which of these computer parts should I replace?

[duneplanet]

is overclockibng the only solution?

[gregory]

Your cpu frequency is too slow, either you change it (you can gain 100-400Mhz) either you change the cpu. Anothers solutions is to use speedhack to reduce the speed of emulated ps2 (my advices for the moment).

The cheapest solution is to wait around april the new amd cpu, so price of current versions will decline. The best X2 is 3,3Ghz ~ 50% faster => 30 fps -> 45 fps (not ideal but better).

Now if you play PC games, keep your current cpu (not worth the changement) and uses pcsx2 speedhack for the moment. Changes the GPU, you will obtain faster and more beautiful games. Moreover the GPU could be reused in a future PC (not the cpu because of motherboard socket). Then later (1-2 years) changes CPU and motherboard that will give you a + 100% boost

[ilovejedd]

His current CPU's 2.6GHz. 3.3GHz is just 27% faster. If you want 50% faster, he needs 3.9 GHz and I don't think you can buy those stock.

@duneplanet
Try using some speedhacks and changing the configuration. Alas, I'm not really familiar with switching configuration settings as the games I play don't really need it with my CPU. Besides, I normally just use the PS2 or PS3 to play instead of fiddling with settings.

[vdgamer]

People this is simple solution regardless of which cpu he gets or if he just keeps the one he has 2.6 Ghz is too low of a frequency, period. I have i7 920 stock clock was 2.67 Ghz and to get good speeds (perfect in some games) i had to overclock it to 3.5Ghz and thats i7 best proccessor on the market. If he wants good speeds no matter which cpu he gets he will have to overclock it to at least 3.2-3.5 Ghz. The only cpu that might not need overclocking to run pcsx2 well is
Core i7 965/975 Extreme clocked @3.2/3.33 Ghz stock, but they are $1000.

[ilovejedd]

People this is simple solution regardless of which cpu he gets or if he just keeps the one he has 2.6 Ghz is too low of a frequency, period. I have i7 920 stock clock was 2.67 Ghz and to get good speeds (perfect in some games) i had to overclock it to 3.5Ghz and thats i7 best proccessor on the market. If he wants good speeds no matter which cpu he gets he will have to overclock it to at least 3.2-3.5 Ghz.

Actually, 3.2 GHz on a Phenom II is roughly equivalent to 2.6 GHz on a Core i7. 3.5 GHz on a Core i7 would be > 4 GHz on a Phenom II. Yes, we already know he needs a higher clocked CPU. However, there's just so much overclocking can accomplish, particularly since it's pretty difficult to get older Phenom II's in the 4 GHz range. Even if he overclocks his CPU to the max stable frequency, speedhacks would probably still be necessary.

The only cpu that might not need overclocking to run pcsx2 well is Core i7 965/975 Extreme clocked @3.2/3.33 Ghz stock, but they are $1000.

The i7-870 and i7-875K (stock 2.93 GHz, Turbo-2c 3.46 GHz) at $280 and $330 respectively are other such processors. The i7-875K also has the benefit of being more easily overclockable even on a crap mobo and slow RAM.

The simplest solution, really, is to run games on actual PS2 hardware (or an older PS3 if the TV's upscaling isn't good enough). Caveat, you probably won't get the same level of sharpness and detail as you will with PCSX2.

[vdgamer]

Running pcsx2 at full speed is really a luxury available only to people who spend a lot of money on pc, there's a huge difference in graphics, like i run FF12 in 1080p and the detail is unreal, only few pc games can compare to the graphics i get using pcsx2, and for that the price has to be paid, if someone just wants to play ps2 games emulator is not the cheapest option, in fact its the most expensive, lets get real no one has pcsx2 capable pc just laying around their house, it has to be built to run ps2 games well. Cheapest way to play ps2 games is the ps2 itself than ps3 and then pcsx2. For the money the guy will spend buying new cpu and better gpu he will be able to buy ps3.

[ilovejedd]

lets get real no one has pcsx2 capable pc just laying around their house, it has to be built to run ps2 games well.

That depends. I've got a couple of Lynnfield builds for StarCraft II and some Clarkdale HTPC's all of which run PCSX2 pretty well despite not being designed for PCSX2 emulation. You're right about it being spendy, though.

I've never actually compared PQ when upscaling via TV, upscaling via PS3 and natively rendering to a high resolution via PCSX2. I reckon PCSX2 would deliver the sharpest picture and highest level of detail but it would be interesting to see how both the PS2 and PS3 fare in comparison. I might try doing that one of these days.

[XS Butter]

I couldn't help not to post, it was an interesting topic. It's very clear that the only way he'll be getting full fps is to OC that cpu of his. I just wanted to make things a little clearer. As I do think getting full fps on an Phenom II is in fact possible. Despite my low end pc sig, i do know a good amount about computers.

First of all, I think if the the cpu he has isnt a black edition he should probably get the one that ilovejedd suggested. The AMD Phenom II x4. Trust me a Phenom II x4 four for that price, its a give-away. Note: I am not implying that he'll reach full speed on this stock. Of course he needs to OC.

Second and most important is cooling. You cant skimp on cooling as this is the most important factor that'll get you to 4ghz and over. You need after market cooling, and i'm not even talking about air cooling. To get that thing to 4ghz and have it not die on you, you'll need liquid cooling. And i notice when someone says liquid cooling, people begin to think about the amount of money liquid cooling cost but i'm talking about a low end liquid cooler. I think that should do the trick. even have a look at this one here. look its only like 70 bucks.

And, i do take it that the motherboard your running has options for overclocking so your good there. I bet you this setup could get you over 4ghz, maybe even around 4.5ghz and if ur up to it, later on buy a better liquid cooling system and see if you can reach five

Work with cpu speed first then graphics later. As the guys mentioned, set internal res to native. I'm sure pcsx2 can even run on 512mb ram. So your good here too. I didn't post this to tick off anybody or say anyone was wrong, just giving my view on the topic

[ilovejedd]

Just a comment, the all-in-one liquid cooling units aren't particularly good - at least not compared to tower air coolers at the same price point. You'll have better luck getting that Phenom II to 4 GHz with a Noctua NH-D14.

[vdgamer]

Just a comment, the all-in-one liquid cooling units aren't particularly good - at least not compared to tower air coolers at the same price point. You'll have better luck getting that Phenom II to 4 GHz with a Noctua NH-D14.

I agree with ilovejedd and totally disagree about going over 4.5ghz, because it wont be stable and its just unnecessarily, 4.5ghz will be plenty, the most important thing is to get to 4.5 ghz and have it stable and relatively cool. Im very satisfied with my clock on i7 @ 3.5 ghz i run 31-35 C on idle and never went over 54 C while playing games, and ran prime95 multiple times for few hrs and never went over 71 C. From what i have seen online thats cool for 3.5ghz on i7, and im using aircooling (coolermaster V8).