Low FPS and Terrible Audio - Stuck

[AP0ll0UK]

I've started playing around with various emulators for various consoles recently but am not having a lot of luck with regards to PCSX2.

I had inital problems with packages and dependancies but managed to resolve those. Once PCSX2 was running I went through the documentation and setup the video and audio plugins and launched Metal Gear Solid 2.

During the initial FMV, FPS wise it hovers at 59-61 with the occasional dip to 35 but mostly it seems ok. The sound was terrible though. It sounded like it was speeding up and slowing down constantly. It did seem to correct itself by the time it got to the title screen.

When I actually get into the game though it's terrible. FPS is down to <4. Sound is also horrible.

I've tried a mixture of different settings for both video and audio as one thread points out that the two are linked. Using ASync crashes MGS2 within a few seconds of the FMV starting. If I set Audio Sync Mode to None then the audio is much better, but it does drop out when the FPS dips.

I've tried the latest stable and unstable versions of PCSX2, plus the PPA from NoobLabs and all of them seemed to produce exactly the same results.

I've also run it under PlayOnLinux this morning and whilst the initial FMV and audio is much better, when the game starts the FPS is back below <4.

My system is as follows:-

Ubuntu 14.04 x64
nVidia 331 Proprietary
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.4GHz
ABit Ab9 Pro Motherboard onboard sound
8GB Ram
nVidia GT 640 4GB
128GB SSD [OS]
1TB [Storage]
40" Samsung LCD TV connected via HDMI
Optical SPDIF to 5.1 Surround Sound Amp

Aside from the FMV the game does seem to run really badly and I've read through a lot of threads and would hope that my system can produce slightly better results than what it is doing.

I've tried running it at the native PS2 resolution, plus a mixture of 720p and 1080 just to experiment and they all produce the same results.

This suggests that either there is something fundementally wrong with my system, or I've completely missed something. I'm a little scared of playing around with the nVidia drivers too much as I've had difficulties getting them to work properly after I've changed them. This machine is primarly my XBMC machine so I can't take it offline for too long as everyone else in the house will kill me!

I'm a little stuck for how to troubleshoot this further as I only have a limited knowledge of Ubuntu and even less experience when it comes to gaming on Linux. If this is just how it is based on my system then that's fine, it would just be nice if someone with more PCSX2 and Linux experience could either confirm that, or suggest any areas that I should explore further please.

[jesalvein]

this is one of the most demanding games on Pcsx2.
even if you had a recent machine, you wouldn't get full speed.
I guess the bad fps results you get are normal, then...

[AP0ll0UK]

Thanks for your quick reply!

That's fair enough, at least I know rather than torturing myself by trying every combination of the plugins [which I've pretty much done already].

Out of interest, is my CPU likely to be 'the' limiting factor as this seems to be a common theme mentioned on many threads. It's only dual core running at 2.4GHz but I could grab a replacement that's upwards of 3GHZ for not much money if that would make a big difference? I'm guessing that my GPU is ok, obviously not as good as the much more modern GDDR5 cards but presumably good enough if coupled with a faster CPU?

[willkuer]

Your cpu will limit you in many games. You should only play games that don't require software mode and avoid the cpu-hungry stuff (here is a list of those games).


The raw GHZ don't count as much as you might think. Recent architecture can have clock speeds lower than yours and still play 90% of games in full speed.
Still if you get the same cpu just with more GHz it will help. If you could overclock to 4GHz it will probably help even more..

[DaTankAC]

an old core 2 duo just wont cut it with linux. i used to have an e5400 and it was awful for linux. the pentium g3258 would make a great upgrade for not a lot of money. your gpu should be ok.

[AP0ll0UK]

Many thanks for the advice people!

I understand what you're saying. My trusty C2D has lasted longer than what I thought it would when I first bought it. I used to be a heavy gamer but I just don't have the time anymore - I'm barely a casual gamer these days

If I could have thrown a few quid into a new chip for slightly more grunt and it would have helped then I'd probably have gone for that, but as mentioned, things do move on and it's not all about 'grunt' these days.

I'll probably park it for now as I've got a new laptop to buy for my son and tons of other stuff that I'd prefer not to spend money on before I can start putting money into a new system for myself.

....I might give it a whirl on my mobile instead.