I’m wondering about this, and I’m still on the fence; in the mean time I’ve been using max processor power to keep things running full speed on 5.1.1, however, it’s not 100% ideal as the battery drains a lot faster. With all the talk about how wonderful the Vulkan API is on Marshmallow (and Google being stingy idiots about refusing to back-porting it to Android Lollipop), I’m left wondering whether or not I should OTA update the tablet to 6.0.1. However, I have heard horror stories about tablet bricking, losing all installed apps and other data (even on the external SD card), controllers like the MOGA Pro not working, etc. So this begs the question, is it really worth considering updating to Marshmallow? I want the best performance I can get in RetroArch without having to use max performance and get the best battery life I can, you know? If I choose to update via OTA, will going from 5.1.1 to 6.0.1 completely erase all app data, even on the SD card? I want to experience RA as it’s meant to be on a K1 tablet, full speed, low latency and no having to use threaded video.
If you’re rooted, you can use titanium backup to take a snapshot of your system and if you end up not liking things, you can always revert.
AFAIK, OTA updates shouldn’t touch your SD card, and they generally allow you to keep the apps you have installed, AFAIK but YMMV.
[QUOTE=hunterk;48637]If you’re rooted, you can use titanium backup to take a snapshot of your system and if you end up not liking things, you can always revert.
AFAIK, OTA updates shouldn’t touch your SD card, and they generally allow you to keep the apps you have installed, AFAIK but YMMV.[/QUOTE]
I’m pretty sure I have Titanium Backup, it is rooted yes. Still, IDK if it’s worth doing and if Vulkan will really improve performance.
well, if you have a backup, the worst-case scenario is that you just restore back to the old one. The only thing you really lose out by trying is a little bit of time. I would recommend making sure that your backup is fully restorable before taking the plunge, though.
The app seems a bit daunting to use, as I don’t have the pro version (which allows for zip file compression for easier backup), and transferring to a PC as far as I can tell. It is rooted like I said, would I still do the OTA installation? And is Vulkan really worth the update?
I mean, it’s pretty great here, but I can’t say how it’ll treat you. I don’t want to be held responsible if it doesn’t totally blow your tits off or whatever.
Obviously. I keep hearing mixed things about Marshmallow and the K1 tablet, sigh IDFK anymore.
Well, now I’m having issues accessing the online updater despite being connected to WiFi (RA core updater), keeps failing on me despite being on the 5 GHz bandwidth, so…yeah maybe updating to 6.0 isn’t such a great idea for me after all. On 1.3.6 for the record. Damn updater won’t even work.
I am using a K1 Tablet on 6.0.1, non-rooted (though considering taking the risk and rooting as I don’t see a Nougat update coming our way any time soon). Aside from a couple issues with PCSX ReArmed I am having no problems whatsoever. I am using adoptive storage with a 200gb SD card and it works seamlessly. It is basically flawless for me with no noticeable slowdown. The trick is to use as fast a micro SD card as you can buy. I am using a 200gb SanDisk Ultra. It is not cheap (~$90), but it is high quality and has fast enough read/write speeds that there is no noticeable speed difference between internal and adoptive storage. It effectively turns the K1 into an entirely new tablet as far as storage space goes.
Be aware that adoptive storage will basically drag the entire system to a crawl without a very fast read/write speed on the SD card (as many K1 owners have noted the hard way). Also, because there are exponentially more read/write operations to the card than there otherwise would be, a low quality card is likely to fail much sooner than it normally would. Now that the newest Nvidia system updates (6.0.1) have fixed the Wifi and battery issues that were widely reported with the initial Marshmallow update, there is really no downside.
I would strongly recommend you back up your data and apps and do a factory reset of your tablet before updating though. So many users report problems after the Marshmallow updates, many of which I suspect are related to the update process being error-inducing. A “clean install” (or as close to it as the K1 can get) is likely much safer, and at this point Marshmallow is mature enough that very few, if any apps, will stop working because of it.
I can’t comment on the Vulkan drivers as I have not spent much time with them, but the Marshmallow upgrade is worth it in my opinion.
[QUOTE=Stilletto;48695]I am using a K1 Tablet on 6.0.1, non-rooted (though considering taking the risk and rooting as I don’t see a Nougat update coming our way any time soon). Aside from a couple issues with PCSX ReArmed I am having no problems whatsoever. I am using adoptive storage with a 200gb SD card and it works seamlessly. It is basically flawless for me with no noticeable slowdown. The trick is to use as fast a micro SD card as you can buy. I am using a 200gb SanDisk Ultra. It is not cheap (~$90), but it is high quality and has fast enough read/write speeds that there is no noticeable speed difference between internal and adoptive storage. It effectively turns the K1 into an entirely new tablet as far as storage space goes.
Be aware that adoptive storage will basically drag the entire system to a crawl without a very fast read/write speed on the SD card (as many K1 owners have noted the hard way). Also, because there are exponentially more read/write operations to the card than there otherwise would be, a low quality card is likely to fail much sooner than it normally would. Now that the newest Nvidia system updates (6.0.1) have fixed the Wifi and battery issues that were widely reported with the initial Marshmallow update, there is really no downside.
I would strongly recommend you back up your data and apps and do a factory reset of your tablet before updating though. So many users report problems after the Marshmallow updates, many of which I suspect are related to the update process being error-inducing. A “clean install” (or as close to it as the K1 can get) is likely much safer, and at this point Marshmallow is mature enough that very few, if any apps, will stop working because of it.
I can’t comment on the Vulkan drivers as I have not spent much time with them, but the Marshmallow upgrade is worth it in my opinion.[/QUOTE]
See, therein lies the issue, there is no universal guide on how to actually back up the system with Titanium Backup; I can back up the apps or the apps+data to an SD card and transfer that to my PC (pro version only has zip support, can’t do that for free). The other issue is the whole adaptable storage BS, making internal and external act as one, I don’t have a crappy SD card if that’s what you’re worried about, I don’t have 200 GB as I didn’t get that when I got the tablet. No idea how to do a factory reset, I have it rooted, unlike yours, so I can’t just factory reset it easily. so that’s another issue. I just don’t know, without the benefits of knowing how much Vulkan will do for me, I see no point in updating the K1. Because like you said, you haven’t tried Vulkan, and that there is the only determining factor; right now, other apps work fine, I haven’t had any major issues at all, with 5.1.1. So until others can actually test Vulkan with the same device I have, there’s no point.
Summed up:
Titanium Backup is confusing as hell to use, no clear definition on what to actually back up Adaptive storage doesn’t sound all its cracked up to be, who knows how the new OS will handle SD permissions esp when people keep saying there are issues in where apps store save states, save RAM files, etc. RetroArch keeps failing to populate the update core list despite having stable WiFi on my end No clear definitive benefits of Vulkan API on the K1 tablet, so what would be the point?