Is this the end for x86?

[x_orange90_x]

I am both excited and saddened to see the newest release of Dolphin. I am very happy to hear that SSBM is running at 100% now, and that there are some speed improvements, but I myself don't have a 64bit cpu or OS. The hype about the improvements under 64bit leads me to believe this is the end for 32bit support? I feel my PC is powerful enough to emulate GC at reasonable speeds, but this 64bit only makes me think that the Dolphin Team will stick with 64bit now because it is showing greater improvements. Is this an accurate assumption? Or is there going to be further support for x86? My specs are below:

P4 HT 2.80GHz 800MHz FSB 512kb
1GB (512x2) Crucial PC3200 Dual-Channel
BFG nvidia GeForce 6200 256MB AGP8x
ASUS P4V800D-X

Thanks.

 

[[SS] Starscream]

I don't think they will continue with a 32bit build because it would be so much easier to code for speed for the 64bit OS. I think they could have made a better 32bit build but that would be more work than a 64bit build.

 

[lightchris]

I am both excited and saddened to see the newest release of Dolphin. I am very happy to hear that SSBM is running at 100% now, and that there are some speed improvements, but I myself don't have a 64bit cpu or OS. The hype about the improvements under 64bit leads me to believe this is the end for 32bit support? I feel my PC is powerful enough to emulate GC at reasonable speeds, but this 64bit only makes me think that the Dolphin Team will stick with 64bit now because it is showing greater improvements. Is this an accurate assumption? Or is there going to be further support for x86? My specs are below:

P4 HT 2.80GHz 800MHz FSB 512kb
1GB (512x2) Crucial PC3200 Dual-Channel
BFG nvidia GeForce 6200 256MB AGP8x
ASUS P4V800D-X

Thanks.

Sorry to say that, but your PC is way too slow for GC emulation anyway (at reasonable speeds). Your CPU is simply outdated (the cheapest Core 2 Duo is still a lot faster), as is the graphics card (while this is usually less important in emulation).

btw: The term "x86" describes the CPU architecture/instruction set. Any Core 2 Duo or Athlon 64 CPUs are still x86.

 

[Darkfox]

Though I've not payed much attention to the GC emulation scene it is rather too bad about it going purely 64bit but thats just me. Probably won't matter though since I'm getting a newer computer not that I'll end supporting this kinda old junky I have now. It's not the best but it's dependable.

 

[Sercio]

There is need to continue the 32bit dolphin anymore! 64bit is the future which every cpu will support... the main problem is that actually the most people doesnt has a 64bit cpu or 64bit OS! But this problem gets automatic solved with time ;-) (or do you still use a pentium 2 and win95?)

 

[Darkfox]

The problem I have with "new" is when the old become dysfunctional and lost (a fairly large problem with newer versions of Windows). A big reason I like emulation. I tend to get, whats that word... well in any case I do so like to play some old PC and console games now and again, things I grew up with or never got to know existed. Thats my general issue with new computers is that backwards compatibility tends to get skewed. Though I have heard of fixes for that through something like a virtual OS. And there is always faithful DOSBox.

Guess it's alright for some, I don't really know myself, the change does not effect me much as I never was in the GC emulation scene. Watched it grow a bit though.

Though I can say people can be a little too enthusiastic or driven nuts about new things. Not sure how I'd judge 32bit to 64bit in all honesty. Getting a new computer isn't that expensive though not sure if it's worth it just for that reason on mind though.

 

[Lightning]

Although we have not released it yet, Gekko is staying 32bit at the moment and trying to show what is possible in 32bits.

 

[x_orange90_x]

I don't think they will continue with a 32bit build because it would be so much easier to code for speed for the 64bit OS. I think they could have made a better 32bit build but that would be more work than a 64bit build.

i'm sorry to be the one to say it, but x86=32bit and x64=64bit. i believe what you are saying is that a 64bit setup still incorporates 32bit. but, it is not exactly 32bit, 64bit is completely different than x86 alone. and i don't see how my pc is not powerful enough, a dual-core setup is nice to have, but is not required for Gekko to operate decently. and my 6200 is capable of handling it. also, Lightning, is this build you speak of going to be released soon? and does it have increased performance/compatibility?

 

[[SS] Starscream]

i'm sorry to be the one to say it, but x86=32bit and x64=64bit. i believe what you are saying is that a 64bit setup still incorporates 32bit. but, it is not exactly 32bit, 64bit is completely different than x86 alone. and i don't see how my pc is not powerful enough, a dual-core setup is nice to have, but is not required for Gekko to operate decently. and my 6200 is capable of handling it. also, Lightning, is this build you speak of going to be released soon? and does it have increased performance/compatibility?

That's far from what i meant, and said. Reread.

 

[ector]

If there are more builds, there will be both 32-bit and 64-bit.

64-bit will be faster than 32-bit, though.

 

[Doomulation]

...and i don't see how my pc is not powerful enough, a dual-core setup is nice to have, but is not required for Gekko to operate decently. and my 6200 is capable of handling it...

Dolphin was somewhat optimized for dual core, so you'll benefit from having it. And GC emulation requires a decent chunk of horsepower to play at 100%, so I'm tempted to say it IS too slow.
And graphics card have little to do with emulation. Heck, even a GF4 Ti or older cards have enough horsepower to handle emulation (though they mack lack functionality used in emulation).

 

[x_orange90_x]

this is what i meant for it to quote, but it was not included :

btw: The term "x86" describes the CPU architecture/instruction set. Any Core 2 Duo or Athlon 64 CPUs are still x86.

anyways, im sorry, i get ur point. but back to Gekko, i can see a Dual-Core performing smoother than my P4, but i said i think it can do it DECENTLY, not at 100%. eventually i am going to upgrade, but most likely when the price of Quad comes down. when the Quad-Core drops down, the Dual-Core will be much more affordable, for me at least.

 

[lightchris]

And graphics card have little to do with emulation. Heck, even a GF4 Ti or older cards have enough horsepower to handle emulation (though they mack lack functionality used in emulation).

Not necessarily. PCSX2 for example needs a decent graphics card in some games, especially in high resolutions. A 6200 eg. is way too slow for RE4.

anyways, im sorry, i get ur point. but back to Gekko, i can see a Dual-Core performing smoother than my P4, but i said i think it can do it DECENTLY, not at 100%. eventually i am going to upgrade, but most likely when the price of Quad comes down. when the Quad-Core drops down, the Dual-Core will be much more affordable, for me at least.

So what do you mean by "decently"? 25%? Then that is about what you will get, at least not much more.

A 2.8 GHz P4 is not only slow because it's not dual core, but mainly because of it's weak per MHz performance. It needs at least twice the clock speed of a one sole core of a Core 2 Duo to achieve the same performance.

 

[thepreserver]

Awesome:drool: what a boom in GameCube emulation! I just had a terrible first day of school (US...) and this is great news to come to after so many problems Thank you all!

 

[X-Fi6]

SSBM is 100% speed? Sh*t where have I been this whole time???

Lucky me, I got WinXP x64 with an Athlon X2.

 

[x_orange90_x]

i understand that, it may be slow for emulation, mainly because consoles are dedicated which leaves ALL computers behind. but overall, it isnt too bad for computer games. and by the way, there is no comparison between PCSX2 and Gekko. they are different emulators emulating different consoles. i am still awaiting the new version of PCSX2 so i can further test it. i kno i am in need of an upgrade, but it is much of an improvement over my old Celeron 2.2GHz , ASUS Magic FX5200 , and 640mb of unmatched RAM.

 

[lightchris]

i understand that, it may be slow for emulation, mainly because consoles are dedicated which leaves ALL computers behind. but overall, it isnt too bad for computer games. and by the way, there is no comparison between PCSX2 and Gekko. they are different emulators emulating different consoles. i am still awaiting the new version of PCSX2 so i can further test it. i kno i am in need of an upgrade, but it is much of an improvement over my old Celeron 2.2GHz , ASUS Magic FX5200 , and 640mb of unmatched RAM.

A Pentium 4 is bad for computer games as well as for emulation and most other tasks when compared to other CPUs. Try playing some modern games like Colin McRae DiRT on it. It won't be fun, even with lowest details.
I'm not saying everone has to go and buy a Core 2 Duo now. As long as you're content with your hardware everything's fine. But it's just a matter of fact that some older hardware is really, really slow compared to newer hardware.

Btw. I didn't compare PCSX2 and Gekko or Dolphin. I was just saying that it's not true that you don't need a good graphics card for any emulator.

 

[x_orange90_x]

i haven't played DiRT yet, but FEAR runs flawlessly for me, on high settings, not maximum, for the sake of my gay hard drive. anyways, no more of this, back to Dolphin. is there a planned date set for the next 32bit release? also, off topic, but does anyone know of any Dreamcast emulators better than nullDC and Chankast, they both have some issues with Sonic Adventure 2.

 

[metsfan]

the main problem is that actually the most people doesnt has a 64bit cpu or 64bit OS! But this problem gets automatic solved with time ;-)

The problem isnt people not using 64 bit OS. I have a 64 bit processor and choose to run 32 bit Windows XP because the 64 bit version is unstable in comparison, and Vista is shit right now. My friend ran 64 bit XP on his machine and within 3 weeks he had to format it because of the amount of bugs with the 64 bit version of windows, constant crashes, ect. Anohter huge problem with 64 bit is that a lot of programs are not backwards compatible. I cannot run 32 bit programs in a 64 bit environment, so if any of the programs i use do not have a 64 bit version, i cannot use them in 64 bit Windows. There are a bunch of reasons to stay 32 bit for the moment. 64 bit technology isnt ready yet. The problem isn't people not upgrading, its software developers being too lazy, or are not able, to make 64 bit versions that are slowing down the conversion to 64 bit.

As for the OP, your computer sucks, and will never emulate gamecube. any notion otherwise is false and delusional.

 

[lightchris]

The problem isnt people not using 64 bit OS. I have a 64 bit processor and choose to run 32 bit Windows XP because the 64 bit version is unstable in comparison, and Vista is shit right now. My friend ran 64 bit XP on his machine and within 3 weeks he had to format it because of the amount of bugs with the 64 bit version of windows, constant crashes, ect.

That's got to be a specific problem with your friends computer because there are lots of users out there using XP 64 without problems.
Imo the only disadvantage XP 64 has is that there are not as many drivers available. Especially if you have some old, uncommon hardware you can be unlucky.

Anohter huge problem with 64 bit is that a lot of programs are not backwards compatible. I cannot run 32 bit programs in a 64 bit environment, so if any of the programs i use do not have a 64 bit version, i cannot use them in 64 bit Windows.

You can run 32 bit applications in a 64 bit OS of course. It's not even slower.
The only thing which needs to be 64 bit are the drivers.