Within a single generation of processors, the difference between i5 and i7 (hyperthreading/extra core counts) don't affect Dolphin very much. Intel: For the most part, newer is better when it comes to Intel processors. With four cores, Dolphin has two cores for the main emulation threads, a third core for other tasks, and another core for the operating system and background tasks to run without taking resources from the emulator. Additional cores will not make Dolphin go any faster, though an 'extra' core that Dolphin isn’t using may help slightly by keeping background tasks from using the same cores as Dolphin.Īccordingly, the perfect CPU for Dolphin has high IPC, a high clock rate, and four cores or more.

Dolphin is a dual core application that relies upon IPC (Instructions Per Clock) and clockspeed for performance.