[skatehippie]

Hi folks,

Emulation is sort of a secret interest of mine, and I'm not programmer so unfortunately I can't actively help in the scene, but I had some questions that I found I couldn't answer or find direct answers too.

I was looking at the Final Fantasy X/X-2 threads and was very impressed...emulation is coming a long way especially in PS2! I was checking out the framerates posted on the screen shots and was wondering...

What exactly is the deciding factor in speed of the game....the system, or the emulator?

With newer and better releases of the emulator(s), I suspect speed would increase, but will it always be capped at a certain speed if your system specs can't handle it?

Basically what I'm wondering is, with everyone using processors with an average of 2-3 ghz, can we expect a smooth PS2 emulation experience in the near future or will our systems have to be significantly upgraded? And why do console processors run on lower hertz than computers?

Sorry for the noob questions...just trying to get a better understanding =)

 

[Techie]

cpu mostly, then gfx then ram currently, code isn't optimized, would be better written in asm, however would then become way to difficult to keep track of errors / bugs. also compatibility is the devs train of thought, then they will start to worry about the speed etc., there are plently of threads in pcsx2 area of ngemu forums, that answer the question, regarding always capped at certain speed, my guess is yes.. that though is just a guess, there will be frame skipping for gfx, however whats the point in that (CURRENTLY) when the cpu is cuasing the major slowdown, read thread: http://forums.ngemu.com/pcsx2-offic...wsome-computer-sucks-playstation-2-games.html

then read the link posted in there to show just how different ps2 and the pc is. Also in a few years (whatever that is..) may require to limit the cpu's speed ... if lucky so the games don't run too fast...

On the bright side, ps2 will never be able to emulate directx 9+ games at playable framerates ... unless some1 wishes to prove me wrong on that last part ...

 

[Clements]

It is very unlikely that it will be playable (30fps+ in complex 3D games) in the near future. In the near future, the emulator is much more likely to get slower as the compatiblilty improves. Anyone who states otherwise is wishfully thinking. The PS2 is a more complex system than most with it's myriad of co-processors.

And why do console processors run on lower hertz than computers?

Cuts cost, heat produced all sorts - not that clock frequency governs the speed any more than cache size, pipeline stages, feature sets, floating pont units or any untold number of other processor attributes. The PS2 was also released a number of years ago, and designed years before that. The quoted statement above is not really the case anymore, as the Xbox 360 is a 3.2GHz triple-core PowerPC processor, which is current tech.