PCSX2 Exclusive Topic (Guides, Links, etc.)

Open MegaCloud links with Microsoft Internet Explorer if you want to download contents with Internet Download Manager; otherwise use Google Chrome

-Global, Links-

DirectX9 June 10, 2010 - 95.62 MB - Download from Microsoft.com, Direct Link

Nvidia Forceware 301.42 WHQL - 96.16 MB (Win XP - 32 Bit), 126.72 MB (Win XP - 64 Bit), 118.81 MB (Modern Windows - 32 Bit), 160.65 MB (Modern Windows - 64 Bit) - Download from Nvidia.com, Direct Link XP 32 Bit - XP 64 Bit - Vista/7/8 32 Bit - Vista/7/8 64 Bit

NET Framework 4.5 - 48.01 MB - Download from Microsoft.com, Direct Link


-Global, Guides-


Hint for Guides: Green Color: Radio Buttons, Recommended – Orange Color: Check Boxes, should not be checked - Blue Color: Check Boxes, should be checked

==>To check what version of Pixel Shaders and DirectX your Graphic Card supports, click Here
==>To view SSE2 supporting CPUs' list, click Here
==>To view SSSE3 supporting CPUs' list, click Here

Create Image file with ImgBurn

Once you've installed and ran ImgBurn, click on the"Create image file from disk" if you've a game disc inserted on your DVD-ROM & click on the "Create image file from files/folders". if you've a copy of a game disc on your H.D.D
If you've selected Create image file from disc:

Source; Specifies CDVD drive.

Destination; Specifies the destination of processed file.

Settings;
Read Speed: Specifies speed of reading the disk.
After all, click on the Read button for image file to be created.

If you've selected Create image file from files/folders:

Source; Specifies the source of your files/folders you want to create image from

Destination; Specifies the destination of processed file.

Information;
Image Information: Gives information about your image file.
Calculate Image Size: Calculates image size.

Options;
Image Options;
Data Type: MODE1/2048, MODE2/FORM1/2352
File System: ISO9660 + UDF, ISO9660, ISO9660 + Joliet, ISO9660 + Joliet + UDF, UDF
UDF Revision: 1.02, 1.50, ..., 2.60

Preserve Full Pathnames - Recurse Subdirectories
Include Hidden Files - Include System Files - Include Archive Files Only
Add To Write Queue When Done
File Options; Clear Archive Attribute

Labels & Advanced; Leave these tabs.



-PCSX2, Links-

PCSX2 Version 1.0 (r5350) - 8.53 MB - Download from PCSX2.net, Indirect Link - Download from MegaCloud.com, Direct Link

Plugins (All In One) - 6.60 MB Compressed (31.4 MB When Extracts) - Download from MegaCloud.com, Direct Link

-PCSX2, Guides-

System Requirement

Minimum System Requirement:
Operating System: Windows XP Service Pack 2 / Linux
CPU: Any that supports SSE2 (Pentium 4 and up, Athlon64 and up)
GPU: Any that supports Pixel Shader model 2.0, except NVIDIA FX series (broken SM2.0, too slow anyway)
RAM: 512MB (Note Vista needs at least 2GB to run reliably)


Recommended System Requirement:
Operating System: Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8 (32 Bit or 64 Bit)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 3.2 GHz or better - or i3/i5/i7 @ 2.8 GHz or better / AMD Phenom II @ 3.2 GHz or better
GPU: 8800GT or better (for Direct3D10 support)
RAM: 2GB or more



Basic Information of the Application


PCSX2 is a PlayStation 2 emulator that makes you possible to run PS2 games on your Personal Computer easily. The developer of this application is called “PCSX2 Team”; the team begun creating the application since 2002 till now. The application needs lots of Random Access Memory, a powerful Central Processing Unit & Graphics Processing Unit! The newer versions of the application work better on Windows 7 or 8 than XP. According to the Team’s statements, “the application has a long way until completion and the current versions still have bugs”! It looks that the team still couldn’t emulate the shadows under flashlight’s light when Graphics settings are set on Hardware mode; for example, in Silent Hill: Origins game, when you’re in darkness, you can’t see around and you see everything in black (you can see wherever that your flashlight is pointed)! The application also has ability to save the game anywhere you want!

Application Settings



Emulation
Plugin & Bios
Video
Audio
Controllers
Emulation

EE/IOP

Emotion Engine: Interpreter, Recompiler – Enable EE Cache
IOP: Interpreter, Recompiler


EE/FPU Advanced Recompiler Options;
Round Mode: Nearest, Negative, Positive, Chop / Zero
Clamping Mode: None, Normal, Extra + Preserve Sign, Full
VUs

VU0: Interpreter, microVU Recompiler, superVU Recompiler
VU1: Interpreter, microVU Recompiler, superVU Recompiler


VU0 / VU1 Advanced Recompiler Options;
Round Mode: Nearest, Negative, Positive, Chop / Zero
Clamping Mode: None, Normal, Extra + Preserve Sign, Full
GS

Framelimiter: Disable Framelimiting (Uncheck if you’re having unusual speeds) – Set below settings if you’ve unchecked “Disable Framelimiting”; Base Framerate Adjust: 100% - Slow Motion Adjust: 50% - Turbo Adjust: 200%
Frame Skipping: Disabled, Skip when on Turbo only, Constant Skipping
Use Synchronized MTGS – Disable all GS output
GS Window

Aspect Ratio;
Landscape Monitors: Widescreen 16.9 – Standard Monitors (Classic Monitors): Standard 4.3 - Not Sure?: Fit to Window / Screen
Zoom: 100.0
Disable window resize border – Always hide mouse cursor – Hide window when paused
Default to fullscreen mode on open – Double-Click toggles fullscreen mode
Wait for Vsync on refresh – Dynamically toggle Vsync depending on framerate

Speed Hacks

Speed Hacks work different on each game; the below settings are recommended (Not Sure)
Enable SpeedhacksEE Cyclerate: 1, 2, 3 – VU Cycle Stealing: 0, 1, 2, 3
Other Hacks;
Enable INTC Spin Detection – Enable Wait Loop Detection – Enable fast CDVD
microVU Hacks;
mVU Flag Hack – MTVU (If your CPU has 3 cores or more, surely check this check box), Unbelievable Speedup


Plugin & Bios

Plugins;
GS: GSdx
PAD: Lily Pad svn
SPU2: SPU2-X (Default)
CDVD: CDVD Gigaherz
USB: USB Null (Default)
FireWire: FW Null (Default)
Dev9: Dev9 Null (Default)
Bios: Any (Choose one that you think is the best), Japan is recommended

Video


Renderer;
Usual Compatibility, Less Speed; Direct3D9 (Hardware): Fast, Good Quality --- Direct3D9 (Software): Slow, Poor Quality
More Compatibility, More Speed; Direct3D10/11 (Hardware): Fastest, Good Quality --- Direct3D10/11 (Software): Slow, Poor Quality

Interlacing;
Use if the screen is shaking! You have to choose and test one by one to get the best result, Auto is recommended.

D3D Internal Resolution;
Native, 2X, 3X, …, Custom (Select custom to set the resolution manually; change it until you get the best both Speed and Quality)

Hardware Mode Settings; Direct3D9: Logarithmic Z, Alpha Correction, Allow 8-bit textures – Direct3D10: Allow 8-bit textures
Software Mode Settings: Direct3D9, 10: Edge Anti-Aliasing – Rendering threads: Depends on your CPU Cores (For example: if you have a Core 2 Quad CPU, then set it on 4; because your CPU has 4 cores) Note: The more cores your CPU has, the more speed you get.

Audio

Output Settings;
Module: No Sound, XAudio 2, Direct Sound, waveout, port audio – Latency: 150 ms – Use a Winamp DSP plugin
Synchronizing Mode: Time Stretch, Async Mix, None
Audio Expansion Mode: Depends on your Sound-Devices Formation

Mixing Settings;
Interpolation: Nearest, Linear, Cubic, Hermite, Catmull-Rom
Use the de-alias filter
Enable Debug Options
Controllers


Input APIs;
Keyboard API: Windows messaging, Raw input, DirectInput
Mouse API: Windows messaging, Raw input, DirectInput, Disable (Select if you don’t want to use mouse!)
Start without mouse focus – Always hide cursor

Advanced: Allow binding multiple PS2 controls to one control.

Pads;
Port 1 Multitap – Port 2 Multitap (Check these if you want to connect and play with more than 2 controllers)

Miscellaneous;
Disable screensaver – Local volume control – Enable logging

Hacks;
Send escape on window close – Exit Emulator on window close – Safe fullscreen exit on escape – Save state # in title – Guitar Hero 2 Hack L3 Toggles Turbo

Games I've personally tested



Tekken 5:
Speed is very good, but not amazing - Quality is outstanding when Resolution is set on Custom: 1024 * 1024 (Black Lines appear on screen), so I had to set the resolution on Native for lines to don’t appear, then quality got a little worse.


Silent Hill Shattered Memories:
Speed is very good when Renderer is set on Hardware (Everywhere is black), so I had to set the renderer on Software and I set threads on 4 (I have a Core 2 Quad CPU), then quality got a little worse and speed got 50% worse.


Crash Nitro Kart:
Speed is excellent – Quality is outstanding when resolution is set on Custom: 1024 * 1024, fortunately the game is compatible with Hardware configuration mode! Both speed and quality got worse when I set resolution on Native.


Garfield:
Quality is really outstanding when on custom: 1024 * 1024 resolution; speed is unusual! It’s too fast, I can’t control the game! The renderer is set on Hardware (I enabled Framelimiting, speed got okay!). I set renderer on Software, speed got a little worse and quality got too worse.


Urban Reign:
The renderer is set on Hardware and resolution is set on 1024 * 1024; very good speed and quality.

Crash Bandicoot The Wrath Of Cortex:
The renderer is set on Hardware and resolution on 1024 * 1024; outstanding quality and speed.


Looney Tunes Back In Action:
The renderer is set on Hardware & resolution on 1024 * 1024; outstanding quality, but a little speed problem! I set resolution on Native; worse quality and no difference in speed!


Silent Hill Origins:
The renderer is set on Hardware (everywhere is black), the quality and speed is very good, but I have to set the renderer on Software! Now, the quality is very poor and the speed is too slow.

Harvest Moon Save The Homeland:
The quality and speed are very good when the renderer is set on Hardware and resolution is set on 1024 * 1024; when I set renderer on Software, quality got worse and speed was unusual, too fast!

Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life:
The renderer is set on software, the quality is poor; the speed is slow outside and too fast inside! I set renderer on Hardware; speed got better and quality too!


Respective Links
pcsx2.net - forums.pcsx2.net


-Recent Changes-


Core:
Video timing adjustments
microVU fixes for Metal Gear Solid 2 and others
General speedups
microVU speedup
New GIF unit that mimics the real one better
microVU elementary function bug fixed (affecting Valkyrie Profile 2, Radiata Stories and Star Ocean 3)
Implemented Multi-Threaded VU! A new speed hack with almost 100% compatibility with games, using a third core to run the VU1 unit separately
CDVD fixes (Time Crisis boots now)
Added support for progressive scan timings
Path 3 arbitration and timing refinements
Added Finnish, Malaysian, Korean, French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese and Polish translations


SPU2-X:
Configurable output volume
Fixes to reverb
Various sound looping fixes
Improved time stretcher
Reverse phase audio quality improved


GSdx:
Fixed RGB mode movie recording
Texture cache change that fixes some black screening games
Implemented NVidia FXAA 3.10, page up key activates it
Better multithreading
Arc the Lad bad fog fix
Fixed shadows in software renderer
Implementation of GSdx "Shadeboost" project (saturation, brightness, contrast settings)
User configurable hacks in the GUI
Fixed flickering in many FMVs
Implementation of GSdx "Cutie" project (various extra CRC hacks)


Lilypad:
Pad state getting stuck with savestates bug fixed


USBqemu:
Revamped it a bit

Source: PCSX2.net

Detailed Guide
Soon!