Reicast core performance regression?

Libretro Cores
#1

I just updated from RetroArch 1.7.1 (reicast core 0.1 dated March 4, 2018). I was getting 60 FPS, but with RetroArch 1.7.5 (reicast core 0.1 01ffff9 dated November 18, 2018) I’m only getting about 45 FPS.

I haven’t really changed any settings from the defaults. Any ideas on what I should look at to see what is causing the dip in FPS?

Thanks!

#2

I believe there have been some performance regressions, but the biggest hit, IIRC, is the order-independent transparency (OIT).

#3

I’m an idiot. I had turned on Rewind for a different core. Sorry to bother.

2 Likes
#4

That was mschoneman’s mistake, but still yeah I too perceive it has become more demanding since regular and OIT were merged. Nothing like going from 60fps down to 45, but it’s there. It is now much more compatible though, so kudos to flyinghead. It’s an amazing core.

#5

There are a bunch of options that can help with speed :

  • threaded rendering (ON is faster)
  • synchronous rendering (ON is faster i think)
  • framerate (normal is faster i think)
  • alpha sorting (3 options, per-strip is the fastest)
#6

Synchronous Rendering avoids some frame skipping (depending on the platform speed) but should probably be set to off for best performance, although it shouldn’t matter too much.

framerate has no effect when Threaded Rendering is on and probably has negligible impact on perf when Threaded Rendering is off.

Other options that can help performance:

  • Decrease resolution
  • Disable Texture Upscaling
  • Disable Modifier Volumes
  • Enable Div Matching
  • Disable DSP
3 Likes
#7

Been running some tests out of curiosity. Actually, performance is slightly better than it was, so no regression whatsoever :slight_smile:

And the reason why I felt it ran slower is because I didn’t have DSP enabled premerge, and now I do. That is the setting that makes a difference for me (around 10fps), aside of course from alpha sorting

1 Like
#8

Hi, on shield tv android with the “DSP disable” option, it seems that it improve significantaly the speed of the core. Could you please explain us what exactly is DSP ? Is this option is important in term of accuracy ? (disable to have a better speed) thanks for yours answers regards

#9

Digital Signal Processor : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_signal_processor

#10

It makes audio emulation much more accurate. Aside from enabling certain effects, it makes some games sound better I think. Some games really benefit from it, others not so much. Experiment!

1 Like
#11

The Digital Sound Processor is used by several games to produce audio effects such as echo and reverb. One such game is Crazy Taxi where the taxi engine and menu sounds use the DSP. Disabling the DSP will not affect the playability of any game. For games that use the DSP, disabling it will make some sounds different, or not present at all.

3 Likes
#12

Hi thanks for these clear explanations regards

#13

Not sure why, but Reicast keeps failing to Load anything on my Note 9