PCSX2 settings for Macbooks

I discovered recently that my Macbook Pro Unibody (i.e. mid-2009 models, but anything with a 9600M graphic chip should do) is good enough to run PS2 games at decent speed, provided you use a recent version of PCSX2. I spent a few days tweaking the settings - so here are my advices if you want to give it a try.

These settings are tested on a Macbook Pro Unibody 13” - but most of them should be valid for other architectures. First, some general configuration settings:

• Graphics:
  • GsDX works well - go for it
  • Use “Native resolution”
  • Use DirectX 10 to prevent a few minor glitches (like a faint grid around the characters). Plus it allows switching windowed/fullscreen on the fly.
  • Use F5 in-game to see which (de-)Interlacing mode works best for you
• Sound:
  • I didn’t played a lot with the settings, standard config will do
• CPU:
  • Don’t forget to activate the Multithreaded GS : you have a Core 2 Duo, right ?
• Speedhacks:
  • Generaly, you can check all the recommanded speed hacks - and disable just the most dangerous ones
  • “VU cycle stealing” as “Slight” is a good bet - try “Moderate” if everything runs well

And now some Shadow of the Colossus-specific tricks:

• Graphics:
  • You don’t have to use any (de-)interlacing mode : the game takes care of this itself. There is an in-game setting for Progressive Scan, which works well - but I personally thinks that the picture looks crisper in Non-progressive (i.e. interlaced mode), plus the game will produce a neat motion-blur instead of unmatched horizontal lines.
  • The game will be (very) slightly faster in 4/3 screen ratio (this is an in-game setting, btw)
• CPU:
  • MicroVU works fine - not really faster, but cleaner, they say. Here we go.
  • “Limit frames” if you want, but don’t use frameskip: the display flickers, and SotC already skips frames if needed
• Speedhacks:
  • SotC loves “x2 cycle rate”, and it is a big speedup
  • You can set “VU cycle stealing” to “Moderate” without major glitchs
• Advanced:
  • A neat trick for SotC is to set all “Clamp mode”s to “None” : big speedup expected

You should be able to play Shadow of the Colossus at somehow-full speed, that is without slowdowns. The framerate itself is often not very high, but I think the original game wasn’t much better : SotC is beautifull, but resource-intensive, even on a real PS2.

I also tried a CD of Final Fantasy XII, which runs even better : it is probably less resources-demanding. PCSX2 compatibility is very good these days, so give a try to every PS2 game you own…

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