Mega Bezel Reflection Shader! - Feedback and Updates

RetroArch Additions Shaders
#3814

I’ll double-check just to make sure, but I did set everything to Vulkan within RA.

That said, this specific computer is a Lenovo M715Q I picked up off eBay for $250, with the intent of making a tiny and cheap computer for the sole purpose of emulation; the form factor is too small to accommodate a dedicated GPU so I think I’m just not going to be able to do these shaders on this build.

Part of the appeal of this build for me is the overall cost. At $250 for the PC, and $150 to pick up additional/faster RAM and a larger SSD, my total expenditure is $400 or less. Scouring Amazon, every mini PC in this price range is similar or worse Passmark score. If I wanted to make a material jump in performance in this form factor, I think I’d probably end up closer to $700, at which point it kind of changes the nature of the project altogether, into something much more “serious”. I’m kind of mentally thinking of this build more like a Raspberry Pi and less like a full blown PC (even though it actually is a full PC). If that makes sense :slight_smile:

EDIT: I’ll add this - I definitely think these shaders are the future of high end emulation, so I’ll look forward to including them in the build I do for myself after this build.

3 Likes
#3815

I agree. I also think that as APUs mature it will be far easier to get them up and running on a budget.

Although I haven’t yet had the luxury of trying it, I have been told they run reasonably well on the $200 Nvidia Shield TV Pro. :grin: (I will probably pick one up one of these days.)

1 Like
#3816

That’s interesting. The 2400ge in my little repurposed office box should be at least as powerful as the Shield TV Pro. Kind of makes me wonder if I am missing some kind of key setting… I’ve been goofing around with RA for a few years (on Linux, Android, and Windows) so I’m reasonably familiar with the options and configs…

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#3817

Update - just tried two different presets:

Std drez gdv mini - load time above 2 mins, but ran around 54-56 fps

Std easymode - loaded in less than 30 seconds, and actually hit 59.68fps, but spending a lot of time around 58-59 fps

I’m now wondering, does anyone know what is the lightest preset that also has reflections? Obviously, I would love to have the most complex crt/scanline/image processing going on, but for me the biggest draw is the realtime reflections.

Alternatively, is there anything I can do to optimize anything else (not including frame skipping) in RA (or Windows for that matter) to pick up a couple of FPS? My BIOS does not allow processor to be OCd.

I will have to test more tonight but I feel like I’m getting closer to finding something that might be reliable and load in a reasonable amount of time.

2 Likes
#3818

The STD__GDV-MINI would be the fastest one with reflections.

This is super wierd, in terms of complexity of number of passes the easymode preset you mentioned is more complex than the drez gdv mini

1 Like
#3819

I had loaded the drez 480 gdv mini … And that sat and sat then ran, and like I said, mid 50s. Then while that was running, I hit F1, and loaded the std_easymode (non drez).

Did the std easymode possibly load more quickly because the drez one was already loaded? I always thought when a user selected any new shader preset it loaded whatever was in that preset with no interaction to whatever was previously loaded.

2 Likes
#3820

Yeah, like you said what was previously loaded should not matter. But we all know how things in computers which “should” not affect something sometimes have unexpected effects

It would be good to try the non drez STD gdv mini to see what the difference is.

2 Likes
#3821

Ok just did some stuff:

Fresh reboot of windows and RA. Loaded STD GDV Mini. Took 2:36 to load. Ran Nestopia SMB1 at basically full 60fps. Only momentarily dropped below 59.96 fps once, and hit 60.12fps at a few points.

Closed content. Switched to Adventure Island. Loaded STD Easymode - took about 2:50 to load. Before playing, I switched presets and loaded STD GDV Mini - loaded in less than 10 seconds.

So, two takeaways: (1) STD GDV Mini does run NES at full speed on a first gen Ryzen APU and appears for sure to be lighter than Easymode or even than the STD Drez GDV Mini. (2) having another Mega Bezel shader already loaded seems to somehow speed up loading of a different preset.

I wonder what exactly is going on with my second takeaway about the load times. I also wonder if there’s any way to speed up the loading time considering the computer is apparently capable of actually running the preset.

3 Likes
#3822

This is definitely something which has reported a few times, I think maybe from a shield user (so it’s not just you :wink:) , although it’s still unexpected and unclear why it would happen.

Could you open the live log (instructions in the first post) and watch to see which part of the loading process is taking a long time?

2 Likes
#3823

I will try to do the logging a bit later tonight. I would love to gain some insight myself and I would love to be able to contribute in even this small way.

3 Likes
#3824

Thanks, this is much appreciated! Welcome to the forum and thanks for the kind words!

4 Likes
#3825

Tried loading up STD GDV Mini with the log console open. It flew through most of the initial shader compiling, but then came to a halt at:

[Info] [Vulkan filter chain]: creating framebuffer 1024x1024 (max 1 level(s)).

It showed that message 5 lines in a row then just sat for a while. Probably more than 2 minutes on this step. Eventually it got through that and did some more stuff relatively quickly and then loaded.

I didn’t log to a file because for whatever reason it wouldn’t show the messages in the log console when I told it to log to a file. I wanted to see what it was reporting in realtime so I could see where it got slowed down.

3 Likes
#3826

Mega_Bezel_Logo

Mega Bezel is updated to V 0.9.106 2022-03-24 Rev 1

Changes:

  • Fixed the Base Integer Scale Max Height
  • Added Max Int Scale Presets & folder

HERE ARE THE LINKS!

Shader Package Approx. 15 MB

Extra Examples Package

See Last release post for instructions on installation

Base max integer scale is now fixed, so it looks the way it did before by default

image
image1920×1080 765 KB

Max Int Scale SMOOTH-ADV preset

image
image1920×1080 681 KB

Max Int Scale STD__GDV-NTSC preset

image
image1920×1080 661 KB

8 Likes
#3827

Is this system memory configured in dual channel mode? Does it have 2 x 8GB DIMMs or just 1 x 16GB stick? That makes a huge difference. With APUs memory bandwidth is usually the main bottleneck. In single channel mode you get half the memory bandwidth and that bandwidth has to be shared between the CPU and the IGP.

Still on the memory bandwidth front, that 2666MT/s RAM is a bit on the slow side. Ryzen really needs RAM to be clocked optimally for various reasons.

Firstly your IGP would benefit immensely from the additional bandwidth provided by higher clocked DIMMs for example 2933MT/s, 3200MT/s or even 3600MT/s. The lower the latency the better. RAM which uses Samsung B-Die chips work best with Ryzen.

Secondly, the speed of your CPU’s Internal/External Bus called the Infinity Fabric is tied to your RAM speed. So at 2666MT/s you really aren’t getting the full potential of your CPU. 3200MT/s and 3600MT/s are the sweetspots for Ryzen RAM ClockSpeed.

Do yourself a favor and get some low latency, Samsung B-Die DDR4 3600MT/s RAM in a dual channel kit. G.Skill is a very popular brand for Samsung B-Die.

Make sure your system drivers and motherboard BIOS are updated and be sure to uninstall any excessive utility software, like 3rd party Antivirus Software.

What resolution are you trying to run HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader at? This can have a significant impact on performance as well. Even if you have a 4K screen, perhaps you should be running it at 1080p with these shaders.

#3828

Thanks for these thoughts. I will download CPU-Z to double check that I’m in dual channel mode. Having said that, I did upgrade the ram from a single 8gb sodimm to a matched 2666 CL16 Mushkin Redline sodimm set. I believe that the ram is in dual channel just because there were only two ram slots, so there was no way to select the wrong slots. Still worth a check. As for the speed, unfortunately the lowly oem Lenovo b300 chipset caps the speed at 2666.

I’m running the presets at 1080. At present I’m hooked up to a 1080 tv and the desktop resolution is set at 1080 as is the resolution in RA.

I’ll also try to install the latest AMD video card software…perhaps my Vulkan driver isn’t up to date? Ditto mobo drivers and bios; I’ll see if I can find any updates there.

1 Like
#3829

This is very sad indeed.

#3830

I picked up this particular price/size combo idea from an ETA Prime video. I told myself, I’d take what the box gives and live with what it doesn’t. And for the most part, I can live with what it does and doesn’t do, because the “worst” part of the build (before this) was being limited to native res on 3 or 4 PCSX2 titles where I’d rather have seen 720p. Still, dropping the next $200-$400 to level up to a build in this form factor which could achieve that, just wasn’t worth it.

But these bezel presets are another thing entirely lol. Once you see it, it’s hard not to have it!

I’ll tap into my lifelong computer tinkering skills to see if I can find some voodoo in this thing…alternatively, maybe it needs to go back on eBay.

2 Likes
#3831

Perhaps you can overclock the GPU using Afterburner, AMD Ryzen Master or from within the AMD Adrenalin Driver Control Panel. I’ve seen many reports of these IGPs having a good bit of headroom. Just do a little research first. If you can get an extra 10 or 15% of raw performance out of it, that might translate to being able to run Mega Bezel at a 50fps no go to a 60fps fo sho!

Then who knows, you might even be able to slap in one of these in your motherboard if it supports it of course.

https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-5-pro-4650ge

Based on what I’m hearing about Lenovos it this one might be a long shot but you can still do some research and find out.

1 Like
#3832

We had another user in Discord with a ryzen CPU with integrated graphics yesterday which had exactly the same experience as you, like 2.5 minutes loading the first preset, then 30 seconds for the next presets.

I wonder if it’s the memory allocation phase, and once memory allocation is done, it doesn’t have to do it again next time through.

3 Likes
#3833

FWIW once the STD GDV Mini preset loaded, it did run at 60fps. Only tried in Nestopia so far. That said, just being able to run it isn’t the whole ballgame for me. For a dedicated TV box I just can’t have three minute load times.

I’ll report back here if I make any gains.

Also I think this cpu is oem locked and might be physically unreplaceable. This isn’t a terrible emulation box. I could keep it and have a fully functional setup including 720p GC and a mix of native - 1080p PCSX2. I can run all 1990s era cores in RA with decent shaders and utilize overlays to fill out the 4:3 black bars… But these Mega Bezel shaders give a legit feeling of an old TV living inside your new TV. These are the most immersive shaders I’ve ever seen by far.

2 Likes