It's no secret why do we all love PCSX2 and it's developers (even though they are men
) - it gives an absolutely new life to our oh so beloved playstation 2 games. Higher resolution, Anti-Aliasing, Savestates, Better Loading Times - just to name a few advantages over original PS2 that would change the way you ever looked at playstation2's games.
Unfortunately, as with anything based around emulation, PCSX2 has it's downsides and being very hardware demanding is on the top of that list. I'm pretty sure many of you find it hard to enjoy a game if it constantly slows down, has stuttering sound and just plainly doesn't run at it's full speed. But not all is lost (at least for some of you
) because a pretty simple solution lies closer than you think.
I read quite a few threads on this board mentioning a better performance of PCSX2 working under DirectX10 (Vista, Windows7) over DirectX9 but never actually considered it to be that important. "Nah, 3-5 fps" - i thought. But man, was I wrong. Some time ago I got my beta copy of Windows7 and a few simple tests I ran left me completely speechless, wanting to never return back to DX9 (no, Windows7 itself isn't worth moving to.
THE RIG:
Intel Core2Duo E6400 2.13 Ghz @ 3.12 (OCed)
Installed Ram: 2GB (I removed my other 2GB for some reasons unrelated to testing)
MSI Geforce 8800 GT 1GB (Hardware DX10 support)
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (DX11)
Loads of Coffee
Games Tested:
Final Fantasy XII NTSC
Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Job System NTSC
Soul Calibur 3 NTSC
Valkyrie Profile 2 NTSC**
Radiata Stories NTSC**
* I didn't make any screenshots or videos, I was lazy, yeah.
** The games which aren't yet properly emulated (Tri-Ace) may not benefit
PCSX2 Settings:
PCSX2 Beta Rev 812
ABSOLUTELY NO SPEEDHACKS
EE Recs : Nearest / Clamp Mode Normal / Flush to Zero off / Denormals are Zero on
VU Recs: Nearest / Clamp Mode Normal / Flush to Zero off / Denormals are Zero on
All CPU options ON
GSDX 0.1.7 SSSE3 and 0.1.14 Rev 799 SSSE3 (NLOOP Hack: Greyed, Texture Filtering: Enabled; DX9 Only : Logarithmic Z and Alpha Correction Enabled). ZeroGS wasn't tested because it's obviously way behind GS.
Conclusions: Well, It's sure not usual to write conclusions before actually explaining anything, but just in case you are already tired of reading all that. DirectX10 mode really makes a difference. If PCSX2 does it's job on emulating the game correctly (well, for the most part at least
but you still experience slowdowns - moving to a platform that supports DX10-11 may save your day like it did for me.
RUNNING TESTS
Final Fantasy XII NTSC (regardless of GSDX version fps are pretty much the same)
There a black vertical line near character models when run under DX9 in higher resolutions. Well, in DX10 this line moves away from _near_ to onto the models There is also a bug with GSDX9 with disappearing floor textures (walk around eastersand a bit to see it), in GSDX10 there is no such bug.
DX9: Basically, if you have enough processor speed it runs well on DX9. In my case, it does occasionally slowdown from 60 to 40-45-55 fps. Reks starting area is 52 fps for me. Cutscenes before and after the fight with Tonberry are around 45 before and 35 after. Eastern Rabanastre gate exit drops to about 48-52. At bazaar it may drop to 42.
DX10: Now with absolutely the same settings it really makes a complete difference. Reks starting area is constant 60 with no drops. Cutscenes with Tonberry is 52-55 fps before, 45-50 after. Hardly a slowdown in Rabanastre. Now I consider for another FFXII run, because I never actually got that Genji stuff complete
Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Job System NTSC/J (regardless of GSDX version fps are pretty much the same)
DX9: This one is a completely different story. Under DX9 Reks starting area is 30 fps. But you know, everything looks pretty much the same..? Even worse, it drops lower during the battles. Have to confess, I could not finish the introduction due to the ridiculously low fps.
DX10: It's simply better. Still _a bit_ slower than the original FFXII, but FPS tends to stay 60, at least through the starting area.
Soul Calibur 3 NTSC (regardless of GSDX version fps are pretty much the same)
The game has to be run on NATIVE resolution, otherwise you face uncool artefacts. It also has to be run without speedhacks if you want to see menu/character selection screens properly.
DX9: It's unplayable under DX9. 15 fps menus, 2 fps ingame. Says it all, I think.
DX10: Playable.Constant 60 fps in menus, 48-50 fps in battles, which is still pretty fair (only streched sound is rather annoying). I know some people said they could get get contant 60 fps in battle with x3 Cycle Rate speedhack enabled, I didn't try it. Setting it to x1.5 Cycle Rate broke menus and didn't bring me ANY speed in battles.
Valkyrie Profile 2 NTSC
Tri-Ace games are not properly emulated yet and require a hack to work, but I suppose everyone knows that. The game has to be run on NATIVE resolution to reduce an amount of graphical bugs. The game got decent framerate on GSDX 0.1.7 ONLY. Differences between DX9 and DX10 aren't very obvious, 1-5 fps perhaps. With 0.1.14 areas are about 12-15 fps, didn't test battles. With 0.1.7 areas are 40-49-55 fps(yay). Battles are 57-60 fps with minor artefacts.
Radiata Stories NTSC
Just as with the above, Tri-Ace games are not properly emulated yet and require a hack to work. The game has to be run on NATIVE resolution to reduce an amount of graphical bugs. The game got decent framerate on GSDX 0.1.7 ONLY. Well, 0.1.14 is capable of producing 60 fps too, but it also produces 9-15 fps on about half of the scenes. Differences between DX9 and DX10 aren't very obvious, 1-5 fps perhaps. With 0.1.14 I simply couldn't sit through the opening. With 0.1.7 it's mostly 60fps, with slowdowns to at most 40 in "hawk's view" places and crowded areas. Battles I tested are 60 fps with minor artefacts.
As you see, certain very popular cases may actually benefit from moving to DX10 hardware and raise an overall "enjoyment level". So, if you can - do it. It is unlikely you will regret it.
That's about it, hopefully my tests were helpful to someone in any way
P.S.> Kingdom Hearts 1/2 aren't included here, as these were proven to work fine with DX9. Shadow of the Collosus and Okami I don't have, and I couldn't find my ICO dvd to test it.
) - it gives an absolutely new life to our oh so beloved playstation 2 games. Higher resolution, Anti-Aliasing, Savestates, Better Loading Times - just to name a few advantages over original PS2 that would change the way you ever looked at playstation2's games. Unfortunately, as with anything based around emulation, PCSX2 has it's downsides and being very hardware demanding is on the top of that list. I'm pretty sure many of you find it hard to enjoy a game if it constantly slows down, has stuttering sound and just plainly doesn't run at it's full speed. But not all is lost (at least for some of you
) because a pretty simple solution lies closer than you think.I read quite a few threads on this board mentioning a better performance of PCSX2 working under DirectX10 (Vista, Windows7) over DirectX9 but never actually considered it to be that important. "Nah, 3-5 fps" - i thought. But man, was I wrong. Some time ago I got my beta copy of Windows7 and a few simple tests I ran left me completely speechless, wanting to never return back to DX9 (no, Windows7 itself isn't worth moving to
.THE RIG:
Intel Core2Duo E6400 2.13 Ghz @ 3.12 (OCed)
Installed Ram: 2GB (I removed my other 2GB for some reasons unrelated to testing)
MSI Geforce 8800 GT 1GB (Hardware DX10 support)
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (DX11)
Loads of Coffee
Games Tested:
Final Fantasy XII NTSC
Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Job System NTSC
Soul Calibur 3 NTSC
Valkyrie Profile 2 NTSC**
Radiata Stories NTSC**
* I didn't make any screenshots or videos, I was lazy, yeah.
** The games which aren't yet properly emulated (Tri-Ace) may not benefit
PCSX2 Settings:
PCSX2 Beta Rev 812
ABSOLUTELY NO SPEEDHACKS
EE Recs : Nearest / Clamp Mode Normal / Flush to Zero off / Denormals are Zero on
VU Recs: Nearest / Clamp Mode Normal / Flush to Zero off / Denormals are Zero on
All CPU options ON
GSDX 0.1.7 SSSE3 and 0.1.14 Rev 799 SSSE3 (NLOOP Hack: Greyed, Texture Filtering: Enabled; DX9 Only : Logarithmic Z and Alpha Correction Enabled). ZeroGS wasn't tested because it's obviously way behind GS.
Conclusions: Well, It's sure not usual to write conclusions before actually explaining anything, but just in case you are already tired of reading all that. DirectX10 mode really makes a difference. If PCSX2 does it's job on emulating the game correctly (well, for the most part at least
but you still experience slowdowns - moving to a platform that supports DX10-11 may save your day like it did for me.RUNNING TESTS
Final Fantasy XII NTSC (regardless of GSDX version fps are pretty much the same)
There a black vertical line near character models when run under DX9 in higher resolutions. Well, in DX10 this line moves away from _near_ to onto the models
There is also a bug with GSDX9 with disappearing floor textures (walk around eastersand a bit to see it), in GSDX10 there is no such bug.DX9: Basically, if you have enough processor speed it runs well on DX9. In my case, it does occasionally slowdown from 60 to 40-45-55 fps. Reks starting area is 52 fps for me. Cutscenes before and after the fight with Tonberry are around 45 before and 35 after. Eastern Rabanastre gate exit drops to about 48-52. At bazaar it may drop to 42.
DX10: Now with absolutely the same settings it really makes a complete difference. Reks starting area is constant 60 with no drops. Cutscenes with Tonberry is 52-55 fps before, 45-50 after. Hardly a slowdown in Rabanastre. Now I consider for another FFXII run, because I never actually got that Genji stuff complete
Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Job System NTSC/J (regardless of GSDX version fps are pretty much the same)
DX9: This one is a completely different story. Under DX9 Reks starting area is 30
fps. But you know, everything looks pretty much the same..? Even worse, it drops lower during the battles. Have to confess, I could not finish the introduction due to the ridiculously low fps.DX10: It's simply better. Still _a bit_ slower than the original FFXII, but FPS tends to stay 60, at least through the starting area.
Soul Calibur 3 NTSC (regardless of GSDX version fps are pretty much the same)
The game has to be run on NATIVE resolution, otherwise you face uncool artefacts. It also has to be run without speedhacks if you want to see menu/character selection screens properly.
DX9: It's unplayable under DX9. 15 fps menus, 2 fps ingame. Says it all, I think.
DX10: Playable.Constant 60 fps in menus, 48-50 fps in battles, which is still pretty fair (only streched sound is rather annoying). I know some people said they could get get contant 60 fps in battle with x3 Cycle Rate speedhack enabled, I didn't try it. Setting it to x1.5 Cycle Rate broke menus and didn't bring me ANY speed in battles.
Valkyrie Profile 2 NTSC
Tri-Ace games are not properly emulated yet and require a hack to work, but I suppose everyone knows that. The game has to be run on NATIVE resolution to reduce an amount of graphical bugs. The game got decent framerate on GSDX 0.1.7 ONLY. Differences between DX9 and DX10 aren't very obvious, 1-5 fps perhaps. With 0.1.14 areas are about 12-15 fps, didn't test battles. With 0.1.7 areas are 40-49-55 fps(yay). Battles are 57-60 fps with minor artefacts.
Radiata Stories NTSC
Just as with the above, Tri-Ace games are not properly emulated yet and require a hack to work. The game has to be run on NATIVE resolution to reduce an amount of graphical bugs. The game got decent framerate on GSDX 0.1.7 ONLY. Well, 0.1.14 is capable of producing 60 fps too, but it also produces 9-15 fps on about half of the scenes. Differences between DX9 and DX10 aren't very obvious, 1-5 fps perhaps. With 0.1.14 I simply couldn't sit through the opening
. With 0.1.7 it's mostly 60fps, with slowdowns to at most 40 in "hawk's view" places and crowded areas. Battles I tested are 60 fps with minor artefacts.As you see, certain very popular cases may actually benefit from moving to DX10 hardware and raise an overall "enjoyment level". So, if you can - do it. It is unlikely you will regret it.
That's about it, hopefully my tests were helpful to someone in any way
P.S.> Kingdom Hearts 1/2 aren't included here, as these were proven to work fine with DX9. Shadow of the Collosus and Okami I don't have, and I couldn't find my ICO dvd to test it.
![[Image: newsig.jpg]](https://forums.pcsx2.net/images/newsig.jpg)
). Ingame speed is 100% (60fps), but it feels a bit... skippy. It doesn't prevent you from enjoying the game, the battles are fine themselves, but just to let you know it runs differently (not as smoothly I suppose) from how it originally should.
