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pokefan531 · 4 years

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Legacy AMD APU Llano Laptop for Emulation tests - Part 2

Software tools and Emulators used.

I covered everything about my laptop and its history. I went from Windows 10 to Manjaro XFCE 19 and installed needed software to get great performance and needed emulators to suit my laptop's hardware. I find AUR builds easy again because I can find plugins and needed standalone emulators for good testing. AUR builds work almost perfect for me, aside from some build time, but as long as it can installed a program or an extension, I'm good.

For my laptop, I installed TPC, or TurionPowerControl to overclock my laptop's CPU. The bios doesn't have an option for permanent overclock, since it's a laptop. However, the CPU has used much voltage by default for big room for overclocking with little higher power draw. At stock, it run at base 1.5Ghz at 1.1625V and 2.4Ghz boost at 1.415V. It can easily be undervolted to cool the laptop a bit. The temp limit is at 85C, so it can throttle the CPU if it reaches around that point. Undervolt would go down to 1.5Ghz at 1.0625V and 2.4Ghz boost at 1.200V, which brings down about seven percent deop on temperature, and little more battery life. Overclock would hit up to 2.3Ghz at 1.175V and 2.8Ghz at 1.400V, only little voltage change on each, and still runs stable. Note that each CPUs can differ silicon quality that can reach lower or higher voltage for overclocking or undervolting. Averagely, my laptop's CPU performance would be 33% increase. The Llano APUs are one of the exceptions that you can overclock your laptop without much worry.

I installed Gamemode for Linux, and I explained in the last page. It's useful for setting power mode for both CPU and GPU to performance mode, so it will use highest clock speed as much as it can. Radeon-Profile is an app on Linux that can force power mode on GPU if you run a program if you can't use gamemode for whatever reason. On Windows, you can force performance mode on Catalyst driver, and have Windows set to performance mode on power setup. Drivers used on Linux as of this writing is Mesa r600g Driver 19.3.

Now let's get to the list of emulators I will be using for each system. Some are using Retroarch.

NES: I'm using Nestopia and Mesen on Retroarch. Both are quite accurate, with the latter being the most accurate. Nestopia is the fastest option, but Mesen can run pretty smoothly too with default settings. Nestopia has much more headroom for Runahead and NES CPU overclocking. I use FireBrandX's digital palettes.

SNES: I use Snes9x Mainline for Retroarch and new standalone Bsnes v110 for test. Snes9x runs very well and can use both features listed above. Bsnes is used for testing mostly. I'll explain about Bsnes, but what I can say is it can run a lot of games at fullspeed. No need for Libretro's old many Bsnes cores in my opinion and Snes9x Mainline is suitable generally. Bsnes AUR builds are available.

N64: On Windows, it was Project64 with Jabo's D3D8 1.6.1 Plugin, but after switching to Linux, Mupen64Plus with GlideN64 while using Mesa drivers offers a better option. Since February 2020, M64p is free once again so you don't have to do DIY build for each plugin to use with Mupen64plus, and get good GUI. Just go to this website: https://github.com/loganmc10/m64p/releases . If it doesn't go free in the future, you would have to use AUR files to build plugins and find the gui. There is Mupen64Plus Next for Retroarch, but a standalone build is the fastest and more reliable option.

Gamecube/Wii: I use beta builds of Dolphin to measure it. We'll explain about that later on.

Sega SMS/Genesis/GameGear/32x: I use Genesis GX Plus on Retroarch, and it runs pretty great. For 32x, I can use Kega Fusion for Windows, or Picodrive core, but I don't have 32x game to test.

Sega Saturn: I use Yaba Sanshiro, and it's the fastest emulator you can get for the laptop. Yaba Sanshiro has some great options.

Sega Dreamcast: I installed Redream. It is the fastest dreamcast emulator available and more accurate than NullDC. I do have a fork of Reicast called Flycast that is used for testing too. https://flyinghead.github.io/flycast-builds/ (ubuntu build is just linux build). I do recommend using Flycast standalone builds instead of Libretro core one since standalone Hardware-based rendering emulators often run faster than on Retroarch.

Playstation 1: I use both PCSX-R PGXP and PCSX-Rearmed core. PCSX-R has great option for perspective correction and much less jittering polygons while being faster than Libretro's Beetle PSX core and standalone Mednafen. The explanation on those four emulators and the windows PCSX-R on Pete's OpenGL2 Tweak will also be mentioned.

Playstation 2: I use PCSX2.

GB/GBC: Sameboy. It is more accurate than Gambatte and VBA.

GBA: mGBA, and it is the fastest and most accurate GBA emulator I used.

NDS: Despite development drama, I use standalone Desmume mainline. It's pretty good for this laptop since you have an option to use frameskip. MelonDS with JIT will be included.

3DS: Citra Canary is the best option.

PSP: PPSSPP.

Dos: Dosbox ECE or Dosbox-X at best. ECE install for Dosbox is difficult, and you would need to build one, but I wanted a 32bit build since the dynamic core is pretty robust in 32bit. However on Linux, some forks or main are kinda hard to find 32bit version to have full speed for dynamic recompiler since 64bit is slower or has bugs. At the end, I use Dosbox-X, and it performs the same as standard Dosbox on normal mode. On Dynamic mode, you would need 32bit version to get the exact on either Windows or Linux.

Win9x: PCEM. Using v15 and use 486 CPUs.

Wine: Linux specific to run Windows programs. You can use Stable builds or Staging builds. Lutris and Proton can be used. Although, since my laptop's APU lacks Vulkan support, running DX11 games are much harder and barely run. The APU isn't really that strong for many DX11 games anyway. DX9 works with default OpenGL wrapper, but since we're using AMD GPU with a Mesa Gallium Driver, we can run Native DX9 API on Wine with Gallium Nine Standalone. You just install needed dependencies for Mesa D3D9 files to have Gallium Nine config enable Native DX9. DX10 is the same story as DX11. DX8 and lower works pretty good for the most part. Note that Wine is not an Emulator, but a compatibility layer.

Those are the softwares that will be used for performance testing on the next page.

Next Page on CPU emulation tests.

Previous Page on the laptop overview.

#emulation #laptop #apu

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plug2game-blog · 6 years

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Raspberry Pi Retro video gaming Emulators and more

The Many Popular Emulators for Raspberry Pi

We've already noted a number of emulators to be actively used within the emulation systems, like Retropie or Recalbox. So, there are the most popular among them. It's not optimum to pack all the existing emulators to Retropie, for example, as it can influence on your hardware performance. And it's actually clever to get only the finest emulators which are used by hundreds of thousands of retro players around the world. For you to learn them and compare, we've prepared a special listing listed below.

Gameboy was the first handheld portable gaming console, launched by Nintendo in 1989 and started the entire industry of handhelds. The fantastic Gameboy functions which made it the world popular were the several players (by means of the cable television, as much as 4 players), extended battery life and economical cost. Not mentioning the mobility for gamers to play anywhere and on-the-go.

Emulators: lr-gambatte, lr-tgbdual

ROM files extensions:.7 z,. gb and.zip.

ROMs directory site: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/gb.

The controls setups: tailor the file, situated in / opt/retropie/configs/ gb/retroarch. cfg

The primary function for utilizing the emulators is that lr-gambatte benefits single playing, while lr-gambatte emulator supports 2 players connected through the cable over network or parallel on the exact same system.

Gameboy Advance or GBA

GBA was the next generation handheld console, released by Nintendo in 2001. It included 32-bit updated graphics and performance.

Emulators : gpSP, lr-gpSP, lr-vba-next, lr-mgba

ROM files extensions:.7 z,. gba and.zip.

ROMs directory: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/gba.

The controls: files to configure are situated in / opt/retropie/emulators/ gpsp/gpsp. cfg for gpSP emulator and in / opt/retropie/configs/ gba/retroarch. cfg for other emulators.

Note that The Game Young boy Advance needs a BIOS file "gba_bios. bin", which must be positioned in / home/pi/RetroPie/ BIOS

NES stands for "The Nintendo Entertainment System". It is an 8-bit gaming console, firstly launched in 1985.

Programm emulators (LibRetro): lr-nestopia, lr-fceumm and lr-quicknes.

ROM files extensions:.7 z,. fds,. fig,. mgd,. nes,. sfc,. smc,. swc, and.zip.

NES ROMs directory: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/nes.

Note, that video games with the.fds files extension will need the "disksys.rom" file, which should be placed in / home/pi/RetroPie/ BIOS directory site. Concerning the controllers, you can set up and configure them utilizing the Retroarch configurations. Add custom-made controls to the "retroarch.cfg" file in / opt/retropie/configs/ nes/retroarch. cfg directory site.

SNES (or "Super Nintendo Home Entertainment System") was later on launched in 1991 and was the 4th generation computer game consoles produced by Nintendo.

Emulators (RetroArch): lr-snes9x-2010, lr-snes9x, lr-snes9x2002, PiSNES, lr-snes9x2005, lr-armsnes, snes9x-rpi. Each of them accepts the ROMs:.7 z,. bin,. fig,. mgd,. sfc,. smc,. swc and.zip.

The controls setups: through the custom "retroarch.cfg" file which you can discover in / opt/retropie/configs/ snes/retroarch. cfg

Controller setups: are kept in "snes9x.cfg" file that is located in / opt/retropie/emulators/ pisnes.

Also note, that the games with more than 2 gamers are supported just for lr-snes9x2010 emulator. To trigger the feature, switch on the multi-tap choice by adding this line to the "retroarch.cfg" file (utilizing the leafpad command):

input_libretro_device_p2="257"

Nintendo 64 or N64

Nintendo 64 (or N64) was launched by Nintendo in 1996 which began the era of the 5th generation gaming consoles.

Emulators: Mupen64plus, lr-Mupen64plus, lr-GLupeN64. (The advised one is the Mupen64plus as it has much better performance.)

ROM files:. z64,. n64, and.v64 files.

ROMs directory site: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/n64 folder.

Controls regulation: for lr-Mupen64plus and lr-GLupeN64 the controls are regulated via the "retroarch.cfg". For Mupen64plus (beginning with Retropie 3.3) they are set up immediately. The files to customize in this case are situated at: / opt/retropie/configs/ n64/mupen64plus. cfg and / opt/retropie/configs/ n64/InputAutoCfg. ini.

Keep in mind, that a minimum of Raspberry Pi 2 required for a good N64 performance. Beware, that the performance gets worse with the HD screen resolution. For the very best experience don't mind using low resolution. For example, for RetroPie 4.0 the finest resolution would be 320 × 240 px.

Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS (where the "DS" is "dual screen") is a handheld portable video gaming console released by Nintendo in 2004. The highlight of this console was the 2 LCD screens, among which was a touchscreen. Likewise, it had a built-in microphone and a wireless connection. It is a distinct application with a lot of frontends to provide users with a simple interface.

Emulators: lr-desmume and DraStic.

The ROMs extensions:. nds and.zip format.

The ROMs directory: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/nds.

The controls directories: for lr-desmume-- opt/retropie/configs/ nds/retroarch. cfg and for DraStic--/ opt/retropie/configs/ nds/drastic/system.

Keep in mind, that the DraStic is a beta software application, though it runs great, unlike lr-desmume, which is really laggy even when used on an overclocked RPi 2/3.

PlayStation or PS1 or PSX

Sony PlayStation pertained to the marketplace as the 5th generation CD-based game console and was released by Sony in 1994. Besides playing video games, PS likewise might playback audio CDs and some designs even might play Video CDs. Was one of the best selling computer home entertainment platforms.

Special emulators: lr-pcsx-rearmed, lr-beetle-psx and pcsx-rearmed.

ROMs:. cue,. cbn,. img,. iso,. m3u,. mdf,. pbp,. toc,. z and.znx

The ROMs directory: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/nds.

Controllers configuration: for lr-desmume--/ opt/retropie/configs/ psx/pcsx. cfg and for other two--/ opt/retropie/configs/ psx/retroarch. cfg.

The BIOS file "SCPH1001.BIN" is required. You ought to put it in / home/pi/RetroPie/ BIOS directory.

PlayStation 2 or PS2

PS2 was a successor of PSX (PS1) and the 7th generation video gaming console. It was released in 2000 and was the very best selling entertainment system of perpetuity with over 155 million systems sold worldwide. Besides video gaming, it likewise played the audio and video CDs, DVDs, and had the Web connection.

Emulator: only PCSX2.

ROMs:. iso,. img,. bin,. mdf,. z,. z2,. bz2,. dump,. cso,. ima and.gz.

The ROMs directory site: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/ps2.

Controllers setup: can be done via Retropie GUI on the first run.

Plasystation 2 BIOS file is needed for the emulator to work. Load it to / home/pi/. config/PCSX2/bios/.

Wii was launched by Nintendo in 2006. The most modern console available in Retropie. Was the 7th generation video gaming console to complete with Xbox 360 and PS3. Was the first device with a pointing remote controller that could detect movement in 3D.

Emulator: dolphin.

ROMs directory: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/wii.

Controllers configuration: // opt/retropie/configs/ wii/Config.

KEEP IN MIND! Can't be ported to Raspberry Pi (or other ARM) and although the ARM community goes over the chances on online forums, the service is still unreachable due to hardware efficiency limitations. (Presented only for familiarization)

MAME Game emulators

MAME or Numerous Game Device Emulator is the app to replicate arcade machine games. It doesn't replicate a console, but various arcade machines. MAME represents thousands of retro games, rather very old, released by different makers, which utilized to deliver them with their own distinct game machines.

Emulators list: mame4all-pi, lr-mame2000, lr-mame2003, lr-mame2010, lr-mame2014, lr-mame2016, AdvanceMAME 0.94, AdvanceMAME 1.4, AdvanceMAME 3.

The ROMs: all use.zip format.

ROMs areas: The ROMs are kept in the shared folders, which indicates they are used by more than one emulator. You can find these folders by names, which have the RetroPie/roms/ in the start of the directory and surfaces with: / arcade, / mame-libretro, / fba and / neogeo (for example, RetroPie/roms/neogeo). Thus, you require to define the game emulator version which matches your ROMs.

The important things are a more complex with MAME emulators contorls. Various emulators belong to different directories where you can find the controls configuration files to modify:

FBA Arcade emulators

FBA means FinalBurn Alpha that is a Several Arcade Emulator similar to MAME is, however supports only Konami, NeoGeo, Cavern and Capcom video games.

Emulators: lr-fbalpha, lr-fbalpha2012 and PiFBA

ROM files:.7 z.zip,. zip

ROMs directories: like MAME, FBA uses 5 shared folders--/ arcade, / mame-libretro, / fba and / neogeo (with RetroPie/roms/ as the start of the path, e.g. RetroPie/roms/neogeo). Requirements of the emulator is needed!

Various emulators have different controls setup files directories:

Neo Geo

Neo Geo is a cartridge-based game emulator, which brought the arcade machine enjoyable at users homes. Released by SNK in 1990. It is replicated with one special emulator. The NeoGeo games can be played via FBA emulators.

Emulators list: GnGeo-Pi, lr-fbalpha, lr-fbalpha2012 and PiFBA.

The ROMs:.7 z.zip and.zip.

ROMs places: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/neogeo

The controllers can be set up in / opt/retropie/configs/ neogeo/gngeorc directory site for GnGeo-Pi emulator. For FBA emulators manages configuration, see the FBA emulator part.

Gamecube is a 6th generation gaming console, released by Nintendo in 2001 to take on PlayStation and XBOX. It was the first Nintendo's console which utilized the optical disks, supported online video gaming and might connect to GBA to use it as a second screen and controller.

Emulator: dolphin.

ROMs area: / home/pi/RetroPie/ roms/gc

As the Gamecube can be played only through the Dolphin emulator, regrettably, it's almost impossible to run it on Raspberry Pi or any other ARM. It will release however will be unbearably sluggish.

Dolphin is an emulator for just 2 consoles: GameCube and Wii. It's an unique emulator to discuss. The matter is that it is consisted of in Retropie, but the Linux version just. Also, it's possible to install this emulator on Raspberry Pi, however its efficiency is close to unplayable.

There are rather a lot of people who have actually attempted to do that and discussing their experience on forums and social networks. And all of those who have actually ever tried to launch the Dolphin emulator on Raspbian say, that it's incredibly laggy and sluggish.

Of course, the factor for it remains in the low performance of the Raspberry Pi (in addition to numerous other ARM) hardware. And even if you overclock your RPi, or will use the hardware graphics acceleration (which is

supported by ExaGear )you will not get the preferable quality. The ROMs extensions: the ISO disk images are used. The ISO ripping is performed by the user and might require additional apps (like Rawdump, Friidump or CleanRip). Due to file formats sizes the GameCube and Wii disks have, splitting some video games into a number of ISO files and reassembling them inside the emulator is a widely utilized practice.

DOSBox is an emulator of DOS operating system for retro players to take pleasure in very old DOS PC games. DOSBox utilizes SDL-library and replicates CPU 286/386; FileSystem, such as XMS and EMS; graphics: VESA, CGA, EGA, VGA, Tandy and Hercules; Gravis and SoundBlaster Ultra Sound. Formally launched in 2010, it had actually been unofficially being utilized given that 2002.

Operating systems: compatibility with Raspberry Pi is offered with RISC OS, Fedora, FreeBSD, Gentoo Linux and Debian running system bundles. Presently, it's also integrated into Retropie.

The ROMs extensions: use specific image files that can be downloaded from an unique GOG site. The ROMs directory site: need to be put in a particular directory, various from the"dosbox"folder. If you created"dosbox"folder in home/Pi/Retropie directory, so the ROMs ought to be kept in the very same directory site, but in a different folder, for circumstances, "DOS-GAMES" folder.

So, every time you install and start a game, you need to download it because folder and utilize the "mount c ~ * your video game folder course" command to connect the video game ROM to the DOSBox emulator.

In general, this sort of an emulator is really easy and easy to use. Easy to set up and simple to establish and set up the controllers. All the process are guided by the clear triggers.

I have already pointed out the ExaGear Desktop software is a retro gaming emulation system to play old and medium age x86 PC games on ARM gadgets. Here, I 'd like to uncover one more feature od ExagEar-- it can be filled to Retropie as an additional emulator.

The main convenience is that it becomes possible to run PC games right from the Retropie GUI. We can truthfully say, that Retopie is extended to PC playing in addition to consoles. The feature was launched in 2017.

Emulator: ExaGear

The ROMs:. exe and particular files from the GOG site. ROMs place: No specific folders needed. You can download everything right into / home/pi/RetroPie

We've got a comprehensive guide on how to install and run ExaGear PC video games emulator within Retropie-- read it here

. To get a fast guide watch the video guide:

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