Running Poorly Even though I have the Specs

[poslepoludnya]

Hello. I have been using PCSX2 for a bit now. I've noticed that I get really bad frames at times and bad sound errors. I have above recommended specs, though I will list them here:

12 gb Ram
AMD FX-4200 @ 3.33 GHZ
AMD R9 380 Series (4 gbs of VRAM)
Windows 10 64-Bit

I've screwed around with speedhacks and things, but I've no idea what I'm doing and I have no idea what to look for to find help and nothing much seems to help. The games I've been trying to get to run nice are Kinetica, Top Gear Dare Devil, and Star Wars Bounty Hunter. 

Thanks for your help. 

Note: Also, I have the 1.4. I don't really know how to upgrade my version, I've never done Emulation before.

[poslepoludnya]

Hello. I have good news. I tried increasing the EE Cycle rate and everything works a lot better. Is there anything else I should use?

[lightningterror]

I have above recommended specs, though I will list them here:
AMD FX-4200 @ 3.33 GHZ

You have below minimum requirements. PCSX2 requires a cpu with STR of 1600 and 2000 recommended.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

Is there anything else I should use?

Overclocking the cpu can help a bit.

I have the 1.4. I don't really know how to upgrade my version

1.5 dev builds can be found here.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

Make sure to backup your memory cards before you switch.

[poslepoludnya]

Why is single threading so important when my processor has 4 cores?

[jesalvein]

Because pcsx2 uses only 3 of them