Hey guys, a couple questions

[ModgePodge]

Hey everyone. I got pcsx2 up and running a couple days ago and after many hours of tinkering I was able to get FFXII running pretty decently. After looking through a bunch of the threads here, it seems like you guys get a lot of FFXII related problems and questions so sorry if I'm pissing any of you off.

While running FFXII I was able to get 95-110% FPS for the most part around Rabanastre (in the ester and westersands or whatever), but in the city my FPS drops to around 75%, especially in the middle area with the fountain. I'm using the r1888 beta and I tried the D3D9 and D3D10 settings and found that with D3D10, my FPS drops to 75%ish when I go into the menu but with D3D9 I go up to 100%ish.

When Penelo joined my party in the Giza Plains, my FPS dropped to around 80-85%. I would say I don't know why, but I'm assuming it's because there's another character running around on the screen at all times now. I'm scared of what's going to happen when I get a full party.

My question is this: How can I achieve decent frame rates without sacrificing too much of the visuals?

The settings I'm using currently are:

GSdx 1873 SSE41
-
1360x768 60Hz
D3D9
no interlacing
16:9
internal res 1360x768
logarithmic z, alpha correction, windowed checked
-
SPU2-X 1.2.0

Speed Hacks
-
INTC
Idle Loop
VU cycle stealing moderate
-

Computer specs:
Dell Studio XPS 1640
Core2Duo CPU P8600 @2.4GHz
4 GB of RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670
Windows Vista x64

[Bositman]

I would say I don't know why, but I'm assuming it's because there's another character running around on the screen at all times now.

Correct. More models to process means more load on your hardware.
Our first job is to find out if you are being bottlenecked by your CPU or your graphics card. If it's the CPU there is little you can do, but if it's the graphics card (which I think it is) you can do some things.
If the GSdx window reports CPU % usage at about 90% or higher in the places you get FPS drops, it means your graphics card is getting maxed out. To reduce the load on it and get more FPS you should change the D3D internal res to something lower, like 800x600

[Rokoka]

also to help with those speeds in the City

For Speed hacks
Cycle Rate - x2
VU Stealing Moderate
Status Flag Hack - Checked

GSDX
Make Sure Native is Checked
Uncheck 8 Bit Filter
Uncheck Wait Sync

[mackoyski]

There are games or scenarios that would eat enormous amounts of gpu cycles, whether you have a weak or strong gpu....

[ModgePodge]

@Bositman
Sorry, I'm not getting any more CPU usage problems after tinkering it with a bit. I only hit 99% during the first couple hours of messing around with settings. Now it is fine though.

also to help with those speeds in the City

For Speed hacks
Cycle Rate - x2
VU Stealing Moderate
Status Flag Hack - Checked

GSDX
Make Sure Native is Checked
Uncheck 8 Bit Filter
Uncheck Wait Sync

Won't cycle rate x2 screw up the cutscenes though? I'd rather not sacrifice the cutscenes considering the ones in the FF series are really nice.

EDIT: One more thing, for FFXII, KH, and KH2 on average what FPS rates should I be seeing? Well, how low should I be expecting it to go?

UPDATE: I tried making the internal resolution native instead of 1360 x768 and it seems like there is no difference in FPS, native just looks a lot crappier.