[minty]

Hi,
I have 2 main questions about dolphin performing on the amd cpu.

I've ordered a cpu the x4 940 in the hope to get a cheap 4 core cpu that performce well enough. Now I hear Dolphin doesn't like amd cpu's basically a q6600 beats a x4 940 in dolphin. Is this true and to what extent why? Is it because amd x4 only supports sse2?

And my last question is, I basically want to be able to run SMG and some other cool games (super mario sunshine nsmb wii etc) that I own on my pc. Can I run them at 60 frames on stock 3 ghz? Does resolution affect speed much as in can I run it in 720p same speed as native 480?

I hope someone can clarify this to me it would help others choose what cpu to buy cause now I get the feeling I should have gotten the equally priced e8400 but then again all I want is to be able to play dolphin, coming from a lowly celeron LMAO.

My specs;

x4 940 @ 3ghz
2gb ram 1066 mhz
saphire hd 4890 1 gb gddr5

Oh and final note, any amd x4 940 users here? Some personal stories opinion about the x4 940 from someone who owns it would be highly apreciated. Just tell us how well it runs on the games you have tried.

 

[masta.g.86]

Phenom IIs are perfectly fine for Dolphin. They are a nice step up from the original Phenoms and a big step up from the older Athlon x2s. Phenom II supports Intel SIMD instructions up to SSE3. (Read SSE3 not SSSE3.)

Core2 CPUs seem to outperform a comparable Phenom II by only a small margin in Dolphin. Going with a Core2 CPU at this point in time is a complete waste if you ask me. Core i5 makes more sense if you want to stick with Intel.

And finally, Phenom IIs overclock easily enough. You should be able to crank up the multiplier in BIOS without adjusting anything else and achieve a 3.6GHz - 3.8GHz final speed. I keep mine at 3.6GHz since I often leave my computer to fold for the [email protected] team. I can hit 4.2GHz with some baseline, HT, and RAM adjustments.

 

[minty]

thanks I was all worried from all the intel fanboyism. Seems the AMD wasn't a bad choice. Now I'll have to wait and see if its even neccesary to OC.

 

[shahadithyab]

hi

the games which i play on dolphin are fine and i get good speed
i only play games like naruto,bleach,one piece, beyblade.
on naruto i always very good speed and amd phenom 2 940 is not an crap

 

[minty]

shoekria shahadithyab

 

[Lex_Light]

English, please. xD

 

[minty]

meant thank you gominasai gozaimas XD sorry

 

[Lex_Light]

This is an English forum, so, if you want to post in this forum, you should do it in English.

 

[minty]

This is an English forum, so, if you want to post in this forum, you should do it in English.

why so serious.

It's not like I started a entire conversation in a other language, I just said thank you and when you pointed out the rule I said sorry. You're derailing this thread.

 

[Lex_Light]

Sorry for that. :S
Anyways, I am an AMD fan (and Intel fan!) because I have a processor which makes some of the emulators going at full speed, but I can't run Dolphin, because the processor doesn't suppors SSE2.

 

[minty]

Sorry maybe a new ugrade will help. the 940 fits in your mobo so you can just buy a new cpu

 

[ChronoBodi]

Phenom IIs are great, i overclocked my Phenom II 720 tri-core up to 3.4 Ghz, with a 1.4 volt boost to keep it stable...

Runs Dolphin at full speed, and the AM3 socket itself has room for future CPUs, the Core 2 Quad (LGA 775) socket is pretty much a dead end, unless you have money to burn for the core i5 or i7.

 

[Gareth1977]

You cant upgrade from a C2Q to i5/7 without buying a whole new board.

 

[minty]

Phenom IIs are great, i overclocked my Phenom II 720 tri-core up to 3.4 Ghz, with a 1.4 volt boost to keep it stable...

Runs Dolphin at full speed, and the AM3 socket itself has room for future CPUs, the Core 2 Quad (LGA 775) socket is pretty much a dead end, unless you have money to burn for the core i5 or i7.

I hear your cpu can unlock the 4th core

 

[Gareth1977]

That's true in some cases.

 

[ChronoBodi]

ya, not all 720s can be unlockable... it depends on what BIOS you have, what motherboard you have, and the chip itself.

My motherboard does have the option of unlocking it, but i need a better BIOs, which means flashing it, and i'm kinda scared of flashing the BIOS...

Phenom IIs are perfectly fine for Dolphin. They are a nice step up from the original Phenoms and a big step up from the older Athlon x2s. Phenom II supports Intel SIMD instructions up to SSE3. (Read SSE3 not SSSE3.)

Core2 CPUs seem to outperform a comparable Phenom II by only a small margin in Dolphin. Going with a Core2 CPU at this point in time is a complete waste if you ask me. Core i5 makes more sense if you want to stick with Intel.

And finally, Phenom IIs overclock easily enough. You should be able to crank up the multiplier in BIOS without adjusting anything else and achieve a 3.6GHz - 3.8GHz final speed. I keep mine at 3.6GHz since I often leave my computer to fold for the [email protected] team. I can hit 4.2GHz with some baseline, HT, and RAM adjustments.

off-topic... but what was your settings to get those overclocks? cause i have the exact same Gigabyte motherboard as you do.

like, what voltage level to the core? 1.4? i just want to know, so i can keep my 720 stable... any other settings besides vCore to change?

 

[nanaya]

been flashing my bios from day one xD no problem so far, then again YMMV.

 

[minty]

ya, not all 720s can be unlockable... it depends on what BIOS you have, what motherboard you have, and the chip itself.

My motherboard does have the option of unlocking it, but i need a better BIOs, which means flashing it, and i'm kinda scared of flashing the BIOS...



off-topic... but what was your settings to get those overclocks? cause i have the exact same Gigabyte motherboard as you do.

like, what voltage level to the core? 1.4? i just want to know, so i can keep my 720 stable... any other settings besides vCore to change?

Better be safe than sorry. Basically i hear AMD brings out very good OC-able cpu's it's nice seeing this confirmed. My x4 940 is coming tommorow I was almost dumb enough to go with x4 620 till i found out its a big difference with the 940.

 

[Gareth1977]

Not all AMD chips are good overclockers. The original Phenoms were pretty bad. As for PII overclocking, increase the HT before messing with the voltages, sometimes that alone will stabilize your overclock.

 

[masta.g.86]

off-topic... but what was your settings to get those overclocks? cause i have the exact same Gigabyte motherboard as you do.

like, what voltage level to the core? 1.4? i just want to know, so i can keep my 720 stable... any other settings besides vCore to change?

Not all AMD chips are good overclockers. The original Phenoms were pretty bad. As for PII overclocking, increase the HT before messing with the voltages, sometimes that alone will stabilize your overclock.

+1 to that suggestion.

If you must increase voltages, be sure to also look at the CPU-NB voltage as well.

Here is a good guide that will get you up to speed on OCing Phenom II CPUs.

Also, a BIOS update may make a difference. One of the updates added a 'Save Profile to CMOS (F11)' function that allows you to save and reload various OC attempts without having to remember every little setting. Very useful like my DFI board, but without the cryptic names for the various settings.

The Phenom II X3 720 is too different for me to give you any real, direct suggestions with. While you need to run voltages at 1.4V, I can use stock (1.35V) up to 3.8GHz without any problems, for instance. If I remember correctly, the 720 uses a different core, but maybe I'm wrong on that. :/