Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Maybe you didn't read my post on a previous page. I said about convenience already. Other users also mentioned it. I didn't think it's necessary to repeat it.

(10-02-2013, 09:19 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: [ -> ]

Xeno Aura Wrote:Considering how fast technology advances, it'll be cheaper to buy a PC to run Dolphin well next year than it will to buy a PS4.

Based on current requirements, rate of increase in requirements, rate of increase in singlethreaded cpu performance, and expected reduction in rate of increase of singlethreaded cpu performance I would expect that this will not happen for many years depending on your definition of "well". It would take a miracle for it to happen in 1-2 years.

AMD 6800k 4.1GHz = $140

AMD HD7790 1GB (Optional, the integrated GPU in the 6800k can handle Dolphin reasonably well) = $120

4GB DDR3 RAM = $35

MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 = $55

Corsair Builder CX 500 = $55

500GB HDD = $50

Case = $30

DVD Drive = $20

Total = $505 (Or $385 without GPU)

PS4 = $400

(Prices from Amazon.com, would rely on you building your PC, I may have forgotten 1 or 2 things, and a GPU would be required if you actually wanted to play regular games on the PC. I just went with the cheapest hardware possible, while still maintaining the ability to play most games at full speed in Dolphin.)

Next year there'll be newer and cheaper hardware, you can build a Dolphin machine for less than a PS4. Not to mention, according to you, a PC with those specs would handle Dolphin much better than the PS4, and that's the main discussion here.

Also I'm not too familiar with Wii emulation, as I said, I haven't touched it. But wouldn't you need a sensor bar to play most games properly? Wouldn't that mean you'd need a Wii turned on next to your PS4 in order to use motion controls well in games? And wouldn't that defeat the point of emulating it on a console when you can just use your Wii?

(10-02-2013, 10:16 PM)Xeno Aura Wrote: [ -> ]But wouldn't you need a sensor bar to play most games properly? Wouldn't that mean you'd need a Wii turned on next to your PS4 in order to use motion controls well in games? And wouldn't that defeat the point of emulating it on a console when you can just use your Wii?

You can just use a wireless sensor bar.

Aha I see, and I guess you could use the Bluetooth on the PS4 to connect the Wiimote to it.

You could also Hack/Build/Buy a USB sensor bar. I'm pretty sure the PS4 has a USB port somewhere.

Xeno Aura Wrote:I just went with the cheapest hardware possible, while still maintaining the ability to play most games at full speed in Dolphin.

"Most" maybe. There are still a lot of games that would not run well on such a system. Even more if you want to use accurate settings.

Xeno Aura Wrote:Next year there'll be newer and cheaper hardware, you can build a Dolphin machine for less than a PS4. Not to mention, according to you, a PC with those specs would handle Dolphin much better than the PS4, and that's the main discussion here.

Improvements in singlethreaded cpu performance have dropped to 5-10% per year. This is expected to get even lower in the near future. Meanwhile dolphin is getting more and more demanding every year. This is why I remain uncertain.

There is also a certain minimum cost to building a desktop no matter how low end it is. It tends to hover around $300-400 (without the OS).

You can always use Linux... if you're into that.

Also I always thought the system requirements would get lower as the emulator improves and they optimize code. Is that a wrong assumption?

And yes, I believe the PS4 has 2 USB on the front, 0 on the back.

(10-03-2013, 07:09 PM)Xeno Aura Wrote: [ -> ]Also I always thought the system requirements would get lower as the emulator improves and they optimize code. Is that a wrong assumption?

Yes and no, this may be true, but the also make it more accurate so that slows things down.

The reduction in performance from improved accuracy usually outweighs the improvements from optimizations. This will only become more true with time since they'll slowly run out of significant optimizations to make.

(10-04-2013, 11:07 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote: [ -> ]The reduction in performance from improved accuracy usually outweighs the improvements from optimizations. This will only become more true with time since they'll slowly run out of significant optimizations to make.

But then again you could say we'll run out of things to fix and could focus on improving performance...