Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Quote:I don't see how anyone can consider that the ideal way to use a computer. An office chair at a desk with armrests/wristrests will always be the best way to use a computer for an extended period of time without becoming uncomfortable.

This is obviously a matter of opinion where no side is wrong/right, so arguments on the matter are relatively futile. However based on the fact that you were able to

Quote:set it up like a desktop

it means (in this regard )that a laptop is strictly better as it can be used exactly as a desktop AND be utilized in a plethora of different ways/locations. Arguing to the contrary is largely delusive and self-defeating, yet i doubt it will stop you

Quote:And that's a huge con for laptops.

Sure its a con, but if a laptop is an integral part of your life spending money on it is to be expected. No doubt if you want great performance in a budget friendly build you should skip on laptops.

Quote:They're never going to be anywhere near as powerful as high end desktop hardware without making the design extremely unpractical.

True they will always be slightly toned down relative to high tier desktops. The 12+ pound variants that incorporate desktop hardware are outrageously expensive and laughable monstrosities.

Quote:2. The performance per dollar of a desktop is almost usually 2-3x.

While this is probably true, the less you spend on each of them the closer the gaps become in the low end department. Nonetheless the PP$ is rather obnoxious.

Quote:Although this might help close the gap between them slightly the difference is small at best

Sure but it continues to add up bit by bit, and its not hard to foresee a future where the difference is nearly non-existent.

Quote:We still have a long way to go before your average laptop is highly upgradable and easy to upgrade. But I do believe we'll get there within 5 years.

If it weren't for the word "Average" this statement would be rather false, as a fair amount of high end laptops already incorporate upgrade ability. The last barrier to breach would be motherboard compatability between Cpu chip generations, since its extremely difficult to incorporate a hacked motherboard to fit into laptops (although enthusiasts still still try). Mxm graphic cards are nearly fully upgrade able however.

Quote:Not a large monitor. I've never even seen a laptop get up to 19", let alone 24" which is the typical size of a desktop monitor these days

First of all what YOU have seen and what exist are not necessarily the same thing. There have been 19"-21" laptops before, but they weren't profitable due to low demand so were axed. Here is some proof that i saw the other day on NBR http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/646157-whatever-happened-19-21-laptops-4.html. Nowadays 18.4" is usually the max, however those $100 21.5" lcd's http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824262011&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-24-262-011-_-Product, or $200 24" lcd's http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236153, can easily be connected to a laptop if people have that desire... Personally I'm content with a 15.6", however i may venture into 17.3" land with my next laptop purchase (A.W 17x R4, Msi Gt 7xx etc). Anything more than that is impractical and sluggish, since i'd rather not have to work out when carrying my laptop..

Quote:And of course it's obvious why, the laptop would have to be enormous to support it, so it's unpractical for a laptop to have one.

True True

Quote:have hardware comparable to a medium end desktop

Noooo, ultra high end elite laptops match high end desktops, just not the absolute highest end. Here are some scores for fully stable overclocks with a commonplace and rudimentary 2920xm @ 4.6 Ghz with 580m sli http://3dmark.com/3dm06/16048339 , a solid 2920xm overclocked @ 4.9 Ghz with 580m sli http://forum.notebookreview.com/8257728-post676.html , an impressive 2920xm @ 5.1ghz with 6990m xfire http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2022547 , and an elite 2960xm overclocked @ 5.3ghz with 580m sli http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2234845 . There are tens of thousands of other xtreme users that post in their respective threads on nbr and overclockers, those are just a couple scores I randomly picked. Hate to break it to you but these laptops will massacre 99%+ of deskptop users. Only the highest end i-7 2700k or even Sandy Bridge Extreme Chips like the 3930K/3960X with insanely high overclocks in conjunction with either gtx 570, 580, 590, Radeon HD 6970, and some Sli/Xfire configs will beat them. A First gen desktop i7 990x and lower end sandy bridge like i3 and even i5 can get left in the dust. If you think enthusiasts spend $3k-$5k+ for bulldozer-esque performance your mistaken. Still there is an undeniable gap evident across the board, and its made even more egregious due to the price differential.

I was gonna address your misconceptions about laptop battery life/heat/impractically, but it seems futile to try to sway you (Edit- just a random pic of a 2920xm at perma stable oc @ 4.5ghz with 580m sli, take note of the cpu temps in the 40's, gpu temps in the 20's.. yuuuuuup.. http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/9021/p8352noac.jpg . Oh and btw thats a mediocre Engineering Sample Chip which is strictly worse than an Oem. Also it can be found at prices rivaling sandy bridge deskptop i7's http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-i7-mobile-CPU-i7-2920xm-ES-2-4Ghz-/250995623400?pt=CPUs&hash=item3a708145e8#ht_3736wt_1300 as seen here with this $300 tag. This says it all.). Mayhap one day you'll be cursed by Santa and be given an elite Gaming Laptop for Xmas. When it turns out to be a boon and pleasing experience, there is no need to retcon your arsenal of posts bashing them endlessly, since i forgive you in advance

Quote:How many people do you know with laptops >$1,300 (other than macbooks of course)?

The vast majority of people i deal with have laptops in the $1500-$4000 range. A fair amount of Nbr/Overclocker members usually have 3-5 laptops and atleast a couple modern desktop rigs. A hefty amount of A/W people that i deal with own most of the lineup i.e m11x, m14x, m15x, m17x, m18x, since for whatever reason they want multiple laptops with different hardware configurations. Suffice it to say sub $1300 is pauper realm relative. Macs are not the only expensive laptops, however they're notorious for being the most expensive with the least amount of specs.

Disclaimer: I don't hold of spending $5k-$10k in order to own a handful of laptops, just noting that its quite prevalent and is not an anomaly. A fair amount of people are technology enthusiasts and feel the need to own nearly every high end system of its respective category i.e iphones, ipads,a/w, macbooks, thinkpads, and a ton of other random gadgets that i can care less about.

Quote:This is obviously a matter of opinion where no side is wrong/right, so arguments on the matter are relatively futile.

No. This is not a matter of opinion, this is not debatable. If you use your computer like that you are going to eventually develop back/wrist pain, ask any doctor. If you're going to be using your computer a lot you need a desk with wrist rests and a good office chair (particularly the wrist rests).

Quote:it means (in this regard )that a laptop is strictly better as it can be used exactly as a desktop AND be utilized in a plethora of different ways/locations. Arguing to the contrary is largely delusive and self-defeating, yet i doubt it will stop you

It's not going to be able to mimic a desktop setup perfectly. They can be used to kind of/sort of imitate a desktop setup but desktops still have a variety of advantages, which I listed.

Quote:The 12+ pound variants that incorporate desktop hardware are outrageously expensive and laughable monstrosities.

At least we can agree on this.

Quote:Sure but it continues to add up bit by bit, and its not hard to foresee a future where the difference is nearly non-existent.

Not really. The only way that could happen is if ICs start being made in a way that does not dissipate significant amounts of heat. Higher TDP budget = higher performance with the same architecture, without a radical change in the way ICs are made this will always remain true.

Quote:The vast majority of people i deal with have laptops in the $1500-$4000 range. A fair amount of Nbr/Overclocker members usually have 3-5 laptops and atleast a couple modern desktop rigs. A hefty amount of A/W people that i deal with own most of the lineup i.e m11x, m14x, m15x, m17x, m18x, since for whatever reason they want multiple laptops with different hardware configurations. Suffice it to say sub $1300 is pauper realm relative. Macs are not the only expensive laptops, however they're notorious for being the most expensive with the least amount of specs.

Disclaimer: I don't hold of spending $5k-$10k in order to own a handful of laptops, just noting that its quite prevalent and is not an anomaly. A fair amount of people are technology enthusiasts and feel the need to own nearly every high end system of its respective category i.e iphones, ipads,a/w, macbooks, thinkpads, and a ton of other random gadgets that i can care less about.

Enthusiasts make up less than 1% of the total number of laptop users. These types of laptops are not even remotely common. I understand that if you hang out with enthusiasts a lot it can begin to raise your standards but I guarantee you this is not normal.

Quote:I was gonna address your misconceptions about laptop battery life/heat/impractically, but it seems futile to try to sway you. Mayhap one day you'll be cursed by Santa and be given an elite Gaming Laptop for Xmas. When it turns out to be a boon and pleasing experience, there is no need to retcon your arsenal of posts bashing them endlessly, since i forgive you in advance

I've had one before and in my opinion it was not worth the tradeoffs. Normally I would like to think to myself "well maybe I just haven't used a GOOD one". But the fact of the matter is I'm not alone in this, I tend to see a lot more people that have had with bad experiences with gaming laptops on the internet and in real life than good experiences.

Sure you can make a powerful laptop but then you have to deal with the inevitable tradeoffs. The vast majority of gaming PCs are desktops, and for good reason. Whenever someone says they want to build a "gaming computer" it's implied that they mean a desktop unless they specifically say laptop, that's how well the words gaming and desktop are linked in peoples minds. Not that I mean to say you should agree with me just because it's popular opinion, I would never dare commit such an obvious logical fallacy.

You see how good I've become at dragging these things out?

NaturalViolence,

Are there any more things I can do to speed up dolphin?
I can't overclock, and I seem to have optimized my dolphin settings to the limit.

Also, If were to upgrade my Graphics card down the line,
What would be a good sub-$200 Nvidia option?

Would Ivy bridge equivalent of the i5 2300 improve things?

Quote:Are there any more things I can do to speed up dolphin?

I have no idea since you haven't provided any specific details on what you have already done.

Quote:Also, If were to upgrade my Graphics card down the line,
What would be a good sub-$200 Nvidia option?

"Down the line" means in the future. I can't see into the future. I don't know what graphics cards will be out or how much they will cost.

Quote:Would Ivy bridge equivalent of the i5 2300 improve things?

Not really, maybe 5-10%.

Would you recommend I get the GTX /S 650 (Ti?) or the GTX 560 SE as an upgrade?
(Summer job may be rolling around.)

Something in the $120-$140 range.

(It has to be Nvidia, I refuse to use Radeon after how stable this GTS 450 has been in comparison to my x1550.)

You won't buy a Radeon because you had one 3 years ago and it didn't work well? That's kinda of a flimsy reason, but okay. Don't buy an x1550 then, get something better.

(04-15-2012, 07:22 AM)Starscream Wrote: [ -> ]You won't buy a Radeon because you had one 3 years ago and it didn't work well? That's kinda of a flimsy reason, but okay. Don't buy an x1550 then, get something better.

It was unstable.
And I despise their interface.

Quote:Would you recommend I get the GTX /S 650 (Ti?) or the GTX 560 SE as an upgrade?
(Summer job may be rolling around.)

Something in the $120-$140 range.

How am I/you supposed to know how much the GTX 650 will cost, when it will be out, if there will even be one, or anything else about it?

Quote:You won't buy a Radeon because you had one 3 years ago and it didn't work well? That's kinda of a flimsy reason, but okay. Don't buy an x1550 then, get something better.

Some people have irrational brand preferences based on personal preferences (I am one of them). In my opinion there is not enough of a difference in price/performance/noise/power consumption/size/etc. between equivalent nvidia and amd graphics cards to make one clearly better. Therefore you should usually just choose whichever brand you prefer unless a particular card is clearly much better at the same price point, but that rarely happens anymore.

And a lot of the time personal preference is strongly influenced by past experiences with a brand, which is fairly logical (if a consumer buys a product from a company and is disappointing with the product they are less likely to buy products from that company in the future even if the product changes drastically).

Well then, what would you recommend?

Quote:Well then, what would you recommend?

Quote:I can't see into the future. I don't know what graphics cards will be out or how much they will cost.

Stick with what you have for now. Send me a PM, email, or post in this thread when you're actually ready to buy.