PCSX2 2.0 is here! - Full PS2 Emulator Guide
Summary
TLDRThe video offers a comprehensive guide to setting up PCSX2 2.0, a top-tier PS2 emulator for PC. It covers downloading the emulator, installation steps, configuring BIOS and game folders, and optimizing controller settings. The tutorial also delves into enhancing graphics and performance, discussing various renderer options, internal resolution settings, and the use of patches and cheats. Additionally, it touches on adding cover art and playing games, providing viewers with everything they need to enjoy PS2 games on their PCs.
Takeaways
- 😀 The 2.0 version of PCSX2, a top PS2 emulator for PCs, has been released with significant improvements in graphics and performance.
- 💻 The emulator can be downloaded from the official website, with instructions tailored for Windows 10 and 11 users.
- 🔗 A link to the emulator download is provided in the video description for easy access.
- 🛠️ The installation process involves selecting the portable installation type and choosing the installation folder, ideally on the C drive for organizational and compatibility reasons.
- 🚫 Despite potential warnings from Windows, the emulator file is safe to run after confirming it's from the official source.
- 🌐 The setup wizard allows for language and theme selection, catering to user preferences and ensuring a personalized experience.
- 📂 The emulator setup includes specifying the BIOS and game folders, which are crucial for the emulation process.
- 🎮 The controller configuration is streamlined with an automatic mapping function supporting various devices, including DualShock and Xbox controllers.
- 🖥️ Graphics settings can be optimized for performance and visual quality, with options like internal resolution and anisotropic filtering adjustable to match the user's monitor and PC capabilities.
- 🎮 Game-specific settings can be adjusted through properties for tailored emulation experiences, including patches and cheats that enhance gameplay.
- 🎨 An option to add cover art to games is available, enhancing the visual appeal of the emulator's game library.
Q & A
What is the latest version of PCSX2 discussed in the video?
-The latest version of PCSX2 discussed in the video is version 2.0.
What improvements have been made in PCSX2 2.0?
-PCSX2 2.0 has several improvements for graphics and performance across the whole emulator, including changes that have been present since the nightly build.
How can I download the PCSX2 emulator?
-You can download the PCSX2 emulator from their official website by clicking on 'latest stable' and selecting the appropriate installer for your system.
Why might Windows warn that the PCSX2 installer is a virus?
-Windows might warn that the PCSX2 installer is a virus because it is a new file that hasn't been checked by Windows yet, but it is safe to proceed with the installation.
What is the difference between the portable and installer versions of PCSX2?
-The portable version of PCSX2 keeps all the required files and folders in the same place, while the installer version organizes the files in a more structured manner on your system.
Should I create a desktop shortcut for PCSX2 during installation?
-It is recommended to create a desktop shortcut for PCSX2 during installation for easy access.
Where should I place the BIOS files for PCSX2?
-The BIOS files should be placed in the BIOS folder within the PCSX2 installation directory, typically located on the C drive.
How do I get BIOS files for PCSX2?
-BIOS files are protected by copyright, so you should ideally get them by dumping your BIOS from your PS2 into your PC, or you can try to find them on the internet, but this method is not demonstrated in the video due to YouTube's guidelines.
How can I configure the controller for PCSX2?
-You can configure the controller by selecting the 'automatic mapping' option and choosing the appropriate device from the list of available devices.
What is the recommended renderer setting for PCSX2?
-The recommended renderer setting for PCSX2 is Vulkan, as it provides the best performance for most games, but OpenGL, Direct 3D 11, and Direct 3D 12 are also good options if Vulkan is not available.
How can I get high-quality cover art for my games in PCSX2?
-You can get high-quality cover art for your games in PCSX2 by using the 'cover downloader' tool and pasting the URL provided on GitHub into the emulator.
Outlines
🎮 Introduction to PCSX2 2.0 Setup
The video introduces the 2.0 version of PCSX2, a highly regarded PlayStation 2 emulator for PCs. It highlights the numerous improvements in graphics and performance since the nightly build. The tutorial aims to guide viewers through the process of setting up PCSX2 on a Windows PC for optimal PS2 gaming experience. The presenter provides a link to the emulator's website for downloading the latest stable version and walks through the installation process, including selecting the portable installation type, choosing the installation folder, and creating desktop shortcuts. The video also addresses a common misconception regarding the emulator's .exe file being flagged as a virus by Windows, reassuring viewers of its safety and instructing them to proceed with the installation despite the warning.
🔧 PCSX2 Installation and Configuration
The tutorial continues with the PCSX2 installation process, guiding viewers through the setup wizard where they can select their preferred language and theme. It emphasizes the importance of keeping the emulator updated and suggests enabling the automatic update check. The video then delves into the BIOS file setup, explaining the need for these files and the process of obtaining them, albeit without direct guidance due to copyright restrictions. It also covers the creation of a 'games' folder for organizing game files and the automatic scanning feature for new game additions. The controller configuration is also discussed, with a demonstration of the automatic mapping function for various controller types, including DualShock and Xbox controllers.
🕹️ Advanced PCSX2 Settings for Performance
This section focuses on fine-tuning PCSX2 for the best graphics and performance. It begins with general settings, such as starting the emulator in full screen and hiding the cursor, then moves on to BIOS settings, including the fast boot option. The video advises caution with certain settings that may affect game compatibility. The emulation tab is covered, with recommendations for enabling multithread V1 and instant V1 for optimal performance. The graphics tab is explored in depth, discussing the choice of renderer (Vulkan, OpenGL, Direct 3D), the selection of the graphics card for emulation, and the display settings. The tutorial also touches on the use of internal resolution to enhance game visuals and the importance of anisotropic filtering for improved texture quality.
🖼️ Customizing PCSX2 with Game Patches and Covers
The final part of the tutorial covers game-specific settings in PCSX2, including the use of patches and cheats to enhance the gaming experience. It explains how to enable these features and the necessity of additional settings for certain patches to function correctly. The video also introduces the process of adding cover art to games within the emulator, utilizing a cover downloader tool and a URL link for high-quality 3D or standard covers. The presenter concludes with a brief mention of other tutorial videos on the channel and an invitation for viewers to support the content through donations. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to subscribe, like, and watch more content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡PCSX2
💡Emulator
💡Graphics and Performance
💡BIOS Files
💡Installation
💡Game-Specific Settings
💡Controller Mapping
💡Aspect Ratio
💡Patches and Cheats
💡Cover Art
💡ISO Format
Highlights
PCSX2 2.0, the best PS2 emulator for PC, has been released with numerous improvements.
The video provides a full setup guide for PCSX2 on Windows 10 and 11.
The emulator can be downloaded from the official website, with a link provided in the video description.
The installer version is recommended over the portable version for ease of organization.
Windows may incorrectly flag the emulator as a virus, but it's safe to run after confirming the source.
The portable installation keeps all files in one folder, simplifying organization.
The default installation folder is recommended to avoid potential emulator issues.
Creating a desktop shortcut for PCSX2 is an optional step during installation.
The setup wizard allows customization of language and theme for the emulator.
BIOS files, protected by copyright, should be obtained by dumping from a personal PS2 or found online.
The emulator can scan for games in a designated folder, with an option to scan on startup.
The controller setup includes automatic mapping for DualShock and Xbox controllers.
Game-specific settings can be configured for optimal graphics and performance.
Vulkan is recommended as the renderer for best performance, if supported by the GPU.
The emulator supports HD texture packs and game mods for enhanced visuals.
Post-processing options like FXAA and Lotus CRT are available for visual enhancements.
The emulator can play games online, with a tutorial video provided.
Cover art for games can be automatically downloaded and displayed in the emulator.
The video concludes with a call to action for subscriptions, likes, and donations.
Transcripts
The 2.0 version of PCSX2, the best PS2 emulator for a PC, has finally been released. A lot of
the changes and improvements here on 2.0 have been around since the nightly build of PCSX2,
and several improvements for graphics and performance across the whole emulator.
In this video, I'll show you the full setup for PCSX2 on your PC
with the best settings so you can play your favorite PS2 games on PC. Let's get going!
The first step is downloading the emulator itself, and it's available
here on their website. I'll put the link to this in the description of the video. Right
here on the main page, you want to click on "latest stable." It's going to list all the
systems that this emulator is available for. This tutorial is for Windows 10 and 11, so I'm
going to click on the first option, "installer." There's also the portable version available here,
but we're going to get the installer one because it keeps all the required files and folders in
the same place. Go ahead and click on this one. It's going to come as a single .exe file like
this one, so go ahead and double-click on it. Very likely, you're going to get this
message from Windows saying that this file is apparently a virus, but this is just because
it is a new file and it hasn't been checked by them yet. But it's safe, so go ahead and click
on "more info" and then click on "run anyway." Then it will take us to the installation process.
On the first screen, you want to go ahead and select the portable installation right here. The
only difference from this one is that all the files are going to be kept in the same folder,
so it's much better for organizing everything. Now click on "next." Now
you have to select the folder where you want the emulator to be installed, and ideally,
you should keep the installation folder as the one that it tells you because this emulator can
have some problems if you install it on external drives or something like that. So it's best that
you keep it here on the C drive. That's what I'm going to do here, so go ahead and click on "next."
Now, this is the option if you want to create a start menu shortcut for this one as well. I'm
just going to go ahead and click on "next" right here. Now it's going to ask you if you want to
create a desktop shortcut. I'm going to go ahead and checkmark this one. Now you can review your
settings. When you're done, go ahead and click on "install." This should only take
a few seconds here. Then finally, we can launch PCSX2. So make sure this one is checked here and
click on "finish," and we now have arrived at the setup wizard window. Some options here to select
the language and the theme for this emulator. This emulator is available in multiple languages
right here, so just select the one you want to play. I'm just going to select the default one,
which is English. You can also change the theme as well. I'm going to keep mine on "dark fusion
gray," but if you click on them, you can see how they look right here. You have a bunch to select
from, but in my case, I'm just going to keep this one here. You can also make the emulator check
for updates every time you start it. That's up to you. I would recommend leaving this
on actually so you can get the latest fixes and enhancements. Now go ahead and click on "next."
Now here you have to select the folder where you want the emulator to scan for the BIOS files,
and because I selected the default installation, they are all located right here on the C drive.
There's a PCSX2 folder and then the BIOS folder. I already navigated here on my computer where this
is located. Once again, PC > Local Disk (C:) > PCSX2. So this is going to depend on where you
choose to install everything. Right here, inside the PCSX2 folder, there is the BIOS folder inside,
and this is where you're going to be placing the BIOS file. The BIOS files are protected by
copyright, so ideally, you should get them by dumping your BIOS from your PS2 into your PC,
or you can try to find them on the internet. But this is something that
I can't show you here on the video because it is against YouTube's guidelines. If I share a
link for BIOS download or just show in the video how you can get them on the Internet,
YouTube will delete my video. So when you finally have them with you, you're just going to drop the
file here in this folder. It's going to look something very similar to this one,
a bin file, but it can also come as a different file type here. So you're going to drop it in
this folder. Now you're going to go back to the installation setup here, and you're going to click
on "refresh list." Then if you did it right, the BIOS file will be located right here. Now
you just have to click on the BIOS file once to highlight it. Now go ahead and click on "next."
This time you're going to select the folder where you want the emulator to scan for games.
For this one, what I like to do here is to go back to the PCSX2 folder, and I like creating
a new folder here by clicking on the folder with the right button. Then you click on "new" and then
"folder," and I simply just create a new folder here called "games" like this. Now you're going
to go back to the emulator, then you're going to click here on "add." It should open the previous
folder where you were. In my case, it was the BIOS folder, right? So now I'm just going to
navigate to the emulator folder, and then I'm just going to click on the games folder once and then
click on "select folder." Then it will ask you if you want the emulator to scan this folder every
time you open it. Go ahead and click on "yes," so every time you put a new game in here, the
emulator will recognize it as soon as you start it. You can also select multiple folders here;
it doesn't have to be just a single one. You can just click here on "add" and keep adding
more folders where the game files are going to be. Then when you're done, click on "next."
Now we have to configure the controller. This emulator has an automatic mapping function,
so if you already have the device you want to use plugged into your computer, you're going
to make sure that you have DualShock 2 selected here. Then you're going to click on "automatic
mapping," and it's going to list all the available devices to be used as a controller. In my case,
I have an Xbox controller, so I'm going to click here on SDL-0, and just like that, it's ready.
This emulator supports all the DualShock controllers and Xbox controllers as well,
and even third-party controllers if you can make them be recognized as Xbox controllers. You can
use your keyboard as well if that's what you want to do. Later on, I'm going to show you how to
further configure your controllers, but for now, if you want to also use the port two controller if
you want to play games locally, do the exact same thing here for controller port two. Now go ahead
and click here on "next," and we're done with the setup installation. Now click here on "finish,"
and it's going to take us to the emulator itself, which is going to look something like this. This
is blank because I haven't added any games to the folder, right? If you followed exactly what I did
here and you also have the games folder with you, this is where you're going to be dropping your
game files. One of the best and most common formats for PCSX2 is having the games as an
ISO format like this. And just like the BIOS, I can't show you here on the video where to
get them. Ideally, you should get them by dumping your copies of your game into your PC and having
them as a single ISO is enough here for this emulator. So now you're going to go back to PCSX2,
and you're just going to click here on "scan for new games," and just like that, the games in there
are going to show up here. Now we're going to configure the emulator settings for the best
graphics and performance. I'm going to start with the general settings of this emulator and then
we're going to do the game-specific settings. So start by clicking here on settings and then click
on the first option available: interface. On this first tab, there are some options here, but they
don't affect the performance or the quality of the emulator. Stuff like starting the emulator at
full screen if you want to do that. Also, hide the cursor in full screen as well. Actually,
this one is pretty good. I'm going to use that. So configure this one in the way you want it.
So now we're going to head over here to the BIOS tab. In here, we have the option to enable fast
boot on the emulator, and this will skip the PS2 startup screen whenever you start a game. This
is useful if you just want to get to your games fast, and there's also a fast forward boot as
well so you can start the game even faster. But these options can break some games, so I would
not recommend using this one—only the fast boot really if you want to skip the startup screen.
Now we're going to head over to the emulation tab, and right here,
the only options that you want to make sure you have enabled are enable multithread V1 and enable
instant V1. The rest you don't have to change. In fact, it's best that you don't because this will
affect the gameplay speed, and you should only use this if you really know what you're doing.
The next option is the graphics tab, and this is where the fun is going to start. Right here
on top, where it says renderer, there's a few graphical outputs we can select. Vulkan is the one
that performs the best for most games out there on this emulator, but if your GPU is outdated, it's
not going to show up in here. If that's the case, the second best, in my opinion, is OpenGL, but
Direct 3D 11 and 12 are also pretty good in here. So if you're not sure what to choose from, you can
go ahead and leave it on automatic, but if you have Vulkan, I would definitely recommend trying
with this one on. But if you don't like it, choose either OpenGL or Direct 3D. I'm going to leave
Vulkan selected here. And here on adapter, you want to choose the graphics card that you want the
emulator to use if you have a multiple GPU setup. That is, in my case, I only have the GeForce RTX
3070, so that's what I'm going to select here. Now on display, there's only borders full screen
to select here on full screen mode. And here on aspect ratio, this is the option that you want
to use if you want to stretch the image of your game. Some games on the PS2 are only available
on the 4:3 aspect ratio, but some of them also have an option for widescreen 16:9. If you select
widescreen and the game does not have support for that, the emulator will stretch the screen of the
game to fit your monitor. But there's something very nice about PCSX2, which are the cheats, and
a lot of games have support for widescreen patch on this emulator. So I'm going to cover this later
on in the video, but if you don't know which one to select for now, keep it on auto standard here.
The next three options, the FMV as raw, the interlacing, and bilinear filtering,
you don't have to change. They're good to go on the default option here. Now let's head over to
the rendering tab, and the first option here, internal resolution, is one feature that can
make games look much better here on the emulator. You can either play your games on their native PS2
resolution here or you can change all the way to 5K resolution. And ideally, here, you want
to select the resolution option that matches the resolution of your monitor. In my case,
I have a 1080p monitor, so ideally, I want to leave it here on 3x native. But if you have a
powerful PC and you want to go beyond that, you can select a resolution that is higher than your
monitor. The emulator will render the game at that resolution, but it's going to be fit to be
displayed on the resolution of your monitor. For the remaining options, the only one that I'm also
going to change here is anisotropic filtering. This one will make your games look much better,
and it has minimal impact on your GPU, so you can go ahead and select 16x with no trouble.
The remaining options ideally you want to leave them on the default here unless the
emulator tells you. That's because when you start the game, the emulator will tell you what are the
best settings that you should use on rendering in order to get the best emulation out of the
game. But be aware that these options can affect the performance on the emulator, especially on
the CPU. This option here, blending accuracy, is one that's particularly heavy on the CPU,
so use this one depending on the specs that you have and what the emulator tells you.
On the texture replacement tab, these are the options that you want to change here if you're
going to install one of those HD texture packs for your game. This emulator supports that,
and you can find these texture packs out on the Internet and also if you just want
to mod your game. Next, you're going to head over to the post-processing tab,
and you have some options here like sharpening with FXAA, and it usually looks pretty good on
the emulator. There's also features here too, like, for example, the Lotus CRT. This one is
useful if you want to play your games like if you were playing on an actual old television,
like if you were playing on an actual CRT monitor. So if you want a look that tries to be faithful
to an actual PS2, this is the option here. There's also some other stuff if you want to
mess with them and have fun. This is up to you. Next, we just have the OSD and recording tabs,
and this is just stuff if you want to show the FPS on your game if you want to get rid of the
notifications it shows up on the top left corner of the screen as well, and also for
recording too if you want to do actual gameplay recordings without using external software.
We now only have the audio tab here that you should leave as default unless you know what
you're doing. Here also is the memory cards tab here if you want to format or use a different
memory card or use a memory card that you got from the Internet that has a specific save file from
the game you're playing. You can do that here as well. And also the network configuration,
this emulator can play games online, and I actually have a video here on the channel
showing you how to play online on PCSX2. I'll put the link to that one in the description of
this video as well. And that's pretty much it here for the standard settings of PCSX2.
Now for the game-specific settings. With your games loaded in here, in my case, I'm going to
use Black as an example, you're going to click on your game with the right button and then you're
going to click here on properties. It's going to open a window that's very similar to the one that
we were messing with just now, but we now have the patches and the cheats tab available. And
to patch your game, you simply have to click here on patches, and the emulator will find the patches
available to your game. And to activate them in your game, you just have to click here on enable,
and the next time you start, it's going to enable those cheats. Be aware that some of them will have
additional settings that you have to change in order for them to work properly, like the 60
FPS code for Black, for example. You also have to enable the overclock under the emulation tab here
in order to make sure that this one works properly. And there's the widescreen patch
that I talked about before. Most games will have this one here, and if you're going to use that,
make sure that you go to the graphics tab here and then change the aspect ratio to widescreen 16:9.
Not every game will have their patches available here because they actually have to import those
into the emulator database, so there are some that might be missing. And if that's the case,
you have to manually add them yourself, and I happen to have a video here on the channel that
covers that as well. So I'm going to leave the link in the description of this video as well.
Now the next thing that I want to show you here is the option to add cover art to your games. Right
here on the options, you're going to click here on this icon that has these four squares right here,
and it's going to switch to the cover art display. There's nothing selected here, and
there is a fast way that you can get high-quality cover art to all the games that you currently have
on the emulator. First, you're going to click here on tools, and then you're going to select
cover downloader. Now on this window, we just have to input the URL to download covers from,
and there is one that was made just for PCSX2, and it can be found on this post right here on
GitHub. It's simply called PS2 covers. I'll put the link in the description of the video as well,
and they have a software that works really well, but it's much better for us to just grab the URL
and just paste that on the emulator. And they give us an option here to download
covers in the default format and also 3D covers. In my case, I'm going to go with
the 3D covers here. So you're going to copy the URL here provided, or you can just click here,
just copy that for you, and now go back to the emulator, and you just have to paste the
link right here and then click on start. And in just a matter of seconds, depending on how many
games you have here, it's going to download the 3D cover art for you or the standard format if
you select that. If you want to change from the 3D format to the standard one or the other way
around, you have to delete the covers first. And you can find them here on the emulator folder,
right here on the covers folder. Then you just have to delete those from here,
and you just have to repeat the process again of selecting the
tools here and then cover downloader. But this time, you're going to paste the link
of the standard cover folder or the 3D one, depending on what you had before.
Finally, when you're ready to play your games, you just have to simply double-click them here
on the emulator, and they will start as such. I have many other tutorial videos
like this on the channel, and if you want to directly support me with a donation,
the link will be in the description of this video. Make sure to subscribe to the channel
and also leave a like on this video. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you soon!
関連動画をさらに表示
Como GRAVAR Vídeos com OBS Studio | Vídeo Aula, Gameplay, Tutorial, Tela do PC (Grátis)
How to Build Quest 2 VR Apps with Unreal Engine 4.27 | VR Development
How to Play GTA 5 on Android Smartphone ! *50 FPS*
ANDROID com KOTLIN 2023 - #01 - Instalação e Primeira App
Cara Setting IP Camera Hikvision Dari Nol
Cara Install React Native + Full Setup [2024]
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)