Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Add Android Authority on Google:
TL;DR
- The MaliSX2 Vulkan driver is coming to the Dolphin and HakuX emulators.
- MaliSX2 debuted inside the ARMSX2 emulator and is effectively an alternative to the system graphics driver in non-Snapdragon devices.
- We’re not seeing a significant performance boost during our brief testing, but it’s still early days for the project.
Snapdragon processors are usually the preferred platform for more demanding emulators, and that’s largely due to the proliferation of custom Turnip GPU drivers. These drivers offer performance gains, compatibility improvements, and bug fixes compared to your device’s system driver. We’ve seen a few attempts to deliver similar GPU drivers and utilities on non-Snapdragon devices, but the ARMSX2 emulator made a big splash with MaliSX2 last month. Now, it turns out that this tool is coming to other emulators.
MaliSX2 debuted last month as a Vulkan driver for devices with Arm Mali GPUs. Products with Mali GPUs include MediaTek-powered devices, older Pixel phones, older Samsung handsets, current flagship Galaxy tablets, and a variety of handhelds. At the time of its release, the ARMSX2 team claimed that games like Ace Combat 4 and 5 were previously unplayable but now ran at full speed with the new driver. Other users have also reported substantial improvements when switching to the new driver.
How important is emulation to you when buying an Android phone?
0 votes
It’s a top priority
0%
Great emulation is nice to have but not a must
0%
It’s not important at all to me
0%
However, it turns out that MaliSX2 is no longer restricted to PS2 emulation. The project’s GitHub page confirms that the Vulkan driver is coming to Dolphin and HakuX, theoretically enabling improved performance for GameCube, Wii, and original Xbox games.
The bad news is that only development builds of Dolphin include MaliSX2 support right now (settings icon > Graphics Settings > GPU Driver). Meanwhile, the feature isn’t actually available in official versions of HakuX just yet. I briefly tested three games (Tony Hawk’s Underground, Wrestlemania XIX, Dave Mirra 2) on the ANBERNIC RG477V and didn’t see a significant performance boost, either.
Nevertheless, it’s still early days for MaliSX2 on Dolphin and HakuX, so I’m not surprised to see issues right now. This driver option isn’t even available in the stable emulators just yet. But I’d definitely recommend keeping an eye on this project if you have a Mali-powered smartphone, tablet, or handheld. We’ve already seen significant performance gains in ARMSX2, so it seems like a matter of time until we see a similar boost in Dolphin and HakuX.