CPU not over used, but still a bit slow
#1
Hi guys (: .

I've been reading those boards for enough long without having registrered. Now that I have a question, I guess it was the good time to registrer. Anyway. I'm currently playing FFX. I'm oftenly getting 35 fps, but my CPU's using never exceed 35% (I hope you get what I mean : / ). My CPU is never more used than 35% of its max capacity, but still I hardly can get more than 35 fps. In some rare cases, it runs at max speed (50 fps) though.

Here are my specs. My CPU is a bit slow for pcsx2.

Windows XP SP3
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (OC to 2.37 Ghz from 2.2 Ghz)
ATI RADEON 4770 (512 Mo DDR5) (OC up to 15%)
1 Go RAM.

What I am wondering is : Is there a way that pcsx uses more of my CPU to speed up games ? Or is it already using my CPU at its max possibilities even though "35%" is the max that is written ?

Thanks for sharing your time.
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#2
If this is a single core CPU I would probably say that this is the reason why its so slow.
There is no reason why PCSX2 should use the full capability of the CPU. So you will never reach 100%... at least not with FFX.
The next weird thing is your GPU, cuz its waaay to fast for your slow CPU so it never uses its full power.
Maybe you should just get a new CPU. (or try speed hacks if you haven't already done)
Many games running full speed. o.O
Win XP SP3
Intel C2D E5200 @ 3,125 Ghz
2 GB RAM @ 800 Mhz
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4670

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#3
Well, I recently upgraded my GPU (my old GPU burnt Tongue2). My CPU is indeed a single core. And well, I put all speed hacks to their maximum. I was just wondering why pcsx wasn't picking a bit more of my CPU power to speed up games. Sometimes, for a few seconds, my CPU is used at 70%. Dunno. But yet, you are right, I should upgrade my CPU. I just lack of money.

edit : A lot off topic, but, my last GPU was an Nvidia geforce 6800 ultra. And it seems to me that some games was actually running faster with my old GPU. Kingdom hearts could run at full speed a lot of time, I can't even reach 45 fps with my current config. Are ATI graphic cards less supported ? should I use any specific plugins ?
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#4
By CPU usage are you referring to the figure on the title bar of PCSX2? Because that more reflects GPU usage, and just means that your CPU is holding you back. This would make sense, since your graphics card is much more powerful in comparison to your CPU.

Your actual CPU usage can be found in Task Manager, and should be close to 100%.
[Image: yunacopy.jpg]
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#5
I'm not new into computer stuffs Tongue2. I know where to actually find my CPU usage. And it's anything but close to 100% : /
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#6
The fact remains you have a very slow CPU for pcsx2 emulation, and what speed you have currently might be the best you can get with it.

Try the latest beta if you're not using it already (might help a bit):
http://forums.pcsx2.net/thread-3716.html
Core i5 3570k -- Geforce GTX 670  --  Windows 7 x64
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#7
It's definately your CPU. I have a 4650 and can get more than 60FPS in FFX easily.
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#8
PCSX2 is designed to sleep off any unneeded CPU time. There are cases when we have to wait for something to finish,
like the GS drawing a frame. Instead of wasting CPU time with countless "are you done yet" commands, we'd rather free the CPU for other tasks that might pop up.

This is why you might see a lower CPU load, even in task manager. The remaining CPU cycles just cannot be put to good use, due to stalls.
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#9
To further clarify what rama said:

One of your CPUs cores is working hard as it can on the core of the emulator (the PS2's EmotionEngine chip, mainly). The other core is doing GS/GPU rendering and tertiary work. Because the EEcore is unable to feed the GS/GPU new work fast enough, the second core reports very minimal CPU usage.

This condition is not specific to PCSX2. Many games have similar limitations but may not use thread sleep techniques to rest idle cores, so they report as being much busier than they really are.
Jake Stine (Air) - Programmer - PCSX2 Dev Team
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