Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Should be noted that 35% on any i7 is about as much as you can expect Dolphin to use. Dolphin is a dual-core app under normal circumstances (you can disable dual core, or use a third major thread for LLE audio processing). 25% means two out of the eight logical cores are running as fast as they can. The extra 10% seems pretty high, but it's probably background processing done by a combination of Dolphin, Windows, and other programs.

Note, you may open Task Manager and see that no one logical core ever maxes out at 100%. You should normally see all of your cores doing a little bit of work (but still overall CPU usage is at 35%). This is due to the fact that the threads Dolphin uses jump from core to core faster than Task Manager can report, so for the reporting resolution (say 1 second/1000ms) it will show all or most of your cores being used. The threads never stay there long enough to make any core spike to 100%. If you do use older builds, enabling "Lock Threads to Cores" forces the threads to sit on cores and stay there, then you'd see some of your cores possible maxing out (CPU usage should still only amount to 35% though).

I already tried reseating it and adding new fans. The temps went down around five degrees for my efforts. -_- The VCORE voltage is at 0.93 min - 1.24 max. The default voltage is apparently 1.2 for that processor, so I would guess that's fine. I know nothing about voltages though.

My GPU is just as bad anyway, idling at 90 C...I'm just going to replace the whole computer at this point.

I figured using only a limited amount of cores may be why the usage showed as so low. It could very well be my processor then I suppose. I guess it's not a big deal. I'll keep using r7345 for now.

>My hardware is running a bit hot
>Better replace the entire system

Just get a god damn cooler!

And no PSUs do not cause the overheating. Bad thermal paste, loose contact between the cooler and the socket, a bad cooler, dust, and poor cabling or chassis design which restrict airflow can cause higher temperatures. There are a couple of reasons that temperatures go up over time. Thermal paste sometimes breaks down over time (just replace it), contact sometimes loosens over time (just reseat it), and dust builds up over time (clean it by blowing it out with a can of compressed air). All of these issues are normal require a few minutes and a few dollars to fix! That alone will likely fix your issues.

If it doesn't then overclocking will be needed. Which is again very quick, easy, and cheap.

None of the games you listed are demanding. Buying a whole new system for them would be incredibly stupid.

Oh, overreacting a little bit to my perceived overreaction there! I wouldn't be replacing my system just for GameCube games, haha. I do love them, but it would be much cheaper to buy the games for my Wii.

The problem is I have trouble playing anything with high-end graphics. I have for over a year now. I couldn't play Diablo III much when I got it because my CPU/GPU would go to 105 C and BSOD me 15 minutes in. It's even worse than that now and is deteriorating constantly. My monitor goes black for a few seconds every five minutes and tells me my GPU has recovered from a serious error...when I have nothing but Firefox running (the most annoying thing in the known universe) and I'm getting BSODs while not even in a game now (also annoying and arguably worse, but you try having the screen go blank every few minutes while you're trying to do something!).

85 is hardly running only a bit hot either. This hardware shouldn't be going near that high even under high performance, let alone while idle. I don't think it's the airflow, as even when I leave my computer off for days and everything is perfectly cool...it jumps straight to 85 C immediately. I'm fairly certain PSUs can indeed cause damage to the equipment and overheating, though I've no idea if that's actually the case here. As I stated though, I tried reseating / repasting already (as well as removing every speck of dust, to no avail) and I doubt it's an issue to do with anything like that anyway as it is occurring in both my CPU and GPU simultaneously. Now that I think to check, my motherboard is at 85 C too.

The four fans in there are all running at max as well. It really seems to me that it has to be some issue with the hardware. In any case, I've tried everything and nothing is resolving it. I have little choice but to replace it. At a certain point, just replacing it is better than spending all the time wasted trying to fix this one anyway. I've spent a lot more than a few minutes on it, I'm afraid.

Are you sure they´re maxing out? You may want to check the BIOS options for that.

And if you are getting temps that high (even with the fans at max speed), UNDERCLOCK your CPU. Let it rest like half an hour (or less), and then turn your PC back on. Enter to the BIOS. The temps should be lower now.

If all this happens well, then you can slightly overclock your CPU again, but ONLY from (say, 2 Hz to 2 Hz), until you notice the CPU is going too hot again.

Also, NV got the good tips in his reply. You may want to think it better and take his advice.

Eagleheat Wrote:Oh, overreacting a little bit to my perceived overreaction there!

Perhaps. But going through with your plan would be incredibly stupid and cause you to waste lots of money for no good reason. I'm trying to get you to avoid doing that. So it's "for the greater good" so to speak.

Ovearheating is probably the single most common hardware issue PCs have and by far the easiest and cheapest to fix. Virtually all PCs encounter it sooner or later. Buying a whole new system to solve it is just nuts. It is the equivalent to someone noticing that the engine on their 2 year old car is acting funny. Then noticing that the oil change light is on. Then deciding "it's time to buy a new car" even though it's a recent car. Rather than just changing the oil. Unless you have an enormous amount of disposable income and really like buying new cars it makes no sense.

Eagleheat Wrote:The problem is I have trouble playing anything with high-end graphics. I have for over a year now. I couldn't play Diablo III much when I got it because my CPU/GPU would go to 105 C and BSOD me 15 minutes in. It's even worse than that now and is deteriorating constantly. My monitor goes black for a few seconds every five minutes and tells me my GPU has recovered from a serious error...when I have nothing but Firefox running (the most annoying thing in the known universe) and I'm getting BSODs while not even in a game now (also annoying and arguably worse, but you try having the screen go blank every few minutes while you're trying to do something!).

These are all issues that are clearly related to overheating. These are giant "clean me" signs that your computer sends you after a few months/years depending on how dusty your environment is.

Eagleheat Wrote:85 is hardly running only a bit hot either. This hardware shouldn't be going near that high even under high performance, let alone while idle.

Yup. Which means it's cleaning time.

Eagleheat Wrote:I don't think it's the airflow, as even when I leave my computer off for days and everything is perfectly cool...it jumps straight to 85 C immediately.

Why on earth would that mean it's not an airflow problem? I'm not following your logic. Airflow has nothing to do with ambient temperature. If you have poor airflow the system will instantly jump to a high temperature even in a subzero environment.

Eagleheat Wrote:I'm fairly certain PSUs can indeed cause damage to the equipment and overheating, though I've no idea if that's actually the case here.

PSUs can cause damage to equipment but they cannot cause a cpu to overheat. There are no documented cases of this ever happening. I don't know where you got this idea from but it is not physically possible and you have no reason to believe it. It just makes no sense. The same chip will always produce the same energy dissipation when running at the same voltage and clock rate. It doesn't matter what PSU is powering it. The voltage is controlled by a programmable VRM on the motherboard, not the PSU. If the VRM or PSU stopped working correctly the system would either fail to start or the chip would be irreparably damaged. But no overheating would occur.

Eagleheat Wrote:As I stated though, I tried reseating / repasting already (as well as removing every speck of dust, to no avail) and I doubt it's an issue to do with anything like that anyway as it is occurring in both my CPU and GPU simultaneously. Now that I think to check, my motherboard is at 85 C too.

If it's occurring with every piece of hardware then most likely it is an issue with dust or airflow. Or perhaps your paste if you used the same paste on all of your hardware. What paste did you use?

Since you've already stated that all of your hardware, fans, and heatsinks are dust free try removing all of the components from the case and resting them on a desk, plywood sheet, or cardboard sheet. If it still runs hot this will rule out any possible airflow issues in the case.

High temperatures are always a result of one or more of the following:
1. High ambient temperatures. They would have to be extremely high to be the only cause. Well over 100 degrees F or 40 degrees C. Unless you live in an oven I doubt this is the cause.
2. Poor airflow inside the case (due to dust buildup, bad case design, cables blocking the air paths, poor quality case fans, or case fans failing)
3. Poor airflow inside the coolers (due to dust buildup, poor quality fans, or fan failure)
4. Bad contact between the heatsink and IHS (due to the heatsink not being seated properly)
5. Voltages set too high (this should only happen if you're overclocking)
6. Clock rates set too high (this should only happen if you're overclocking)
7. Poor quality thermal paste
8. Aged thermal paste
9. Poor quality heatsinks

Unless you manually replace the case fans or cooling unit fans you should never have an issue with the fans producing too little airflow unless the fan breaks down (which they do eventually do). The same thing goes for the heatsinks. And the stock cooler should always provide sufficient cooling at stock settings as long as everything is properly maintained.

Since you're having issue with everything overheating airflow is the most likely culprit.

Eagleheat Wrote:The four fans in there are all running at max as well. It really seems to me that it has to be some issue with the hardware. In any case, I've tried everything and nothing is resolving it. I have little choice but to replace it. At a certain point, just replacing it is better than spending all the time wasted trying to fix this one anyway. I've spent a lot more than a few minutes on it, I'm afraid.

Nothing is wrong with your hardware that cannot be easily fixed. Since regular maintenance didn't fix it we just need to do more testing to figure out what the source of your issue is. If you don't bother to find the source of the problem it could easily happen again with your new rig sooner or later. I'm still running a pentium M laptop and pentium 4 desktop both from 2004 as servers 9 years later. They still do not show any overheating issues as long as I clean them regularly.

I would not bother underclocking since that's just a bandaid solution. It doesn't fix the source of the problem. Though it does provide a temporary remedy.

I find it funny that I've now received the most in-depth tech support from the Dolphin forums. I posted on many tech support forums and no one on most could provide me a possible reason other than that 'the equipment is old' or damaged somehow with no explanation as to how this could have happened. So, I've just lived with it after the extra fan and new gel and reseating didn't change anything. Most recently when I tried again though, a moderator on one such forum told me that it was probable the equipment had been damaged by poor power management of the stock PSU, which is why I thought that was the case...or certainly at least possible. Granted, he didn't leave much of an impression of reliability, but I figured he at least might have been right about that.

Your analogy would fit much better if the car randomly stopped working in the middle of the road repeatedly, was then taken to five mechanics who all failed to fix it, and finally another mechanic who said to replace it after you risked your life in it for six months. In any case, purchasing a new one couldn't possibly be a waste as the hardware would be newer and better than everything in this one (even if it were actually working). I suffer from no abundance of computers either. My sister has been wanting one she can actually game on for some time and I would love to send her one too.

Fixing this one would be great in any case as well, if it is actually possible. I used Arctic Silver 5 when I replaced the gel. I'll go through your list and see what remains here...

1. High ambient temperatures. They would have to be extremely high to be the only cause. Well over 100 degrees F or 40 degrees C. Unless you live in an oven I doubt this is the cause.
2. Poor airflow inside the case (due to dust buildup, bad case design, cables blocking the air paths, poor quality case fans, or case fans failing)
3. Poor airflow inside the coolers (due to dust buildup, poor quality fans, or fan failure)
4. Bad contact between the heatsink and IHS (due to the heatsink not being seated properly)
5. Voltages set too high (this should only happen if you're overclocking)
6. Clock rates set too high (this should only happen if you're overclocking)
7. Poor quality thermal paste
8. Aged thermal paste
9. Poor quality heatsinks

I don't think it could be airflow because it instantly shoots up to 80 C when it's the same as it always was before when the temperatures were fine. I guess a cable or dust could have gotten in the way or something, but I've moved everything around in there and cleaned all of it so it's not very likely. I'll try taking everything out of the case as you suggested just to rule it out though, but I've already tried removing the case and covering the side with a ginormous fan. I doubt it's three since I already cleaned all the hardware as well and all the fans seem to be working fine. Four is also unlikely because I reseated. Also, three and four would have to occur on both simultaneously...

As for the last one, 9, again, I doubt the heatsinks on both the CPU and GPU just happen to be poor quality and started suddenly having issues at the same time. I appreciate that you don't want me to waste money and are trying to help, but it's certainly understandable for me to just want to replace it at this point and it seems it's going to be very difficult to find out what the problem is.

(11-11-2013, 12:16 AM)ExtremeDude2 Wrote: [ -> ]Or your thermal paste has gone bad

What he said. Get some good aftermarket paste like AS-5 and clean with isopropyl alcohol (both surfaces). If your temps are still high, downclock a bit or replace the cooler with a Hyper 212 EVO.

@rokclimb15

You should really read through the thread. We talked about this already.

@Eagleheart

Sorry it's taking me awhile to get back to you. It might be another day or two. Just giving you a heads up.

Another thing could be that the cpus temperature sensor is off and the BSOD is caused by other things.

Does the BIOS also say the CPU is running at 80°C?