Hi all, I got an FX-8350 for a computer that is intended to do things like running Dolphin, and I am a little confused on how Dolphin can be expected to run on it (on a theoretical level). I know that Dolphin uses 3 threads, and what I'm not understanding is basically the Bulldozer (and successors) architecture. Supposedly it's two cores on four modules, and I guess that what I am asking is if something like a more conventional 4-core CPU or APU (like an A10-7xxxK or a modern i5) would have been a smarter purchase and, specifically, if Dolphin will be employing up to 75% of the processor's power or a mere 37.5%. I only know enough about this stuff to get in trouble, so any advice from anybody who actually knows their hardware would be much appreciated.
Edit: I recognize that it's probably powerful enough to do whatever I want anyways, but I have concerns about wasted electricity and other stuff, since I'm going to be consuming far more than I would have with a quad-core APU.
(01-18-2017, 01:09 PM)admin89 Wrote: [ -> ]About half the speed of any Haswell / Skylake / Kabylake CPU (Pentium G4560 for example)
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-un...ted--45007
Core i3 4130 @ 3.4GHz is faster than FX 8350 @ 5.0GHz
Well, that's disappointing haha. So, I have two questions then. The first is if there is any resource to determine the relative IPCs of processors or, at the very least, if Dolphin (or PCSX2, if you or anybody else knows) would benefit significantly from having a Skylake i3 vs. a Pentium G3258 or G4400, if a hyperthreaded dual-core is better than a Pentium for this use, if an i5 (ie. 6400) is even better performing, and how I can predict their performance relative to a something like an FX-8350 or an A10-7700K, other than waiting for a lot of benchmarks and hoping that they're sufficient indicators.
I know that's a lot of questions, I guess the big one is if there is something like a list of benchmark scores for performance regarding IPC, rather than something like the Passmark scores available online.
Edit: I have looked at the table in the link you gave, I'm just trying to ask if there is a non-Dolphin specific list of benchmarks with greater sample sizes and a more complete list of CPUs.
Quote:and how I can predict their performance relative to a something like an FX-8350 or an A10-7700K
You don't need to predict that . There is real benchmark here , direct comparison :
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1491?vs=697
Please ignore other results and look for "Dolphin Emulation Benchmark"
FX 8530 is slightly faster since it's clocked higher . Both CPUs use Piledriver core so what do you expect ?
Athlon X4 845 (Carrizo) is newer and faster than both of them
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1684?vs=697
but if you want sth cheap and still perform well in both world (Dolphin and multitasking) then you should buy the new Kabylake Pentium G4560 @ 3.5GHz - the first Hyperthreading Pentium (2 cores
4 threads) , it's the best bang for buck CPU right now
It's slightly slower than Core i3 7350k @ 4.2GHz but cost less than half and you can pair it with a cheap $50 H170 mobo (bios update required )
It should be way faster than any AMD CPU
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1829?vs=697
(01-20-2017, 10:39 AM)admin89 Wrote: [ -> ]You don't need to predict that . There is real benchmark here , direct comparison :
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1491?vs=697
Please ignore other results and look for "Dolphin Emulation Benchmark"
FX 8530 is slightly faster since it's clocked higher . Both CPUs use Piledriver core so what do you expect ?
Athlon X4 845 (Carrizo) is newer and faster than both of them
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1684?vs=697
but if you want sth cheap and still perform well in both world (Dolphin and multitasking) then you should buy the new Kabylake Pentium G4560 @ 3.5GHz - the first Hyperthreading Pentium (2 cores 4 threads) , it's the best bang for buck CPU right now
It's slightly slower than Core i3 7350k @ 4.2GHz but cost less than half and you can pair it with a cheap $50 H170 mobo (bios update required )
It should be way faster than any AMD CPU
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1829?vs=697
I just saw this post, I appreciate it! I had actually been doing outside research and I stumbled upon Gigabyte's B150 m-itx/ac board and I decided to get it because Newegg had an extremely good deal and I wanted something cheaper than an H170 board and not an H110 board. TL;DR I was considering either the G4560, the G4600, the G4620 and the i3-7100 but with that Dolphin benchmark there I tried doing this (out of boredom but I figured I might as well share it) and found that Dolphin seems to experience serious diminishing returns (I even had to throw out anandtech's Dolphin benchmark for the 7350K because it was higher/worse than the benchmark on the 6300, also I'm trying to predict performance by clockspeeds and hoping the architecture and other features among the Kaby Lake Pentiums and the Skylake/Kaby Lake i3s).
![[Image: WYx7sfe.png]](http://i.imgur.com/WYx7sfe.png)
Looks like I'm going to see if I can actually find a good seller for the G4560 as you said, otherwise I'll aim for the G4600 or 4620. Thank you for the help, it turned out to be really insightful.
EDIT: I guess I should actually ask the really important question. Will the Pentiums play anything (other than maybe nightmare cases) at 1080p@60, or will I still need to get something more powerful albeit less cost-effective?
Forget about Bios update , it seems like Kabylake won't run on H110/H170/B150 unless that mobo has already been updated outof the box
I thought Kabylake was just another CPU refresh like Haswell refresh (it it but Intel and their black business force people to spend more money on newer mobo...)
So your only choice is this
MSI B250 ($76) , it's the cheapest 7th gen mobo I could find
Quote:Will the Pentiums play anything (other than maybe nightmare cases) at 1080p@60
It's fast enough for most if not all Wii/GC games
If you're talking about PC game then , it should be ok too
Quote:Will the Pentiums play anything (other than maybe nightmare cases) at 1080p@60
The CPU doesn't have much to do with graphical enhancements.
If you have a fast CPU and an average GPU (or a recent iGPU), you'll likely get full speed at 1x IR everywhere.
If you have a fast CPU and a good GPU, you can turn up the enhancements (e.g., higher IRs, anti-aliasing).
If you have a slow CPU, you won't reach full speed in most games even at 1x IR with a GTX 1080.
I already know that what I got does support Kaby Lake, and there's a chance that what I got will do so out of the box. Worst case scenario, I will get help from somebody with a Skylake. I am still considering switching to a different motherboard like that, because I got an m-ITX but I have no idea if it's worth it since the only reason would be to have room for a PCI sound card. I'm not sure if that would improve performance with emulation or not compared to using the on-board audio.
Alright, so the last question that I have is if I should use the i3-7100 or if I should just go more budget and get the G4560 and G4600. I'm not using this for PC gaming, I just want it to be practically flawless when it comes to Dolphin (and PCSX2). The i3 is a better performer but it's also more than 50% more expensive. Without knowing how these benchmarks are going to translate into actual performance, I was wondering if the G4560 would be enough to have a solid emulation machine and if using an i3 that is 300mhz is "worth it" or not. I get what leolam is saying in his post but I have no idea what qualifies as a "fast CPU" when it comes to these two. If it helps, I am probably using a GTX 760 for the GPU because it's what I've got lying around.
TL;DR: Is the $110 i3-7100 going to be worth the added cost relative to the $75-90 Pentiums and would the Pentiums be totally sufficient to play most GC/Wii games (and if they aren't, is the i3 enough anyways or would it take an unlocked i5 or something)?
Quote:I'm not sure if that would improve performance with emulation or not compared to using the on-board audio.
It will very likely have no impact on performance.
Quote:if I should use the i3-7100 or if I should just go more budget and get the G4560 and G4600.
Since you're comparing CPUs from the same architecture and generation, and you are mainly making a build for Dolphin and PCSX2, both of which heavily depend on single-thread performance, this is pretty simple. The CPU which has the highest clock will perform best.
By "fast CPU", I meant any recent Intel CPU that isn't a low-power laptop CPU. Even Sandy Bridge should be fine in most cases. A desktop Haswell/Skylake/Kaby Lake will run almost everything you throw at it.
Quote:I am probably using a GTX 760 for the GPU
3x IR should be easily reachable with a GTX 760.
With my GTX 760 I usually use between 3x and 5x IR depending on the game.
As for the difference between the i3 and the Pentiums, on Intel's Ark pages, the only difference is that the i3 runs faster and has the AVX instruction, which is good for video encoding tasks, and Dolphin uses it to do some math faster. I would say that the extra couple dollars would be worth it.