Hardware Yep, getting a custom-built desktop

[RedCoreZero]

Macbook Pro

 

[Originality]

I just hope you don't go the route of adding additional hard drives in the future because you probably will need to upgrade that PSU.

650W will be enough for over 12 HDDs with plenty of wattage to spare. HDDs have a fairly low wattage, especially the "green" drives. And he isn't even using the highest specs.

Macbook Pro

Why pay twice as much for half the specs? And how does this help the OP?

 

[the_randomizer]

My brother has the same processor, not-overclocked (yet), and a 560ti, and he plays tons of Wii/Gamecube games at acceptable frames. However, be awares of the sound compatibility, where numerous games will have messed up sound emulation, unless you use a specific plugin which just EATS your processing up. I've heard you can use a dump of some sound thing from the actual wii and get better performance, but my brother never tried it, I don't think.

From my experience with the same processor (again, non-overclocked [yet]), I've been playing Final Fantasy XII at 3x the native resolution, 8x MSAA and rarely, if ever, drop beneath 60 fps. That being said, certain games are going to be more compatible/better supported than others, as these emulators are more geared towards running games than actual accurate emulation. So keep in mind the haphazard performances, potentially. That said, there are dedicated wikis for both the Dolphin and PCSX2 emulators that attempt to document overall support for the game, with optional user sections who give their computer specs and their performances with certain games, as well as suggested tweaks for better performance.

They fixed that so the ALX or whatever (LLE audio) is now done via the HLE plugin. In other words, the dev team fixed (or is fixing) the audio so the LLE plugin is no longer needed. SVN builds of 3.5 have near-perfect sound done via HLE, so LLE dumps are no longer required, meaning it runs faster and is less CPU intensive.

Source http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-new-ax-hle-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work

Macbook Pro

 

[urbanman2004]

Macbook Pro

That was off the wall random... The option I took was that I built a multiboot hackintosh with windows on a separate drive, which saved myself $1000 alone with twice the specs of a real Mac.

 

[RedCoreZero]

That was off the wall random... The option I took was that I built a multiboot hackintosh with windows on a separate drive, which saved myself $1000 alone with twice the specs of a real Mac.

 

[PolloDiablo]

hey guys, another question here
I'm thinking of getting this case...

Spoiler

thoughts?

 

[urbanman2004]

hey guys, another question here
I'm thinking of getting this case...

Spoiler

thoughts?

lol

 

[Porobu]

hey guys, another question here
I'm thinking of getting this case...

Spoiler

thoughts?

ur components will overheat

 

[the_randomizer]

Sorry, but I'm never getting an Apple product. They're overpriced, overrated, and it will be a very cold day in hell
before I ever purchase a mac. I'm asking advice for a desktop, not a laptop,

 

[Originality]

Saying that, iPods are actually fairly well priced now these days. Sure you can get MP4 players cheaper, but they're not as fully featured.

But yeah, I may own an iPod, iPad, and iPhone... But I'm never getting an iMac.

 

[the_randomizer]

Saying that, iPods are actually fairly well priced now these days. Sure you can get MP4 players cheaper, but they're not as fully featured.

But yeah, I may own an iPod, iPad, and iPhone... But I'm never getting an iMac.

I should have specified that as well, as to why I refuse to buy a Mac (macbook pro or otherwise). I was getting advice for getting a desktop, and so far it's looking pretty solid. As for one of the previous poster's question regarding Dolphin and HLE audio, Delroth (a developer) managed to redo the HLE code to the point where it sounds as good, if not better than the LLE audio, meaning that not only can games emulate the audio better, but at lower system requirements. Tales of Symphonia sounds near-perfect on HLE audio. This means that (hopefully) my Core i5 3570 can support most games without a hitch.... keyword, "hopefully". And to the person who mentioned Macbook, I wasn't trying to be a dick, but I must establish the fact that will never own a Macbook or Mac of any kind.

 

[Celice]

I haven't tried this new version nor heard of it; and until you've tried it yourself, though it sounds like good merit, don't expect it to turn out so good.

The reason I've heard one switches to the more-intensive audio thing is because several games do not function normally without it. These include games which stream their music, rather than directly playing it (the recent Zelda games and Galaxy games), and other selective games, such as that Donkey Kong Country Returns, or whatever it's called.

Got a link to the download? I'll forward it to my brother and see if he gets any better performance.

EDIT: saw the link just now, thankies~

 

[Thanatos Telos]

I should have specified that as well, as to why I refuse to buy a Mac (macbook pro or otherwise). I was getting advice for getting a desktop, and so far it's looking pretty solid. As for one of the previous poster's question regarding Dolphin and HLE audio, Delroth (a developer) managed to redo the HLE code to the point where it sounds as good, if not better than the LLE audio, meaning that not only can games emulate the audio better, but at lower system requirements. Tales of Symphonia sounds near-perfect on HLE audio. This means that (hopefully) my Core i5 3570 can support most games without a hitch.... keyword, "hopefully". And to the person who mentioned Macbook, I wasn't trying to be a dick, but I must establish the fact that will never own a Macbook or Mac of any kind.

Trust me, you're anything but. The guy didn't even read the title, so it's either his fault or he's a troll.

On Topic: If dolphin can run Windwaker at full speed on my rig, you should have no problems whatsoever on yours.

 

[the_randomizer]

I haven't tried this new version nor heard of it; and until you've tried it yourself, though it sounds like good merit, don't expect it to turn out so good.

The reason I've heard one switches to the more-intensive audio thing is because several games do not function normally without it. These include games which stream their music, rather than directly playing it (the recent Zelda games and Galaxy games), and other selective games, such as that Donkey Kong Country Returns, or whatever it's called.

Got a link to the download? I'll forward it to my brother and see if he gets any better performance.

EDIT: saw the link just now, thankies~

No prob. I can confirm that Tales of Symphonia runs full speed on my laptop with the HLE audio redo, it sounds a lot better. What they did to fix it was amazing. If that's any indication, I'm sure the new rig will handle it just fine.

Trust me, you're anything but. The guy didn't even read the title, so it's either his fault or he's a troll.

On Topic: If dolphin can run Windwaker at full speed on my rig, you should have no problems whatsoever on yours.

Well, it seemed like it since, I, well, have a reputation around here that ain't the greatest. I'll continue to research reviews, etc.

 

[Celice]

They fixed that so the ALX or whatever (LLE audio) is now done via the HLE plugin. In other words, the dev team fixed (or is fixing) the audio so the LLE plugin is no longer needed. SVN builds of 3.5 have near-perfect sound done via HLE, so LLE dumps are no longer required, meaning it runs faster and is less CPU intensive.

Alright, having shown this to my brother, it appears there's an incomplete picture.

This plug-in is meant more for "fixing" emulation issues with certain Gamecube games. This can have adverse effects, such as several other games running worse than if you used the default plug-ins.

My brother tried this new thing you posted to, and it actually runs far worse on Donkey Kong Country Returns than if he just uses his own dumped sound thing, which still has it's own errors. My point being: as I said before, you're going to encounter problems regardless of your hardware because the software here that's trying to emulate, though it gives good effort, isn't 100% efficient, and where it's not, it often tries to cut corners. You should accept that even with a modestly powerful rig, you will not be able to emulate anything and everything perfectly.

For the specific Gamecube games it is intended for, it should hopefully do what it tries to say it does. From your previous post, I'll assume it does fix whatever issues were present--but again, don't take this to mean every game which has sound issues (and there are many of them) will be fixed likewise. Referencing the wiki compatibility pages is a must

 

[the_randomizer]

Alright, having shown this to my brother, it appears there's an incomplete picture.

This plug-in is meant more for "fixing" emulation issues with certain Gamecube games. This can have adverse effects, such as several other games running worse than if you used the default plug-ins.

My brother tried this new thing you posted to, and it actually runs far worse on Donkey Kong Country Returns than if he just uses his own dumped sound thing, which still has it's own errors. My point being: as I said before, you're going to encounter problems regardless of your hardware because the software here that's trying to emulate, though it gives good effort, isn't 100% efficient, and where it's not, it often tries to cut corners. You should accept that even with a modestly powerful rig, you will not be able to emulate anything and everything perfectly.

For the specific Gamecube games it is intended for, it should hopefully do what it tries to say it does. From your previous post, I'll assume it does fix whatever issues were present--but again, don't take this to mean every game which has sound issues (and there are many of them) will be fixed likewise. Referencing the wiki compatibility pages is a must

Super Smash Bros and Tales of Symphonia sound better, but the ALX HLE code is not complete, so there are bound to be bugs. The next official release, 4.0, will have the audio code completed. Granted, I don't expect games like The Last Story to run full speed since even the most demanding PCs have issues, but can I at least expect better results than my laptop? Star Fox Adventures also sounds more normal this time. Are you using the builds on the download page, or are you using the optimized builds that XtremeDude2 builds? His are optimized for SSE4.1/Intel CPUs, meaning there is speed boost. I don't expect perfection, but I'd at least hope to get better performance overall than my laptop. Games like F-Zero GX don't run >45/50 fps on my current machine.

Can I expect better performance for PCSX2 and Dolphin more so than my current machine?

 

[the_randomizer]

Random post in 3, 2, 1.....

Okay, speaking hypothetically, suppose that a person whom I'm well acquainted with came up to me and asked what the purpose of getting a desktop would be if I already had a laptop to begin with, what reasons would I need to give to justify such an ambitious purchase?

 

[trumpet-205]

* For fun
* For better performance
* For better bang-per-buck
* For long-term usability (you can keep many parts as you upgrade your PC)

Anyway, a new desktop will definitely performs better on PCSX2 and Dolphin.

 

[the_randomizer]

* For fun
* For better performance
* For better bang-per-buck
* For long-term usability (you can keep many parts as you upgrade your PC)

Anyway, a new desktop will definitely performs better on PCSX2 and Dolphin.

Good reasons I must say. Good to hear that performance will be that much better. Plus Photoshop and 3DS Max 2012 will run better as well. The fact I can upgrade is another bonus.

 

[Celice]

I don't remember what your original specs are, but this machine will generally play very nicely for emulation. As for justifications, if you can properly explain how dangerous the temps can be (especially to non-computer people), you can try and show that it's safer to be a desktop than a laptop in terms of heat management; trying to show that in a laptop, the incredibly close proximity of everything paired with the high temps generated from games and the like can be a bit dangerous. Next to that, a desktop is, like the above user said, a more solid investment than a laptop, which is not only prone to more mechanical failures (do to context of usage and build), but also fairly easy to upgrade, and upgrades withstanding, can hold their ground better than laptops, which tend to become "obsolete" quicker (the word is fairly harsh, but does describe the problem fairly).

If you want to push the 3DS Max aspect, rendering should be much more fluid and less-taxing than on laptop counterparts.

Star Fox Adventures also sounds more normal this time. Are you using the builds on the download page, or are you using the optimized builds that XtremeDude2 builds?

My brother used whichever list was fairly large. But still, he had better performance with his 3.5 release than virtually any other build of Dolphin (withstanding the Fire Emblem 9, which seem to have worked better with older versions around the 1.6 mark).