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i recently began trying to use pcsx2, and while it seems to be able to run games (emulator and pc don't crash) it for some reason drops framerate severely at the actual gameplay portion itself, i tested on two games (COD big red one, and lego star wars) and for some reason except for a visual glitch fixed by F9 the game of cod runs smoothly at 60 fps until the actual game itself is entered (right after entering a new game) the beginning, cinematic, music, and actions all work fine until then, while in lego starwars, its pretty much the same idea except the frame rate for lego star wars is a bit more consistent at about 10-15 fps as apposed to Big red ones 3-6 fps.

i looked into fixing the frame rate through changing setting in the emulator itself, or even plugins, however, for some reason my version which is the most up to date version, has no plugins associated with it by default (i tried downloading some from the main pcsx2 website aswell) and most of the options have no ability to be changed at all, although most research shows that the things i cannot change shouldn't be changed anyway. when i tried changing the plugins with the ones i downloaded, half of them didnt work as it gives an error along the lines of "pc may be lacking resources" for one, and for another something similar to "open gl x version isnt supported/ isnt fond, open gl 0 found" and both result in the emulator not working, but if i use default setting (which resets back to absolutely no plugins at all) it opens stuff again but may partially be why it isnt working properly or allowing me to change things for better performance.

my pc is on the older side from around 2011 so i dont expect it to run 100% with no flaws and no frame drops sometimes, but it should be able to handle the games pretty well, i have many emulators for various consoles and of those the only one ive ever had similar issues with (except far worse than just frame rate issues) was dolphin which can actually get games running but is ultra stuttery and laggy from beginning to the time i end it, while pcsx2 seems to run stuff well as is the case with the afore mentioned cod, which plays the entire opening cutscene, plus all the menues and inputs perfectly at 60 fps before instantly dropping to just above 3-6 when the actual gameplay begins which with a game that old, it shouldnt have more issue than the reletively newer game lego starwars which stays at around 10-25 fps and basicly runs half speed.

i have attached the tech specs of the pc so those who understand tech specs better than i, might be able to let me know if it can in any way be fixed or if the pc itself is the reason it cannot run properly.
 in regards to the plugins i tried downloading they arent counted as the default plugins for which pcsx2 apparently had none, but as im unsure what to use to make the emulator run at its absolute best with what i have, i try to keep it default, and unless im using direct3D9 or 11 it seems as though pcsx2 breaks entirely which is the only expected result
gsdx32-sse4 gives the error "the plugins reports that your hardware/software drivers are not supported".

if this goes somewhere else on the forums, i will move if possible but it seems to fit here.

Can you reproduce the slowdown, and then share the contents of emulog.txt after the slowdowns occur? The file can be found in "My Documents\PCSX2\logs" for the installer version or in "PCSX2\logs" for the portable/binary version.

play your games on your PS2.
that CPU could handle a few light games with a decent GPU, but you're stuck with software mode because of that antique, unsupported GPU.
Means you'll have no other choice than using software mode with an old CPU. Thus, games will be unplayable whatever you do

I would say it's time for PC update my friend as a dual core Pentium is old by modern PC standards. I'm running an FX8350 AMD chip and it's already 4 years old, and right on the cusp of the more demanding emulators IF I use upscaling and HW plugin. A modern Intel chip (or maybe one of the newer AMD chips might be OK, dunno) would probably do away most of any slowdowns on the more mature emulators.

On Citra (a barebones 3DS emulator) for example, I can barely get 15~ FPS with DQVII, but it "can" play. Videos with guys running better Intel chips however, are near perfect FPS with minor slowdowns. Some more modern PC games are starting to tax my 8350, and my GTX 970 is already outdated as well. Modern chipsets might have features that a specific emulator requires to run at optimum, so keep that in mind as well.

Just a sign of the times. If you set software render and game won't play right, you need more HP (processing power) under the hood. Also, maybe I'm missing something here, but other than dumping the BIOS to use the emulator, they've always included everything needed to get up and running after the initial start up is done and everything is configured.

Regardless, I'm a nobody and this is just a basic observation. More in the know people will have more concise advice. You got 6-7 years out of the system, but more modern software will need more modern hardware to keep up with changes.

well, its good to know the cause is likely my old pc, i have a newer one that isnt mine but i may test on it eventually, i always find it odd how a pc newer than the original systems of the emulators cannot run at least at basic levels for games, and instead it requires a very high level pc, but anyway, attached will be the log file because it was asked for, i doubt it provides helpful information other than my pc being the primary issue but its worth a shot anyway. also thanks for the quick response about that being the issue as it is expected but sheds light on the true issue.

(11-07-2017, 11:55 PM)Flamesofshadow Wrote: [ -> ]well, its good to know the cause is likely my old pc, i have a newer one that isnt mine but i may test on it eventually, i always find it odd how a pc newer than the original systems of the emulators cannot run at least at basic levels for games, and instead it requires a very high level pc

Don't worry, it's a common beginner's mistake
The reason is you aren't running those games, you're emulating them. Which requires a lot of processing power

i've used emulators for quite awhile but only recently had the interest in trying to get my old ps2 games running once again seems ill be waiting a bit longer but oh well, i figured that the fact big red one opened flawlessly smooth that it was actually running well until that moment after i load into a mission and then the instant lag i figured it was a mixture of the emulator and my pc as i stated before.

no, it's not surprising.
Most Fmvs (pre-rendered videos) will run quite easily.
When it comes to actual gameplay, it's not pre-rendered anymore.
it really needs processing power.