How to Configure PCSX2?

Here we are going to show you how to configure PCSX2 in a way that everyone can understand. First, obviously you will need to download the new PCSX2 v0.9.6, an then open the it’s archive and extract the contents of the archive into a folder of your choice. Next Run pcsx2.exe which should be in the folder you extracted the files.

Note For Linux Users

You wil need to download a special binary for this to work. Once you have the special binary you can compile from source by following the instructions in the checkout section. Then you can go to the PCSX2 folder and type “sh build.sh all”, and all the plugins with PCSX2 will compile in the bin folder. Also note that according to the official manual you will need the following installed: gtk2, opengl, libbz2, libjpeg, glew-dev, libxxf86vm-dev, x11proto-xf86vidmodeautomake and autoconf (version >= 1.9) Nvidia Cg-Toolkit, libasound-dev, joystick. Available plugins for Linux are: ZeroGS OpenGL, ZeroSPU2, PeopsSPU2, ZeroPad, EFP Iso, EFP Polling and Linuz Iso.

• Configuring PCSX2

In the main GUI of PCSX2 you can change the settings or plugins used by PCSX2 to your likings.

Select the Config tab Configure to start configuring PCSX2. Next you will want to use the Set Plugins Directory and Set Bios Directory to change the directory from which PCSX2 loads its plugins and bios respectively. So if you are not using the default directories (/plugins and /bios) you should use these buttons to change them. The Configuration, Test and About buttons that you see under each plugin section are for Configuring the selected plugin, testing if a selected plugin works, and for viewing available info on the selected plugin.

• Configuring Graphics in PCSX2

Next you will want to configure the graphics module of PCSX2. I will go over the basics of the graphics configuration, and the rest you can learn through experimentation, or by reading the official guide.

GSdx comes in 3 versions, SSE2, SSSE3 and SSE4.1. If your processor supports these instruction sets use the respective version since it will be faster for you.

To use the DirectX10 mode, you will have to be running Windows Vista or Windows 7 with a DirectX10 compliant graphics card.

• Resolution: In this drop-down menu you will be able to select Windowed if you want GSdx to run in a window, or choose the resolution/refresh rate you want for a full-screen display.

• Renderer: With the renderer you can choose how the graphics will be rendered.

By selecting “Direct3D9 (Hardware)”,GSdx will use the Direct3D capabilities of your graphics card, boosting the emulation speed significantly. If you select “Direct3D10 (Hardware)”,GSdx will use its’ Direct3D10 mode which is usually the fastest mode and sometimes even more compatible as well. Highly recommended if your system supports it. By selecting “Direct3D9 (software)” GSdx will use its’ built-in software renderer, which will not use your graphics card at all, but your processor instead. This way the emulation speed is greatly reduced but you get maximum compatibility. Recommended if you encounter graphics bugs with the Direct3D renderer. If you select “Direct3D9 (null)”,”Null (software)” or “Null (null)” the plugin will simply not render anything, thus not giving any output on screen. Use it only if you want to do something like listening to music since with this mode you get a dramatic speed increase.

• Shader: In the shader you will be able to choose between 2 options. Pixel Shader 2.0 or Pixel Shader 3.0. Pixel Shader 2.0: Will use Pixel Shaders v2.0,improving the graphics Pixel Shader 3.0: Will use Pixel Shaders v3.0,improving the graphics.

• Interlacing: In this module you can to choose between None and 6 other interlacing techniques, which are used to remove the “shaking” of the display. In parentheses you can see what kind of effect and maybe disadvantage each one of these modes have. You can cycle through these disadvantages during a game by pressing the F5 key.

• Aspect Ratio (F6): Self explanatory, you can select stretch to stretch the display to get rid of the black boarders,4:3 for a normal display and 16:9 for a wide screen display.

• Hit Ok to save your changes or cancel to go back to the main Configuration window

If you followed these instructions to a tee, then you should be running a fully working version of PCSX2 right now. Congratulations!