[silogon]

And I can't run EPSXE worth P*SS in a CAT DISH...

I have the following specs --

2gb of DDR2 ram
Intel Pentium D 946GZ
Direct X 10
256mb of Video Ram
A 3GHZ processor that is clocked and locked and rarely dips below it.

What am I doing wrong here? I have all the plug in's that PETE has offered... and the only ones I can get to function are the D3D ones... and then, even still, it's buggy and prone to crashes and slowdown.

Is my PC strong enough to run the emulator? If so, what is the best settings for what I've given you and what plugs? If not, would a new grafix card fix the issue?

 

[jonc2006]

please do a search and check the sticky threads, we get questions like this all the time and the info you seek is almost always found in them.

 

[Princess Garnet]

The hardware you listed is more than capable, save the question mark you left out, which is the GPU. I'm guessing this is yet another case of trying to runs Pete's OpenGL2 plug-in on a PC with an onboard GPU? If so, that's a bad idea. Pete's OpenGL2 needs a relatively decent GPU (anything but onboard and really older or really lower end cards).

List your GPU, and list the plug-in you're using and the configuration for it.

 

[silogon]

The hardware you listed is more than capable, save the question mark you left out, which is the GPU. I'm guessing this is yet another case of trying to runs Pete's OpenGL2 plug-in on a PC with an onboard GPU? If so, that's a bad idea. Pete's OpenGL2 needs a relatively decent GPU (anything but onboard and really older or really lower end cards).

List your GPU, and list the plug-in you're using and the configuration for it.

I've tried open GL2 and it says I'm missing a texture render or something... So, then I dropped down to D3D...

Now I can get it to run sometimes... but it's almost always with faults or massive slowdown.

settings are as followed --

Destop REZ - 800 x 600
Color Depth 32bit
Texture Quality R8 G8 B8 A8
Texture Filtering 5
Hi Res textures 2xsai

Frame rate limit on
Auto detect

Off screen drawing - 4
Advanced blending - 2
Framebuffer textures -3
Framebuffer access - 2

My GPU is an internal stock gig BTW.. That's why I asked if I should get another one, even tho I'm capable of playing a lot of Direct X games and can even run Bioshock on it.

My graphics score was a 3.8 ...

 

[hushypushy]

Sounds like a classic case of not having the proper graphics card drivers. Update your drivers and get back to us.

Also, there is a copy config to clipboard function in Pete's plugins, use that if you want to post your config.

 

[jonc2006]

when dealing with emulation like this, its best not to use what your hardware is capable of with pc games as a reference as to what it should or what you think it should be capable of with emulation, there are just too many differences between the two and how they work internally.

as for what you can do about it, if its onboard video then that is a ball-and-chain sort of thing, while there are some exceptions, most of the time you are stuck with it.

and like i said earlier, its nothing personal but i, and probably zedeck as well, would appreciate it if you read over the FAQs that are found in each section of this particular part of the forums before asking questions like this.

all the relevant information is already been put out there for people to use and most of the time you will find a solution or suggestion for your problem, and if you take your time while reading ,you will also learn more about how everything works and using and setting up epsxe yourself will become much easier.

 

[silogon]

I understand, and am sorry for posting here like this but I looked and no one had the same 946gz express chipset and was wondering if it was a fault with my graphics card alone... I want to get a new grafix card, but don't even know if that's the problem or not. could it be Vista itself? I'm always running at 99% CPU it seems with Vista and was never like that with xp... I was told Vista just uses things differently.

Here are my proper settings for the epsxe BTW & thank you all again.


Plugin: Pete's D3D Driver 1.1.77
Author: Pete Bernert
GFX card: Intel(R) 946GZ Express Chipset Family

Resolution/Color:
- 1440x900 Fullscreen - [32 Bit]

Textures:
- R8G8A8A8
- Filtering: 4
- Hi-Res textures: 1
- VRam size: 0 MBytes

Framerate:
- FPS limit: on
- Frame skipping: off
- FPS limit: Auto

Compatibility:
- Offscreen drawing: 4
- Framebuffer texture: 3
- Framebuffer access: 4
- Alpha multipass: on
- Mask bit: on
- Advanced blending: hardware

Misc:
- Scanlines: off [0]
- Unfiltered FB: off
- Dithering: off
- Screen smoothing: on
- Full vram: on
- Game fixes: on [00000000]

 

[Princess Garnet]

I understand, and am sorry for posting here like this but I looked and no one had the same 946gz express chipset and was wondering if it was a fault with my graphics card alone...

This is the information I asked for that you left out until now. As I said, Pete's OpenGL 2 on onboard GPUs is a bad idea. Most people can't even run the OpenGL(1) plug-in right on the newer IGPs, which I find odd since I swear up and down that my old Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (ala, i865G) played Final Fantasy IX fine on Pete's OpenGL(1) at lower-ish settings on an old PC a few years back, but that's besides the point. Actually, it isn't. That's your problem. You need to use lower settings.

High resolution textures is probably a bad idea (and note that 2xSai looks odd in alot of games, namely Final Fantasy games and others with 2D backdrops).

Texture Filtering of 5 and 6 may be a bit much for an onboard/weaker GPU. 0, 2, or 4 are mostly recommended.

Off screen drawing need only be at 3 for really all except one menu in one game, if I remember from reading something long ago.

Framebuffer textures are too high for that GPU. You should have it at 0 or 1. With 1, you basically disable framebuffer stuff and have it replaced with Blackness, or with 1, it's emulated, but you then need Framebuffer access set to 4 (Full software drawing) to see the framebuffer stuff. I recommend you to do this. Basically, this will move that part of the load from your GPU, which is too weak to do it, to your CPU, which can handle it.

I'm not sure if Advanced blending can be on. You can try leaving it on, but if the other changes don't fully help, turn this off.

Basically, try this.

Plugin: Pete's D3D Driver 1.1.76
Author: Pete Bernert
GFX card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Resolution/Color:
- 640x480 Fullscreen - [32 Bit] (set to whatever you want, but if your GPU can't handle 1440x900, you may have to lower it and/or go windowed)

Textures:
- R8G8A8A8
- Filtering: 0 (set to 0, 2, or 4)
- Hi-Res textures: 0
- VRam size: 0 MBytes

Framerate:
- FPS limit: on
- Frame skipping: off
- FPS limit: Auto

Compatibility:
- Offscreen drawing: 3
- Framebuffer texture: 0
- Framebuffer access: 4
- Alpha multipass: on
- Mask bit: on
- Advanced blending: hardware

Misc:
- Scanlines: off [0]
- Unfiltered FB: off
- Dithering: off
- Screen smoothing: off
- Full vram: off
- Game fixes: off [00000200]

If that fixes it, you can experiment with having the filtering level at 5 if you want. I'm guessing most of the slowdowns came from having both high resolution textures on and having that IGP trying to do framebuffer stuff that was too much for it.

My graphics score was a 3.8 ...

The scores in Windows Vista/7 aren't accurate reflections of real world performance.

 

[70597]

The scores in Windows Vista/7 aren't accurate reflections of real world performance.

Offtopic, but agreed. It's an advertising campaign, not a real benchmark, if you ask me.

 

[silogon]

Ok, I'm back... I've tried what you all have listed and had "some" success on "some" games... What's strange is I can run FF7 without many hangups at all. But Crash Bandicoot won't play at a decent frame rate for nothing... Neither will Tenchu or MGS. For the most part I can use this emulator for a few games and nothing more.

I want to think it's the internal GPU of the Acer and I need to get a new one but even still I don't know what card would be good enough to run the PSX at full speed and at decent graphics output... Any suggestions?

Also, is my CPU at 3GZH suitable to run a PS2 emu if I had a grafix card that could sustain the strain of the graphics?

Basically, I want a new grafix card and need a reason to buy one... OR is my computer just not capable of running either? I'd think at 3gzh and 2 gb of ddr2 ram it would be... Hell, the grafix card I've got intergrated has 64mb of Video ram alone... Isn't that enough to run a epsxe emulator?

 

[Princess Garnet]

It's not about the RAM. It's about the GPU chip itself. I'm not sure how the 945 and it's revisions are exactly performance-wise, but the integrated GPUs have really never been able to run the OpenGL 2 plug-in with high settings, and it seems getting the OpenGL(1) plug-in running with decent settings is hard for some users too.

Try the Direct3D one next, but it's not quite as accurate. Final Fantasy games seem to have some visual incorrectness in it, for example.

If all else fails, use P.E.Op.S. software plug-in. The visuals may not look as great, but it will be plenty fast and more accurate, and with a CPU like that, you should be able to play with the higher stretching filters (maybe even the HQX2 or HQX3 filters).

As for PCSX2, I can comfortably say forget about it. The CPU will bottleneck it too much. I had a decent GPU (at the time, quite a powerful GPU, a 6800GS AGP running as a 6800 Ultra), and even that paired with a Pentium 4 2.8GHz Hyper-threading struggled to get more than ~15FPS average (between ~10FPS-25FPS) in Final Fantasy X, which is one of the easier 3D games to emulate.

If you're wanting to buy a GPU, find out what expansion slots you PC has. Given the chipset, I doubt it's AGP, so it's either PCI, PCI Express x1, or PCI Express x16. If it only has just standard PCI slots, or PCI Express x1 slots (the really short ones), in other words, if it lacks a PCI Express x16 or AGP slot, forget about it. Otherwise, the cards will be too costly for their performance, and the higher performing cards aren't available in anything but PCI Express x16.

Edit: Adding any decent GPU will really let you use the OpenGL plug-in and pretty high settings for anything. It'll also balance your PC and give it some gaming capabilities, even if it is older and a bit long in the tooth for the latest stuff. If you have some money you don't mind dropping, and it has a slot that's worthwhile, Id say go for it. Just keep it to a mid-range card for sake of the likely basic PSU in the system.

Also note that the 945 chipset did support some Core 2 CPUs (not the Penryns, though, and I'm not sure of any quad core CPUs). That chipset was officially made for the Pentium D, but the chipset did run the first generation Core 2s after a BIOS update was made. They just didn't overclock, well, much at all on that chipset (since, as I said, the Core 2 came after the 945 chipset, and support was later added), but they still ran them stock, which is better than any Pentium 4/D. If you can make sure the BIOS of that board has support for them, that might be a good upgrade alongside a GPU upgrade.

 

[Phil]

In short bust open your case and pray for a PCI 16x slot.

$110 bucks can net you a decent card for epsxe.

 

[silogon]

Acer Aspire T690 (Pentium D 935 3.2GHz, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Vista Home Premium) specs and Desktop specifications - CNET Reviews

Those are my specs, save for an upgrade to my HDD and DDR2 ram... I also have a 24 in 1080P LCD as well. I've also installed the latest drivers for intel and Direct X. I am still having issues with Slowdown with the epsxe emulator. I'd think I could run it just fine as is...

Anyways, can you reccomend me a decent Grafix Card since It says I am able to have a PCI express 16 thingy???

I'm just gonna buy a decent card and see where that takes me. 3.2 ghz processor with a decent card, nothing too outlandish, should be good yeah?

what about this card here?

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-01G-P3-N...0?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247189843&sr=8-1

 

[jonc2006]

thats fine. if money is an issue you could even go with one of the older 6 or 7 series models and still get better performance than what you would with onboard video.

 

[-StrikE-]

It depends on your budget, if you still have slowdowns even with the advices given here you should try pSX.

 

[jonc2006]

http://forums.ngemu.com/generic-epsxe-queries/85600-epsxe-configuration-guide-windows.html

btw you can find a great deal of info regarding the minimum and recommended system requirements for epsxe in the link above.

remember though that if you want to make use of the OGL2 plugin and its various features you also need to make sure your hardware meets the requirements for it as well.

 

[silogon]

What gets me the most is that I can run a lot of games... I can run TombRaider, Tomba, Alundra, FF7, Crash 2 and 3... Spyro... Silent Hill, Resident Evil. All very well. Super high settings at that. It runs at good speeds too. When I try to play Tenchu, MGS, Crash 1 for petes sakes, and several others it bogs down... runs at 10 to 15 fps and skips.

Resident Evil 2 plays well until I get to the gun shop... Resident Evil 3 plays good until they talk and then it sounds like they're speaking into a mega phone. Why is this? What could be causing the problem? Even after your guys help, these problems still persist in these games. If I upgrade my card will it fix theses issues? Is it a problem with my CPU as it is clocked at 3.2ghz as we speak...

 

[jonc2006]

the problems are related to your plugin settings. your hardware can sometimes contribute to such things but for the most part its how you have your plugins configured, at least with what you mentioned.

one thing about emulation here is that you should not expect one game to work the same way another does, good or bad. you need to treat each one differently, there are too many factors that are related to how things perform.

some emulators can run certain games better than others and some plugins and configurations can lead to improving performance in one game and at the same time kicking it back in another.

 

[-StrikE-]

What gets me the most is that I can run a lot of games... I can run TombRaider, Tomba, Alundra, FF7, Crash 2 and 3... Spyro... Silent Hill, Resident Evil. All very well. Super high settings at that. It runs at good speeds too. When I try to play Tenchu, MGS, Crash 1 for petes sakes, and several others it bogs down... runs at 10 to 15 fps and skips.

Resident Evil 2 plays well until I get to the gun shop... Resident Evil 3 plays good until they talk and then it sounds like they're speaking into a mega phone. Why is this? What could be causing the problem? Even after your guys help, these problems still persist in these games. If I upgrade my card will it fix theses issues? Is it a problem with my CPU as it is clocked at 3.2ghz as we speak...

Using ePSXe 1.6 or pSX will make Resident Evil 2 and probably RE3 work good.

 

[Princess Garnet]

3.2 ghz processor with a decent card, nothing too outlandish, should be good yeah?

Well, I wouldn't make the assumption that a processor's frequency (it's GHz rating) is all there is to it's worth like that. Even at 3.2GHz, a Pentium 4 is still just a Pentium 4 (A Pentium D is nothing more than 2 Pentium 4 cores on one chip).