Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

First post here - hi!

Yes, I did a search for "Beeline" which came back with very few replies - so I've had to ask a "will it run" post!!

I've been running N64Project on a Beelink BT4 for a couple of years now - no probs - and thought I'd load Dolphin on and try a few GameCube FPS "things" (!) and, yep, don't run so well!! Doesn't surprise me with the spec.- Intel Atom x5-Z8500 @ 1.44GHz / 4GB RAM / 64GB SSD.

I want to upgrade to a similar-sized (i.e. really mini) form-factor and like to know if the Beeline U59 will be up to the task? : https://amzn.eu/d/2qThjB4? - with an Intel Celeron chip running @ 2.9GHz & 8GB RAM

If not, can members with similar-sized setups post recommendations? I don't mind spending for a quality setup that'll run Dolphin (as well as N64Project of course) as I'll also use it for displaying my video / virtual tour work content at exhibitions - so can put the cost through my business....

TIA

Stuart

There's a simpler method - tell us your budget and we'll give you some recommendations in your preferred form factor. Also what is your preferred form factor exactly?

(01-20-2023, 09:11 PM)MayImilae Wrote: [ -> ]There's a simpler method - tell us your budget and we'll give you some recommendations in your preferred form factor. Also what is your preferred form factor exactly?

Up to £500 (GBP). Well, as small as possible to run Dolphin smoothly (FPS) with a good frame rate...

The Beeline SER5 is the top of my budget: https://amzn.eu/d/813fG6e - any good?

(01-20-2023, 08:10 PM)stalwart Wrote: [ -> ]First post here - hi!

Yes, I did a search for "Beeline" which came back with very few replies - so I've had to ask a "will it run" post!!

I've been running N64Project on a Beelink BT4 for a couple of years now - no probs - and thought I'd load Dolphin on and try a few GameCube FPS "things" (!) and, yep, don't run so well!! Doesn't surprise me with the spec.- Intel Atom x5-Z8500 @ 1.44GHz / 4GB RAM / 64GB SSD.

I want to upgrade to a similar-sized (i.e. really mini) form-factor and like to know if the Beeline U59 will be up to the task? : https://amzn.eu/d/2qThjB4? - with an Intel Celeron chip running @ 2.9GHz & 8GB RAM

If not, can members with similar-sized setups post recommendations? I don't mind spending for a quality setup that'll run Dolphin (as well as N64Project of course) as I'll also use it for displaying my video / virtual tour work content at exhibitions - so can put the cost through my business....

TIA

Stuart

Be aware that Integrated GPU's are not designed for gaming

(01-20-2023, 11:24 PM)notmiguel Wrote: [ -> ]Be aware that Integrated GPU's are not designed for gaming

...so what would you recommend is as small a form factor as possible? (prebuilt, preferably).

This one would be good if you want to stick to Intel:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BHQKBLZR/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0BHQKBLZR&pd_rd_w=hqhmw&content-id=amzn1.sym.15c0cc83-c6c5-4d44-aa3d-0de17a9f3682&pf_rd_p=15c0cc83-c6c5-4d44-aa3d-0de17a9f3682&pf_rd_r=JRXDYW7THJZ44566NJZH&pd_rd_wg=WqXY3&pd_rd_r=a9708b7e-23af-4483-a5e2-9fae08fe5c1a&s=computers&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw

This would be good if you want a better iGPU and go with AMD:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINIS-FORUM-UM690-Threads-Bluetooth5-2/dp/B0BR7J7LY4/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1TDIDPRV02IGC&keywords=amd+mini+pc&qid=1674225857&s=computers&sprefix=amd+mini+p%2Ccomputers%2C243&sr=1-5

Quote:Be aware that Integrated GPU's are not designed for gaming

Not true. While not as strong as a dedicated GPU, integrated GPUs can be surprisingly good at games. And they are absolutely able to run Dolphin at reasonable resolutions. As long as you don't go hyper budget, those will suck, as they do for any technology.

(01-20-2023, 09:16 PM)stalwart Wrote: [ -> ]Up to £500 (GBP). Well, as small as possible to run Dolphin smoothly (FPS) with a good frame rate...

The Beeline SER5 is the top of my budget: https://amzn.eu/d/813fG6e - any good?

So I was actually going to recommend a Ryzen APU just like that one! The 5600H would be a good choice. It has Vega graphics which is a little old, but it will have fewer driver problems compared to Intel, plus it's a pretty performant machine - it'll be roughly equivalent to a Steamdeck. 3X Native in Dolphin should be quite attainable with that chip! If you want to save on budget, going down as far as a 5200G should still be good for Dolphin. You'll not be able to go up as high in resolution and there may be some CPU limitations that go along with it, but it would be fine. You'll absolutely feel the difference in performance outside of Dolphin though.

Is Mini's Forum available in your country? They have a lot of mini PCs that you may be interested in.

The following post of mine from a few months back may or may not be useful, particularly that the site https://droix.co.uk seems to specialize in these sort of "mini PCs" while being located in the UK:

• https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-a-mini-pc-for-dolphin?pid=527046#pid527046

...that being said, my product recommendations at the various price-points have since majorly shifted around to the point that those previous at-the-time individual recommendations don't really make sense any more, so you may want to just browse around https://droix.co.uk yourself and see what they have. Also it no longer is clear whether a UK power cord is included by default or not.

(01-20-2023, 09:16 PM)stalwart Wrote: [ -> ]The Beeline SER5 is the top of my budget: https://amzn.eu/d/813fG6e - any good?

Interestingly, I actually linked to the Beelink SER5 in the above aforementioned forum post, though it seems to be on backorder even on droix:

• https://droix.co.uk/product/beelink-ser-pro-amd-ryzen-5-mini-pc

So, as I suggested above perhaps shop around? Interestingly, the SER6 is only a little bit more expensive (~3.7% more money) but it has a substantially faster integrated GPU:

• https://droix.co.uk/product/beelink-ser6

Just make sure that, if you do go with the SER6 instead, that your plan is to not run Linux because Ryzen 6000 has Microsoft Pluton which requires setting a specific BIOS option to a non-default setting if you want to run Linux, but the issue is that there's no guarantee that the Beelink SER6 even includes the aforementioned BIOS option.

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(01-20-2023, 11:24 PM)notmiguel Wrote: [ -> ]Be aware that Integrated GPU's are not designed for gaming

Then it'd blow your mind that the Steam Deck uses integrated graphics that are actually slower than the latest mobile Ryzen 6000 and mobile Ryzen 7000 chips. Also keep in mind that all game consoles since 2013 have their GPU on the same die as the CPU, and people have actually used a softmodded PS4 for emulation tasks.

But even when discounting the console technicality, integrated graphics, like discrete graphics, keep getting faster and faster while Dolphin's GPU requirements... have stayed largely the same for the last few years really, so it was only a matter of time that integrated graphics became capable of running Dolphin without issue even at internal resolutions greater than 1x.

(01-21-2023, 12:08 AM)stalwart Wrote: [ -> ]...so what would you recommend is as small a form factor as possible? (prebuilt, preferably).

What games are you planning to play?

(01-23-2023, 11:44 PM)notmiguel Wrote: [ -> ]What games aré you planning to play?

Games - but downloading ROMs is illegal....

Hopefully:
007 - Agent under Fire

007 - Nightfire
007 - Everything or Nothing
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Goldeneye - Rogue Agent
MoH - European Assault
MoH - Frontline
MoH - Rising Sun
Resident Evil 4
Desert Storm
Call of Duty (CoD) - Finest Hour
Call of Duty (CoD) - Big Red One