Read first: Will PCSX2 run fast on my computer?

[Linux-fag]

Ahoy,

I've a question, most perplexing of nature, so much so that I actually signed up. I've FFX and Tekken Tag. How is it that FFX runs, at least thus far, without more than a minor hickup, while TT refuses to give me a decent FPS even on minimal settings with custom tweaking? So far as my limited knowledge goes, FF should be more intensive since TT has limited backdrops and a much smaller playing area. The models on TT, I realise, are of greater detail, but not the background models. An explanation, verbosity encouraged, would be appreciated.

Bonus Question: Hardware drawing does not work too well, not at all on some games, yet software drawing mode works faster. I've tried installing the proprietary Intel code for my chipset to no avail. Mednafen and a 3D test show that my hardware rendering is both fine and very accelerated. The online benchmarks all indicated that despite being integrated graphics, this chipset outperformed my previous machine's by quite a degree. So, I'm left wondering how this is?

CPU: Broadwell i5 5200U, 2 cores @ 2.2GHz
GPU: Intel Integrated Graphics HD5500
RAM: 4 GB DDR3 @ 1600 MHz
OS: Debian 9 Stable w/ XFCE4.12

Edit: I've compared my hardware, even the integrated graphics, to other hardware. I don't see a problem.
http://cpuboss.com/cpu/Intel-Core-i5-520...6192949047
Anyone able/willing to shed some light on this before I have to start a thread of my own???

[sandbox242]

I don't play tekken, but I know that FFX doesn't take much to run. It's one of the least hardware intensive games to run as far as I can tell. Emulation isn't typically a "one-size-fits-all" solution. Certain games require better hardware and/or different emulator settings to run properly. A laptop isn't generally recommended for running PCSX2 unless you have a pretty high end one. The hardware is just too anemic. There are certain settings that you can try and alleviate some of the hardware usage.
I would recommend determining where the bottleneck is at in your system by using some hardware resource monitor. I don't know anything about lynux but in windows the task manager can tell you your RAM and CPU usage and a third party software such as MSI afterburner can tell you your GPU usage. Then try running the emulator and see which component is reaching 100% usage first and then changing various settings in both the emulator and in the operating system to help alleviate the bottleneck. If all of your components are reaching 100% then you just need a better everything.
Well I'd recommend getting a better computer altogether anyways, but it'd still be worth it to see what you can get out of your current machine. That way you'll know better how to optimize your performance when you do get a better machine.
Now if we want to talk general recommended hardware requirement that will be enough to play even the most demanding games like MGS3 and Shadow of the Colossus then you'd want something like
-i5 2500k or better
-4gb ddr3 RAM or better
-GTX 750ti or better
With those specs you'd still have to do quite a bit of tweaking to run those demanding games, but you could pull it off. Even with my specs I still struggle to run MGS3, though I like to aim for those more luxurious visual settings on opengl with all the post process effects on and higher emulation accuracy with EE cyclerate at 300%

[scythefwd]

SoTC runs ok on my i7 3770 with 16 gb of ram and a gtx 750ti oc. That said, even my rig cannot keep it 100% speed, though its close with speed hack.. I have a stp of 2100ish,.

[bronogre]

How do i get the program to utilize my entire system hell i would be happy if it used just half of it? games like baulders gate will lag to the point of not being playable even though pcsx2 wont use more than 5% of what my computers capacity is.  
32 gigs ddr3
 4gb ddr5 512 bit graphics 
8 core 4.6 ghz processor

[CK1]

Can you give us your actual specs like your specific Processor, OS, GPU, ect.?

[bronogre]

How do i get the program to utilize my entire system hell i would be happy if it used just half of it? games like baulders gate will lag to the point of not being playable even though pcsx2 wont use more than 5% of what my computers capacity is.  
32 gigs ddr3
 4gb ddr5 512 bit graphics 
8 core 4.6 ghz processor

motherboard-ROG crosshair 5 formula z
graphics is a sapphire 370 nitro
cpu-amd 8350 black edition
ram- 4 8gb sticks of g.skill ripjaw 1866 ddr3
storage- 1 WD red 3 tb. 2 wd blue 1tb(games and backup files), 1 wd black 1tb(windows). 
OS-windows 10. with lenux 17 as a secondary.

[jesalvein]

motherboard-ROG crosshair 5 formula z
graphics is a sapphire 370 nitro
cpu-amd 8350 black edition
ram- 4 8gb sticks of g.skill ripjaw 1866 ddr3
storage- 1 WD red 3 tb. 2 wd blue 1tb(games and backup files), 1 wd black 1tb(windows). 
OS-windows 10. with lenux 17 as a secondary.

you need to use mipmapping for baldur's gate.
and you may think about overclocking that CPU over 4GHz too.

[scythefwd]

brono - you cant. Due to the interesting timing and locking of the three actual processors in the ps2, its pretty difficult to emulate. They have done a very good job of it, but it will NEVER use all 8 of your cores. These dont really use more than 3 threads with the mtvu hack, and that is why single core performance is so paramount in PCSX2 performance.

[Linux-fag]

Thanks for the info. This is all food for thought. I still don't get why PCSX2 doesn't use my full resources. Anyhow, can someone answer me 3 questions:

1. Will an Athlon quad core @ 3.5Ghz be a good enough CPU (I have an old box with some parts, that and its board being one)?
2. Suggest me a good gfx card for ~$130 (the cheaper the better) for PCSX2.
3. Would I be accurate in saying that the CPU, especially clock speed, is more important than GFX card regarding emulation?

I want to make sure my next build can handle PS2 games and that I don't have to upgrade it just to emulate stuff. So far my laptop worked fine while I've been saving towards my next PC and I want to ensure it can emulate too.

[jesalvein]

1 - which exact cpu model ?
2 - the one in my sig isn't bad as long as you aren't looking for a high upscaling (2x, sometimes 3x)
3 - Yes. what matters the most is still STR, though.