How much GPU do console emulators need?

[TechBoyJK]

I'm repurposing a PC to connect to my 50" Plasma TV. I'm just going to install Win7 on it, and use it to watch movies, listen to music, etc.

I'm thinking I'd load up a few emulators on it too. NES/SNES/64/ etc. etc.

The machine is an AMD Athlon II 64 x2 2.2ghz (x2 5000) with 4GB of ram, and a 32bit onboard gpu.

Do emulators even use GPU's? Or do they emulate everything via cpu?

 

[Ancalagon44]

I think N64 will likely require hardware of some kind, the rest will probably do most of the work in software, except maybe some blitters and rasterizers might be hardware based.

The only thing you will likely struggle with is PS2 level stuff. That takes a helluva PC. Ps1 will be fine, not sure about N64.

 

[CuriousMike]

That PC will be fine with any GPU for NES/SNES/N64.

When you start talking PS1, you might be OK.

PS2 and Wii/Gamecube emulators really need more CPU and solid GPU.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I can tell you that most NES, SNES, or Genesys emulators have always done things through software, meaning no hardware acceleration required (or, crappy GPU is fine.) Note: I haven't really tinkered with emulators in the last 6 or 7 years though ...

 

[nyker96]

I don't know about other emu but I read PS2 emu actually uses gpu for acceleration.

 

[Kalmah]

I remember running an N64 emulator with like a geforce 4200 and a 2.4ghz pentium d. I did have occasional slowdowns in wide open areas on zelda64. I can't say for sure if the bottleneck was cpu or gpu but I think my best guess would be to blame the cpu.

I currently run a psx emulator on a crappy little laptop, playing tony hawk without a problem. I can't remember the specs on that thing but It's probably similar to a celeron(or some mobile offshoot of a similar processor) with 2 gigs of ram.

 

[0___________0]

I know that for the dolphin emulator for Wii games an entry level card is fine for many games, its the CPU that bottlenecks everything, my i7 920 has trouble staying above 40 FPS in some games. The CPU emulation is what kills you, it only uses one thread, so you really need a fast i5/75 clocked at 4ghz+.

 

[fabiencolombo]

It all depends on the resolution and the graphic filters you apply.
On gamecube on resident evil
http://www.noelshack.com/2012-31-1344183937-dolphin-2012-08-06-00-05-57-65.jpg

and xenoblade:
http://www.noelshack.com/2012-31-1344186052-dolphin-2012-08-06-00-56-30-98.jpg

http://www.noelshack.com/2012-31-1344186063-dolphin-2012-08-06-00-59-50-80.jpg


One of my 2 gtx580 reaches up to 80% usage

 

[0roo0roo]

takes way more cpu than you think to do it right
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/...-3ghz-quest-to-build-a-perfect-snes-emulator/
never mind gpu

 

[fabiencolombo]

As I said before, if you begin to use filters because you want the game to look good on your hdtv, you better have a solid GPU (we are talking about recent emulators, ssf for saturn runs only on the cpu, even the filters)

If your goal is to make it look as close as possible as the original, than you need a beefy cpu.

Anyway, most people serious about emulation already have at least a I5 2500k oc @ 4GHz or more. So no big deal.

 

[Anarchist420]

The pcsx2 emulator is best in software mode with edge aa turned on because it is more accurate than hardware mode or at least it was with the last build I tried. It would be nice if you could force trilinear filtering in software mode, but I think the pcsx2 team has done an excellent job regardless.

I think that generally the CPU matters more for emulation. However, dx11.1 hardware really has enough programmability that the blending and depth could be done through shaders which would be optimal anyway. Textures could still be done through the texture units though.

 

[Blitzvogel]

I was emulating PS1 games just fine 7 years ago on a 1.6 GHz Pentium M and Intel Xtreme Graphics 2 lol. Knowing what I know now, I still have no idea how that system managed to run Far Cry

PS2 emulation is very heavy. A quad-core is a must, and you certainly want a decent GPU (8800GT class or better I would say).

The Dolphin GC and Wii emulator on the other hand is supposed to be pretty efficient, as long as you have a high speed dual core and a graphics processor of any modern merit.

Luckily the GC/Wii architecture was never the complicated mess the PS2 was, hence why PS2 emulation is much more difficult in relation.

 

[HeXen]

i have an I7 and there are a few MAME and Dreamcast roms that run very poorly.
I noticed a few old 2d arcade roms didn't run that good until i got a quad core, but it could be code on the emulators part as well.

 

[xXPeepachuXx]

64-Bit
Core i3
DAC Type: Internal
Intel Video BIOS
Available graphics memory 1696 MB
Dedicated Video Memory 64 MB
System Video Memory 0 MB
Shared System Memory 1632 MB
2.53 GH
4 GB RAM (3.80 GB Usable)

I hope this is enough...
Also I'm hoping for SNES Emulation

 

[poofyhairguy]

64-Bit
Core i3
DAC Type: Internal
Intel Video BIOS
Available graphics memory 1696 MB
Dedicated Video Memory 64 MB
System Video Memory 0 MB
Shared System Memory 1632 MB
2.53 GH
4 GB RAM (3.80 GB Usable)

I hope this is enough...
Also I'm hoping for SNES Emulation

That is plenty for SNES. SNES doesn't really need a beefy GPU.

 

[SPBHM]

I used to emulate Snes with Zsnes and a Pentium 133
PS1 with a P3 600 and connectix vgs, a few N64 games with the same thing using UltraHLE and some other emulator I forgot the name (with an Intel 810 IGP)

in any case, if you want something like retroarch for SNES and such you need at least OpenGL 2.0 support for it to work properly...

I recently used a GMA 950 IGP with retroarch, on Windows it didn't work well, but for some reason on ubuntu it's fine (with OpenGL 1.4), but I only had success (good speed) up to SNES, with other emulators I'm sure I could get n64 working with that, Dreamcast I think it's to far.


but this thread is from 2012

 

[master_shake_]

i use a core i5 2400 4gb of memory and an r9 280x for an arcade i built.

stuff is so cheap used these days no reason to buy new.

awwww

why YOU no make new thread?!

 

[PrincessFrosty]

N64/PS1 is really playable on a medium range rig these days but anything more than that and you'll struggle.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Just throwing this out there, but my old Galaxy S3 Android phone ran the N64 emulator perfectly. Had some USB cables finagled around to hook my phone to my sound system as well as my TV and two controllers so my girlfriend and I could play Diddy Kong Racing and other N64 games during the interim of buying a house.

 

[shortylickens]

Many Emulators are CPU only. Some use hardware acceleration.

PCSX2 has been around for a while and only just recently added OpenGL & Direct3D support.
It might even be mostly GPU reliant today. I dont know. Gave it up when they came out with the Windows FFX-2.
:awe:

 

[alcoholbob]

I was emulating PS1 games just fine 7 years ago on a 1.6 GHz Pentium M and Intel Xtreme Graphics 2 lol. Knowing what I know now, I still have no idea how that system managed to run Far Cry

PS2 emulation is very heavy. A quad-core is a must, and you certainly want a decent GPU (8800GT class or better I would say).

The Dolphin GC and Wii emulator on the other hand is supposed to be pretty efficient, as long as you have a high speed dual core and a graphics processor of any modern merit.

Luckily the GC/Wii architecture was never the complicated mess the PS2 was, hence why PS2 emulation is much more difficult in relation.

Still reliance on CPUs instead of GPUs (which have a lot more brute force horsepower) means emulators can have terrible fps swings, and really, really bad minimum fps. Even on my 4.6GHz hexcore Dolphin emulation of GC games can get ugly.

 

[JeffMD]

2d emulators and PS1/n64 erra are pretty basic and don't need a whole lot of horsepower. ps1/n64 will demand more if you use silly options to improve the 3d graphics. PS2/wii/dreamcast stuff on the other hand rely on a high single core performance for playing the basic game, and a good GPU if you plan to use filters. The emulators are pretty terrible at multi threaded performance so they rely on doing everything on one core.

 

[aigomorla]

Ok here is my dilemma... according to nintendo, emulators are considered illegal and a copy write infringement. However thats nintendo spewing dung again like they did to youtube streamers.

Here's my stance and the forums until someone on a higher pay grade steps in.

Emulators themselves are software and no copyright infringement is committed until the actual context of games is taken into play.

So you guys are free to talk about emulators, but leave the games out of it, especially places where u can find the game. I don't care if you own the game and want a hard drive copy, just dont talk about ANY of the games which the emulators can play, and keep it strict to the emulators.

So far you g(uys/als) have been good so i shall let u guys talk about it, but the moment i see games being mentioned i will lay down clint eastwood on you guys with a .44 infraction hand cannon.

PC Gaming Moderator Aigo

 

[Red Hawk]

Ok here is my dilemma... according to nintendo, emulators are considered illegal and a copy write infringement. However thats nintendo spewing dung again like they did to youtube streamers.

Here's my stance and the forums until someone on a higher pay grade steps in.

Emulators themselves are software and no copyright infringement is committed until the actual context of games is taken into play.

So you guys are free to talk about emulators, but leave the games out of it, especially places where u can find the game. I don't care if you own the game and want a hard drive copy, just dont talk about ANY of the games which the emulators can play, and keep it strict to the emulators.

So far you g(uys/als) have been good so i shall let u guys talk about it, but the moment i see games being mentioned i will lay down clint eastwood on you guys with a .44 infraction hand cannon.

PC Gaming Moderator Aigo

As far as emulators are concerned, if Nintendo had a legal leg to stand on, they would have shut down stuff like Dolphin long ago. The fact that they haven't is the clearest indicator to me that it's perfectly legal.

As far as the games, there's really no distinction talking about the games themselves whether they're running on the original system or on an emulator. The thing that would be wrong to talk about is where to obtain the ROMs/ISOs for games. Tellingly, Nintendo actually has gotten websites that host such things to take down the ROMs/ISOs for Nintendo systems. Distributing them freely is actual copyright infringement, virtually the same thing as piracy. But simply talking about games is not copyright infringement or piracy.

However, using various equipment to make a ROM/ISO dump from games you already physically own so you can personally use them with an emulator? That's the grey area, but if it's for personal use with an already legally purchased copy, I'd still say that's ok.

 

[JeffMD]

Emulators are generally protected...BIOS files are not. ROMs are also not. Even if you owned the game, there was never a clause saying you are entitled to a software version of the game.

Most of the games are end of life of course, the only thing I hate is when people sell disc or computer setups fully loaded with ROMs. I'm pointing at the $1000 MAME arcades. ^^