Video summary

WINLATOR Mali V1 on Android Low End Mali GPU TEST | Apex Frame Generation & Best Settings!

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Summary of Winlator Mali Bionic v1.0 Update (Technological Concepts, Features, and Testing)

Winlator build focus

  • The video highlights a modified Winlator build for Mali GPU devices—especially MediaTek/Exynos phones that use Mali.
  • Labeled as the newest updated version: Winlator Mali Bionic “1.0”.

Key update improvements and fixes

  • Multiple Vulkan wrapper selection
    • Provides options for different Vulkan wrapper versions to improve compatibility.
  • ASTC + ETC2 transcoding
    • Aims to improve performance, memory usage, and stability.
  • Apex frame generation (frame interpolation)
    • Added to improve visual smoothness.
  • Graphics driver manager + unified control system
    • Merges controller layouts into a universal mapping for better game support.
  • UI improvements
  • Wine update to “Proton 10 arm”
    • Uses FEX core to improve compatibility and performance.

Recommended Versions for Users

  • The build includes three versions.
  • The speaker recommends either:
    • Ludashi, or
    • N22

Test Device / Hardware Context

  • Testing was done on a very low-end phone:
    • Unisoc T7250 (also referenced as T615)
    • Mali G57 MP1 (single-core GPU)
    • 6GB RAM with eMMC storage
  • Notable platform details mentioned:
    • Supports Vulkan 1.3
    • Speaker notes 120 Vulkan extensions
  • Even with decent bandwidth, it’s considered low-end because it has few execution units, making emulation difficult.

Setup / Configuration Guide (Important Settings Mentioned)

Permissions and installation

  • Permissions: file access permission is required.
  • Install: install the Ludashi Winlator Mali Bionic build.

Presets (Box64 + FexCore)

  • Presets include:
    • Max performance profiles
    • A Denuvo pre-config profile
  • Recommendations:
    • Use performance mode presets where possible
    • Use stability presets on very low RAM devices

Container setup

  • Screen resolution:
    • Recommend low 600p or 480p for better performance
    • Speaker references 640×480 as a minimum
  • Wine version:
    • Defaults to Proton 10 arm
    • For older titles, can switch to x86_64
  • Graphics wrapper:
    • Multiple wrapper variants added (e.g., wrapper V2 and others)
    • Default is “wrapper”
  • System driver and most settings:
    • Kept at default
  • ASTC transcode enabled:
    • Intended to reduce VRAM / graphics memory pressure
    • Aims to help prevent out-of-memory crashes on Mali
    • Speaker claims this is a common issue (including memory leak problems)

DX wrapper / DirectX selection

  • DXVK version is selected based on the game:
    • Mentions 1.7.2 and options including 1.10.3
  • 32-bit and 64-bit emulators:
    • Set to FexCore by default
  • For very old DirectX titles:
    • Speaker suggests setting 32-bit to Box64

Environment variables

  • Adds Mesa extension year = 2025
  • Optional:
    • Enable DXVK HUD for FPS/stats overlays

Advanced settings

  • Mostly left at default
  • FexCore version is selected
  • Startup selection:
    • essential services or aggressive mode
  • Unified control system enabled:
    • Standardizes controller layouts across games

Emulator Workflow Features Highlighted

  • From within Winlator, users can install required drivers and recommended settings directly in the emulator.
  • Installables mentioned:
    • DirectX runtime libraries (critical for emulation)
    • NVIDIA PhysX driver
  • The game executable is added as a container shortcut.
  • Community configurations:
    • Many shared configs can be searched and applied.
  • File manager:
    • Import titles directly
    • Manage graphics drivers and components (bundled versions available)

Apex Frame Generation Testing Results (Performance vs. Stability)

Test phase 1: No frame generation

  • Starts with very low FPS and lag on a demanding game.
  • Resolution is reduced further:
    • From 600p to 480p
    • Speaker mentions “640x480” as the lower bound
  • Performance described as roughly ~15–12 FPS.

Test phase 2: Enable Apex frame generation

  • Frame generation is described as frame interpolation using algorithms to effectively “multiply” frames.
  • Quality modes:
    • Performance mode:
      • Exhibits glitching
    • Max quality:
      • Works properly
  • Results with max quality:
    • Produces a smoother feel
    • However:
      • Still too slow for the low-end device
      • Motion blur/level needs tuning
        • Speaker references “balanced or low”
        • Later suggests increasing a bit motion

Overall conclusion

Apex frame generation is impressive and functional even on low-end Mali, but the performance overhead may limit practical usefulness.

Main Speaker / Source

  • RGB (creator/host, referred to as: “It’s RGB here again”)

Original video