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GSdx is the most well-known graphics (GS) plugin for [[PCSX2]], dating back to 2007 and initially developed by Gabest. GSdx is able to use both | GSdx is the most well-known graphics (GS) plugin for [[PCSX2]], dating back to 2007 and initially developed by Gabest. GSdx is able to use both Direct3D10/11 and OpenGL APIs. It also can switch between hardware and software rendering. Some of many of the impressive features of GSdx are high resolution rendering, anti-aliasing, texture filtering, many deinterlacing modes, et cetera.. | ||
==Hardware requirements== | ==Hardware requirements== | ||
The minimum hardware requirements are a graphics card with | The minimum hardware requirements are a graphics card with Direct3D10 and SSE2 CPU. As rendering accuracy has improved over the years, GPU requirements have also increased in emulation so good/decent GU will most certainly be required.<br /> | ||
Don't forget to update your DirectX ([ | Don't forget to update your DirectX ([https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=35 Web installer], [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads 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++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio | You will also need to update your system with Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2019.<br /> | ||
In most cases you'll have several DLLs for each GSdx version. '''SSE2 | In most cases you'll have several DLLs for each GSdx version. '''SSE2''', '''SSE4''' and '''AVX2'''. Which one to choose depends on your CPU installed. Most of the time this will be selected automatically. | ||
* '''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. | ||
* '''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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 Penryn] or newer (E7xxx and higher for Code 2 Duos and Q9xxx and higher for quads). AMD Bulldozer and later support SSE4. '''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 [ | |||
* '''AVX2''' -- is an extension supported by Intel Haswell series CPUs and newer, and AMD Excavator and Zen (Ryzen) CPUs. | * '''AVX2''' -- is an extension supported by Intel Haswell series CPUs and newer, and AMD Excavator and Zen (Ryzen) CPUs. | ||
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==Quick guide to the settings== | ==Quick guide to the settings== | ||
'''''(Outdated, needs updating)'''''<br /> | |||
Familiarize yourself with the following terms used by GSdx: | Familiarize yourself with the following terms used by GSdx: | ||
===Hardware Mode Options=== | |||
* '''Resolution''' is the default resolution. It affects both windows and full screen modes. Higher resolution have minimal performance impact because the picture is actually resized to this resolution from the '''internal resolution'''. | * '''Resolution''' is the default resolution. It affects both windows and full screen modes. Higher resolution have minimal performance impact because the picture is actually resized to this resolution from the '''internal resolution'''. | ||
* '''Renderer''' -- A choice between | * '''Renderer''' -- A choice between, DirectX 11 and OpenGL. There are two subtypes for each API: | ||
** '''Hardware renderer''' -- uses your graphics card to render the picture. This is the fastest and preferred mode. | ** '''Hardware renderer''' -- uses your graphics card to render the picture. This is the fastest and preferred mode. | ||
** '''Software renderer''' -- uses your CPU to render the picture. There will be ONLY native internal resolution available (thus original PS2 visuals). In some cases this mode may produce the best images with the least amount of graphical artifacts. Unfortunately GSdx requires quite a bit of CPU power to render with the software renderer even in internal resolution (without anti-aliasing or anything else applied) so you may end up with a correctly rendered game but which only runs at an unplayable 3-10 fps. Note also that PCSX2 is very CPU hungry but currently supports only 2 cores (the third core may also help a wee when used by different system processes leaving first two exclusively to PCSX2) thus if you have a 3+ core CPU you may consider using them for GSdx working in this mode increasing the render speed dramatically with every additional core (see '''SW renderer threads'''). You can also switch between hardware renderer and software renderer during runtime, see [[GSdx#List_of_ingame_keys|'''List of ingame keys'''-'''F9''']]. | ** '''Software renderer''' -- uses your CPU to render the picture. There will be ONLY native internal resolution available (thus original PS2 visuals). In some cases this mode may produce the best images with the least amount of graphical artifacts. Unfortunately GSdx requires quite a bit of CPU power to render with the software renderer even in internal resolution (without anti-aliasing or anything else applied) so you may end up with a correctly rendered game but which only runs at an unplayable 3-10 fps. Note also that PCSX2 is very CPU hungry but currently supports only 2 cores (the third core may also help a wee when used by different system processes leaving first two exclusively to PCSX2) thus if you have a 3+ core CPU you may consider using them for GSdx working in this mode increasing the render speed dramatically with every additional core (see '''SW renderer threads'''). You can also switch between hardware renderer and software renderer during runtime, see [[GSdx#List_of_ingame_keys|'''List of ingame keys'''-'''F9''']]. | ||
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* '''Aspect ratio''' -- is used to choose the default aspect ratio mode when starting the emulation process. For more detailed explanation see [[GSdx#List_of_ingame_keys|'''List of ingame keys'''-'''F6''']]. | * '''Aspect ratio''' -- is used to choose the default aspect ratio mode when starting the emulation process. For more detailed explanation see [[GSdx#List_of_ingame_keys|'''List of ingame keys'''-'''F6''']]. | ||
* '''Internal Resolution''' -- is used to set the render resolution target. The higher resolution you choose here the bigger picture will be rendered before being resized into your screen resolution thus you'll see more clear and crisp visuals. Unfortunately all those game you'll be playing were created and tested for lower native resolution (~500 x ~450) so some picture parts or objects may look wrong (displaced/framed/no image/invalid colors, etc.) when rendered in higher resolution. These artifacts you may eliminate only by using '''native resolution'''. Increasing internal resolution will impact the rendering speed so the higher resolution you set the more powerful graphics card you'll need to have. | * '''Internal Resolution''' -- is used to set the render resolution target. The higher resolution you choose here the bigger picture will be rendered before being resized into your screen resolution thus you'll see more clear and crisp visuals. Unfortunately all those game you'll be playing were created and tested for lower native resolution (~500 x ~450) so some picture parts or objects may look wrong (displaced/framed/no image/invalid colors, etc.) when rendered in higher resolution. These artifacts you may eliminate only by using '''native resolution'''. Increasing internal resolution will impact the rendering speed so the higher resolution you set the more powerful graphics card you'll need to have. | ||
** '''Native''' resolution. | ** '''Native''' resolution. This is a more compatible mode because it uses the original PS2 display resolution. It should be used first before you attempt to upscale your resolution. | ||
* '''Enable Shade Boost''' -- is used to manually adjust Saturation/Brightness/Contrast levels. | * '''Enable Shade Boost''' -- is used to manually adjust Saturation/Brightness/Contrast levels. | ||
* '''Enable FXAA''' -- check this to enable [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_approximate_anti-aliasing Fast approximate anti-aliasing]. This method of anti-aliasing does not require as much compute power as MSAA, however textures may not appear as sharp compared to MSAA. | * '''Enable FXAA''' -- check this to enable [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_approximate_anti-aliasing Fast approximate anti-aliasing]. This method of anti-aliasing does not require as much compute power as MSAA, however textures may not appear as sharp compared to MSAA. | ||
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Source: [http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-What-does-allowing-disabling-8-bit-textures-do PCSX2 forum] | Source: [http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-What-does-allowing-disabling-8-bit-textures-do PCSX2 forum] | ||
===Software Mode Options=== | ===Software Mode Options=== | ||