New Laptop Help?

[SleepingMongoose]

I'm new to pcsx2 and I have been looking at different configuration guides and have had no luck running games at a decent speed. I was just wondering if someone could tell me whether my laptop is able to run pcsx2 because I heard that laptops and quad cores don't always work.

The laptop is an hp pavillion dv6, with 4gigs of RAM, AMD Phenom II N930 Quad Core Processor 2.00 GHz, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit operating system, and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650.

I don't know much about computers but if you could give your feedback or any help it'd be much appreciated thanks.

[Shadow Lady]

Laptops and quads work, just not fast enough if slow and yours happens to be a slow CPU.
What games did you try? What pcsx2 version? What settings?

[SleepingMongoose]

Laptops and quads work, just not fast enough if slow and yours happens to be a slow CPU.
What games did you try? What pcsx2 version? What settings?

I used 0.9.6, and first I put in Gladius, and then I tried Persona 3 FES. I just played around with speed hacks and otherwise everything was at the default.

[Rezard]

Generally, laptops with quad cores have lower clock rates than their mobile dual core brethren. Mobile dual cores are available with up over 3.0Ghz, while most often quads don't exceed 2.5Ghz. Actually, most are like 2.0Ghz. Since standard PCSX2 emulation runs on 2 cores, the clock rate of those 2 cores is what counts. Simply put, PCSX2 treats your CPU as a dual core @ 2.0Ghz, and that doesn't always come out decent.

At this point, I suggest you try a newer PCSX2 version, use Speedhacks (i.e. the [Recommended] one's and maybe some of the EE and/or VU sliders) and try Native resolution. Your 5650 may handle high(er) resolutions, but it can vary from game to game. Setting to Native now will eliminate possible limitations while you try and get the best FPS possible. Or, just watch the GS% on the window's title bar. If it's (basically) maxing out when the FPS is low, your GPU is most likely limiting the FPS due to the resolution being too high.

BTW - When you say "put in", you mean you're running the game(s) directly from the disc? This is without a doubt slower. You should always make an ISO of the disc (with Imgburn) and run games directly from your HDD/SSD.

[SleepingMongoose]

Generally, laptops with quad cores have lower clock rates than their mobile dual core brethren. Mobile dual cores are available with up over 3.0Ghz, while most often quads don't exceed 2.5Ghz. Actually, most are like 2.0Ghz. Since standard PCSX2 emulation runs on 2 cores, the clock rate of those 2 cores is what counts. Simply put, PCSX2 treats your CPU as a dual core @ 2.0Ghz, and that doesn't always come out decent.

At this point, I suggest you try a newer PCSX2 version, use Speedhacks (i.e. the [Recommended] one's and maybe some of the EE and/or VU sliders) and try Native resolution. Your 5650 may handle high(er) resolutions, but it can vary from game to game. Setting to Native now will eliminate possible limitations while you try and get the best FPS possible. Or, just watch the GS% on the window's title bar. If it's (basically) maxing out when the FPS is low, your GPU is most likely limiting the FPS due to the resolution being too high.

BTW - When you say "put in", you mean you're running the game(s) directly from the disc? This is without a doubt slower. You should always make an ISO of the disc (with Imgburn) and run games directly from your HDD/SSD.

Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely try to get the newer version. I appreciate the help I know nothing of computers I was just curious if I could run the program since I have been able to play pretty much any retail pc game I've purchased on the highest settings. And I understand the core part now thanks. And sorry, I did mean I was using the disc in my drive to play but I will do what you suggested and give it another shot thanks!