Sudden performance drop after 2nd launch

[br0kenspear]

Hardware:

VivoBook_ASUS Laptop X505ZA_X505ZA
AMD Ryzen 5 2500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx, 2000 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) - 8,00 GB
Total Physical Memory - 6,95 GB
Available Physical Memory - 2,26 GB
Total Virtual Memory - 10,6 GB
Available Virtual Memory - 3,83 GB

---

Software:

Windows 10 Home Single Language x64
PCSX2 Nightly - v1.7.5329 (was recommended to download the Nightly version so that's what I did)

---

Problem:

Only happens in one game so far, which is 007 - Everything or Nothing
at first launch it plays at an acceptable 40-50 FPS, I finished 2 missions (first one and the tutorial one), then save manually + save state and quit.

the next day I want to continue playing, the game has heavy stuttering which does not happen at all at first playthrough no matter if I load the game properly (in-game) or load state.

I have tried playing / reloading again for other games like GTA San Andreas and God Hand, and both works nicely at a stable 50-60 FPS.

also:

- the 007:EoN stuttering issue happens in default settings 

- the only thing I changed is renderer to OpenGL to remove the vertical lines problem (listed in Wiki) 

this is the first time I come back to PS2 emulation after some years, and PCSX2 has changed a lot

I lost some of my way around lol (like there's no plugin menu anymore, so some troubleshooter guides are outdated though I still able to find my way) and I don't know how to post/export my settings here or anything else.

thanks beforehand

[jesalvein]

Wiki is outdated too at this stage.
OGl renderer on a Vega mobile is a bad idea
Set renderer to auto, set your power plan to performance mode, and make sure your laptop isn't running on batteries

[br0kenspear]

Wiki is outdated too at this stage.
OGl renderer on a Vega mobile is a bad idea
Set renderer to auto, set your power plan to performance mode, and make sure your laptop isn't running on batteries

When I set renderer to Auto, the game won't start because PCSX2 defaulted to Vulkan, and it says that my graphics doesn't support Vulkan, tried the other renderers (DirectX 11, 12, and Software) all have same result, only OpenGL that solves the vertical line problem (I'm playing on Native resolution, according to Wiki the vertical lines should only show up in higher res than native, but that's not the case for me, the article might be outdated)

the graphics driver is up to date, and the laptop is in full performance mode while plugged in all the time

note that the issue only happens on that one game, 007:EoN and it only happens on subsequent run, the first run has no problem.

I tried lowering the resolution to get better performance, but the lowest option is Native (PS2) Resolution

[jesalvein]

Native is probably the way to go with a Vega mobile
how did you update your igpu driver ?

[br0kenspear]

Native is probably  the way to go with a Vega mobile
how did you update your igpu driver ?

Device manager > display adapter > Radeon Vega 8 Mobile > update driver

Windows tell me the best version has already installed. I tried opening the AMD Radeon Software but didn't find any option to update driver through that.

Here's what it tells me:

Code:

Software Version - 2021.0326.1022.18673
Driver Version - 21.20.02-210607a-368668C-Asus
Provider - Not Available
2D Driver Version - Not Available
Direct3D® Version - Not Available
OpenGL® Version - Not Available
AMD Audio Driver Version - 10.0.1.20
Vulkan™ Driver Version - Not Available
Vulkan™ API Version - Not Available
Windows Version - Windows 10 (64 bit)

I'll try checking again the driver on AMD site

[jesalvein]

Yep. Time to update your drivers the proper way.
I'm still surprised people still think updating them throught device manager will keep drivers up to date

[br0kenspear]

Yep. Time to update your drivers the proper way.
I'm still surprised people still think updating them throught device manager will keep drivers up to date

damn you're fast responsive lol, thanks for the help

I updated the driver, AMD Radeon Software has added Adrenaline edition and all drivers are up to date. Automatic renderer now works, no more error and Vulkan is available.

The problem persists though



here's the info when the game is running, the (G) [P] part of FPS drops to under 10 during gameplay and cutscene but will jump up to 60 in loading screen while the (V) part is always between 50-60 even during gameplay. I have no idea what G and V stands for, I just turn on all the other informations display on, might be helpful in troubleshooting.

here's my settings:

Code:

[UI]
SettingsVersion = 1
InhibitScreensaver = true
ConfirmShutdown = true
StartPaused = false
PauseOnFocusLoss = false
StartFullscreen = true
DoubleClickTogglesFullscreen = true
HideMouseCursor = true
RenderToSeparateWindow = false
HideMainWindowWhenRunning = false
DisableWindowResize = false
PreferEnglishGameList = false
Theme = fusion
SetupWizardIncomplete = false
GameListGridView = true
GameListCoverArtScale = 0.79
GameListShowCoverTitles = false
DisplayWindowGeometry = AdnQywADAAAAAAFrAAAAYgAAA+oAAAJgAAABawAAAIEAAAPqAAACYAAAAAAAAAAABVYAAAFrAAAAgQAAA+oAAAJg
MainWindowGeometry = AdnQywADAAAAAAAA////+AAABVUAAALhAAAACAAAAB8AAAQhAAACuAAAAAACAAAABVYAAAAAAAAAFwAABVUAAALh
MainWindowState = AAAA/wAAAAD9AAAAAAAABVYAAAKgAAAABAAAAAQAAAAIAAAACPwAAAABAAAAAgAAAAEAAAAOAHQAbwBvAGwAQgBhAHIAAAAAAP////8AAAAAAAAAAA==
UseLightFullscreenUITheme = true


[Folders]
Bios = ..\00-PS2 BIOS
Snapshots = snaps
Savestates = sstates
MemoryCards = memcards
Logs = logs
Cheats = cheats
Patches = patches
Cache = cache
Textures = textures
InputProfiles = inputprofiles
Videos = videos


[EmuCore]
CdvdVerboseReads = false
CdvdDumpBlocks = false
CdvdShareWrite = false
EnablePatches = true
EnableCheats = false
EnablePINE = false
EnableWideScreenPatches = false
EnableNoInterlacingPatches = false
EnableFastBoot = false
EnableFastBootFastForward = false
EnablePerGameSettings = true
EnableRecordingTools = true
EnableGameFixes = true
SaveStateOnShutdown = false
EnableDiscordPresence = false
InhibitScreensaver = true
HostFs = false
BackupSavestate = true
SavestateZstdCompression = true
McdFolderAutoManage = true
WarnAboutUnsafeSettings = true
GzipIsoIndexTemplate = $(f).pindex.tmp
PINESlot = 28011
BlockDumpSaveDirectory =
McdCompressNTFS = true


[EmuCore/Speedhacks]
EECycleRate = 0
EECycleSkip = 0
fastCDVD = false
IntcStat = true
WaitLoop = true
vuFlagHack = true
vuThread = true
vu1Instant = true


[EmuCore/CPU]
FPU.DenormalsAreZero = true
FPU.FlushToZero = true
FPU.Roundmode = 3
AffinityControlMode = 0
VU0.DenormalsAreZero = true
VU0.FlushToZero = true
VU0.Roundmode = 3
VU1.DenormalsAreZero = true
VU1.FlushToZero = true
VU1.Roundmode = 3


[EmuCore/CPU/Recompiler]
EnableEE = true
EnableIOP = true
EnableEECache = false
EnableVU0 = true
EnableVU1 = true
EnableFastmem = true
PauseOnTLBMiss = false
vu0Overflow = true
vu0ExtraOverflow = false
vu0SignOverflow = false
vu0Underflow = false
vu1Overflow = true
vu1ExtraOverflow = false
vu1SignOverflow = false
vu1Underflow = false
fpuOverflow = true
fpuExtraOverflow = false
fpuFullMode = false


[EmuCore/GS]
VsyncQueueSize = 2
VsyncEnable = 0
FramerateNTSC = 59.94
FrameratePAL = 50
AspectRatio = Auto 4:3/3:2
FMVAspectRatioSwitch = Auto 4:3/3:2
ScreenshotSize = 0
ScreenshotFormat = 0
ScreenshotQuality = 50
StretchY = 100
CropLeft = 0
CropTop = 0
CropRight = 0
CropBottom = 0
pcrtc_antiblur = false
disable_interlace_offset = false
pcrtc_offsets = false
pcrtc_overscan = false
IntegerScaling = false
UseDebugDevice = false
UseBlitSwapChain = false
DisableShaderCache = false
DisableDualSourceBlend = false
DisableFramebufferFetch = false
DisableVertexShaderExpand = false
DisableThreadedPresentation = false
SkipDuplicateFrames = false
OsdShowMessages = true
OsdShowSpeed = false
OsdShowFPS = true
OsdShowCPU = true
OsdShowGPU = true
OsdShowResolution = false
OsdShowGSStats = false
OsdShowIndicators = true
OsdShowSettings = false
OsdShowInputs = false
OsdShowFrameTimes = false
HWSpinGPUForReadbacks = false
HWSpinCPUForReadbacks = false
paltex = false
autoflush_sw = true
preload_frame_with_gs_data = false
mipmap = true
UserHacks = false
UserHacks_align_sprite_X = false
UserHacks_AutoFlushLevel = 0
UserHacks_CPU_FB_Conversion = false
UserHacks_ReadTCOnClose = false
UserHacks_DisableDepthSupport = false
UserHacks_DisablePartialInvalidation = false
UserHacks_Disable_Safe_Features = false
UserHacks_DisableRenderFixes = false
UserHacks_merge_pp_sprite = false
UserHacks_WildHack = false
UserHacks_BilinearHack = 0
UserHacks_NativePaletteDraw = false
UserHacks_TextureInsideRt = 0
UserHacks_EstimateTextureRegion = false
fxaa = false
ShadeBoost = false
dump = false
save = false
savef = false
savet = false
savez = false
DumpReplaceableTextures = false
DumpReplaceableMipmaps = false
DumpTexturesWithFMVActive = false
DumpDirectTextures = true
DumpPaletteTextures = true
LoadTextureReplacements = false
LoadTextureReplacementsAsync = true
PrecacheTextureReplacements = false
EnableVideoCapture = true
EnableVideoCaptureParameters = false
VideoCaptureAutoResolution = false
EnableAudioCapture = true
EnableAudioCaptureParameters = false
linear_present_mode = 0
deinterlace_mode = 0
OsdScale = 100
Renderer = -1
upscale_multiplier = 1
mipmap_hw = -1
accurate_blending_unit = 1
filter = 2
texture_preloading = 2
GSDumpCompression = 2
HWDownloadMode = 0
CASMode = 0
CASSharpness = 50
dithering_ps2 = 2
MaxAnisotropy = 0
extrathreads = 3
extrathreads_height = 4
TVShader = 0
UserHacks_SkipDraw_Start = 0
UserHacks_SkipDraw_End = 0
UserHacks_HalfPixelOffset = 0
UserHacks_round_sprite_offset = 0
UserHacks_TCOffsetX = 0
UserHacks_TCOffsetY = 0
UserHacks_CPUSpriteRenderBW = 0
UserHacks_CPUSpriteRenderLevel = 0
UserHacks_CPUCLUTRender = 0
UserHacks_GPUTargetCLUTMode = 0
TriFilter = -1
OverrideTextureBarriers = -1
ShadeBoost_Brightness = 50
ShadeBoost_Contrast = 50
ShadeBoost_Saturation = 50
ExclusiveFullscreenControl = -1
png_compression_level = 1
saven = 0
savel = 5000
CaptureContainer = mp4
VideoCaptureCodec =
VideoCaptureParameters =
AudioCaptureCodec =
AudioCaptureParameters =
VideoCaptureBitrate = 6000
VideoCaptureWidth = 640
VideoCaptureHeight = 480
AudioCaptureBitrate = 160
Adapter = AMD Radeon(TM) Vega 8 Graphics
HWDumpDirectory =
SWDumpDirectory =
FrameLimitEnable = true
SyncToHostRefreshRate = false
FullscreenMode = 800 x 600 @ 60.000000 hz


[SPU2/Debug]
Global_Enable = false
Show_Messages = false
Show_Messages_Key_On_Off = false
Show_Messages_Voice_Off = false
Show_Messages_DMA_Transfer = false
Show_Messages_AutoDMA = false
Show_Messages_Overruns = false
Show_Messages_CacheStats = false
Log_Register_Access = false
Log_DMA_Transfers = false
Log_WAVE_Output = false
Dump_Info = false
Dump_Memory = false
Dump_Regs = false


[SPU2/Mixing]
FinalVolume = 100


[SPU2/Output]
OutputModule = cubeb
BackendName =
DeviceName =
Latency = 60
OutputLatency = 20
OutputLatencyMinimal = false
SynchMode = 0
SpeakerConfiguration = 0
DplDecodingLevel = 0


[DEV9/Eth]
EthEnable = false
EthApi = Unset
EthDevice =
EthLogDNS = false
InterceptDHCP = false
PS2IP = 0.0.0.0
Mask = 0.0.0.0
Gateway = 0.0.0.0
DNS1 = 0.0.0.0
DNS2 = 0.0.0.0
AutoMask = true
AutoGateway = true
ModeDNS1 = Auto
ModeDNS2 = Auto


[DEV9/Eth/Hosts]
Count = 0


[DEV9/Hdd]
HddEnable = false
HddFile = DEV9hdd.raw


[EmuCore/Gamefixes]
VuAddSubHack = false
FpuMulHack = false
FpuNegDivHack = false
XgKickHack = false
EETimingHack = false
InstantDMAHack = false
SoftwareRendererFMVHack = false
SkipMPEGHack = false
OPHFlagHack = false
DMABusyHack = false
VIFFIFOHack = false
VIF1StallHack = false
GIFFIFOHack = false
GoemonTlbHack = false
IbitHack = false
VUSyncHack = false
VUOverflowHack = false
BlitInternalFPSHack = false
FullVU0SyncHack = false


[EmuCore/Profiler]
Enabled = false
RecBlocks_EE = true
RecBlocks_IOP = true
RecBlocks_VU0 = true
RecBlocks_VU1 = true


[EmuCore/Debugger]
ShowDebuggerOnStart = false
AlignMemoryWindowStart = true
FontWidth = 8
FontHeight = 12
WindowWidth = 0
WindowHeight = 0
MemoryViewBytesPerRow = 16


[EmuCore/TraceLog]
Enabled = false
EE.bitset = 0
IOP.bitset = 0


[Achievements]
Enabled = false
ChallengeMode = false
EncoreMode = false
SpectatorMode = false
UnofficialTestMode = false
Notifications = true
LeaderboardNotifications = true
SoundEffects = true
Overlays = true
NotificationsDuration = 5
LeaderboardsDuration = 10


[Filenames]
BIOS = SCPH-39001_BIOS_V7_USA_160.bin


[Framerate]
NominalScalar = 1
TurboScalar = 2
SlomoScalar = 0.5


[MemoryCards]
Slot1_Enable = true
Slot1_Filename = Mcd001.ps2
Slot2_Enable = true
Slot2_Filename = Mcd002.ps2
Multitap1_Slot2_Enable = false
Multitap1_Slot2_Filename = Mcd-Multitap1-Slot02.ps2
Multitap1_Slot3_Enable = false
Multitap1_Slot3_Filename = Mcd-Multitap1-Slot03.ps2
Multitap1_Slot4_Enable = false
Multitap1_Slot4_Filename = Mcd-Multitap1-Slot04.ps2
Multitap2_Slot2_Enable = false
Multitap2_Slot2_Filename = Mcd-Multitap2-Slot02.ps2
Multitap2_Slot3_Enable = false
Multitap2_Slot3_Filename = Mcd-Multitap2-Slot03.ps2
Multitap2_Slot4_Enable = false
Multitap2_Slot4_Filename = Mcd-Multitap2-Slot04.ps2


[Logging]
EnableSystemConsole = false
EnableFileLogging = false
EnableTimestamps = true
EnableVerbose = false
EnableEEConsole = false
EnableIOPConsole = false
EnableInputRecordingLogs = true
EnableControllerLogs = false


[InputSources]
Keyboard = true
Mouse = true
SDL = true
DInput = false
XInput = false
SDLControllerEnhancedMode = false


[Hotkeys]
ToggleFullscreen = Keyboard/Alt & Keyboard/Return
CycleAspectRatio = Keyboard/F6
CycleInterlaceMode = Keyboard/F5
CycleMipmapMode = Keyboard/Insert
GSDumpMultiFrame = Keyboard/Control & Keyboard/Shift & Keyboard/F8
Screenshot = Keyboard/F8
GSDumpSingleFrame = Keyboard/Shift & Keyboard/F8
ToggleSoftwareRendering = Keyboard/F9
ZoomIn = Keyboard/Control & Keyboard/Plus
ZoomOut = Keyboard/Control & Keyboard/Minus
InputRecToggleMode = Keyboard/Shift & Keyboard/R
LoadStateFromSlot = Keyboard/F3
SaveStateToSlot = Keyboard/F1
NextSaveStateSlot = Keyboard/F2
PreviousSaveStateSlot = Keyboard/Shift & Keyboard/F2
OpenPauseMenu = Keyboard/Escape
ToggleFrameLimit = Keyboard/F4
TogglePause = Keyboard/Space
ToggleSlowMotion = Keyboard/Shift & Keyboard/Backtab
ToggleTurbo = Keyboard/Tab
HoldTurbo = Keyboard/Period


[Pad]
MultitapPort1 = false
MultitapPort2 = false
PointerXScale = 8
PointerYScale = 8


[Pad1]
Type = DualShock2
InvertL = 0
InvertR = 0
Deadzone = 0
AxisScale = 1.33
LargeMotorScale = 1
SmallMotorScale = 1
ButtonDeadzone = 0
PressureModifier = 0.5
Up = SDL-0/DPadUp
Right = SDL-0/DPadRight
Down = SDL-0/DPadDown
Left = SDL-0/DPadLeft
Triangle = SDL-0/Y
Circle = SDL-0/B
Cross = SDL-0/A
Square = SDL-0/X
Select = SDL-0/Back
Start = SDL-0/Start
L1 = SDL-0/LeftShoulder
L2 = SDL-0/+LeftTrigger
R1 = SDL-0/RightShoulder
R2 = SDL-0/+RightTrigger
L3 = SDL-0/LeftStick
R3 = SDL-0/RightStick
LUp = SDL-0/-LeftY
LRight = SDL-0/+LeftX
LDown = SDL-0/+LeftY
LLeft = SDL-0/-LeftX
RUp = SDL-0/-RightY
RRight = SDL-0/+RightX
RDown = SDL-0/+RightY
RLeft = SDL-0/-RightX
Analog = SDL-0/Guide
LargeMotor = SDL-0/LargeMotor
SmallMotor = SDL-0/SmallMotor


[Pad2]
Type = None


[Pad3]
Type = None


[Pad4]
Type = None


[Pad5]
Type = None


[Pad6]
Type = None


[Pad7]
Type = None


[Pad8]
Type = None


[USB1]
Type = None


[USB2]
Type = None


[GameList]
RecursivePaths = C:\_Games\_Emulation\PlayStation 2\01-PS2 Games

I won't be this stubborn for a solution if the game stutter from the beginning lol, I'd just give up and think maybe it's too heavy for my ***** laptop, but it's so frustrating when the game actually runs smoothly at the beginning.


I appreciate the response so far

[kryle]

Wiki is outdated too at this stage.
OGl renderer on a Vega mobile is a bad idea
Set renderer to auto, set your power plan to performance mode, and make sure your laptop isn't running on batteries

Thank you! I was having issues using turbo-mode (It wouldn't go past 200%). I'd been using PCSX2 with my new laptop for months and never had encountered this issue before. Everything is on default settings and always has been. I'm on the latest update and thought that may have been the issue. Nope. It turns out that by having my laptop unplugged was the culprit. I always have my laptop plugged in and forgot to plug it in earlier before playing.. I had no idea by having it run on batteries limits the performance. I was so confused thinking I may have accidentally messed up the settings. Ooof! Now it can easily hit up to 1000% again

CPU:AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS
GPU: Nvidia GeForceRTX 4060
RAM: 32GB