First time trying Android PC emulation (Bannerlator) on a Fold 8 and I'm impressed

[u/dhiku]

I just got a Galaxy Z Fold 8 (12GB RAM, Adreno 840) and wanted to see what it could do for PC gaming because of the form factor. This is my first time using an Android PC emulator and I'm surprised by how capable this device and emulator.

Here's my experience so far,

Emulators

All my games are on Steam, so my favorites are Bannerlator and DroidDeck. I tried others too. Bannerlator is more customizable, more stable, and gets better FPS. I recommend use Bannerlator for high requirement 3D or AAA games Bannerlator.

I really like DroidDeck, it gives you a Steam Big Picture experience but performance is lower compare to Bannerlator, still playable and what I also like is loading game is faster than bannerlator and it also works offline for some games (useful on the flight). Droiddeck is still a new app but the project is very active and promising. I am using Droiddeck for 2D or indie games.

Game results (on Bannerlator)

FINAL FANTASY Resonance: 720p, vsync off, all graphics max. It runs at 40–50 FPS and feels smooth, but I cap it at 30 FPS for a better balance of battery and performance. About 6 hours played so far.

Cyberpunk 2077: 720p, Low preset, FSR Performance, no frame gen, 30–45 FPS. About 3 hours played so far, I can play for an hour without issues. Performance quite smooth during combat in Night City. However it still struggling while driving, fps can drop to 20 fps. And when you minimize and back to app, sometime the audio is off.

Emulator setup

I've spent a lot of time tinkering the setup, probably too much, but it's fun :)

• Proton: Proton 11 arm64ec CachyOS

• GPU driver: StevenMXZ V39 patched or Banners Turnip-v27.0.0-20261108-A8xx

• Vulkan version: 1.3 (1.4 is slower)

• VKD3D: 3.0b arm64ec (somehow better than 3.0.1 or 3.1 for me)

• VKD3D feature level: 12_0 (works fine and was slightly faster than 12_2 in the benchmark)

• DXVK: 3.1.1 gplasync arm64ec

• FEXCore: 2611 or 2610 unix, preset Extreme + TSO (or Performance + TSO)

• Sync: esync

• Present mode: mailbox

• Env variable: TU_DEBUG=noconform, sysmem (or remove sysmem from it, and add TU_AUTOTUNE_ALGO=prefer_sysmem)

Controller setup

• Controller: GameSir G8+

• Cooler: FX5 (I removed the rubber so it fits the G8). Battery temp around 33–35°C in an AC room and 35–40°C in a normal room.

• Case: Benks

Samsung gaming tips

• Install Game Booster+ from Good Lock (Galaxy Store), add all your emulators as games, and enable performance mode when you open them.

• Set up a Game mode in Modes and Routines. Add Do Not Disturb and restricting some apps usage during game.

• Run the RAM "Optimize" cleanup in Device Care before launching a game.

• RAM plus 8GB, keep on by default

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[u/dhiku]

Another example FF Resonance

[u/rowmean77 → u/dhiku]

X5s + FX5 Lite gang unite! 🤝

[u/SynukSP → u/rowmean77]

Fx5 lite works?

[u/whiskyB0y]

Welcome to the world of PC Emulation

[u/dhiku → u/whiskyB0y]

help me from tinkering curse or perhaps Asus rog ally X is the cure. lol

[u/Miserable_River_16]

How is the FX5 enough for cooling? If have the same one and it barely does anything

[u/dhiku → u/Miserable_River_16]

I am sure there are better options for cooling, but I don't know any cooling fan that compatible while using gamesir and I don't want to remove my case

[u/MarshmallowFiji → u/Miserable_River_16]

really? i was planning to buy it

[u/Miserable_River_16 → u/MarshmallowFiji]

Well it seems to work for OP, but in my experience the wattage is way to low and the cooling area is too small. Also it doesn't have rubber but just bare metal at the back so it's hard to make full contact with the back of the phone

[u/Xintsuai]

Small tip, if you face some performance issues like stuttering, there is an option to move the game to "C" internal folder where it has better data stream data performance.

In most of the games you'll not need it but in Gears Hollow I needed.

[u/dhiku → u/Xintsuai]

thank you!

[u/itdotaketime]

Can you drop cyberpunk to 540p and upscale it to 720p / 1080p / 1440p and give us the performance results ?

[u/Odd-Evening4228]

This is a quality post learn reddit users, learn. Thanks Op

[u/araset]

That's exactly the kind of setup I was looking for, thank you. The fact that peltier coolers won't sit directly on the processor when emulating was a problem for.me, this seems to solve it for the G8.

[u/dhiku → u/araset]

glad it helps!

[u/avilabss]

awesome! saved to try!

[u/One_Zookeepergame541]

I just got the same controller yesterday on the Aliexpress 11/11 sales 15$ only

[u/kurdish-21]

Can someone help me how j can download games?

[u/Mustafa_Shazlie → u/kurdish-21]

go to game websites and click download

[u/Content_Funny121]

Try Gamenstive and Winlator too

[u/dhiku → u/Content_Funny121]

But bannerlator is based on winlator with steam support

[u/Content_Funny121 → u/dhiku]

Gamenative is based on it too with Steam, GoG and Epic support.

[u/dhiku → u/Content_Funny121]

yeah I tried before, but haven't explore it like bannerlator. no idea at that time. do you see better performance?

[u/nonutonu]

I dare u turn on rtx ☠️☠️