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Hello everyone!
I've been noticing some kind of micro stuttering in several games, decided to investigate what was going on and after a lot of tests I decided to make a video which might help the Devs.
Problem: Even though I have stable 60fps on PCSX2 window and MSI Afterburner, when the game pushes for fast update rates the micro stuttering is there and the game which I found it most noticeable is Gran Turismo 4.
After searching the forum, I found an old version of the GSdx plugin (on this thread, post #24: https://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-Microstu...eed?page=3) and decided to give it a try, and it indeed solved the problem, running like a charm, but it's already old and would be better to stick to current versions. After some more searching I found another workarounds involving v-sync and fullscreen tweaking, but I tested every possible combination and the result is never the same as the old plugin version.
So here is the comparison video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_j28Qq5qYI
In the first part there's the mode, car and track selection used in all the tests. Then I show the configuration for each plugin test and a split screen comparison. Last I tested the replays, and even the result with old and new plugin in this case is pretty much the same, a very interesting effect accurs when the plugin is changed in the beggining of the race: the VRAM used decreases drastically and the effect is VERY noticeable, specially for the replays.
Regarding AVX/SSE versions, there's no significant change between them.
I'm running Windows 10 version 20H2, Intel core i5 10400F, Nvidia RTX 2070 Super, 16 Gb RAM.
Is it possible to update the new plugin and have it working smoothly in the future?

This PR deals with this problem https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/pull/3549

but it's recommended you also enable VRR (GSync for you) to smooth it out completely. The micro stutters are caused by windows trying to fit the emulators refresh rate in to its own and buffering frames with DWM, and it makes a mess of it and also causes input lag. The PR linked above essentially gets around that but does cause tearing unless you have VRR enabled.

(06-22-2021, 12:05 PM)refraction Wrote: [ -> ]This PR deals with this problem https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/pull/3549

but it's recommended you also enable VRR (GSync for you) to smooth it out completely.  The micro stutters are caused by windows trying to fit the emulators refresh rate in to its own and buffering frames with DWM, and it makes a mess of it and also causes input lag.  The PR linked above essentially gets around that but does cause tearing unless you have VRR enabled.

Is there currently a way to get it working? Noticed you said a solution is being worked on but you don't know when it will come at this link: https://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-Best-way...ames-on-PC

I tried downloading some files from the link you provided by clicking "Open with" then "Open in Desktop". Was met with somewhat familiar looking PCSX2 files/folders, but a bunch of extra ones and no exe's. Not really technically savvy in this regard and lack experience with GitHub, but if I can get VRR/FreeSync to work that might help with the last of the issues I'm having in standalone PCSX2. I've tried 1.6.0, latest Nightly 1.7.0, the not as easily found 64-bit releases on GitHub, and a wide variety of settings in each.

Tried forcing FreeSync to work with the aid of RTSS and a higher than 59.94 Hz refresh on the monitor but it didn't fix the issue. It runs decently I guess at 59.94 Hz, but even with the frames locked at 59.94 I notice the frame pacing/hitching/stutter issues. I'm using a 144 Hz monitor btw, and generally set it to 59.94 Hz for retro games.

Btw, while RetroArch currently lacks several settings that are needed to get some games to look good or perform well, for a game like Silent Hill 2 that is good in both of those regards, PCSX2 within RA seems to run essentially perfectly. There's no microstutter/hitching at 4k upscaling that I've noticed, and my only guess is their built in video/audio sync methods within RA make it work well. Once they get the missing settings available to be changed, it could be a near perfect experience for most/all PS2 games.

Apparently they're using the 64-bit version of PCSX2 for their core, which lacks a software mode I think. So for games with video corruption issues that are fixed by toggling that by hitting F9 twice, or hitting escape twice (in versions of PCSX2 standalone that aren't 1.6.0 that I've tried, otherwise you have to click resume in the menu to get the game running again), there's currently no fix in RA.

[Edit: fixed a couple minor typos.]