Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Hello,
While trying to play Mario Kart Wii with Dolphin Emulator, I have noticed a few problems on my Asus ROG G750JS laptop.

First, here are my PC specs :
CPU : i7 4700HQ
GPU : gtx 870m (+ intel hd graphics 4600 with Optimus)
RAM : 8 Go

They are pretty good so it should run smoothly.
I'd like to precise that my laptop has Nvidia Optimus, but I set it to use the dedicated Nvidia gpu. Also, while opening Dolphin, it says that on Optimus PCs you should set it to run on Dedicated card but set Dolphin to use the integrated graphics in the Dolphin settings, however I have to set it to Dedicated in the Dolphin settings too.

Here is my problem : while trying to play Mario Kart Wii on native internal resolution, I get 60fps (auto fps limit) and the game is pretty smooth except some frame drops and slowdowns every 20 seconds. However, when trying 2x native resolution or even 4x, I get still a solid 60fps but the game is awfully running at 50-60%, except for rare moments during which it would run at 100% and 60fps. I have the same problem with OpenGL, and I've tried a few other games. All the other games that I've tried also run bad like this. I find it strange, considering the fact that I saw videos where they ran at 100% with quite lower specs. I don't know if it is still using the integrated graphics card even though I've set it not to or if the problem is somewhere else, but I think it should run smoothly (I can run all PC games on Ultra with it, I know that emulation is not perfect but still...)

Does anyone have an idea on how to solve this problem ?

Thanks very much in advance for your help.

Do you have your laptop plugged? It might fall into low power mode. Also post all your settings.

(07-29-2014, 01:03 AM)Link_to_the_past Wrote: [ -> ]Do you have your laptop plugged? It might fall into low power mode. Also post all your settings.

Of course, I always keep it plugged while gaming. Also, I even have Asus auto overclock enabled, and am on high performance mode.

Here are my settings : http://postimg.org/gallery/5jciutja/

Make sure you aren't overheating

(07-29-2014, 01:20 AM)LordVador Wrote: [ -> ]Make sure you aren't overheating

I'm not, I tried just now and my GPU doesn't go above 55°C while playing, mostly because of the Republic of Gamers laptops have a good cooling (dual fans, big exhausts)

How's the CPU?

Run CPU-Z and GPU-Z while you get these slowdowns in Dolphin. Take a screenshot so we can see what they say.

(07-29-2014, 01:48 AM)Shonumi Wrote: [ -> ]Run CPU-Z and GPU-Z while you get these slowdowns in Dolphin. Take a screenshot so we can see what they say.

Here you are. The GPU temps are higher than what I thought, however, because I had just started playing when I was at 60°C.
http://postimg.org/image/ldmnb1ybf/

Thanks for your help.

The CPU temps are what actually matter. They seem to be fine.

(07-29-2014, 04:30 AM)DJBarry004 Wrote: [ -> ]The CPU temps are what actually matter. They seem to be fine.

Okay, so you really don't have an idea about what could cause the problem ? Maybe my specific cpu or gpu doesn't work well with Dolphin, I don't really know what else could cause the problem.

I'd just like to add something : when the slowdown happens, the sound is really distorted, not like because of the slower emulation speed but completely distorted and different. Maybe it's normal because of whatever the problem is, but I precise it in case it helps you.

A big thanks for your help.

EDIT : After a bit of trying, I found out that the problem is probably not the gpu : after trying to run a game using the Intel HD 4600 Graphics, I was getting even more awful performance : 25 fps, mostly running at 40%. The problem must really be another piece of my hardware that's not well supported. I'll try in my despair to download older versions of Dolphin, but without much hope.