Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Hi guys,
I need some help from you all since I'm quite new for Dolphin emulation.
Straight to the point; I'm building an arcade machine to relive my old times and have fun with my friends in my mans cave.
I would like to be able to play all Gamecube games as well as PS2 ones (Dolphin and PCSX2 emulation).
I'm not interested in Wii at all (i already have a Wii and I enjoy every moment playing)
Since I'm in process of assembling the hardware required, I spent some weeks online trying to understand what to buy.
I understood that CPU speed is more important than GPU; was looking for something around 4 Ghz processor but I would like to stay in a low end budget (around 300€).

This is the configuration i identified right now:

• Motherboard Asrock Z370 Pro4
  
• Intel Pentium Gold G5600, Dual Core, 4 Thread, 3.9GHz, 4MB Cache
  
• Corsair Vengeance LPX, 16 GB (2 X 8 GB), DDR4, 2400 MHz
  
• GeForce GTX760 (i have it at home from an old build)
  

Is this configuration ok?
If you think that I should change some component with better performances (or if I did some mistake or if I'm overkilling it), please, feel free to drop your suggestions. (always considering the budget)
I reallly need some help since I'm making my first steps in this world.

I thank you all in advance

First, don't fall prey to the GHZ myth the clock of a processor doesn't mean anything unless you are comparing it to the same processor running at a different clock. For example, a 5GHZ FX9500 (old CPU from a notoriously under performing AMD processor line) is significantly outperformed by an i3-9100 running at 3.6GHZ. If you're looking for a rough estimation of CPU power check out a CPU's passmark score instead.

Onto the hardware, that particular 2 core Pentium looks decent in benchmarks (single core is surprisingly high) and will probably run most games but both PCSX2 and Dolphin can benefit from a 3rd core. Since you mentioned PS2 specifically I would guess it may not cut it for some PCSX2 games as the emulator can be notoriously CPU intensive. An example of a game it may struggle with would be Shadow of the Colossus. Dolphin, which tends to be better optimized, I'm less sure about.

For the GPU it seems to be a close match for the r9 280 (which I had many builds ago) and while I could emulate anything I tried with the r9 280 I had trouble getting 1080p out of many PCSX2 and Dolphin games (although of note PCSX2 favors Nvidia because of better support for some OpenGL libraries they use)

(07-08-2019, 10:46 PM)bomblord Wrote: [ -> ]First, don't fall prey to the GHZ myth the clock of a processor doesn't mean anything unless you are comparing it to the same processor running at a different clock. For example, a 5GHZ FX9500 (old CPU from a notoriously under performing AMD processor line) is significantly outperformed by an i3-9100 running at 4GHZ. If you're looking for a rough estimation of CPU power check out a CPU's passmark score instead.

Onto the hardware, that particular 2 core Pentium looks decent in benchmarks and will probably run most games but since you mentioned PS2 specifically it may not cut it for some PCSX2 games as the emulator can be notoriously CPU intensive. An example of a game it may struggle with would be Shadow of the Colossus. Dolphin, which tends to be better optimized, I'm less sure about.

For the GPU it seems to be a close match for the r9 280 (which I had many builds ago) and while I could emulate anything I tried with the r9 280 I had trouble getting 1080p out of many PCSX2 and Dolphin games (although of note PCSX2 favors Nvidia because of better support for some OpenGL libraries they use)

Ok, thanks for the suggestions.
I browsed fast on Passmark and explored the best value on market at the moment.
I tried to make a configuration, MB+CPU+RAM, of around 300€.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3,4Ghz
  
• MB: Gigabyte B450 AORUS M
  
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX, 16 GB (2 X 8 GB), DDR4, 3000 MHz
  
• GPU: GeForce GTX760
  

is AMD processor ok for emulation as well as Intel, or it has some downsides?

(07-09-2019, 01:59 AM)Gardenmine Wrote: [ -> ]Ok, thanks for the suggestions.
I browsed fast on Passmark and explored the best value on market at the moment.
I tried to make a configuration, MB+CPU+RAM, of around 300€.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3,4Ghz
  
• MB: Gigabyte B450 AORUS M
  
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX, 16 GB (2 X 8 GB), DDR4, 3000 MHz
  
• GPU: GeForce GTX760
  

is AMD processor ok for emulation as well as Intel, or it has some downsides?

The 3rd gen Ryzen processors meet or exceed their Intel equivalents across the board. FYI the 3rd gen Ryzen's are literally just coming out so you would be better to get the 3600 unless you can get the 2600 at a significant discount.

(07-09-2019, 02:16 AM)bomblord Wrote: [ -> ]The 3rd gen Ryzen processors meet or exceed their Intel equivalents across the board. FYI the 3rd gen Ryzen's are literally just coming out so you would be better to get the 3600 unless you can get the 2600 at a significant discount.

At the moment the 2600 is at 140€
maybe at prime day (coming next week, i can get it for less)
I saw now the 3600 is priced 250€ that, unluckly, is out of my budget.
I'll see if I can get everything at a reasonable price next week. the only thing was to not buying wrong stuff.
by the way, I thank you for the suggestions. I think I'll go for this 2600 setup at the lowest price i can get.
Unless there are other suggestions.

(07-09-2019, 02:59 AM)Gardenmine Wrote: [ -> ]At the moment the 2600 is at 140€
maybe at prime day (coming next week, i can get it for less)
I saw now the 3600 is priced 250€ that, unluckly, is out of my budget.
I'll see if I can get everything at a reasonable price next week. the only thing was to not buying wrong stuff.
by the way, I thank you for the suggestions. I think I'll go for this 2600 setup at the lowest price i can get.
Unless there are other suggestions.

I think you may be looking at the 3600X double check as the 3600 without the X is about $50 cheaper in the U.S.

edit: I found this on an international newegg site

I would like to jump in real quick and mention two things:

At least for GameCube games, is there a reason you cannot use your Wii? I mean, unlike the Wii U which can only run GameCube games after a soft-mod, the Wii even officially supports GameCube games and requires no soft-modding whatsoever (though the models without a GameCube port require softmodding anyway just for controller support whether via Devolution or Nintendont, and the Wii mini is a complete no-go since it not only lacks controller ports but also can't be softmodded).

As for an AM4 motherboard for use with 3rd gen Ryzen, I would highly suggest getting a motherboard with USB BIOS flashback (lets you update the BIOS without a CPU installed) in order to avoid the issue of a motherboard coming with an outdated BIOS and making it difficult to boot with a 3rd gen Ryzen CPU.


EDIT: Just note that MSI decided to be weird and requires the user to first install the March 2019 BIOS before you're able to successfully install the newest June/July 2019 BIOS.

At first, I was a bit skeptical on getting an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X. Likely because I want to make sure that my new build will be able to emulate Rouge Squadron II/II and I also want to play ARMA 3. If I could at lease squeeze in a few more FPS by overclocking the CPU, I might be able to get an acceptable performance. Though I'm currently flip flopping whenever or not I should go for an AMD build. You know what, I'm planning to post my updated on my recent new build I put together from vacation on the 'hardware' forum. I'll come back latter.

To me it seems that the only benefit Intel still has relative to Zen2, outside of the addition of integrated graphics on even their 8core models, is their higher clock speeds.

...the issue is that those higher clocks only really exist on Intel's more expensive models. Sure you can replicate those higher clocks with an overclockable chip, but the cheapest overclockable 6 core Intel CPU is $240 and that will additionally require purchasing an aftermarket cooler and a Z-series motherboard.

Now if you were going to only do emulation of no system more demanding than the PS2, GameCube, and Wii, then technically yes something like an i3-7350K (2core/4thread) or better yet i3-8350K (4core/4thread) would be fine. Just keep in mind that emulation for newer consoles like the PS3 really likes having more than 4 threads, and note that 4core/4thread CPUs are starting to show the first signs of "end of useful life" in native PC gaming as well (EDIT: Note that said review uses the now 2-generation old 6core/12thread Ryzen 1600 which is going to be slower by ~15% per-GHz than anything with Zen2 cores, yet at the same time the per-GHz performance of that 4core/4thread i5 is identical to even the newest desktop Intel chips).

Is rogue squadron even playable currently in dolphin? It's been broken on and off for ages. Seems dumb to base your build off that.