Assistance with lag, please?
#1
Greetings!

My name's Tom, I've recently downloaded the Beta 0.9.7 version of PCSX2 and I've had it working on the get-go.

The only issue is the rendering speed. Doesn't seem to be going full-speed or even decently in speed. Despite following the guidelines, something's just not right.

I've got a custom-built PC. Specs are as follows:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4Ghz
GPU: EVGA Nvidia GTX260 896MB 448-bit DX10 card @ 1440x900
Mobo: Gigabyte EP45-UD3R
RAM: OCZ Fatal1ty 4GB 1066 (@800mhz) DDR2
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit (I also have a 32-bit Vista home premium).
CD/DVD: ATAPI CD/DVD ROM w/ Burner/Lightscribe.

I am running 0.9.7 with default settings and using the SSSE3 configuration on the GS Plug-in. Also using on DX10/11 Hardware setting with Native display turned on.

It shows I'm getting 30+ FPS at most, but I hear the audio getting slow and distorted, as well as seeing some lag when playing Midnight Club 3. I've also tested with Cold Winter, same issue. Now I'm probably going to try with Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi Budokai 3 to test it, once I find the CD of it *lol*.

Just need some help with the lag, any suggestion and ideas would be nice.

Thanks, and yes, I do realize that this has been posted multiple times, but my setup is different and nothing's working.

Cheers.
Tom.
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#2
The CPU is slow for many games, I don't know those games so I assume they are demanding ones. . Activate the speed hacks marked as recommended, try the EE cyclerate at mid course and the VU Cycle stealing first in the first notch and if not enough try the second. This last will enhance FPS for sure but may create some lag (still far better than running at 30 FPS unless this actually breaks the game as can do for some, worth a try).

Your video card should allow at least 1x (1024 x 1024) with minimal CPU overhead, you can and should try it.

About the distorted sound and lag, well, running at such low FPS either for PAL or NTSC it's just to be expected.
Imagination is where we are truly real
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#3
You have great specifications in comparison to mine, I'm just running FFX (the fastest 3D game on PCSX2) at a playable speed from start to finish (whenever I finish up with the fiends in Luca I'll be on my way to the ending).

As was said you should try the recommended speedhacks first, but since you don't appear to be doing anything important at 30 FPS you could try saving state then trying them out and if your game crashes then just fast boot and load state.

Midnight Club 3 is probably a demanding game, like other racing games (Gran Turismo 4 probably wouldn't give you better results)

Try SPUX-2 and use Async mix instead of time stretching so you won't get that annoying stuttery and 'slowdown' effect in your sound output so much.

I'm going to test a game I wouldn't assume particularly demanding: Futurama. If it is, I'll be back to tell about my 40-some FPS and my inability to get the EE cyclerate and VU cycle stealing hacks working well enough like I did with MGS3.

I'll have to let you know in terms of speed if my CPU was like a 5.8 - 6.4 under the best circumstances (PCSX2 reaps a full 40-50% benefit from hyperthreading, incredibly) your quad is 4.8 - 5 a core *always*

This means with the speedhacks I was using for Metal Gear Solid 3 (one of the hardest games to emulate next to Tekken 5) then you would be able to play it around full speed.

Obviously you just aren't playing games that are very compatible... you should check the compatability list, anything that's playable should run at least 50-55 FPS on your CPU without a doubt or a speedhack.
CPU: Pentium D 'Presler' 915 2.8 ghz 2x2MB L2 @ 3.5 ghz
GPU: eVGA [Nvidia] 8600GT 256MB SSC DDR3
Tested: FFX, FFX-2, FFXII, MGS3, KH, KH2, The Hobbit NTSC
PCSX2 FTW! Biggrin
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#4
So far so good. FPS increased, lag still the same thanks to nosisab Ken Keleh.

But the sound is sooo much better thanks to Dangerousd777.

I should probably overclock my CPU to the minimum my mobo recommends, which is 3.20Ghz, max being at 3.55Ghz. Might need a new cooling system before doing this, lol. Otherwise, I'd just get a 3.03Ghz core instead or something. I dunno.

Anyways, my FPS on Midnight Club 3 has increased from 30FPS on a crowded rendering screen to 40 FPS or so. Dragon Ball Z is flawless with default settings at 75FPS on a frame limiter. Cold Winter, bleh. I'd worry about that game some day.

I just hope the technology to overcome these obstacles and render better PS2 games becomes available soon. They could do it with N64, they can do it with PS2. And boy, my N64 Roms looks x1000 better when rendered on modern-day PCs!

Anyways, just wanted to let you know, and to say my thanks. Lag performance is going to be a problem until I can do something about it in the near future. At least the sound problem is fixed.
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#5
(07-24-2010, 10:41 AM)FoxFire2010 Wrote: So far so good. FPS increased, lag still the same thanks to nosisab Ken Keleh.

But the sound is sooo much better thanks to Dangerousd777.

I should probably overclock my CPU to the minimum my mobo recommends, which is 3.20Ghz, max being at 3.55Ghz. Might need a new cooling system before doing this, lol. Otherwise, I'd just get a 3.03Ghz core instead or something. I dunno.

Anyways, my FPS on Midnight Club 3 has increased from 30FPS on a crowded rendering screen to 40 FPS or so. Dragon Ball Z is flawless with default settings at 75FPS on a frame limiter. Cold Winter, bleh. I'd worry about that game some day.

I just hope the technology to overcome these obstacles and render better PS2 games becomes available soon. They could do it with N64, they can do it with PS2. And boy, my N64 Roms looks x1000 better when rendered on modern-day PCs!

Anyways, just wanted to let you know, and to say my thanks. Lag performance is going to be a problem until I can do something about it in the near future. At least the sound problem is fixed.

Please do overclock, but please don't skip out on safety precautions.
Get a program called SpeedFan and look at your temperatures as you use your computer, without anything consuming CPU [idle] (verify this with Task Manager or Process Explorer) and then when your CPU is maxed (try running PCSX2 twice to fully utilize your dual core, or try a program called StressPrime 2004 Orthos Beta Edition and run 2 instances of it stressing your CPU with Gromacs core).

Once your CPU is being tested, wait 30 minutes and see if your temperatures stabilize, once they do you will know how hot your processor gets (say you idle near room temp at about 85 F and on load your only going up to say 110 F, then your pretty safe but you want to monitor as you overclock because every core is going to produce 25% more heat for being clocked 25-30% further) [Speedfan gives you celsius so change it to fahrenheit if it's confusing for you].

Then try overclocking once your sure your temperatures don't rise above 67.7 C already (~154 F) [I've seen 168 F highest on my processor for hours.. without hardly any problems. Electromigration becomes a bigger problem the thinner the chip die is though, so you want to make sure your not increasing voltage or excessively heating the CPU at your new frequency]

I use air conditioning to cool the entire inside of my PC case, but it's summer in Vegas and the air is really dry, so I don't see temps above 85-90 F or below 36 F @ 4.25 ghz really.

Once you finish overclocking to 3.2-3.3 ghz, you should get a 30% speed boost in your games (which should catch you up to speed)
If you manage to make it to 3.5-3.6 ghz and your CPU doesn't really get that hot, then your alright, and you'll see up to a 45% improvement if the chip really scales that well in frequency, which should be enough to make your stuttery game close enough to playable for you.

This is the CPU cooler that I have: http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/tech4...0722023701

Rocketfish RF-UPCUWR

It has 6 copper heat pipes, pure copper base and solid aluminum construction as well as a 800-1100 (silent mode) 3000-3200 RPM (normal) fan.

If I set the fan to silent the hottest I could get my CPU is 151 F, and the heatsink burns my fingers if I touch the heat pipes, otherwise the hottest it gets is like 120 F.

My stock fan used to allow my CPU past 160 F... scary how crappy stock fans are, eh?

So you might want to invest in better cooling or jimmy-rig something smart like I did if you want your processor to last you into the next generation.
CPU: Pentium D 'Presler' 915 2.8 ghz 2x2MB L2 @ 3.5 ghz
GPU: eVGA [Nvidia] 8600GT 256MB SSC DDR3
Tested: FFX, FFX-2, FFXII, MGS3, KH, KH2, The Hobbit NTSC
PCSX2 FTW! Biggrin
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#6
My Gigabyte motherboard has a 2oz copper plating on the CPU socket, should of absorb some heat there, and I've temporarily added a new CPU cooler but I am to get a water-cooler instead. Despite living in Miami where temperatures gets as hot as 98F, my CPU temps at idle a 2.40Ghz don't go as high as 40C. There is this water-cooling unit for $80 I can buy from CoolIT or Corsair, other than that, I've got a full-tower case with dual 120mm fans as an exhaust, 140mm fan at the front drawing air in and space for 6 more 120/140mm fans, and one 230mm fan.

The Gigabyte should overclock the Quadcore to 3.55Ghz automatically using the recommended settings, though it could get unstable. I will do the testings as you mentioned, see if it holds out or not. But knowing the Q6600 as a G0-stepping champion when overclocking, which is a very easy and stable CPU to overclock, I doubt I'd get any trouble with it. I am fairly certain that the emulator depends more on CPU clocking speed than on GPU power. Despite having a quad core 2.40Ghz that generates 9.6Ghz overall, though sadly, the PS2 emulator would only use one core. So I'll just go ahead and overclock it and see if it holds. If it doesn't, I'll get the water cooling unit. Cooling is the key here, don't want my CPU overheating or it'll degrade in terms of performance. I predict that overclocking to 3.55Ghz on a Q6600 with a Ultra X-wind CPU cooler at 1500RPM would give off some-odds 50-60C. at most.

Otherwise, I'll go ahead and do this later on tonight. Thanks for the advice.
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#7
Good news.

Just overclocked to Level 1 with the Gygabyte Easy Tune 6 tool, up to 3.22Ghz at 1600mhz FSB, with a 45 FPS and ABSOLUTELY LITTLE TO NO LAG on Midnight Club 3. Temperatures are about 71C on load, 55C on idle. Not bad. I have the fan at 100% speed, and placed a little strong fan by the backplate of the mobo, where the CPU is. No speedhacks needed if you have a 3.20Ghz quad core. I might get the 3.3Ghz C2Q sometime later, they're cheap and more reliable to overclock as well.

Thanks for everything, everyone!
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