Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

(01-17-2016, 12:52 PM)BlazingSoul Wrote: [ -> ]I am playing games at full speed with my Intel Atom (Z8300) doing the following:

1. Lower desktop resolution to 640x480.  It does help with speed and it keeps the temperature low = no/less throttling.

2. On power options, select high performance (if available).

3. Use the ishiiruka build of dolphin.  On that version enable directx12 and also enable fast efb access.

Remember that this is on a weak Atom SoC.  The Z8500 and Z8700 are stronger.

You can also buy a Surface Pro 2, which uses a ULV Core i5.  It is dual core so it works better with dolphin, and it can play games at full speed without using the tricks above, but you can use them too if you want.  Do not listen to the hate that ULV CPUs get.  Nowadays, Intel Ultra Low Voltage CPU are as strong as the MQ or HQ versions of mobile i5/i7.


My main device for emulation is my Asus Q552 laptop with a i7 6500U and 940M GPU.  It is running all GameCube and PS3 games I throw at it at full speed in 3x resolution with no throttling.  AND that is without using Directx 12, so using that is even faster, with even lower temperatures and power draw.


TL;DR Dolphin can run fine if you nowadays with ULV CPUs, and even on some Atoms SoC if it's supports DX12.

Thanks for the input, I think I'm going to pick up one of the fancy asus laptops I saw at bestbuy that can turn their screen around so far its a tablet. One has an i7 skylake chip, and the other has an i5 but also a gtx 940m (both in the same price range) I'm guessing the i5 would be much better?

(01-19-2016, 11:54 AM)BFCE Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the input, I think I'm going to pick up one of the fancy asus laptops I saw at bestbuy that can turn their screen around so far its a tablet. One has an i7 skylake chip, and the other has an i5 but also a gtx 940m (both in the same price range) I'm guessing the i5 would be much better?

What gpu does the i7 have or does it use intel graphics.

(01-17-2016, 07:27 AM)BFCE Wrote: [ -> ]The Pixel C has the exact same SoC as the Shield TV. the K1 tablet runs Pikmin 2 very well but its 32-bit. The surface actually IS a desktop but I don't know how well it performs.

What build runs it well? I always get a black screen after the opening scene on my K1 for pikmin 2.

If you are going to buy a surface, only get the -pro device. Else you'll end with an atom processor...

My surface pro 2 runs very light games fine, but it overheads on most of them...

(01-19-2016, 11:54 AM)BFCE Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the input, I think I'm going to pick up one of the fancy asus laptops I saw at bestbuy that can turn their screen around so far its a tablet. One has an i7 skylake chip, and the other has an i5 but also a gtx 940m (both in the same price range) I'm guessing the i5 would be much better?

You must be talking about the ASUS Q552 that I have.  It is foldable, has 12GB RAM, an i7 skylake CPU (6500u), and a GT 940M GPU.

It has never throttled on me and it has never reached  80° C, which means it has good cooling.  Just be sure to replace the HDD with a SSD whenever you get the chance, unless it is not that crucial for you.