtering Dolphin offers, but @ 2.33GHz with the right GPU, I am hoping I could have it look at least somewhat better than the Wii version which is fine by me.
(09-05-2011, 05:41 PM)dotgamehero Wrote: [ -> ]Yes, I would upgrade the graphics card.
Unfortunately I am having problems overclocking. Going from 2.33->2.8GHz reached thermal threshold for stability (70-71C) risking cpu failure. I had to revert to stock settings. I could invest in better cooling, but it's really not worth it for just one game especially considering my hardware is fairly outdated anyway.
So now the question remains... can I get 25-30fps with the right GPU? Because I'm definitely not going to spend another $200-300 for a new Core i5 build just for, again, playing one game as everything else I play is on console.
If not I suppose I could just hook up my Wii to a SDTV and put up with scanlines and low res.
Maybe I'd have to turn down some of the extra filtering Dolphin offers, but @ 2.33GHz with the right GPU, I am hoping I could have it look at least somewhat better than the Wii version which is fine by me.
Sorry I think that 2.8 was the default speed, umh maybe you could play the game, looking some benchmark the q8200 is almost in the same line with the 630 at stock speed, with the oveclock to 2.8 could perform the same than mine.
I start to play the game in my wii and a old tube tv, and is horrible not even close to wath dolphin only with a x2 scaling could do (without AA or AF my card couldtnd handled), with a HDTV, component cable and 480p in the wii setting should be better. Seriously in a SDTV is an eye cancer for sure.
Quote:Here are my specs:
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (pretty much the exact same performance as a Q6600)
-4 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz (5-4-4-12)
-Radeon HD 36xx Graphics (lol)
-Win7 x64
Now, I know my GPU is awful -- I never really planned on using this machine for gaming as I primarily do so on console, but Xenoblade is too good to ignore and I want to play it in HD.
So basically I am wondering if my CPU is good enough, and if so, what GPU do I need for ~30fps performance? Hoping I can find something for under $100-150.
Actually your gpu is fine for 720p. Your cpu on the other hand needs an upgrade. And no that cpu is NOT equivalent of a Q6600, its L2 cache is half the size and its clock rate is slightly lower. Dolphin will take a performance penalty from its small cache. I expect it to be between a athlon II and phenom II in performance per clock.
I would highly advise you either upgrade to a sandy bridge setup or wait until bulldozer.
(09-06-2011, 09:52 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: [ -> ]Quote:Here are my specs:
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (pretty much the exact same performance as a Q6600)
-4 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz (5-4-4-12)
-Radeon HD 36xx Graphics (lol)
-Win7 x64
Now, I know my GPU is awful -- I never really planned on using this machine for gaming as I primarily do so on console, but Xenoblade is too good to ignore and I want to play it in HD.
So basically I am wondering if my CPU is good enough, and if so, what GPU do I need for ~30fps performance? Hoping I can find something for under $100-150.
Actually your gpu is fine for 720p. Your cpu on the other hand needs an upgrade. And no that cpu is NOT equivalent of a Q6600, its L2 cache is half the size and its clock rate is slightly lower. Dolphin will take a performance penalty from its small cache. I expect it to be between a athlon II and phenom II in performance per clock.
I would highly advise you either upgrade to a sandy bridge setup or wait until bulldozer.
My GPU is fine for 720p Xenoblade? With enhancements? Wow, that's pretty shocking, it can't do anything right besides HD video...
From what I can understand my CPU has SSE4 while the Q6600 does not which makes up for the lack of cache and isn't as good of an overclocker. The two benchmark almost exactly the same at stock settings.
Can I get 30fps with an i5 Sandy Bridge? Or should I make the jump to i7? When is Bulldozer coming?
Quote:My GPU is fine for 720p Xenoblade? With enhancements? Wow, that's pretty shocking, it can't do anything right besides HD video...
Well I'm making two assumptions here.
1. That you have a HD 3650 video card since all you said was "-Radeon HD 36xx Graphics (lol)" which isn't very specific
2. That xenoblade is about as demanding as the average wii game on the gpu (I could be wrong about this since I don't have the game myself)
If those assumptions are both true, then yes, the cpu will bottleneck you at 720p, not the gpu.
Quote:From what I can understand my CPU has SSE4 while the Q6600 does not which makes up for the lack of cache and isn't as good of an overclocker.
SSE4 is a set of instructions that almost no modern software or compilers even use (including dolphin). It can only boost the performance of applications that actually gain some benefit from using the instructions, which most software does not. So it has no relevance to general performance at the moment. Besides even if it WERE as fast as a Q6600 at stock (it's not) a Q6600 at stock is considered too slow for many games (especially wii games) so it still wouldn't be good enough.
Quote:The two benchmark almost exactly the same at stock settings.
So you base this conclusion on one test? Can you show me this benchmark? What kind of application did they use?
Some applications benefit a lot from a larger cache, others show no difference. It depends on the application.
Quote:Can I get 30fps with an i5 Sandy Bridge? Or should I make the jump to i7?
Stick with a sandy bridge 2500k if you can. HT is useless for dolphin so a high end i5 is fine (it depends but usually the only difference between i5 and i7 cpus is whether HT is enabled, this is not universally true though so it's important to look at the specific models that you are comparing).
Quote: When is Bulldozer coming?
Most likely later this month or next month. There is always the possibility of a delay though.
(09-06-2011, 01:33 PM)NaturalViolence Wrote: [ -> ]Quote:My GPU is fine for 720p Xenoblade? With enhancements? Wow, that's pretty shocking, it can't do anything right besides HD video...
Well I'm making two assumptions here.
1. That you have a HD 3650 video card since all you said was "-Radeon HD 36xx Graphics (lol)" which isn't very specific
2. That xenoblade is about as demanding as the average wii game on the gpu (I could be wrong about this since I don't have the game myself)
If those assumptions are both true, then yes, the cpu will bottleneck you at 720p, not the gpu.
I have a fanless EAH3650 (Asus).
Quote:SSE4 is a set of instructions that almost no modern software or compilers even use (including dolphin). It can only boost the performance of applications that actually gain some benefit from using the instructions, which most software does not. So it has no relevance to general performance at the moment. Besides even if it WERE as fast as a Q6600 at stock (it's not) a Q6600 at stock is considered too slow for many games (especially wii games) so it still wouldn't be good enough.
I understand but everything I read at the time said the two CPU's are basically 1:1.
Quote:So you base this conclusion on one test? Can you show me this benchmark? What kind of application did they use?[/
I cannot; I based it on research I did in late 2008 before buying. From what I can remember at stock settings the Q8200 was faster because of the FSB. But the Q6600 is a better OC apparently which makes its FSB even faster. So, looking back I guess I made a bad decision. Here is one benchmark I just found:
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,66091...4/Reviews/
This might have been one of the many other benchmarks I was coming across at the time.
Quote:Stick with a sandy bridge 2500k if you can. HT is useless for dolphin so a high end i5 is fine (it depends but usually the only difference between i5 and i7 cpus is whether HT is enabled, this is not universally true though so it's important to look at the specific models that you are comparing).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819115071 This is the i7 I would probably get but it's so much more expensive. If the performance is not that much better for emulation I wouldn't bother.
Quote:Most likely later this month or next month. There is always the possibility of a delay though.
I may want to wait for that. I prefer AMD to Intel anyway and have been waiting for a good time to switch back.