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GSDX is the most known graphics plugin for [[PCSX2]] dating back to 2007 and initially developed by Gabest, who still remains as the main contributor. GSDX uses DirectX and is currently able to utilize DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 APIs. It also can switch between hardware and software rendering. Some of many of the impressive features of GSDX are high rendering resolution, anti-aliasing filtering, many deinterlacing modes, full screen mode, correctable aspect ratio, et cetera. DirectX 10 mode is confirmed by many to be the most compatible (in contrast with DirectX 9) but some games will still be working better under DirectX 9. You can find the official GSDX thread [http://forums.pcsx2.net/thread-3031.html here].
GSDX is the most known graphics plugin for [[PCSX2]] dating back to 2007 and initially developed by Gabest, who still remains as the main contributor. GSDX uses DirectX and is currently able to utilize DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 APIs. It also can switch between hardware and software rendering. Some of many of the impressive features of GSDX are high rendering resolution, anti-aliasing filtering, many deinterlacing modes, full screen mode, correctable aspect ratio, et cetera. DirectX 10 mode is confirmed by many to be the most compatible (in contrast with DirectX 9) but some games will still be working better under DirectX 9. You can find the official GSDX thread [http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-GSdx here].


==Hardware requirements==
==Hardware requirements==


The minimum hardware requirements are a graphics card with pixel shader 2.0 (ATi Radeon 9500 series and later and the NVIDIA GeForce FX series) and SSE2 CPU (non-SSE2 CPUs cannot run PCSX2, however they are quite old so this shouldn't be a problem). Most PCSX2 emulated games are not hungry for GPU power but are dependent on the CPU. However, certain scenes in some games can be slowed down significantly if your graphics card is weak. Care must also be taken when running PCSX2 on laptops. Some of them are not designed to work on constant 100% load and can suffer damage from overheating. Investing on a decent laptop cooler is a good idea.<br />
The minimum hardware requirements are a graphics card with pixel shader 3.0 (ATi Radeon 9500 series and later and the NVIDIA GeForce FX series) and SSE2 CPU (non-SSE2 CPUs cannot run PCSX2, however they are quite old so this shouldn't be a problem). Most PCSX2 emulated games are not hungry for GPU power but are dependent on the CPU. However, certain scenes in some games can be slowed down significantly if your graphics card is weak. Care must also be taken when running PCSX2 on laptops. Some of them are not designed to work on constant 100% load and can suffer damage from overheating. Investing on a decent laptop cooler is a good idea.<br />
For DirectX 10 mode you will need a DirectX 10 capable card (NVIDIA GeForce 8000 series or ATi Radeon HD 2000 series at the least) running under Windows Vista or Windows 7.<br />
For DirectX 10 mode you will need a DirectX 10 capable card (NVIDIA GeForce 8000 series or ATi Radeon HD 2000 series at the least) running under Windows Vista or Windows 7.<br />
Don't forget to update your DirectX ([http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2DA43D38-DB71-4C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en Web installer], [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0CEF8180-E94A-4F56-B157-5AB8109CB4F5&displaylang=en Runtime package]) specifically if your PCSX2 does not want to work demanding to update DirectX or complaining about some missing dlls.<br/>
Don't forget to update your DirectX ([http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=35 Web installer], [http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=8109 Runtime package]) specifically if your PCSX2 does not want to work demanding to update DirectX or complaining about some missing dlls.<br/>
You will also need to update your system with Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package ([http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A5C84275-3B97-4AB7-A40D-3802B2AF5FC2&displaylang=en x86], [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=BA9257CA-337F-4B40-8C14-157CFDFFEE4E&displaylang=en x64]).<br />
You will also need to update your system with Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package ([http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=5582 x86], [http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=2092 x64]).<br />


In most cases you'll have several dlls for each GSDX version. '''SSE2''', '''SSSE3''' and '''SSE4'''. Which one to choose depends on your CPU installed.
In most cases you'll have several dlls for each GSDX version. '''SSE2''', '''SSSE3''', '''SSE4''' and ''AVX'''. Which one to choose depends on your CPU installed.
* SSE2 -- is Intel 2001 CPU extension features many additional instructions for 64-bit and floating point operations. AMD adopted these instructions from Athlon 64 CPUs in 2003. Your CPU will surely support SSE2 and thus this dll will be your safe choice.
* SSE2 -- is Intel 2001 CPU extension features many additional instructions for 64-bit and floating point operations. AMD adopted these instructions from Athlon 64 CPUs in 2003. Your CPU will surely support SSE2 and thus this dll will be your safe choice.
* SSSE3 -- is Intel 2006 revision to '''SSE3''' CPU extension supported only by Core 2 processors and higher. '''Warning''': If you will try to use SSSE3 optimized dll on Pentium 4/AMD CPU you will encounter a crash whenever the code reaches SSSE3 optimized part (it may not happen for some time but it will occur eventually).
* SSSE3 -- is Intel 2006 revision to '''SSE3''' CPU extension supported only by Core 2 processors and higher. '''Warning''': If you will try to use SSSE3 optimized dll on Pentium 4/AMD CPU you will encounter a crash whenever the code reaches SSSE3 optimized part (it may not happen for some time but it will occur eventually).
* SSE4 -- is Intel 2006 CPU extension consists of two subsets 4.1 and 4.2. GSDX only uses 4.1 set so you'll need Intel CPU with codename [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_2#Penryn Penryn] or newer (E7xxx and higher for Code 2 Duos and Q9xxx and higher for quads). As of now AMD only partly supports SSE4 (calling it SSE4a) which sadly will not be enough for GSDX. '''Warning''': If you will try to use SSE4 optimized dll on unsupported CPU you will encounter a crash whenever the code reaches SSE4 optimized part (it may not happen for some time but it will occur eventually).
* SSE4 -- is Intel 2006 CPU extension consists of two subsets 4.1 and 4.2. GSDX only uses 4.1 set so you'll need Intel CPU with codename [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_2#Penryn Penryn] or newer (E7xxx and higher for Code 2 Duos and Q9xxx and higher for quads). As of now AMD only partly supports SSE4 (calling it SSE4a) which sadly will not be enough for GSDX. '''Warning''': If you will try to use SSE4 optimized dll on unsupported CPU you will encounter a crash whenever the code reaches SSE4 optimized part (it may not happen for some time but it will occur eventually).
* AVX -- is an Intel and AMD CPU extension. Intel Sandy bridge and Ivy bridge processors support this, and the AMD Bulldozer line.


The difference between these versions is not immediately apparent to the user. You won't see large FPS gains when switching from SSE2 to SSE4 but there are some parts in games that do benefit from these optimizations.
The difference between these versions is not immediately apparent to the user. You won't see large FPS gains when switching from SSE2 to SSE4 but there are some parts in games that do benefit from these optimizations. The AVX versions only provide speed ups fro the software renderer of GSdx.


==Quick guide to the settings==
==Quick guide to the settings==