What parts should I upgrade?

[proghodet]

Hey! I'm getting a bit tired of never being able to run emulators at anything other than the lowest settings available. I realized this especially when I earlier today downloaded Zombeavers configs for the PCSX2 emulator - I had to take the graphics settings down by a lot in order to avoid lag. So, I would like some help pointing out the bottleneck(s), and suggestions on what I should upgrade to.

My specs are as follows:
Intel Core I5-4590S CPU @ 3.00GHz
16GB RAM
Windows 10 64-bit
NVIDIA GeForce GT730

[neil9000]

3 minutes ago, proghodet said:

Hey! I'm getting a bit tired of never being able to run emulators at anything other than the lowest settings available. I realized this especially when I earlier today downloaded Zombeavers configs for the PCSX2 emulator - I had to take the graphics settings down by a lot in order to avoid lag. So, I would like some help pointing out the bottleneck(s), and suggestions on what I should upgrade to.

My specs are as follows:
Intel Core I5-4590S CPU @ 3.00GHz
16GB RAM
Windows 10 64-bit
NVIDIA GeForce GT730

for upscaling in emu's like pcsx2 its your GPU that is used, so that is your weakness with the specs you posted. That is only for the 3D based systems though, all the older systems only use the CPU and usually just the one core, so you want a high clock speed there, i see yours is at 3.0GHz that should be fine for most things but will struggle with some emus, higan and beetle saturn retroarch cores for example. i see its ai5-4590s and a GT730, is it a Laptop?

[proghodet]

It is a desktop computer, actually The emus I use are as follows:
Cemu, Citra, Demul (Redream lags in full screen at lowest settings), DeSmuMe, Dolphin, ePSXe, FCEUX, Fusion, m2emulator, Mame 205, PCSX2, PPSSPP, Project64, Snes9X, Steem Engine and VisualBoyAdvance-M - no retroarch

Would a nvidia 1050 4gb fit the bill?

Edited January 12, 2019 by proghodet

[proghodet]

Hi again! I upgraded my graphics card to a GeForce GTX 1060 6gb card, but I'm still not seeing the improvements I was hoping for. I tried PCSX2 with the configs from  @Zombeaver. I also tried Redream with default settings and even the Beetle core in RetroArch (both HW and not) with default settings, and all appear with distorted sound and a sense of stutter. I made sure to install and update all drivers for good measure. Anyone have tips as to why I get such bad performance? Any things I should consider?

Edited February 9, 2019 by proghodet

[JoeViking245]

Your computer specs are fine (especially with the holycrap 6Gb video  ) to run PS2.  I'd say stick with using PCSX2.  I have an i5 3.4/6Mb/GTX960-4Gb and most my PS2's run fine.  Note: most

What version of PCSX2 are you running?  I assume (at least) 1.4.0.  You can find more recent builds but they're listed as "unstable" as a disclaimer for being unofficial.  I looked at Zombeavers' setups and it turns out none of what I have is on the list.  (mostly my taste in games) I ended up searching the pcsx2 wiki and forums for suggested configurations.  https://wiki.pcsx2.net/Main_Page   https://forums.pcsx2.net/

You'll find that a lot of games are listed as "playable" which can mean 'ya, you can play 'em but they emulate poorly'.  Are you experimenting across the board with just one game, or have you tried several?

[proghodet]

For pcsx2 (1.5.0 dev. 2467) I just tried Tekken 5 , because that is one game I've been wanting to get smooth with upscaled graphics It stays at about 84% speed most of the time, with a drop here and there.

But it seems strange to me that PS1 in retroarch has all the audio distortion, no? ePSXe runs fine with full blast on every setting.

Edited February 9, 2019 by proghodet

[Zombeaver]

With a 1060, your bottleneck is not your videocard. All my configs are made with a GTX 780, which is basically a 960, and I'm at 100% all the time. I have a 4770k though, so I'm gonna go ahead and say it's your CPU that's the problem. My suggestion would be to use the config and then make the downward adjustments like I suggest in the opening post until you're at 100%. Generally speaking a lot of the more demanding emulators are more CPU-intensive than GPU-intensive, partly because they're generally single-threaded.

[proghodet]

Actually, I just tried with native resolution, and I'm still at 84% speed - it seems more or less locked on 50fps, but tries to go for 60fps

[Zombeaver]

[proghodet]

Just now, Zombeaver said:

?

[Zombeaver]

You can try switching to GL, which may or may not help. Beyond that, I dunno what to tell you. I'm still gonna say it's your CPU.

[proghodet]

I have an i7-4770 @ 3.40Ghz in my other PC. May just switch with that Thank you for your replies anyways!

[Zombeaver]

Yeah, I would try that and see how it goes. Mine's at 3.5, but that's just stock.

As I said, when it comes to emulation, your CPU performance is generally more important than GPU. Most emulators aren't all that GPU-intensive. With PCSX2, dropping the scaling can improve performance if the GPU is creating a bottleneck, but with a 1060 that's not going to be the case (that's better than what I have).

[Lordmonkus]

CPU would be my guess but your CPU on paper would seem to be powerful enough for PCSX2, though certain games do require a bit more than others.

[JoeViking245]

Now you'all got me curious.  I'm going to try it on my  i5 3.4/6Mb/GTX960-4Gb

[proghodet]

I've got it running at 100% with a few drops here and there, by switching to the PAL version - which makes sense since the PAL version has 50fps, and not 60fps

But I will swap the cpu anyways

[JoeViking245]

Just tried both versions and only needed to (change) Enable HW Hacks and check Align Sprite for the vertical lines. 

...and with PAL...

So I think it has to some little setting or checkbox.  Or maybe there is that much difference between a 3.0 and 3.5 GHz i5.

[Lordmonkus]

4 minutes ago, JoeViking245 said:

Or maybe there is that much difference between a 3.0 and 3.5 GHz i5

500 Mhz can make a huge difference in emulation, especially when you are near the tipping point.

[proghodet]

Okay i've swapped the cpu's, and it made quite a difference in pcsx2 - so far so good!
But I tested mednafen for ps1 in retroarch with the default settings and it still has the scratchy / distorted sound.
The same with redream, with the lowest internal resolution. The sound is fine when in windowed mode.

Edited February 9, 2019 by proghodet

[Lordmonkus]

I would think an i7 4770 would be fast enough for those 2 emulators, they ran fine on my old AMD 8350@ 4GHz but that CPU has considerably less power when it comes to emulation.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-4770-vs-AMD-FX-8350/1978vs1489