Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Hello! I am new here, and I want to buy a laptop for studing purposes, but at the the same time for running games.
Thing is, there is this one laptpo with these specs:
CPU: Intel Core i3 3217u 1,8 GHz Dual Core.
GPU: nVidia GeForce GT 740M 2 GB graphics memory.
RAM: 6 GB DDR3

So I wondered if this is enough to run GC and Wii games such as the Smash titles, Mario Kart GC and Wii, Mario Sports (Tennis, Golf, Sluggers,) the Mario Party games, and the Zelda titles.
I REALLY don't care about graphical thingies, I just want to run the games at proper FPS. Let's say with all at minimum.
Is this laptop capable of running Dolphin at minimum?
Very much appreciated your answers!

1- Both Mario Kart: barely.

2- Smash titles: more chances. Don´t expect constant full speed though.

3- Mario Party 4 and 5 will probably give you slowdowns when playing cinematics.

4- Don´t even plan to get constant full speed on Zelda TP with that CPU and using the recommended settings.

It may be hurtful for you, but it´s just how it is. Ultra-low voltage CPUs like the one you have are simply too slow for Dolphin.

(02-28-2014, 05:30 AM)DJBarry004 Wrote: [ -> ]1- Both Mario Kart: barely.

2- Smash titles: more chances. Don´t expect constant full speed though.

3- Mario Party 4 and 5 will probably give you slowdowns when playing cinematics.

4- Don´t even plan to get constant full speed on Zelda TP with that CPU and using the recommended settings.

It may be hurtful for you, but it´s just how it is. Ultra-low voltage CPUs like the one you have are simply too slow for Dolphin.

Aaaaaaaaa......... Mmm... Well, I will have to look for another laptop with an i5 then?
But... Does it really not work? Not even in 480p with the lowest settings? Like with no antialiasing, no per pixel lighting, and things like that...
I mean, in my current computer with Intel celeron G530 2,4 Ghz dual core and awfully bad intel HD graphics card and 2 GB ram, dolphin runs most games at 30-50 FPS,
shouldn't this laptop I described run the games better? So Dolphin mainly relies on CPU power rather than GPU and RAM? That stinks.

Yes, you got the point that Dolphin relies on CPU raw power. And the games you mentioned will work, just that they will run slow. And don´t let the Celeron brand fool you as some of them are slow and some of them are fast as hell.

If you´re planning to get an i5, buy specifically the i5-4670K.

(02-28-2014, 06:32 AM)DJBarry004 Wrote: [ -> ]Yes, you got the point that Dolphin relies on CPU raw power. And the games you mentioned will work, just that they will run slow. And don´t let the Celeron brand fool you as some of them are slow and some of them are fast as hell.

If you´re planning to get an i5, buy specifically the i5-4670K.

Hm hm hm! Thank you, DJBarry. Then I will look for another laptop with a better CPU and same GPU and RAM, although it will be very hard to find one, so if I can't I will just buy the one previously mentioned. Thank you very much for your help!

If you plan buying a new laptop in future, and plan to run CPU intensive apps (like Dolphin), avoid at all cost the ultra-low voltage models (they generally end with an U or Y in the product code, like your current i3-3217U). If your budget is low, an i3 CPU with 3 GHz or more may handle the games you mentioned (except for Zelda TP and multiplayer in Mario Kart Wii). I'm unsure about the Mario Sports games, through...

(02-28-2014, 07:19 AM)Jhonn Wrote: [ -> ]If you plan buying a new laptop in future, and plan to run CPU intensive apps (like Dolphin), avoid at all cost the ultra-low voltage models (they generally end with an U or Y in the product code, like your current i3-3217U). If your budget is low, an i3 CPU with 3 GHz or more may handle the games you mentioned (except for Zelda TP and multiplayer in Mario Kart Wii). I'm unsure about the Mario Sports games, through...

Wow, thanks for the advice! I didn't know anything about those U and Y stuff! Although I did wondered why did processor names had those letters......
So I will take your advice when searching for my laptop, although I haven't been lucky at all.......
Thank you!

Search these CPUs : i5 4200M , i7 4700MQ , i7 4700HQ , i7 4750HQ
i5/i7 3xxx are much slower than i5/i7 4xxx in Dolphin (about 30% performance difference)