Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Old topic title: "[color=#000000]So, cheaper CPU better for Dolphin?[/color]"

I'm building my first desktop having only had laptops for many years, so forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject. But if Dolphin only runs on two cores would dolphin run best on something like a Intel Core i3-2125 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz as opposed to a dual core CPU that's 3 times more expensive.

And would dolphin run even worse on a 6 core processor?

I really want to keep game emulation in mind, but do I have to sacrifice better processing speeds in all other areas for good dolphin results?

Or isn't it as clear cut as this?

(07-27-2013, 06:48 AM)JT! Wrote: [ -> ]I'm building my first desktop having only had laptops for many years, so forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject. But if Dolphin only runs on two cores would dolphin run best on something like a Intel Core i3-2125 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz as opposed to a dual core CPU that's 3 times more expensive.

And would dolphin run even worse on a 6 core processor?

I really want to keep game emulation in mind, but do I have to sacrifice better processing speeds in all other areas for good dolphin results?

Or isn't it as clear cut as this?

If you're not going to upgrade the dual core to a i5-3570k I would recommend the athlon x4 750k.

Datkid, your joking right? An Athlon is a terribad CPU for dolphin. Dolphin runs on two cores unless your using DSP on thread (which for HLE is a bit wonky right now). Get the i5 3570k, since it is unlocked so you can overclock it!

The i5-3570k is the processor I was looking to get. Untill i started thinking about what I wrote in the topic. I might even get something better like an i7 3770.

Extra cores don't reduce performance. But they only boost performance very slightly. However the high end Intel cpus don't just have more cores, they have higher clock rates and unlocked multipliers (for overclocking) too. A quad core cpu will be 10-20% faster in dolphin than a dual core cpu without LLE on thread. With LLE on thread it could be significantly more depending on the game. Anything past 4 cores isn't going to make a difference (unless it's a recent AMD cpu that uses CMT).

(07-27-2013, 07:14 AM)JT! Wrote: [ -> ]The i5-3570k is the processor I was looking to get. Untill i started thinking about what I wrote in the topic. I might even get something better like an i7 3770.

If your gonna get the 3770, get the 3770K. Getting the unlocked multipliers for overclocking is pretty useful, especially since overclocking will allow you to get pretty much any game running at full speed even with LLE DSP emulation. Just make sure you adequate cooling Listen to Natural Violence, you wont regret it (usually ).

I'll see what my budget is when it comes round to it. I didn't really plan on overclocking, don't really know anything about it. What is considered adequate cooling. Decent fans and airflow or water cooling?

Oops, ninja'd.

/*Just because having more cores isn't that useful doesn't mean having less cores will help you – all else being equal (e.g. these examples being the exact same CPU with differing numbers of cores disabled), a quad-core CPU will still edge out a dual-core CPU for Dolphin, while a six-core CPU will perform similarly/identically to a quad-core.

Back to practical talk, the i5-3570K is perfect for Dolphin, and it's the most popular CPU around here for good reason. An i7-3770K will perform only slightly better in Dolphin, but if it improves performance enough for other apps you use and you can afford it, go for it.*/

It really depends on the game, from my couple days on the forum, I learned that AMD processors are not the best for full speed emulation.

What games are you going to play on Dolphin and what PC Games? For both, an i3 would be sufficient -- PC gaming is really GPU dependent, so if you pair it with a nice graphics card you should be fine.

For Dolphin, I heard an i5 would be the best, but you can do very well with an i3. Games like Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Xenoblade are tougher to run so if you are playing one of those, an i5 would be a better choice for dolphin.

Get a 4670K if you can afford it. It's a good 30% faster than the 3570K in dolphin for an extra $25.