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PS2 Emulation with PCSX2 - share your game configs!

Yoritomo

Member
Alright, time to do this instead of running all my PS2 games off my wheezing PS2 that's now making a grinding noise when trying to spin discs.

It's going to be a long weekend of ripping games...
 
Can someone please help me format the damn memory cards? I'm following these instructions, but I get lost at step 4 =/ I don't see "File" anywhere. I'm on version 0.9.8. What the heck am I missing?

EDIT: I got it.
 

linko9

Member
I'm experiencing something really weird. Not really a problem, but I'd like to figure out why it happens.

I run PCSX2 on my laptop, and usually throw the image onto my 1080p TV through HDMI. The funny thing is that all games run about 10 or 15% faster when I display the image on my TV, versus on the built-in display. It's sort of inconvenient for gaming on the go (e.g. DQ8 PAL runs at a full 50 fps on the TV, but regularly dips to 40 or 45 on my laptop display). Anyway, this seems completely counter-intuitive, as the TV's resolution is quite a bit higher than the laptop display (not that that should make a difference; the internal res is unchanged). To be clear, I'm not changing the settings at all, the only difference is the screen I'm viewing the image through.

Anyone else experience this, or have any idea why this happens? The only thing I can think of is that the Laptop screen produces a certain amount of heat that doesn't allow the CPU/GPU to run quite as fast... but that seems very unlikely. This also is true when using Dolphin, but to a lesser degree, and I don't notice a difference at all when playing PC games.
 

Cataferal

Digital Foundry
I'm experiencing something really weird. Not really a problem, but I'd like to figure out why it happens.

I run PCSX2 on my laptop, and usually throw the image onto my 1080p TV through HDMI. The funny thing is that all games run about 10 or 15% faster when I display the image on my TV, versus on the built-in display. It's sort of inconvenient for gaming on the go (e.g. DQ8 PAL runs at a full 50 fps on the TV, but regularly dips to 40 or 45 on my laptop display). Anyway, this seems completely counter-intuitive, as the TV's resolution is quite a bit higher than the laptop display (not that that should make a difference; the internal res is unchanged). To be clear, I'm not changing the settings at all, the only difference is the screen I'm viewing the image through.

Anyone else experience this, or have any idea why this happens? The only thing I can think of is that the Laptop screen produces a certain amount of heat that doesn't allow the CPU/GPU to run quite as fast... but that seems very unlikely. This also is true when using Dolphin, but to a lesser degree, and I don't notice a difference at all when playing PC games.
When you're at home with the laptop plugged into the TV, do you have it connected to its power supply? When you remove that, most gaming laptops automatically go into eco-power mode by underclocking the CPU/GPU, which is obviously going to have a knock-on effect with PCSX2.
 

linko9

Member
When you're at home with the laptop plugged into the TV, do you have it connected to its power supply? When you remove that, most gaming laptops automatically go into eco-power mode by underclocking the CPU/GPU, which is obviously going to have a knock-on effect with PCSX2.

No, the laptop's always plugged in, that's definitely not the issue.
 

Oemenia

Banned
I have an E2180 on my desktop, if i OCd it to around a 3ghz, how different would be from a better Conroe CPU at the same speed?
 

Kenka

Member
I have an E2180 on my desktop, if i OCd it to around a 3ghz, how different would be from a better Conroe CPU at the same speed?
Without being an expert, I can safely assume that the more CPU power the better. You can upgrade your CPU while keeping your motherboard ?
 

Lkr

Member
so FFX plays pretty well on native scaling at 1366x768 on my laptop, which makes me happy since it looks better than playing it on my ps2 at 480i with composite cables. i am using 0.9.8, but is there any reason to use a newer SVN? i'm getting around 60fps, but if it increases performance or adds compatibility fixes, i'll give it a run.
specs:
intel i7 2630qm
intel hd 3000 / amd 6770m(i was playing with the intel integrated sandy bridge mobile graphics and i get 60fps, so i haven't messed around with getting more performance from my dedicated chip. i'm sure i could get at least 2x scaling out of it though if i used it)
6gb ddr3 1333

any input would be welcomed. between this and dolphin, i am going to be emulating all summer long it appears
 

ChryZ

Member
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

- PCSX2 0.9.9 R5194, i5-760@3520MHz, GTX680@1084-1150MHz, 1920x1200
- Preset Balanced as template + MTVU
- GSdx 5191 SSE41: Direct3D9, 5x Native, Software Mode Settings Extra rendering threads 3, rest default
- SPU2-X all default
- FXAA enabled

The game used to choke my GTX460. I verified load peaks with Nvidia Inspector. CPU was never maxed in stall moments. It seemed that certain games on PCSX2 are very GPU dependent/limited. Tried ZoE2 again after upgrading to a GTX680 recently and it's able to keep up, very playable with 5x Native.

(click for full size)

























Cut scenes:







 

teiresias

Member
Hmm, so the GPU was holding all of us back.

Does anyone know if Gregory Horror Show is playable yet?

Yeah, PCSX2 is the only thing making me entertain picking up a GTX 670 upgrade from my 460 SLI setup, mainly because the SLI runs most of my PC games I'm interested in great, but since PCSX2 can't take advantage of it, I'm still stuck with a single 460 for PCSX2. Granted, most everthing I throw at it plays great, so it's not a huge deal, but would still be nice to have the head room for it.
 

Rufus

Member
It's normal a little slow down on Persona 4 in the school parts? music and walking.
Had the same issue when I was playing. I always thought it's due to the amount of models on screen. I had a X3 720 OC'd to 3.2Ghz then, so it might just have been the processor, too.
I didn't do any tweaking to find a way around it, either.
 

Paracelsus

Member
Wow, ardjet battle drops all the way down to 10fps whenever she gets into cqc-zone, 2500k@stock and 6870. I very much doubt changing the PCSX2 revision can do jack as the game is pretty darn smooth outside of this section.
 
It's normal a little slow down on Persona 4 in the school parts? music and walking.
I haven't experienced any slowdown except for when it saves.

Core i5 2500k OC'd to 3.9 Ghz
1 GB Nvidia GTX 550 Ti
16 GB of RAM
80 gig SSD drive for boot.
Programs and Data on seperate 1 TB partition composed of 2 mirrored 1 TB drives.
 

dokish

Banned
I haven't experienced any slowdown except for when it saves.

Core i5 2500k OC'd to 3.9 Ghz
1 GB Nvidia GTX 550 Ti
16 GB of RAM
80 gig SSD drive for boot.
Programs and Data on seperate 1 TB partition composed of 2 mirrored 1 TB drives.

Sorry, I have no idea what this means. :(

Also, I have an GTX 260. Is this still a good card to play?
 
Sorry, I have no idea what this means. :(

Also, I have an GTX 260. Is this still a good card to play?

Just means I don't have to worry unless both drives fail. Emulation isn't really GPU limited so much as CPU and ram limited. What kind of ram (also how much) do you have and what cpu do you have?
 

ChryZ

Member
Yakuza

- PCSX2 0.9.9 R5194, i5-760@1440-3520MHz, GTX680@1084-1150MHz, 1920x1200
- Preset Balanced as template + MTVU
- GSdx 5191 SSE41: Direct3D11, 5x Native, Software Mode Settings Extra rendering threads 3, rest default
- SPU2-X all default
- FXAA enabled

There's a minor issue with bloom/lighting overlay off-set, else the game runs perfectly fine and I played the whole thing on PCSX2.

I've uploaded a bunch more screenshots to Minus. There are spoilers, you've been warned. The Yakuza stuff starts here: http://minus.com/mTdwhYHPJ/32

(click for full size)









 

Jomjom

Banned
Only just heard of PCSX2 today. I have a couple of questions before trying this out, if someone would be so kind to answer.

1) Can I run this with a XPS17 laptop? It has a GT555M (that is OCed to nearly GTX 460M specs) and a i7-2630QM.

2) Is there a way to move saves from PCSX2 to a PS2 memory card or PS3 virtual memory card and vice versa? I have the PS2 to PS3 memory transfer device thingy that Sony released with the 60GB PS3.

Thanks!!!
 

jvalioli

Member
Only just heard of PCSX2 today. I have a couple of questions before trying this out, if someone would be so kind to answer.

1) Can I run this with a XPS17 laptop? It has a GT555M (that is OCed to nearly GTX 460M specs) and a i7-2630QM.

2) Is there a way to move saves from PCSX2 to a PS2 memory card or PS3 virtual memory card and vice versa? I have the PS2 to PS3 memory transfer device thingy that Sony released with the 60GB PS3.

Thanks!!!

1. yes
2. haven't tried it
 

ExMachina

Unconfirmed Member
2) Is there a way to move saves from PCSX2 to a PS2 memory card or PS3 virtual memory card and vice versa? I have the PS2 to PS3 memory transfer device thingy that Sony released with the 60GB PS3.
You can transfer saves between a PS2 MC to PS3 using the adapter, then a USB drive, and finally your PC. Then use MyMC to add save files to your PCSX2 MCs. I did this with a bunch of saves a while ago...

Here's a tutorial for the other direction, though I can't vouch for this method since I've never tried it myself.

http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-How-to-use-the-myMC-tool-to-import-export-saves-from-PCSX2
 

dokish

Banned
Just means I don't have to worry unless both drives fail. Emulation isn't really GPU limited so much as CPU and ram limited. What kind of ram (also how much) do you have and what cpu do you have?

Quad 6600 @ 2.40 Ghz
2GB ram

(Edit: I don't know my "kind of ram". Yes, I'm noob).
 
Man I wish the industry would go back to the PS2 era when gaming was fun. I use my PS3 more to play PS2/1 games than actual PS3 games :/

I don't know about you guys but I can live forever with PS2 level visuals and games and never care for better hardware. Imagine if PS2 was still around and interesting games like Okami and SotC and loads of JRPGs were still being released? I would much rather have games like that than the new cutting edge Gears or Call of Duty game.
 

Fantastical

Death Prophet
What happened to the other PCSX2 thread? It got closed by the person who made it saying there would be a new thread. That was more than a month ago.
 

televator

Member
So Klonoa 2 runs like crap on the emu. Pretty much unplayable. :(

I has hoping to play the remake of the first on Dolphin and second one on PCSX2.
 

lunch

there's ALWAYS ONE
Yakuza

- PCSX2 0.9.9 R5194, i5-760@1440-3520MHz, GTX680@1084-1150MHz, 1920x1200
- Preset Balanced as template + MTVU
- GSdx 5191 SSE41: Direct3D11, 5x Native, Software Mode Settings Extra rendering threads 3, rest default
- SPU2-X all default
- FXAA enabled
Incredible Yakuza screens. I keep meaning to replay the first two Yakuza games (2 in particular), and this is such an incentive to do so.
 

televator

Member
I moved on to trying Jak and Daxter. It's playable with some issues. I get an annoying black flicker (goes black for a few frames) on the screen and character eyeballs are missing.

I can look past the eyeball thing, but the black flicker is too much. I thought it might be an interlacing issue, but changing that has no effect.
 

squall211

Member
Does anybody know if there is a way to transfer save game files from your memory cards onto the virtual memory cards (and vice versa) with PCSX2? I'm guessing no, or at least not easily, but if anyone knows a way I'd love to know how it's done.
 

Kelegacy

XBOX - RECORD ME LOVING DOWN MY WOMAN GOOD
Have to thank the OP for this, as I didn't even realize there was a PS2 emulator. I haven't touched an emulator seriously for almost 10 years now so I'm out of the loop. But man, FFXII looks great. I can't wait to try it out for some other titles.

Anything with polygons tends to look good. I tried out Alundra and Grandia on the PS1 emulator and wasn't really impressed though games like Chrono Cross get a bit of a bump.

Like I needed any more games to play. Ugh! Damn nostalgia.
 

ChryZ

Member
Shinobi

- PCSX2 0.9.9 R5270, i5-760@1440-3520MHz, GTX680@1084-1150MHz, 1920x1200
- Preset Balanced as template + MTVU
- GSdx 5191 SSE41: Direct3D11, 6x Native, rest default
- SPU2-X all default
- FXAA enabled

Just finished the game, ran flawlessly.











 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
Which version of GSDX plugin do I need to be able to add MSAA? I have the latest one from the 6-22 SVN build but when I choose DX11 HW in the config, I have no options to add AA. Do I need another GSDX version?
 

IrishNinja

Member
yeah, stuff like SH3 and SMT nocturne (P4 too!) look amazing, i kinda take that as a given here...didn't know Yakuza 1 could hold up that well though, impressive shots.
 

Fantastical

Death Prophet
I'm surprised with how well SSX 3 runs after I ripped the ISO. I uploaded a video to YouTube here. I sucked in it, but I was using the 360 controller and the slowdown while recording is a bit hard to play past.

I wish the quality was better. The built in video recorder took a massive file and of course I had to compress it which made it lose a considerable amount of quality.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
Which version of GSDX plugin do I need to be able to add MSAA? I have the latest one from the 6-22 SVN build but when I choose DX11 HW in the config, I have no options to add AA. Do I need another GSDX version?
Anyone? I would like to know before I get home from work in 3 hours. PM if need be.
 

Giran

Member
I think you can edit the value in the gsdx ini file. As far as I know it's not implemented in the GUI because it's still pretty buggy with a lot of games.
 

Fantastical

Death Prophet
Anyone? I would like to know before I get home from work in 3 hours. PM if need be.

I think this should work: Go to your documents folder where you find your screenshots you've taken and save game stuff. Then go to the "inis" folder, open GSdx.ini, and add "AllowHacks=1" if it isn't already there (if it says AllowHacks=0 change it to 1).

I think that should fix it.
 

DeVeAn

Member
So when I use newer GS plugins that have more options DQ 8 will crash. I want to use it for the font clean up it has. Do I need a newer build than 0.9.8?
 

jediyoshi

Member
I think this should work: Go to your documents folder where you find your screenshots you've taken and save game stuff. Then go to the "inis" folder, open GSdx.ini, and add "AllowHacks=1" if it isn't already there (if it says AllowHacks=0 change it to 1).

I think that should fix it.

It's been standard in the GUI for a few weeks

0b4OO.jpg
 
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