A new update to the Early Access version of Yuzu brings significant upgrades for Switch Emulation on AMD-based Windows devices.
A new early-access build of Switch emulator Yuzu has introduced notable improvements to performance on Windows handhelds.
Emulation is known for its performance-hungry workload, especially on recent handhelds such as the Steam Deck, AYANEO 2S and ROG Ally.
While on Steam Deck, Yuzu – the most popular Switch emulator to date – clearly takes advantage of MESA drivers (the Linux equivalent to Windows' Radeon drivers that result in promising Windows performance on the Deck), you often had to accept diminishing returns.
With the new Yuzu Early Access version 3718, the Yuzu team outdid themselves again and shipped improvements towards AMD hardware running Windows, specifically handhelds, such as the ROG Ally, the Steam Deck, and AYANEO 2S.
Early Access 3718:
Make use of monitorx instructions for power efficient sleeps (AMD). [#10935]
Reduce power consumption by ~11.5% on AMD CPUs. For example, 5600x reduced wattage usage from 69-71W to 61-63W.
Increased performance on AMD CPUs when user manually limited power. We have measured a 20 ~ 35% increase on 5600x when limited to 40W.
Change applies to Windows OS only. Change will benefit AMD laptops and handheld devices (e.g. Aya Neo, Rog Ally, Steam Deck with Windows.)
..and it already shows: Quick tests give us an early glimpse of render load-heavy Switch titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – which always has been difficult to emulate on current-gen handhelds such as the AYANEO 2S with an AMD 7840U -- running surprisingly stable at 15-18W TDP alone.
You can find the Early Access version of Yuzu on their Patreon page.
