Lakka Switch, L4T edition
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I am proud to finally release the L4T version of Lakka Switch!
New kernel, new logo, new drivers, audio... everything is fresh and clean.

Did I mention Rayman 3 was full speed on Dolphin? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

General system updates

• New Linux kernel and underlying operating system, based on Linux4Tegra and Jetson Nano drivers
  • mainline kernel has been deprecated
  • system features should now be on par with the L4T Ubuntu distribution, except for dock support
  • Bluetooth was lost in the battle and needs some rest to come back stronger
• aarch64 is now the default and mainly supported architecture
  • arm has been deprecated since L4T doesn't support it
• New logo made with the help of jaames and the R:S community

New features and improvements

• Audio now works through the internal speakers and headphones
• The new GPU driver supports both Vulkan and OpenGL
• RAM is now locked at full speed (1600Mhz), was 800MHz before
• The system is now way more stable and should boot for everyone with a decent SD card (no more black screen of death)
• RetroArch has been updated to add menu widgets (fancy onscreen notifications)
• Overclock profiles have been updated :
  • Renamed all profiles
  • Added more overclock profiles
  • Added underclock profiles

New cores

• mupen64plus-next (N64 emulator)
  • The core is full speed, even on aarch64 thanks to the new dynarec
  • Includes the updated version of the GlideN renderer
• picodrive (various Sega consoles)
  • The core replaces Genesis Plus GX (Game Gear support has been dropped)
• Beetle PSX HW (PSX emulator with OpenGL and Vulkan renderer)
  • The core performs worse than PCSX ReARMed for now, even with Vulkan
• reicast (Dreamcast emulator)
  • The core is full speed on all commercial games, no visual glitches
  • The OIT renderer works (better accuracy), speed is still good on 1x resolution
  • The core needs the Dreamcast BIOS files to be placed in /lakka/storage/system/DC
  • WinCE games are currently not supported - there is a WinCE version of the reicast core in the works but the aarch64 dynarec is too slow for the games to be playable (for now)
• Yaba Sanshiro (Saturn emulator)
  • The core is full speed on all commercial games
  • Yabause and Kronos were also added but both perform worse than Yaba Sanshiro
• theodore (Thomson MO/TO emulator)

Updated cores

• Dolphin : Vulkan support
  • With Vulkan, Dolphin runs decently - some games are playable, some are full speed... see for yourself, try it and experiment with different games and settings!
• PCSX ReARMed : Switch optimizations and CHD support
• PPSSPP : doesn't crash anymore when closing content

Removed cores

• mupen64plus
• parallel-n64
• Genesis Plus GX
• Ishiiruka
  • It might come back once the core is updated with the (beta) Vulkan renderer

Credits

• Kernel and drivers work: NVIDIA, switchroot team (especially ByLaws and langerhans)
• Lakka Switch work: natinusala and plaidman
• RetroArch, original Lakka distribution: libretro team
• mupen64plus-next: Gillou and m4xw
• PCSX ReARMed: Switch optimizations by m4xw, CHD support by aliaspider
• Dolphin core: aliaspider
• reicast core: flyinghead

Download link

The Lakka Switch website has been updated with the new version: https://lakka-switch.github.io/documentation/

Please note that you can't dual boot Ubuntu and Lakka Switch for now (it will always boot Ubuntu).

 

[ZachyCatGames]

what is the Tegra x1 chips default rated CPU clock speed and what is the setting set by Nintendo? I just wanted to know before overclocking.

Regular X1s run it at around 2ghz, the ones the Switch uses are binned for 1785mhz (they are tested and confirmed to be stable at 1785mhz at the factory), and Ninty normally runs it at 1020mhz on retail (also some games use a "boost mode" which sets it to 1785mhz during loading screens, and SDEVs can run at 1224mhz)

 

[Budsixz]

Regular X1s run it at around 2ghz, the ones the Switch uses are binned for 1785mhz (they are tested and confirmed to be stable at 1785mhz at the factory), and Ninty normally runs it at 1020mhz on retail (also some games use a "boost mode" which sets it to 1785mhz during loading screens, and SDEVs can run at 1224mhz)

so running emulators at 1785mhz shouldn't cause any problems right? like in longrun?

 

[Mouser X]

so running emulators at 1785mhz shouldn't cause any problems right? like in longrun?

It has been said that it's possible to cause battery degredation, due to pulling too much current from the battery too quickly. At what point that happens, I don't know (sys-clk has "safetys" built in to prevent this, so I guess check there?), but it can be avoided by having your Switch plugged into the AC adapter it came with (or, theoretically, an AC adapter that matches or exceeds the Switch's adapter). As near as I've seen anyone else say, that's the biggest concern. Apparently the increase in heat is minimal, the CPU is "expected" to run that speed, and everything else is fine.

That's just the CPU. If you overclock the GPU, I've read that increases heat a lot more, so be careful when overclocking the GPU.

 

[abilaunken]

I test it today, with max overclock try mario party 4 , skys of arcadia and rogue 2 and 3.
Mario party run very well , can say fullspeed
sky 20 fps at intro
rogues black screen on 2 and stuck in bootscreen for rogue 3. (same with gl driver)

Dreamcast marvel vs capcom 2, run very well , can say fullspeed

Sold my wii for wiiu but ending geting a swith, now cant play rogue squadron anymore

 

[lordelan]

Its now possible to play multiplayer games?

Netplay should work. At least.

 

[Jackson98]

Mgs is a disc image file and new super Mario bros is wbfs file I've done all of the above games are just to slow. Near giving up lol

Hmm I haven't tested any Wii games, most probably won't run as fast as Gamecube., although I've heard Twilight princess and a few others work decently. The thing that made the largest difference for me was making sure Vulkan was enabled, the performance boost is astounding. Maybe the SD card you are using is effecting performance? The cluster size? Idk.

 

[Jackson98]

It has been said that it's possible to cause battery degredation, due to pulling too much current from the battery too quickly. At what point that happens, I don't know (sys-clk has "safetys" built in to prevent this, so I guess check there?), but it can be avoided by having your Switch plugged into the AC adapter it came with (or, theoretically, an AC adapter that matches or exceeds the Switch's adapter). As near as I've seen anyone else say, that's the biggest concern. Apparently the increase in heat is minimal, the CPU is "expected" to run that speed, and everything else is fine.

That's just the CPU. If you overclock the GPU, I've read that increases heat a lot more, so be careful when overclocking the GPU.

Funnily enough, overclocking the GPU for most of the emulation I've rand does literally nothing. I've literally yet to run a game where GPU overclock has made any kind of noticeable difference.

 

[Rahkeesh]

Worth noting but its not that odd that Gen 5 - 6 graphics fail to stress the Switch if you have decent drivers/API.

 

[level42]

Has anyone managed to get Pokemon Snap to work in L4T Lakka?

I can boot the game, play the game (about 85% full speed), but when I play the first course, take photos, and head to Prof. Oak for review, the images are all blank, or at least they are to Prof. Oak, and he can't see any Pokemon in my photos. To myself, the photos appear fine.

(Not my screenshots, but they showcase the issue)

There's some further, older discussion about this issue here: https://github.com/gonetz/GLideN64/issues/777

Any idea?

 

[xbmcuser]

The switch hardware is a beast. It emulates propcycle arcade game better than on my i7 and nvidia 4 series card on my old laptop at 45W (cost £1500 then).

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Lakka has crashed and corrupted something twice now. I have had to reinstall it again from scratch twice now. Any ideas what will have happened?

 

[Csmrcc]

The switch hardware is a beast. It emulates propcycle arcade game better than on my i7 and nvidia 4 series card on my old laptop at 45W (cost £1500 then).

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Lakka has crashed and corrupted something twice now. I have had to reinstall it again from scratch twice now. Any ideas what will have happened?

same happens to a few of us, info about your sd? brand? storage? format and cluster?

 

[Mouser X]

Funnily enough, overclocking the GPU for most of the emulation I've rand does literally nothing. I've literally yet to run a game where GPU overclock has made any kind of noticeable difference.

Most emulators heavily rely on the CPU. While the GPU is certainly important, since everything is emulated, there's not a lot for the GPU to do anyway. I only mentioned it, because I didn't want people misinterpreting me as saying "OCing is okay! OC everything as fast as possible!" Generally, if you pay attention and know what you're doing, OCing on the Switch seems to be fine. Just keep in mind that the battery wasn't necessarily designed to handle the higher clocks, and doing a heat paste mod can greatly alleviate heat issues (if that's a concern).

On that note, I won't be surprised if, further down the road, Switch battery replacements (with a battery designed to handle higher power draw) becomes a thing.

 

[Jackson98]

Ive done a bit more testing with gamecube games, and I noticed that the (PAL) version of super mario sunshine actually runs noticeably better than the (NTSC), the game definitely lags less(except for the cutscenes in which NTSC wins). I should mention PAL(EU) games from what ive gathered cap at 25fps/50fps cutscenes and NTSC(USA) 30fps/60fps cutscenes. If you are having trouble with achieving pefect performace try the comparison yourself. You can also use the Unstable CPU but I prefer not too.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Most emulators heavily rely on the CPU. While the GPU is certainly important, since everything is emulated, there's not a lot for the GPU to do anyway. I only mentioned it, because I didn't want people misinterpreting me as saying "OCing is okay! OC everything as fast as possible!" Generally, if you pay attention and know what you're doing, OCing on the Switch seems to be fine. Just keep in mind that the battery wasn't necessarily designed to handle the higher clocks, and doing a heat paste mod can greatly alleviate heat issues (if that's a concern).

On that note, I won't be surprised if, further down the road, Switch battery replacements (with a battery designed to handle higher power draw) becomes a thing.

Their are actually devs quoting to a degree "the switch was meant for overclocking" but i agree with you about the super high OC speeds. I doubt you will lose much battery life otherwise I run most things at 1785 if I need to my switch is barely warm after 3 hours

 

[pcwizard7]

Absolutely.

Threaded video: enabled

CPU oc : Max Performance (1785)
GPU oc : Handheld Boost +3 (691)

Driver (video): Vulkan

EFB Scale x2 (1280 x 1056)

CPU Clock Rate: 60%

Everything else is default. If anyone knows any more tweaks, it is always appreciated.

this fix the performance for Metal gear solid on GC but for some reason the main menu is auto moving up by itself and can't figure how to stop it? any clues

 

[Bryan1986]

Got games running does anyone know how to map controls cant press the 2 button for Wii

 

[Csmrcc]

Got games running does anyone know how to map controls cant press the 2 button for Wii

i think has some to do eith controls, controls 1 and "wii side" or something like that i dont have it here

 

[mustafag32g]

does super mario galaxy run well with overclock gpu and cpu ?

 

[Bryan1986]

this fix the performance for Metal gear solid on GC but for some reason the main menu is auto moving up by itself and can't figure how to stop it? any clues

What does efb stand for cant find it? Thanks

 

[ZachyCatGames]

does super mario galaxy run well with overclock gpu and cpu ?

30-40fps iirc

 

[Jackson98]

Is their a particular place Playstation BIOS need storing for Lakka? I can only find mention of the Dreamcast file .