PSX and N64 Games are slow (Hardware/Software)

malandro01

Computer specifications: eMachines Desktop PC EL1360G-UW12P / AMD Dual-Core Processor E-300 (1.30 GHz), 2 GB DDR3, 500 GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6310
Operating system: Linux Mint 19 "Tara" - Cinnamon (64-bit)
RetroPie version: 4.4.2

I installed Linux Mint on an eMachines desktop with RetroPie 4.4.1 (updated to 4.4.2 in RetroPie Setup). All of my ROMs are on the 500 GB HDD (around 440 GB free) that came with the PC. I have 2 GB DDR3 Memory, AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics, and AMD E-300 dual core processor.

All of my NES, SNES, Sega, and Atari games work well. The PSX games can somewhat lag a tiny bit but the N64 games definitely lag substantially with most crashing (e.g. 007, FIFA, Mario Kart, etc.).

My question is if this has to do with my hardware (video card, RAM, etc.) or can it be fixed? On a side note, there is no "enhanced resolution" other than bilinear filtering.

Thanks!

thelostsoul

@malandro01 Not sure how it compares to the Raspberry Pi overclocked to 1.4Ghz, but I think it shouldn't be worse. N64 games are very problematic and that has to do with the emulators. PSX games are working quite well (most games should). Maybe lower the resolution to 720p (in example 1280 * 720) to see if it works better. For the N64 page, look at the Docs, there is also a compatibility list: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Nintendo-64/

mitu

@malandro01 I think the 'enhanced resolution' is specific to the lr-pcsx-rearmed emulator - but this emulator is only used on Rasperry PI. For PSX, the emulator on x86 systems is lr-beetle-psx - see https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Playstation-1/.
What emulator are you using for N64 ?

I wonder if the slowdown is related to the video driver used (as per your previous post) and (maybe ?) lack of video card hw acceleration in your environment. Did you install any additional drivers for your video card ?

GoldManSex778

RetroPie is designed around the raspberry architecture, the hardware you referenced is more than enough you just need emulators designed for it.

malandro01

@thelostsoul I figured since the hardware on the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ is better, that alone might be causing the lag. Let me try lowering the resolution and see if it works better. I have used all 3 emulators and not finding any difference.

malandro01

@mitu Currently, I'm using the lr-pcsx-rearmed emulator for this PC as lr-beetle-psx wouldn't even load the games. In my lr-pcsx-rearmed emulator there is no "enhanced resolution" other than bilinear filtering (read about the hack to upgrade the resolution but couldn't find the command line to modify). Are there any other experimental drivers that might work better? It still seems that the sound is a bit off or choppy then I remember.

Also, I haven't installed any additional drivers for my video card.

On a side note, I'm contemplating purchasing a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ to see if there is any difference.

malandro01

@goldmansex778 @mitu For the N64 emulators, I have used lr-mupen64plus, lr-parallel-n64, mupen64plus-GLideN64-LLE, and mupen64plus-GLideN64 and didn't notice any difference. Am I missing something?

mitu

@malandro01 Content failing to load on PS1 usually means you're missing the BIOS. You can find the error messages in /dev/shm/runcommand.log, which should be created right after trying to load the game. Check the file and the documentation page I referenced earlier and make sure your bios files are in place.

The Pi 3B+ is still underpowered compared to your current system, but it might work better out-of-the-box. However, I'd recommend trying to diagnose the performance problems in your current setup instead of buying Pi (unless you really want to).

For N64, Mupen64plus standalone emulator seems to be better (performance wise) than the lr core, so I'd try to see how its performance can be improved. Do you have hardware accelerated video ? Type glxinfo in a terminal and post the output. Try switching the RetroArch video output driver to vulkan and see if it improves performance.

steptoe

Have a read of these to help you out. Not all games on N64 PI are compatible and some are just too much for the PI to run correctly. PSX games should for thye majority work fine (multi-disc games are a different matter and need some effort) work fine unless you use a crazy resolution, again, have a read below for some help on getting the best out of PSX PI

https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Optimization-for-Nintendo-64

This is an N64 chart of what does and does not work, but is very outdated now. It should still help you out a lot though

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Sn3Ks3Xv8cIx3-LGCozVFF7wGLagpVG0csWybnwFHXk/edit#gid=282207345

https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/Playstation-1

Just read your not running via a PI, so it shouldn't be many problems, but its an e-machines (they are ancient now at about 5 years old). Just digging a bit more, the CPU is apparently soldered directly to the main board so thats not an upgrade option.You could fit an AMD Radeon GFX card as the GFX are curently motherboard based one which may explain why your games are glitchy and lagging, BUT reading a couple of forums it only has a 220W power supply that won't run a GFX card as well. So, you'll also need to upgrade the power supply to at least 400W

Hope that helps a bit

GoldManSex778

If I am reading correctly all you need is to get emulators designed for x86 processors, mednafen for ps1 maybe? Install it same as you would mame. RetroPie’s default emulators aren’t designed for pc