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Laptop CPUs are typically much weaker than their desktop variants due to being clocked lower, for battery and heat reasons. They may also have less cores than desktop processors with similar names. For example, an i7 2-core laptop processor is most often weaker than a decent i3 desktop one. It's a common misconception that an i-whatever laptop is equal in power to i-whatever desktop.
It is generally recommended that people have an Intel 2.0GHz dual===[[Higan]]==='''bsnes -core processor or better for good performance with this emulator.Performance and Balanced'''
===[[Higan]]===A 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo will run most games full speed.
'''bsnes - Accuracy''' ???
Clean up, removing red links.
Generally, emulation runs off the CPU, with the GPU allowing for higher resolutions, AA, etc. If your CPU isn't good enough, you can't emulate a system too well. An '''Intel Core i5 2500K, 3570K '''or '''4670K''' or above is recommended for high end emulation (e.g. [[PlayStation 2|PS2]], [[Wii]]). This page will detail specific information for specific systems, if the above is not a viable option.
==CPU==
===MegaHertz Myth===
Just because a CPU has a high clock speed (e.g. in GHz) doesn't mean that it is powerful.<ref> http://www.computer-hardware-explained.com/megahertz-myth.html</ref> For example, a 4GHz Pentium 4 is much, much less powerful than a 3GHz i5. Though "i5" is quite vague, as that could be any of the generations or models, P4s are just that weak. Newer CPUs are almost always better. Though the particular architechture architecture does matter. A common misconception is that a higher CPU clock speed guarantees improved emulation performance. Although clock speed is one of the main factors for good CPU performance, it is not the determining factor. Newer CPUs generally perform better than older ones at similar clock speeds. For example, a 2.4 GHz 4GHz dual-core Intel Core 2 processor will generally outperform a 3.2 GHz 2GHz dual-core Intel Pentium D processor. Even though the Pentium D is clocked higher, the Core 2 Duo is faster due to the Core microarchitecture of the Core 2 Duo having so much higher [[instructions per clock]] than [[Netburst]] microarchitecture of the Pentium D that it can do more [[instructions per second]] despite having lower [[frequency]]. This is true of many modern Intel vs AMD processors<ref>https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AunYlOAfGABxdFQ0UzJyTFAxbzZhYWtGcGwySlRFa1E#gid=0</ref> <ref>http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-CPU-Benchmark-designed-for-PCSX2-based-on-FFX-2?page=107</ref><ref>https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-new-dolphin-cpu-benchmark-no-game-required?page=15</ref><ref>https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-new-dolphin-cpu-benchmark-no-game-required?page=15</ref><ref>http://translate.google.com/translate?act=url&depth=1&hl=pl&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.pl&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://pclab.pl//art55934.html</ref>, as the high-end Intel processors are more efficient than the high-end AMD processors. Main reason for that is because Intel processors have higher performing [[floating-point unit]]sunits,<ref>http://wccftech.com/ultimate-cpu-gpu-floating-point-performance-battle-amd-intel/</ref> <ref>http://www.anandtech.com/show/7711/floating-point-peak-performance-of-kaveri-and-other-recent-amd-and-intel-chips</ref> far greater [[cache]]/memory [[bandwidth]]/lower latency<ref>http://vr-zone.com/articles/ivy-bridge-e-i7-4960x-vs-amd-fx-9590-battle-2013-flagships/54295.html/2</ref><ref>http://www.extremetech.com/computing/159619-5ghz-showdown-overclocked-5ghz-amd-haswell-ivy-bridge/2</ref>.
===AMD vs Intel===
===Desktop vs. laptop===
Laptop CPUs are typically much weaker than their desktop variants due to being clocked lower, for battery and heat reasons. They may also have less cores than desktop processors with similar names. For example, an i7 2-core laptop processor is most often weaker than a decent i3 desktop one. It's a common misconception that an i-whatever laptop is equal in power to i-whatever desktop.
===More Cores===
Emulators generally only utilize 2 cores (sometimes 3 or 4with hacks), rarely more so having a hexa/octacore CPU, or one capable of hyperthreading, wont benefit you anymore than having a similar quadcore CPU. Except some more modern <br>Newer system emulators like rpcs3 which currently RPCS3 can use 8 utilize more cores and maybe more in though, by emulating the futuresystem's thread scheduler it uses as many cores as a game makes threads.
===Overclocking===
Not every CPU can be over clocked, nor does every motherboard/BIOS support it. An advantage of the Intel K series is that they are unlocked and can easily be overclocked. So if it can't play a game currently then you can, in many cases, overclock it until it doesis playable. Laptop CPUs often cannot be overclocked due to BIOS limitations. Extreme or incorrectly done overclocking can cause instability. If the emulator starts having problems try again without overclocking.
==GPU==
GPUs are basically just hundreds of underpowered CPUs on the same die. Or you can think of it as a 300 core CPU.
*1GB RAM (2GB if on Vista / Windows 7)
Recommended:
*CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k, i5 3570K or i5 4670K
For those with DualShock 3 controllers, use the new [[XInput Wrapper SCP]].
===[[Dolphin]]===
Minimum:
*3 GHz+ dual core Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
*DX10 GPU
*2 GB+ RAM
Recommended:
*CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k, i5 3570K or i5 4670K
*GPU: Nvidia 8800GT equivalent or better
===[[Mednafen|Mednafen PSX]]===
It is generally recommended that people have an Intel Core 2 Duo @2.0GHz or better for good performance with this emulator.
'''bsnes - Performance, bsnes - BalancedAccuracy'''
A 23.0 GHz Intel dual-core processor will run most games full speedCore 2 Duo or better.
===[[DeSmuMe]]===
*Windows Vista SP2 or later
