GSdx

[teh poa]

anyone know how to get 4 mac?

[rama]

ShadowofDoubt:
No, the graphic card you're using right now is sufficient.
You're right assuming that your CPU isn't though. It's just missing the punch of an extra gigahertz of clock speed.
You could try overclocking. That'd bring you over the time until you can afford a new system

teh poa:
Only by using boot camp and running Windows.

[ShadowofDoubt]

ShadowofDoubt:
No, the graphic card you're using right now is sufficient.
You're right assuming that your CPU isn't though. It's just missing the punch of an extra gigahertz of clock speed.
You could try overclocking. That'd bring you over the time until you can afford a new system

Whoa, thanks for the quick reply. I've never considered overclocking because I was afraid it'd, at the very least, decrease the longevity of the CPU. (Plus, I heard overclocking a Quad is difficult to do.)

If I may go off-topic for a moment, what if I grabbed a Dual-Core, like the E8400 (3 Ghz) or the E600 (3.33 Ghz), and overclocked it to 4 Ghz? Would I be able to do something comparable to, for example, Innudemo88's exploits? (If I may also ask, would I lose or gain quality in actual PC games by doing this?)

I know this is asking a bit much, but I would appreciate some input on this. I really want to take my PC to a new level, especially since upgrading fully is years off, and I think this might be a good idea if done right.

[rama]

Yeah, that would work.
Actually I'm using a E8400 myself which runs overclocked at 4.12Ghz.
Overclocking a quadcore isn't any more difficult, it's just harder to achieve a big overclock

[eliot_cougar]

You may achieve 4+GHz with some of the latest Intel i7/i5 6xx, but you will need water cooling... They are too hot at 4GHz to safely use even state-of-the-art air cooling... Note also that you will have to use high quality memory modules to be able to overclock your CPU... The best are those based on memory chips by Elpida, because they can work at very high voltage (up to 1.9V)...

Anyway, 3GHz is not 4GHz... You may achieve 3GHz without problems using almost any low-end desktop Intel processor and any memory...

PS: Almost forgot, your motherboard must support changing voltage, timings and frequencies through BIOS... Some motherboards (cheap ones) lack such functionality...

[Dr. Luk]

Note also that you will have to use high quality memory modules to be able to overclock your CPU... The best are those based on memory chips by Elpida, because they can work at very high voltage (up to 1.9V)...

And setting the voltage of memory modules higher than 1.65V can damage the memory-controller of the CPU, since it is restricted to 1.65V or lower by Intel.

[ShadowofDoubt]

Thanks for all the input, everyone. It has all been truly appreciated.

Unfortunately, I bought an Intel motherboard, which does not support overclocking of any kind. Therefore, I'm stuck for the next few years until I buy all new components. Oh well, it will be something to look forward to in the future.

Either way, keep going forward, PCSX2 team, you're all doing excellently.

[rama]

Find your board in the list on this site, download the app and see how far it lets you OC in Windows.
http://www13.plala.or.jp/setfsb/

Tip: Try "get clocks" first after selecting the proper PLL chip.
The frequencies need to make sense (prolly 133Mhz FSB for example).
If they're obviously wrong don't apply any new settings.

If you feel this is too dangerous.. Well, guess you'll have to wait it out.

[ShadowofDoubt]

Thanks for the help, but my motherboard (DP43TF) isn't in the listing. I was hopeful, but I believe my motherboard is simply too restrictive for overclocking.

I'm all right with the idea of waiting - It has its advantages, surely. Though, I would like extra information on the Graphics Card - Upgrading to a GTX 460 or higher wouldn't yield any improvement?

I'm curious, especially after what JTD said a few pages earlier:

If you can afford one, a nVidia GTX 460 (With 1 GB of memory! This is Important!) works Very Nicely with PCSX2.
It supports x4 upscaling easily with the GSdx video plugin that comes with PCSX2.

[naoan]

No, changing your CPU will net the most significant fps boost, there's no point going 4x scaling if even in native you can't get full speed (cpu bottleneck).

Either change motherboard, or jump on the next gen platform.