PCSX2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| PCSX2 | |
 GUI |
|
| Developer: | Linuzappz |
|---|---|
| Latest release: | 0.9.2 / November 18, 2006 |
| OS: | Linux, MS Windows |
| Use: | Emulator |
| License: | GPL |
| Website: | PCSX2.net |
PCSX2 is a PlayStation 2 emulator for the Linux and Windows operating systems. (Starting with version 0.9.2 for Windows only) The emulator has been improved greatly since its first release, though it is still in beta as of December 2006. With the current version 0.9.2, many PS2 games are playable (though speed limitations have made play-to-completion tests impractical), and a few have full functionality. The main bottleneck in PS2 emulation is emulating the multi-core PS2 on PC architecture. Although each CPU can be emulated perfectly, getting the synchronization and timing between them to be accurate is very difficult.
PCSX2, like its predecessor project PCSX, is based on a plugin architecture, separating several functions from the core emulator. These are graphics, controls, CD/DVD drive, USB, sound and FireWire (i.Link) ports. Different plugins may produce different results with one game, in both compatibility and performance.
Performance before 2006 was between 2 to 15 FPS (frames per second) depending on the game, PC hardware, and plugin configuration, with the PS2 BIOS itself being one of the fastest pieces of software to emulate. Since release 0.9 in April 2006, performance has greatly increased. Most 2D games and menus can reach 60-120 FPS, though ingame 3D is still slow in many cases. In this release, PCSX2 also began supporting dual core CPUs, resulting in an effective doubling of FPS on systems with dual core processors. As of July 2006, the fastest dual-core CPUs can run popular 3D games, such as Final Fantasy X, at over 60 frames per second. The developers claim that Final Fantasy X is fully playable to completion with the latest version 0.9.2. PCSX2 remains under active development.
[edit] External links
- PCSX2, the official PCSX2 website
- PCSX2 Source Code
- PCSX2 For Unix, a project aimed towards Unix compatibility
- NGemu, a website with plugins, utilities, and PCSX2 source code downloads
- General Emulation, an emulation site with a sneak peek at PCSX2's progress through regularly updated beta screenshots and news posts
- The Unofficial PCSX2 Archive, a collection of PCSX2 releases
