Definitely not an older build. I know there used to be a popular false sense of "older version = faster" but that's not true.

They are all the same 😉
If you want faster you need a faster machine.

Dominus wrote:

If you want faster you need a faster machine.

This is the only way to speed up emulation. Do you remember SoftPC on the classic Macintosh models?

To clarify, older versions are likely a bit slower and SVN builts might be a tad faster due to some dynamic core optimizations. But noticeable speed differences by castrating dosbox, don't know of any 😉
Newer, faster computer -> much more speed!!!

Thanks for the answers, everyone. Granted, a faster PC will yield faster results under DOSBox, but since there are various different builds, I thought maybe one was targeted for speed. But if such speed gains would be negligible in real world terms (I mean, 7% faster, for example, is probably un-noticable in human terms) then I suppose it's not worth someone spending time and effort making such a DOSBox build.

Regarding faster PCs, what does DOSBox need/use? I mean, does DOSBox use more than one core, and/or does DOSBox's speed just depend on the speed of one core? And are there any CPUs or CPU-features that especially benefit DOSBox? What I mean is, there are lots of CPUs now and it's confusing working out what is what, so what is best for DOSBox. I'm not planning on upgrading anytime soon, and when I do DOSBos will only be one consideration, but it's interesting to know what applies here.

Intel CPUs are currently faster because of better single-thread performance.

When I went from a C2D to a I7 the speed increase was significant for 1995+ games.

Can't remember when I bought this i7 but it was probably 2 to 3 years ago.

So if you go with a baseline of a i7 or a processor of equal power you can't go wrong.

The leap from a Pentium 4 Northwood to a Core 2 Duo 6550 was far more impressive. It seemed amazing that I could play SVGA games with ease. First game I ever tried was Syndicate Wars. It was barely playable in SVGA on the P4, it was faster than normal on my C2D, thankfully the game has in-game speed options (very handy!).
Man, I love that game!

DOSBox is fast enough that a Pentium-class machine (5th generation that is) can use DOSbox for some early CGA games. This is necessary for some of them that don't throttle.

leileilol wrote:

DOSBox is fast enough that a Pentium-class machine (5th generation that is) can use DOSbox for some early CGA games. This is necessary for some of them that don't throttle.

What would be the minimum for running something like Alley Cat? I have no doubt that game would have timing issues when run natively on a Pentium.

leileilol wrote:

DOSBox is fast enough that a Pentium-class machine (5th generation that is) can use DOSbox for some early CGA games. This is necessary for some of them that don't throttle.

DOS-based throttle programs worked very well for me when running pre-286 games natively on a P2... the advantage of using DOSBox in such a setup would be its highly accurate CGA emulation (which most VGA cards can't match on their own).

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

What would be the minimum for running something like Alley Cat? I have no doubt that game would have timing issues when run natively on a Pentium.

Actually, Alley Cat is unique in that it is one of very few games that never has timing issues, or so I'm told.

Personally,I value compatibility with games more than speed. A fast emulator means nothing if it only runs a handful of games well.