PC Emulator Comparisons

From Emulation General Wiki
Revision as of 09:41, 27 March 2024 by Ahayri (talk | contribs) (→‎Operating systems)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This page compares emulators of PC hardware against each other and shows what they can and can't do

For software that can run hardware features designed for PC-9800 system, see NEC PC-9800 series#Hardware features and peripherals.

Enhancements & Features

Side note: Please don't bump/spam GitHub threads/issues and feature request pages.

Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
Performance Preload optical disc image to RAM
For users with sluggish multi-platter HDDs or plagued by horrible seek times, this enhancement might offer smoother experience, potentially reduced power consumption; it also shines when disc images reside on a network drive. Although keep in mind that preloading image would take some time, and it will require additional amount of RAM capacity. 		? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Overclock
Overclocking DRAM timings or CPU core frequency and CPU ring ratio using emulated BIOS just like using the real hardware. 		✓ ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Post-Processing Post-rendering AA
(FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA) 		? ? ? ✓ ? ? ? ? ?
Post-rendering scaling
(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and FSR 1) 		? ? ? ✓ ? ? ? ? ?
Filters ✓ ✓ ? ✓ ? ✓ ? ? ✓
AI-powered filter compatible
(Freestyle) 		? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Shader Chain ✗ ✗ ? ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓
Inverse tone mapping compatible ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
TAS features Macros/Scripts/Lua ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Rewind ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Savestates ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Movie recording/playback ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Controls Input lag-mitigating technique ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Quality of life Built-in Custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes
For using this on Windows OS you need CRT Emudriver.
Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility". 		Exclusive to libretro cores and GroovyMAME at the moment.
Streamable compression format ✓ ✓ ? ✓ ✓ ✓ ? ? ✓
Command Line Options ✓ ✓ ? ✓ ✓ ✓ ? ? ✓
On-Screen Display
Showcases messages, controller input state which is useful for speedrunners, performance data, active settings, and various notifications. 		? ? ? ✓ ? ? ? ? ?
Big Picture Mode ✗ ✗ ? ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓
Misc RetroAchievements ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
EmuVR support Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment, this means that only DOSBox Pure supported.
(Demonstration)
Debug Features ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Hardware support, features and peripherals

Side note: Please don't bump/spam GitHub threads/issues and feature request pages. This list only includes parts and accessories that can be possible to emulated through software or will be possible in the near future. Including everything would result in an endless list.

Operating systems

For emulator software that can run on legacy operating systems, see Emulators on Legacy systems.
See Windows XP/Vista and Windows 9x pages for virtualization of these legacy operating systems.
Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
NT-based
Windows XP ~[N 1] ~[N 1] ~[N 1] ✗[N 2] ✗[N 2] ✗[N 2] ✗ ✗ ✗
Windows Vista ~[N 1] ~[N 1] ~[N 1] ✗[N 2] ✗[N 2] ✗[N 2] ✗ ✗ ✗
DOS-based
Windows 9x series ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ? ✓
MS-DOS and Windows 1.0x/2x/3x series ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ? ? ✓

x86 CPU's

Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
AMD
Am286 ✗ ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Am386 ✓ ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Am486 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Am5x86 ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
K5 ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
K6 ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ?
K6-II ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ?
K6-III
K6-III+
K6-2+ 		✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ?
Athlon Classic ✗[N 3] ✗[N 3] ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✗ ✗ ?
Centaur Technology
Winchip C6 ? ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Winchip 2 ✓ ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Winchip 2A ✓ ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Winchip 2B ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Winchip 3 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Chips and Technologies
Super386 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cyrix
Cx486SLC ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cx486SRx2 ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cx486DLC ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cx486DRx2 ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Cx486 ✓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
5x86 ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
MediaGX ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
6x86 ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Cyrix III ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗
Intel
8086 ✓ ✓ ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✓ ✓ ✓[1]
80286 ✓ ✓ ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✗[N 5] ✓ ✓[2]
386 ✓ ✓ ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✗[N 5] ✓ ✓[3]
RapidCAD ✓ ✓ ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✗[N 5] ✓ ✓[4]
Pentium
Pentium MMX 		✓ ✓ ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✗ ✓ ~[N 6]
Pentium Pro ✓ ✓ ? ✗[5] ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~[N 6]
Pentium II ✓ ✓ ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✗ ✓ ~[N 6]
Celeron (P6) ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗
Pentium III ✗[N 3] ✗[N 3] ? ~[N 4] ~[N 4] ✗ ✗ ✗ ~[N 6]
NEC
V20 ✓ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
V30 ✓ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
V40 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
V50 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
NexGen
Nx586 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Rise Technology
mP6 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Transmeta
Crusoe ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Efficeon ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
UMC
Green CPU ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Unknown
K1810VM86 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
VIA Technologies
VIA C3 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
VIA C7 ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
VIA CoreFusion ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
VIA Eden ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Graphics Cards & GPU's

Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
PC-FX GA ? ? ? ? ? ? ✗ ? ?
Matrox Impression Plus ? ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Matrox Millennium ✓ ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Matrox Millennium II ✓ ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Matrox Mystique ✓ ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
3Dfx Voodoo ✓ ✓ ? ✓ ✓ ✓[6] ✗ ✗ ?
3Dfx Voodoo 2 ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗[7] ✗ ✗ ?
3Dfx Voodoo 3 ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ?
3Dfx Voodoo 4 ✗[8] ✗[9] ? ✗[10] ✗ ✗[11] ✗ ✗ ?
3Dfx Voodoo 5 ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ?
3Dfx Voodoo Banshee ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ?
Diamond Edge 3D/nVidia NV1 ✗[12] ✗[13] ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

Notes

PC-FX GA
Unlike PC-9800 variant, this DOS/V variant[3] uses a single ISA card and both variants integrate an additional 3D chipset
(Kubota/Hudson HuC6273) over the regular PC-FX
Matrox Impression Plus
Impression emulation is crucial for RenderWare 3D accelerated games [14] compatibility and preservation.
Matrox Mystique, Millennium and Millennium II [15]
The emulation of these three cards is crucial for supported 3D accelerated games enhanced visuals and preservation
3Dfx Voodoo
Voodoo emulation is crucial for Windows Glide[16] and DOS Glide[17] games compatibility and preservation.
3Dfx Voodoo 4/5
It's quite possible to run early XP 3D games thanks to it's performance and also compatibility with D3D7[18][19] (pushing T&L to CPU via driver).[20][21]
Diamond Edge 3D
NV1 emulation is crucial for NV1 3D accelerated games[22] compatibility and preservation.

Sound Cards

Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Network Cards

Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Mainboards

Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
440BX ABit AB-BF6 ✓ ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ? ?
ABit AB-BH6 ? ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ? ?
ABit AB-BP6 ? ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ? ?
Intel 815E ABit AB-SH6 ? ? ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ? ?

Gamepads

Name 86Box PCem PCBox DOSBox Pure DOSBox-X DOSBox Staging MartyPC UniPCemu MAME
Gravis PC Gamepad ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Microsoft Sidewinder ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Floppy & CD-ROM drives

  • See this documentation for 86Box. There is no optical drive passthrough support for 86Box at the moment[4], so your only choice is using disc images.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 86Box, PCem and PCBox supports these OS'es but even these emulators have limited #x86 CPU's, #Graphics_Cards_.26_GPU.27s and #Mainboards support for more demanding NT-based operating systems, performance will be unbearable anyway. Recommended to use hypervisor solution for these OS'es (See Windows XP/Vista and Windows 9x pages).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 NT-Based OSes unsupported by DOSBox forks at the moment. It is likely possible to implement specific techniques to software emulators for achieving and improving Windows NT-based operating system emulation experience. See DOSBox-X: KVM and Hyper-V issue page. See also DOSBox-X: virtual GPU adapters such as VMware SVGA/SVGA II, VBoxVGA issue page. And lastly see softgpu driver: [1][2] issue pages.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Pentium III emulation only available with PCBox fork, but do not expect miracles. Currently there is no processor available on the market that would be able to handle Pentium III or Athlon Classic emulation, considering that even the latest top-tier processors struggle with emulating fastest Pentium II/Celeron P6 processors. For more information about Pentium III emulation; 86Box - Why Not Pentium III?.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22
    Unlike emulators like 86Box or PCem which aim for accurate execution, DOSBox forks prioritize performance by emulating one instruction per emulated-cycle. This approach simplifies internal CPU mechanics and ignores real clock frequency or FLOPs of the emulated system. While this sacrifices perfect accuracy, it leads to significantly faster emulation and still has broader software compatibility compared to other emulators like QEMU or Bochs. However, some niche software may still encounter compatibility limitations. Therefore, DOSBox forks remain a powerful option for casual users and performance-intensive tasks, offering a balance between compatibility and speed. See DOSBox Pure: MMX Instruction Set Support issue page and POS_(Pong_Consoles)_CPUs_and_Other_Chips#Descriptions section for more information.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Future goal, for more information see comparisons section.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Only the 286/386/486 emulation is acceptable at the moment. See comparisons section. (i386.cpp)

Reference Links

  1. ↑ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/devices/cpu/i86/i86.cpp
  2. ↑ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/devices/cpu/i86/i286.cpp
  3. ↑ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/devices/cpu/i386/i386.cpp
  4. ↑ https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/devices/cpu/i386/i386.cpp
  5. ↑ https://github.com/schellingb/dosbox-pure/issues/300
  6. ↑ https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/issues/339
  7. ↑ https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/issues/3115
  8. ↑ https://github.com/86Box/86Box/discussions/2909
  9. ↑ https://pcem-emulator.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3496
  10. ↑ https://github.com/joncampbell123/dosbox-x/issues/3959#issuecomment-1400282345
  11. ↑ https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/issues/3115
  12. ↑ https://github.com/86Box/86Box/issues/2431
  13. ↑ https://github.com/sarah-walker-pcem/pcem/issues/205
  14. ↑ https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=279817
  15. ↑ https://86box.net/2024/02/21/86box-v4-1.html
  16. ↑ https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=534
  17. ↑ https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=886
  18. ↑ https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/List_of_Direct3D_2-7_games
  19. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct3D#Direct3D_7.0
  20. ↑ https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=61580
  21. ↑ https://youtu.be/uu8uE2KRDGM
  22. ↑ https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=30017
Retrieved from "https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php?title=PC_Emulator_Comparisons&oldid=82836"