Hello! I'm not super hardware savvy so I am looking for some guidance on if my PC is powerful enough to run LOZ: Twilight Princess. I've been able to play other Gamecube games fine, but the framerate in LOZ is pretty unplayable in certain areas (about 10 fps).
Specs:
Operating System: Windows 20
Processor/CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1400 Quad-Core, 3200Mhz
Video Card/GPU: AMD Radeon RX 580
Memory/RAM: ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4 DRAM 8.0 GB
Dolphin Revision Currently Using: 5.0-21088 x64
Please let me know if there is any info I'm missing. Thank you!
Have you tried enabling the Hyrule Field Speed Hack for LOZ: Twilight Princess. It work for both the gamecube and wii version. If not not enough it might be worth looking in a ryzen 3000 or 5000 series cpu(depending on what you motherboard will let you upgrade to, you need to look at you manufacturer website for cpu supported and any necessarily bios update for those cpu) for the extra performance in general.
https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?t...Speed_Hack is the game wiki. Most of the info also true if you using wii also.
Other than what was already stated, make sure your RAM is 2x4GB (two sticks of 4GB) instead of just a single stick of 8GB—using a single stick of RAM will leave some performance on the table (normally for raw CPU performance it can be minor, but it's at least worth mentioning and can always have a bigger impact than expected for earlier Ryzen CPUs).
Also try changing the graphics render backend from the default "OpenGL" to Vulkan or Direct3D12 (I personally have no experience with D3D12 though since I went from Windows 7 to Linux).
And while I'm here, I'd like to provide a bit of clarification and context on some things regarding the CPU:
Emulation workloads was kind of a worst-case scenario for early Ryzen CPUs to the point of actually performing slower per-GHz than Intel 4th gen Core "Haswell" CPUs (which themselves are known for being weirdly fast in emulation relative to the previous generation). Therefore, if you were ever interested in upgrading your CPU, then it's really highly recommended to try to go for one of the 5000-series CPUs with at least 32MB of L3 cache (the ones with 16MB L3 will be slower in Dolphin), but don't overpay since having more cores won't really help with Dolphin, and the X3D chips with 96MB don't really help specifically in Dolphin either. Of course, this is assuming you don't have a motherboard that can't support anything newer than Ryzen 3000 (though the stuff about 32MB L3 still applies).
You should be able to use the program "CPU-Z" to find out if you have 1x8GB or 2x4GB of RAM and also to find out what your motherboard model is.
Since it was never mention and is relevant to amd ryzen cpu also. Make sure the memory is operating at it rated speed with cpu-z also. You may need to enable xmp, DOCP or A-XMP in the bios depending on how your motherboard labels it(My amd x570 motherboard call it xmp, however docp or a-xmp are name that amd motherboard might use). This is recommend since ryzen like fast memory in general. In cpu the ryzen 5600 would likely be the best if you motherboard support it as it the lowest end 5000 series to have the full 32 mb of cache. r5 3600 would be the option if the 5600 isn't supported by your board since the the r3 3300 is more when I looking at price on amazon US. I actually wondering if the 3d models of the ryzen cpu make a difference for dolphin or if the clock speed hit they normally have make then a worst option.
(03-08-2024, 08:38 PM)themaster123 Wrote: [ -> ]I actually wondering if the 3d models of the ryzen cpu make a difference for dolphin or if the clock speed hit they normally have make then a worst option.
For specifically Dolphin, generally the reduction in clockspeed hurts more—the 96MB L3 cache helps a little bit though since per-GHz performance is better if you compare it to a 32MB L3 chip with similar or higher clocks of identical core architecture (chiplet 8core Zen3 or chiplet 8core Zen4).
I was getting some more sticks of ram for my pc anyway so hopefully that'll improve it more, but as of now the field speed fixed things to be playable! its at 30fps which i'm happy with if it stays consistent. I'll have to look into CPU options too, thank you, everyone, for the advice!
(03-12-2024, 06:48 PM)noelt Wrote: [ -> ]I was getting some more sticks of ram for my pc anyway so hopefully that'll improve it more
Normally 8GB would be plenty for Dolphin (even 4GB can be), but all bets are off with Windows 10 and later since it likes to have a mind of its own...
Also, be wary of RAM speed. 1st gen Ryzen had trouble running at or above DDR4-3000, so it's possible that you might need to manually set the RAM to a slower speed since even the likes of DDR4-3200 is now basically standard for cheaper stuff. At the same time though, simply enabling XMP/DOCP might automatically make it run at a slower speed if required (I know of one person that I put a PC part list together for that XMP/DOCP had their RAM running at DDR4-2933 on a Ryzen 2600, let alone anything 1st gen).
(03-12-2024, 06:48 PM)noelt Wrote: [ -> ]its at 30fps which i'm happy with if it stays consistent.
Twilight Princess is natively 30fps, and I don't think there were ever any 60fps hacks made for it (I could very well be wrong, but it's my impression that the framerate is tied to the game speed as was typical of most Zelda game engines on "pre-HD consoles" so to say which could also explain why Link's Crossbow Training was also 30fps despite its heavy reliance on pointer mechanics that would feel much better at 60fps not to mention the more constrained environments and being exclusive to a console 50% more powerful vs GameCube Twilight Princess).
Heck, even the "HD" version of Twilight Princess on Wii U is 30fps (yet the "HD" version of Skyward Sword on Switch was 60fps...?)