Uploaded May 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Updated tutorial for Dolphin 5.0: youtube.com/watch?v=IFxgw1MChF8

Dolphin runs on Windows (XP or greater) (x86 and x64), Mac OSX (Lion or greater), and Linux. Windows 7 x64: Recommended. Generally, Windows will run games faster and with less issues.

CPU: The better your processor is, the better your overall performance will be. The CPU is most important.
Bad: Intel Pentium 4
Average: AMD Athlon X2 6000+
Good: AMD Phenom II x4 955
Best: The Intel i5-2500k

GPU: Having a good video card is important for maintaining good speed with high graphic settings.
Bad: Intel Integrated Graphics Chips
Average: ATI HD3650
Good: Nvidia 8800GT
Best: AMD HD6850

RAM: 2GB or more is recommended. RAM speed or the amount of RAM generally has no affect on emulation speed.

Dolphin only runs on 3 cores and won't use all of your 4 or 6 cores CPU.

Supported dump formats:
GCM/ISO
GCZ
CISO
WBFS


Step 1: Check System Type & Processor

Step 2: Download WinRar
rarlab.com/download.htm

Step 3: Update your Direct X Runtime
microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

Step 4: Install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package
search.microsoft.com/en-us/DownloadResults.aspx?q=microsoft+visual+c%2b%2b+2010+redistributable+package

Step 5: Download Dolphin Emulator
dolphin-emu.org/download

Step 6: Download uTorrent for Wii games
utorrent.com

Step 7: Download a Wii game

Step 8: Customize Dolphin for best performance

Step 9: Run and test the Wii Game

If you experience any problems,
Compatibility:
dolphin-emu.org/compat
Guides:
dolphin-emu.org/docs/guides
FAQ:
dolphin-emu.org/docs/faq
dolphin-emulator.com/faq.html

Twitter: twitter.com/microwavesam