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Dolphin - Emulating Wii and Gamecube Games
- Thread starter Stallion Free
- Start date
What should I expect with a mac and these specs?
Quad-core i7 2760QM 2.4Ghz
1 GB Radeon HD 6770M
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
I'm new to the Dolphin (and emulation overall) scene and downloaded what I assume is the latest version of Dolphin and tried to run Trauma Team, though I'm having terrible performance just on the title screen:
Quad-core i7 2760QM 2.4Ghz
1 GB Radeon HD 6770M
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
I'm new to the Dolphin (and emulation overall) scene and downloaded what I assume is the latest version of Dolphin and tried to run Trauma Team, though I'm having terrible performance just on the title screen:
Sora the Cat
Member
Hey, I'm replaying Xenoblade Chronicles on dolphin and I get a random freeze which last half a second and is really annoying. It happens whenever a big effect goes on on screen, like a big light coming out of a sword attack or something similar. (Using Dolphin last branch)
Weird thing is, this didn't happen at all the last time I played this game on dolphin like 2 years ago, in fact it worked perfectly back then, with HD texture pack too.
My setup:
r9 390 8gb
I5 4690K
8gb ram
250gb ssd
The only thing different is that back then I used to have a gtx 970, could that be the problem?
Weird thing is, this didn't happen at all the last time I played this game on dolphin like 2 years ago, in fact it worked perfectly back then, with HD texture pack too.
My setup:
r9 390 8gb
I5 4690K
8gb ram
250gb ssd
The only thing different is that back then I used to have a gtx 970, could that be the problem?
ThisIsMyDogKyle
Banned
Try using either the ishiiruka branch with async shaders enabled or the new ubershaders build a few posts up with with hybrid mode enabled.
Sora the Cat
Member
Will try it, thanks!
Question: I want to install the developer build because it fixes an issue with Virtual Console games not saving properly. I currently have the base 5.0 build installed. How do I install the developer version over the 5.0 version? Do I just copy and replace all the files in the Dolphin folder?
No, don't replace anything. Just download the development build and run it.
jediyoshi
Member
Those things wouldn't help with your standard performance, only the edge cases when it needs to generate shaders. In the case of the ubershaders build, it's more likely to decrease performance atm.
Yes
linko9
Member
Just got a new GPU; Nvidia GTX 950, a big upgrade from my old card (which died). PC games run much better now! However a number of games have hitches when playing in Dolphin. Never had these problems with my old ATI card, which was much worse. It's not that the framerate will drop, the game will just display the same frame for like... a second or maybe a bit less every once in a while. Happened in Metroid Prime (GC), F-zero GX, and Xenoblade, but no problems with Galaxy 1 or DKC returns. Any idea if there's some way to address this issue? Lowering settings does not fix the problem.
DonMigs85
Member
It's probably due to shader compilation. What processor do you have? And did you get that GPU new? A 1050 or 1050 Ti would've been a better buy.
linko9
Member
I did get it new, $90. Needed something with analog output for emulating old systems on my CRT. Processor is i5-2500K
edit: tested a few more games, no problems with sunshine or wind waker. Ran GX again, and there were a lot few hiccups than the first time. Mainly occurred with lots of racers onscreen. I think this probably is a CPU issue, it's just with my old card it responded by dropping a few frames, which I didn't notice, as opposed to my new one. Also I should note Metroid Prime was a version modded for widescreen support, and I do remember getting a bit of slowdown with that on my old card in some areas.
edit2: yeah definitely the CPU. Monitored them both, and at the times hiccups were happening, the CPU was running at or beyond it's "maximum speed," whereas the GPU never went above 25% usage.
So I wanted to play some Dolphin goodness and it seems that many of the LEDs on my DolphinBar are dead, just checked with my phone's camera and the right side seems to be entirely dead while the left side has like 2 working.
I think I left it plugged back then when I bought it and that is the problem, should've unplugged it when it wasn't used.
I just contacted Mayflash to see if they can sell me replacement LEDs, I could replace those myself, that is if they agree.
I think I left it plugged back then when I bought it and that is the problem, should've unplugged it when it wasn't used.
I just contacted Mayflash to see if they can sell me replacement LEDs, I could replace those myself, that is if they agree.
That was the tipping point for me to just play on original hardware.
I play on the OG hardware too....
I use my OG Wii U sensor bar while the Wii U is on to play Dolphin. :lol
tomwhite2004
Member
Whilst Dolphin can use AVX instructions the performance increase is absolutely minimal unlike in PCSX2. That CPU will be fine.
Theonik
Member
It's OK but the Nintendo one is better. It has much more accurate deadzones.
Both have a small amount of latency. Nintendo one supports rumble correctly too.
Ah ok. Might have to invest in one. Just starting to get into emulation so getting more accurate controls sounds good.
Theonik
Member
Having said that, Mayflash isn't half bad, but I can't see much reason to get one now that the official ones are well stocked.
I've done a direct comparison of both adapters. The Mayflash adapter has noticeably higher input lag, even in Wii U mode.
Get the Nintendo adapter if at all possible, though the Mayflash adapter isn't the end of the world.
Thanks. Annoyingly, it isn't stocked much in Australia. Have to get for about $80 AUD from ebay.
Dolphin already supports ridiculously high resolutions through the .ini files (up to 51x IR because of hardware limitations). This maxes out at 19x.
Does anyone know if there is any input lag when using the official Nintendo Gamecube controller adapter and the native Dolphin drivers? I can't seem to find any tests or anything.
I'm moving and want to know if I should bring the Wii and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom along, or if I should just use Dolphin to save the space.
Nevermind, found this: https://www.smashladder.com/guides/view/26oz/controller-guide-2-0 HD TvC here I come!
I'm moving and want to know if I should bring the Wii and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom along, or if I should just use Dolphin to save the space.
Nevermind, found this: https://www.smashladder.com/guides/view/26oz/controller-guide-2-0 HD TvC here I come!
Ubershaders are finally here. This is a huge improvement over async shaders for those using for those using Ishiiruka. Shader compilation stutter has finally been solved. Be sure to read the article for recommended settings for your setup. Exclusive ubershader mode looks to need a very high end card to reach even 3x IR.
You can enable ubershaders by going into the graphics settings and selecting the enhancements tab.
You can enable ubershaders by going into the graphics settings and selecting the enhancements tab.
KojiKnight
Member
Probably going to depend on your internal resolution. Honestly, I'd recommend using hybrid as default and only relying on exclusive if you're getting issues. Just like you'd normally not use interpreter over JIT unless you're having an issue for speed reasons.
jediyoshi
Member
Yes. Also, check the article. They're not comparable solutions, at worst you're trading off different bugs. There's not a "fix" to look forward to, it's optimization.
https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2017/07/30/ubershaders/
I'll check it out.
PhantomThief
Banned
Does this still work on older systems?
Napalm_Frank
Member
Describe older system.
Diablohead
Member
Amazing effort that keeps on going strong.
Early testing is extremely impressive! Butter smooth! I can even use per pixel lighting and use Direct X 11 D3D now instead of open GL! Wow!
What for? I doubt any emulator author is looking at and avoiding breaching patents of all things when reverse engineering.
There's a minute-long ubershader compilation with the first run, which is pretty acceptable considering that there's no recompilation in subsequent runs and the Mario Kart Wii starting line is no longer a minute-long stutterfest. Awesome. Using the same settings I've used on previous builds (3x IR, 2/4x AA depending on game, per-pixel lighting) and not noticing any performance penalty, though I haven't tried any games that actually push my laptop like Mario Galaxy.
stan423321
Member
You are mixing up three things.
Software copyrights for BIOS and individual games take a hell of a time to expire right now. These can also cover hardware source code which usually doesn't show up... But in case of Wii there was that rumour of CPU source code leak, or was it Wii U? I imagine Dolphin devs avoid that like dev kit docs.
Technical patents specifically describe technology solutions so that reverse engineering these from nothing is not required. The details not described in patents are not protected. Protection is understood to not apply to emulators because patented mechanism needs a purpose which emulator tends to miss (efficient hardware implementation), but as usual there aren't many precedents.
Then there's some separate thing like fab rights, that's kinda like copyright for chips but different. It doesn't cover disassembly I think, it covers copying. So a clone chip that went through clean room design would be absolutely immune to that but not patents. This doesn't affect emulators at all.
Per-pixel lighting works with ubershaders now?
The article implies that per-pixel lighting does something (toggling per-pixel lighting requires recompiling the ubershaders).
In any case I have the checkbox ticked, and I haven't checked if unchecking it makes a visible difference or not, but w/e.
Edit: Yeah Ubershaders supports per-pixel lighting now.
Ubershaders got me back into playing with Dolphin. As a result, I took on a small project that I'd been meaning to do for a while.
Dolphin's input lag compared to a real Wii
TL;DR ~1 frame of video lag, ~2 frames of audio lag on my laptop vs Wii.
Numbers will probably vary depending on PC setup, controller/input method, etc.
DJ Hero is fun, but was really difficult to play on Dolphin due to input & audio lag. I ended up playing most of the game on a real Wii.
A while back I established that my TV had ~15ms of input lag and my soundbar had ~60ms. I used Rock Band's calibration tool (which is fantastic and better than DJ Hero's) to get calibration numbers for my Wii & TV (45ms AV sync, -65ms input lag). I then got the same numbers with Dolphin & my laptop (15ms AV sync, -65ms input lag). Putting all the numbers together results in Dolphin having a native 15ms input lag and 30ms audio lag, which is about 1 frame and 2 frames of lag respectively.
Plugged these numbers into DJ Hero and they worked great. DJ Hero in 1080p with headphones is fantastic.
Windows 10
GTX 860M
DirectX 11 backend
Borderless Fullscreen, no VSync (My laptop seems to force its own VSync on Borderless Fullscreen games, and it has very low input lag compared to Exclusive Fullscreen + VSync)
Cubeb audio backend
TimingVariance = 17 (Dolphin.ini setting which controls audio latency in ms, default is 40)
Real Wii Remote with Emulated Bluetooth adapter (Bluetooth passthrough is unstable on my laptop)
Dolphin's input lag compared to a real Wii
TL;DR ~1 frame of video lag, ~2 frames of audio lag on my laptop vs Wii.
Numbers will probably vary depending on PC setup, controller/input method, etc.
DJ Hero is fun, but was really difficult to play on Dolphin due to input & audio lag. I ended up playing most of the game on a real Wii.
A while back I established that my TV had ~15ms of input lag and my soundbar had ~60ms. I used Rock Band's calibration tool (which is fantastic and better than DJ Hero's) to get calibration numbers for my Wii & TV (45ms AV sync, -65ms input lag). I then got the same numbers with Dolphin & my laptop (15ms AV sync, -65ms input lag). Putting all the numbers together results in Dolphin having a native 15ms input lag and 30ms audio lag, which is about 1 frame and 2 frames of lag respectively.
Plugged these numbers into DJ Hero and they worked great. DJ Hero in 1080p with headphones is fantastic.
Windows 10
GTX 860M
DirectX 11 backend
Borderless Fullscreen, no VSync (My laptop seems to force its own VSync on Borderless Fullscreen games, and it has very low input lag compared to Exclusive Fullscreen + VSync)
Cubeb audio backend
TimingVariance = 17 (Dolphin.ini setting which controls audio latency in ms, default is 40)
Real Wii Remote with Emulated Bluetooth adapter (Bluetooth passthrough is unstable on my laptop)