Performance boost for gamecube emulator (Dolphin)

[Dean Andrew Flux]

I have been having slow frame rate with my emulator and ive tried several different setups to try and solve the problem. So far the most successful attempt is at 15fps during game play.
This is my system info and i believe this is all of it. Can you tell me if its good enough? I'm not quite sure if what I'm doing so feel free to offer advice!

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
System Model Satellite T135
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Genuine Intel(R) CPU U4100 @ 1.30GHz, 1300 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB

If there is any other info you need let me know. Ive tried all the different configurations that forums provide and i don't know if it might just be my computer. Let me know if its good enough and we can go on from there! Thanks a lot!

[meganova]

Your CPU is quite slow to run Dolphin, 1.30GHz is just not good enough, I assume your graphic card is the integrated one as well right?
Try using D3D9, lower the resolution, anti-aliasing to None, and A.Filtering to 1x.

Enable both Embedded Frame Buffer, disable EFB Copies and External F.Buffer.

On Other, check Fast Mipmaps, Lightning, Per Pixel Depth, and Fog.

Disable Audio Throttle as well, and set the Framelimit to 120.

However, you might get major issues, especially in graphic and audio.

[Gare]

I'd say your PC is the problem. It's way below even the minimum requirements.

[Dean Andrew Flux]

Yea everything is integrated. Its a laptop and they tried to make it as thin as possible while still retaining a large screen. So I assume there is no way to change the card on a laptop like this?

I am using Dolphin7719 and there are no settings for Fast Mipmaps. I believe this is the latest version of Dolphin.

I think its just for my computer. Thanks for the assistance!

[meganova]

Uh huh, yes.

Those settings are from official build, some of the settings has been implemented on SVN(which is the one you currently use now).

[crimsonedge]

My old computer has a CPU almost twice as fast as yours and still doesn't get full frames on most Wii games, you would probably need at least a Phenom II quad core, or an I5 to even think about getting full speed on Wii games.

[Dean Andrew Flux]

but does gamecube run well on your comp? Im honestly not interested about the Wii. There are very few game titles on there that i like. The gamecube is by far my favorite though. I can name a dozen titles of the top of my head that i like on the game cube. Im getting a new computer soon i just dont know what. Do you have any recomondations on a computer that is resonably priced and has so good processing power?

[crimsonedge]

but does gamecube run well on your comp? Im honestly not interested about the Wii. There are very few game titles on there that i like. The gamecube is by far my favorite though. I can name a dozen titles of the top of my head that i like on the game cube. Im getting a new computer soon i just dont know what. Do you have any recomondations on a computer that is resonably priced and has so good processing power?

I would suggest looking into building your own PC. For about $700 I'm sure you could build one capable of running Dolphin and getting max frame rates. Since this emu is mostly processor hungry, go with at least a decent Phenom II Quad core CPU of around 2.8-3GHz, or an I5. Even a higher end gaming CPU like an I5 2500k costs about $200. You could buy that and build the rest of your PC around it and stay under your budget. You could easily do that, get a motherboard, PSU, case, mid range video card, and a single HDD around $700 or less.

This would allow you to capitalize on the top end of emulation, and be running newer PC games now and in the future. Similar rig would also get you full frames on PCSX2, which is in fact more system hungry than emulating Wii games for some reason.

You probably wont even get full frames on Game Cube with that CPU you got. My old rig doesn't either on most games, but runs a few of them Ok. I'm the complete opposite of you, I don't see many GC games worth playing. I'm strictly a SNES/PS1/PS2 enthusiast.

My new PC has a I5 2500k quad core (3.3-3.6 Ghz) and I get full frame rate on Dophin with Wii games. Its about 6 times faster than CPU you got. I built a PC for around $2000, and you can't even get one as good from Alienware for less than $4000. And my case is way nicer than alienware cases. You can save around 50% of cost by building your own. A $700 build would be about $1400-$1500 retail.

I can break down the cost, $150-$200 for the CPU, $80-$100 for the Motherboard, $150 for the graphics card, $60-$80 for the Power supply, $60-$80 for the case, $60-$80 for 8 gigs of DDR3 ram, use your old DVD player or buy a Blu-ray for around $60-$80, use your old HDD, or just get a 500GB for $50-$60. $80-$130 for Windows 7 64 bit, or if you are a college student, you should be able to get this for $30. If you have at least a mid tower already, you might be able to reuse the case. If your PSU is 500W or greater you might be able to reuse that depending on what connectors your new Video card needs.