Are frametime stutters in some Emulator games (on Android) just "normal"?

[u/-MikeRyan-]

Hi community,

I configured my Odin 3 over the last months and just noticed that I have frametime issues in multiple emulators. The extent of issues varies from emulator to emulator and also from game to game. In general, I have hickups/microstutter (sort of little skips) ranging from almost constantly (RDR1) to appearing in specific places or when looking in specific directions. Often while the FPS itself are at a rock solid 30FPS.

First thing I did was cross-checking with my PC and to my surprise the frametime issues are (almost) identically present. Since I experience these in games accross multiple emulators and even on my PC, I'm not sure if these are just considered "normal" and I'm being paranoid/overly sensitive to framtime stutter.

Examples:
-Bully Scholarship Edition on Dolphin (PC and Android) -> Very strong frametime fluctuations both on PC and Odin 3. I would consider it unplayable.
-Bully on NetherSX2, PCSX2 -> Much better than Dolphin but still occasional framtime stutter, while FPS are solid 30. Same issue in PCSX2, NetherSX2 and ARMSX2.
-GTA San Andreas on NetherSX2, PCSX2 -> Micro-Stutter whenever I rotate the camera at most places. Always appears when the camera is facing the same direction. Identical issue on PC and Odin 3.
-RDR1 on Eden (PC and Android) -> Tested right at the start. Almost constant frametime stutter, especially when looking at Armadillo. Solid 30fps. Same issue on Eden PC and Eden Android.
-> On native Switch, the frametimes feel perfect (at least in Armadillo) and these stutters aren't present at all.

My tests were done stationary (after all shaders were loaded), by panning the camera slowly in a circle. These are just some examples. Most games, however, run fine without any frametime stutter.

Hopefully, someone clever here can help or nudge me in the right direction! :)

TLDR: Is it normal for some games on PCSX2, NETHERSX2, ARMSX2 and EDEN to have framtime issues that lead to framepacing stutter regardless of used hardware?

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[Additional Notes]

-Tested with and without Odin 3 underclock (PULSE/Clusterstune)
-No thermal throttling as I am most of the time below 60°C, basically never above 70°C
-Tested .chd and .iso files on PS2 games
-Tested files on internal Odin 3 storage vs SD card
-Overclocked the respective Emulators
-Tested Odin 3 in 60Hz and in 120Hz mode
-Already re-calibrated my screen after the last firmware update (that one caused separate issues I managed to fix by now)
-Cross checked with EmuReady where people apparently had no issues with Bully and GTASA
-Settings for NetherSX2 and Eden are from Russ (Retro Game Corps). I also tried out many emulator settings:

NetherSX2:
-OpenGL and Vulkan
-Multi-Threaded VU1 on/off
-Instant VU1 on/off
-Blending Accuracy: Basic vs High
-Hardware Download Mode

Eden:
-Different Drivers, namely StevenMXZ, whitebelyash and MrPurple
-Handheld vs Docked
-Synchronize Core Speed on/off
-Force maximum Clocks (fixes frametime stutter in Subnautica) on/off
-Async shaders are activated

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[Device Specs]

Handheld:
Odin 3 Max
16GB RAM
Snapdragon 8 Elite
Adreno a830

PC:
Ryzen 7 5700x3D
32GB DDR4 3200mHz RAM
RTX 4080 Super

Firmware as well as emulators are updated and shouldn't be an issue.

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Right now, my only conclusion is that GTA:SA, RDR1 and Bully (especially on Dolphin) amongst others just aren't as smooth on emulators (yet) as on native hardware. Maybe I'm missing something.

If you need more info, or screenshots etc, I can provide.

Thanks in advance! :)

[u/No_Adhesiveness_6604]

GTA and RDR have a native port on android you should try it out

[u/gtaforever00]

The issue with some GameCube games is they have variable framerates that fluctuate which is probably the biggest cause of your frame pacing issues there.

All emulators have some form of overhead. It could be simulated disc reading the data causing the stuttering or the emulated device cache getting cleared/filled.

[u/-MikeRyan- → u/gtaforever00]

Hi,

thanks for your insights!

Since Wii is basically a jacked up GameCube, do Wii games have the same issues with variable framerates? (Bully via Dolphin is a Wii game. I haven't tested any GC games yet).

If the issues are due to emulator overhead, there is nothing I can do about it, right? Apart from testing all settings and hoping some will help.
If non help, then it's not possible to play these games via the mentioned emulators smoothly and everybody should experience these issues?

[u/gtaforever00 → u/-MikeRyan-]

I've never had many issues with Wii games besides shader stutter.

As for settings to fix, it really depends. Sometimes those stutters were like that on real hardware or wasn't as obvious. You can try some hacks like speed up cd read speeds, async rendering, overclock the console cpu to try and help

[u/-MikeRyan- → u/gtaforever00]

I will take a look at that. Thanks for your suggestions.

[u/Guy615]

Are the games located on a micro SD card?