Laptop & Desktop help with PCSX2 [Will It Work?]

[Synthesized]

Alrighty guys, check this out;

Problem number 1;


Got it for like 400$ back a few weeks ago, the problem is the CPU is not that good, but honestly all the other specs are really great for the pricepoint. Is there any way to make the CPU run faster on a laptop (it doesn't heat up that much, goes up to like 70C when playing Civilization V, and that's one of the most CPU intensive games), prime95 doesn't make it go over 70C either, so can someone more experienced tell me if it's possible to OC it even if it's a laptop CPU, and is there a way besides altering the FSB?

The GPU seems to be well over the required settings (runs Mirror's Edge on all max except AA on 8x, SFxT on everything maxed out except shadows, that includes AA on 16x, stage on high, etc), it even OCs fine through Afterburner and manages to stay below 75C even after 20mins of testing on the Kombustor and Furmark.

Before you tell me it's a bad idea to OC laptops, since they get hot as all hell, I'll tell you that I've already thought about it, and the reason I'm contemplating it is because the laptop has a great improvised ventilation system (on a glass table, with the glass square removed, set diagonally and the table rotated a bit, basically all the fans have a lot of room), and the fact it's winter and my room is cold as hell (not the greatest analogy, but eh).

RAM is 6GB 1333mhz, and the HDD is 7.2k RPM, 16mb cache.
(details about the CPU)

If some of the more experienced PCSX2 members would share their opinions and experiences, that would be absolutely great.
Games I'd play on this (obviously not Gran Turismo 4) would be;

Xenosaga 1-2-3
Dark Cloud
The Bouncer
Dragon Quest VIII
FFX International
P3:FES

Obviously DQ8 is a bit harder to emulate, but I think FFX International shouldn't pose a problem even to such a weak CPU?

Problem number 2;

Well, not as much as a problem as much as it is a recommendation.
I'm thinking of replacing my 4 year old;

X2 215 Athlon AMD 2.9ghz (from stock 2.7)
DDR2 800mhz 4GB RAM
4650 1GB Radeon

with one of the new piledriver AMD APUs?
Namely, the one I'm eyeing is the A10-5800K, how well would you rate it as a CPU for PCSX2 compared to let's say the i5-2500k.
Keep in mind it will be running without a discrete GPU, just some higher quality (1866mhz) 8GB RAM.
What's the general consensus about those CPUs for PCSX2?

[Livy]

Your laptop isn't good, but it is great at $400. I don't know how you get it but I can hardly find any Pentium laptop with a dedicated graphics card in my place. The video card is of the mid-range class.

If there is not any overclocking option in the BIOS (usually not), your only chance is using software. I won't go into details as I have no overclocking exp.

Piledriver CPU consumes more power, performs badly in single/dual threaded software, compared to Intel's. I would say the 2500k is 30% faster in PCSX2. Why do you not get a 2500K/3500K and use your existing 4650?

Btw, what software you're using? It reports the B960 as Celeron, which supports Hyperthreading, lol.

[||dav1de||]

A10-5800k Livy said is much less powerfull as CPU than a i5-2500k but it cost much less...from the GPU side the A10 is much better than the i5. So if you take the i5 you will probably able to play lots of game without speedhack, but at low resoultion (I think native or 2x generally but I'm not sure). If you take instead the A10 you'll often have to use speedhack but you'll be able to play nicely moreover you'll be able to play at 2x or 3x resolution (while saving some tens of € or $...). If you're really considering to buy an i5 without discrete VGA, you should also take in consideration an i3 or FX-6300 with a 70€ discrete VGA. You'll get generally more CPU and GPU power than the A10 itself.

[nosisab Ken Keleh]

Did I understand the OP already bought the laptop... and yes, the CPU is at the lower side, the 630 is tad of a monster for that machine actually.

That said, the problem with Xenosaga series is it is too sensible to speedhacks and may lead to serious sound desync and lags with them.

On the other side Final fantasy in general accepts them well and that should be enough to get the game at playable speed almost all the times. The speedhack that is going to give you more bang for the buck is the VU cycle stealing.

[Synthesized]

@Livy

The software I'm using is Speccy, which is pretty detailed (except that Celeron bit), and the CPU does in fact support hyperthreading, but Intel disables it on all Pentium models, because essentially what the Pentium is just an i3 without VT and Hyperthreading enabled, even though it supports it, it's pretty much on par with any i3 CPU, especially the earlier Sandy Bridge ones.
I already got the laptop and everything for 2 and a half months now, and it's working great, especially the 630m which seems to be OCing 25% without a problem and going through Furmark, as I've said.

For an Acer machine it's got cooling done properly.

Why do you not get a 2500K/3500K and use your existing 4650?

Obviously, seeing as the motherboard is using an AMD Athlon, it means it supports AM2/AM2+/AM3 sockets, and without changing the motherboard I can't really change the CPU. When changing the motherboard, I'll most probably have to change the 450W PSU and the DDR2 RAM onto DDR3, which doesn't really work out, not even AM3+ which Piledriver CPUs (Vishera I think) use.
My plan would be to sell this PC and buy a cheap alternative with a decent card (very budget), and a 3570k/2500k.

I've only asked about the APUs, since it seems when you look at the benchmarks that they get amazing results for barely more than 350-400$, when paired with good low-latency RAM, and stores around here seem to be selling it for quite cheap.