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Hi all!

I got a little question.

Im about to buy a new laptop (must be a laptop).

Its the Asus N56vz/4056
Intel Core i7 3610QM
2,3 GHZ
Turbo Boost 3,3 GHZ (dont know if dolphin supports this function?)
8GB RAM
GeForce GT 650M

Is this a good laptop to play games like:

Gamecube:
Double dash
Metroid Prime
Mario party franchise
Twilight princess
Zelda: the windwaker

Wii:
Donkey Kong Country
Mario kart Wii
Mario party franchise
Skyward Sword
New Super mario bros
Super mario bros BRAWL

I saw at this forum that Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are pretty demanding, but will this games be playable fluently on this system?

Im sorry for the amount of games im asking, but i hope someone can answer my questions, thanks in advance!
Twilight princess will be slow in Hyrule Field. Skyward Sword might just be slow (25/30 FPS). Metroid Prime might also be too difficult for your processor.

Unless you really need a quad-core, it might be better to go for a dual core i5 because they perform better in Dolphin (Dolphin can only use at max 3 cores, 2 works fine, and the clock speeds on dual-core chips tend to be higher than quad-cores).
GC
Double Dash: Should run very well
Metroid Prime: Will be playable, but you will have some slowdowns here and there, especially in battles and in demanding areas
Mario Party: Should run very well
Twilight Princess: This game is playable, but you'll get slowdown in some areas (e.g. Hyrule Field)
Zelda WW: Is playable

Wii
DK Country: Should run very well, but in some areas, you will get some little FPS drops.
Mario Kart Wii: Is playable, should run nearly at fullspeed
Mario Party: Should run very well
Skyward Sword: The games is playable, but not at fullspeed. You will get slowdowns in some areas. Skyward Sword needs a stronger CPU for full speed
New Super Mario Bros Wii: Will run @ fullspeed.
Super Smash Bros Brawl: Will run @ fullspeed most of the time, but sometimes you'll get FPS drops.

Mario Galaxy 1+2 are playable with HLE. But both games need LLE to run properly, and LLE is very demanding for the CPU. A fast overclocked Intel desktop CPU is needed for SMG1+2.

Note: Make sure, your laptops doesn't overheat. Check your temps with CoreTemp while playing! The GPU is able to handle 3x IR (1080p) in all games, so you're able to enjoy your games in FullHD Cool

Multimedia laptop is not a smart choice for Dolphin
Unlike Nvidia GT 630M , the GT 650M use alot of power ...
High end Quad Core mobile CPU + Mid-High end mobile GPU = hot ! hot ! hot !
Multimedia laptop can play PC games fine but it might overheat with dolphin
Dolphin will squeeze the heck of that CPU like you run Prime95 all the time
If the CPU overheat , turbo boost will be disable -> Dolphin will run slow
Mario Kart GC/Wii : good speed
Metroid Prime : playable
Mario Party games : playable
Zelda TP : playable
Zelda WW : good speed
Zelda SS : playable
DKC : playable
NSMB : full speed
SSBB : playable


Good speed : at least 60-70% speed but not full speed
playable : these are demanding games so don't expect a great performance
full speed : no problem here
Thanks for the responses everyone!

(09-10-2012, 01:10 AM)Axxer Wrote: [ -> ]Twilight princess will be slow in Hyrule Field. Skyward Sword might just be slow (25/30 FPS). Metroid Prime might also be too difficult for your processor.

Unless you really need a quad-core, it might be better to go for a dual core i5 because they perform better in Dolphin (Dolphin can only use at max 3 cores, 2 works fine, and the clock speeds on dual-core chips tend to be higher than quad-cores).

Will there not be a full quad-core support in the near future of Dolphin?
I was looking for a i5 dual core 3.3ghz+ but couldnt find one.

And thanks for the response! But 25/30 fps is fluently for the human eye? Or will i get LAG with most of the games that are called "playable"?

Thanks in advance again Smile

Quote:Will there not be a full quad-core support in the near future of Dolphin?

Almost definitely not.

Quote:I was looking for a i5 dual core 3.3ghz+ but couldnt find one.

Because you're looking at laptop cpus.

Quote:And thanks for the response! But 25/30 fps is fluently for the human eye?

Not really. But the fluidity of the game has nothing to do with the gamespeed which is more important.

Quote: Or will i get LAG with most of the games that are called "playable"?

Depends on the game. NTSC games run at either 60 fps or 30 fps depending on the game while PAL games run at either 50 fps or 25 fps depending on the game (60/30 in PAL60 mode).
Thanks for the replies! I have another 2 questions and i hope someone can answer them:

- From which temperature my laptop will be "unhealthy" when i check the temperatures while playing?

- Is there a possibility to get an external Cooling PAD for my laptop in order to lower the temperatures and still can play with the Turbo Boost?

The only way to keep it cool enough to play all these games properly is to get a really expensive laptop (~$2000). For that money, you could get this laptop, and a desktop computer which could run anything you could throw at it.
Quote:Thanks for the replies! I have another 2 questions and i hope someone can answer them:

- From which temperature my laptop will be "unhealthy" when i check the temperatures while playing?

For your cpu:
100C+: Intolerable temperature range. CPU shuts off (and with it the rest of the system) to prevent permanent damage

90C-99C: Critical temperature range. The system will try to throttle clock rates and voltages down to reduce the temperature, which will reduce performance.

80C-89C: High temperature range. The system will run hot but will not throttle. If this is at stock than this is likely too hot for turbo boost to kick in. Check your clock rates to see whether turbo boost was activated or not.

70C-79C: Moderate temperature range. The system is running cool enough to use turbo boost to boost the clock rate and voltages. This will improve performance but may kick the temperature up into the 80-85C range.

<70C: Low temperature range. Temperatures are low enough to allow for safe overclocking. The lower your stock temperatures are the more you will be able to OC. In the 60C-69C range you can OC a little bit past the normal turbo speed.

Quote:- Is there a possibility to get an external Cooling PAD for my laptop in order to lower the temperatures and still can play with the Turbo Boost?

You could but they're not very effective.
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