Which one is the best PC android emulator? MEMU, BlueStacks ou Nox? We made a comparison taking into account graphics, compatibility, performance and, of course, gameplay. See which onebest emulator to run games e apps do android on computer.
Notice: We left some emulators out of this comparison because most of them run the same instructions (via virtualization) and have the same final result. The only difference would be the interface. Noting this, we selected Bluestacks, MEmu and Nox for being the best known. despite the LeapDroid seems promising, it still has many errors.
Link to Download Bluestacks 2 Emulator
Link to Download MEmu Emulator
Link to Download Nox Player
- Graphics
Graphics are always the first item many players want to know in a comparison. In this regard, the evaluation is quite varied, as it will depend directly on the hardware of your computer.
For example, if your PC doesn't have a dedicated graphics card, your emulator will be restricted to OpenGL 2.0. In addition to limiting graphics, this will have an impact on compatibility as many games will be incompatible.
Memu Player and Nox emulators depend on the virtualization setting in your PC's BIOS. If it is disabled, the emulators will run almost nothing, in terms of games.
Despite the large amount of variables, the result is a tie between the three emulators. Did you think it was unfair, why did that game X run better on emulator Y? It would be unfair to think that way.
Lifting all the variables, the conclusion is as follows. Although Memu Player has better results on Antutu, and Nox has DirectX support, a well-configured Bluestacks can run games with graphics almost identical to the Vulkan API. So everything will depend on the PC configuration and a test between each of these emulators.
We have a tie in this regard.
Bluestacks running Need For Speed No Limits with all effects on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVuOdaMR1Rw
– Performance
In terms of performance, the best emulator for pc is MEmu. This emulator allows a series of special configurations and tests in the Antutu, it does better than other emulators on the market.
One of the great advantages of MEmu is the possibility to choose the Android version. It is possible to choose between Android 4.2 Jelly Bean ou 5.1 Lollipop.
To top it off, the emulator still supports instances. User can start multiple Memu player at the same time.
– Compatibility
As mentioned in the previous question, MEmu allows the user to choose the Android version, between 4.2 or 5.1. However, Bluestacks has a “strange” compatibility. Many games incompatible with MEmu and Nox, run smoothly on Bluestacks.
While MEmu allows you to perfectly emulate the environment of a tablet/mobile phone in a window of your computer, the Bluestacks emulator can, by magic, run games that are not supported by any other emulator.
So, without going into too much detail, we have a tie between Bluestacks and MEmu. Although the Bluestacks emulator does its magic, it is still incompatible with Android 5.x exclusive games.
– Gameplay
The gameplay aspect is extremely important for games. In this aspect, Nox and Memu Player win by hand. Both have excellent support for external controls and key mapping (including tips to configure in shooting games).
For example, you can use the program Xpadder to get the mapped keys and remap them for your buttons joystick. The result is a completely revamped gameplay, almost as if you were playing a game do PC. The same can be done in Bluestacks, but only up to a certain level as the emulator has limited support for screen mapping.
- Conclusion
Given what has been presented, the easiest conclusion is that you will need more than one emulator on your PC. If Memu Player or Nox doesn't run that game, it's always good to have Bluestacks installed to make a "last try". Thinking that only one emulator will do the trick is true only if you run few games.
[originally published October 27, 2016]
