# Should i buy a PlayStation 2 or buy a pcsx2 capable GPU/CPU?



## Bencollins (Jun 10, 2014)

Hello guys,
During my early school days in 1st half of last decade, i always drooled over ps2, wanted one badly for myself but parents never bought it for me. I used to spend hours playing ps2 games at local video game parlour  I didn't had a PC that time and only video game console i had was NES replica keyboard game. After my parents bought me a pc in 2005, i stopped visiting that video game parlour but the special place for ps2 was still in my heart.

I finally managed to save enough and bought a ps2 in 2010, but since i was a pc gamer with intel E5500 + nvidia GT240 at that time. I was hugely disappointed by poor resolution on CRT TV. For next 10 months, i used my ps2 only for ~3 hrs and sold it later since it was lying unused.
But still. there is some thing that attracts me to PS2. I still drool over it, and want one badly even though i will rarely use it.

anyways, The other day i was looking for a motorcycle game which features nurburgring nordschleife track to race on. The only game i found was tourist trophy, a ps2 exclusive. Another game which features isle of man TT track is also available only on Ps2.

Should i buy a ps2 to play these 2 games? Its not just about playing these 2 only. Its more about my satisfaction, satisfaction of owning my beloved ps2.

My experience with pcsx2 isn't that good. With my old PC with intel dual core E5500 and nvidia GT240 gpu i was able to play both god of war games without any issues. but GTA vice city stories was unplayable (20-25fps = 33-40% speed).

even with my current Phenom II X4 (unlocked from x2), HD6770 PC, vice city stories is still unplayable, I have also tried tourist trophy. Both games give ~30-40fps (50-60% speed), tried lowering resolution to 640X480 or native ps2 resolution, 8 bit textures, hacks and other tweaks, still these games are pretty much unplayable.

What should i do?
Should i buy a ps2 or upgrade my PC to run pcsx2 at 60fps (if possible in my budget)?
OR
upgrade my GPU or CPU (whatever is causing pcsx2 to slowdown)
my budget is 6k (plus resale value of CPU or GPU)


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## Gollum (Jun 10, 2014)

Bencollins said:


> Hello guys,
> During my early school days in 1st half of last decade, i always drooled over ps2, wanted one badly for myself but parents never bought it for me. I used to spend hours playing ps2 games at local video game parlour  I didn't had a PC that time and only video game console i had was NES replica keyboard game. After my parents bought me a pc in 2005, i stopped visiting that video game parlour but the special place for ps2 was still in my heart.
> 
> I finally managed to save enough and bought a ps2 in 2010, but since i was a pc gamer with intel E5500 + nvidia GT240 at that time. I was hugely disappointed by poor resolution on CRT TV. For next 10 months, i used my ps2 only for ~3 hrs and sold it later since it was lying unused.
> ...



Some games run fine on PSCX2 v1(_new_) its quire optimized.
I can run devil may cry 3 on my amd a4 3.6GHZ with nvidia gt640 at 70fps easyly.

So my suggestion is 
try the new pscx2 and then if it does not work fast then get ps2.
I also have a PS2 but I rarely play anything on it.


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## Bencollins (Jun 10, 2014)

Gollum said:


> Some games run fine on PSCX2 v1(_new_) its quire optimized.
> I can run devil may cry 3 on my amd a4 3.6GHZ with nvidia gt640 at 70fps easyly.
> 
> So my suggestion is
> ...


I now some games work fine. I have played god of war series, dmc3 and a resident evil game on my old E5500 GT240 setup w/o any issues. got 60fps easily but some heavier games like GTA vice city stories, Gran turismo 4, tourist trophy doesn't work smoothly even on latest pcsx2 1.2.1.

I will spend all of my savings in upgrading CPU/GPU. Will not be able to buy a ps2 anytime soon if pcsx2 doesn't work even with upgraded PC. that's why i'm confused what should i do


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## Nerevarine (Jun 10, 2014)

I ran DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 with 60 fps locked and splitscreen enabled.. It runs flawlessly, so yeah i suggest a better GPU you will be able to play PC titles as well as PS2 ones
No point buying a PS2 now I guess


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## Bencollins (Jun 10, 2014)

Nerevarine said:


> I ran DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 with 60 fps locked and splitscreen enabled.. It runs flawlessly, so yeah i suggest a better GPU you will be able to play PC titles as well as PS2 ones
> No point buying a PS2 now I guess



so what exactly is causing low fps in tourist trophy? my weak cpu or weak gpu?

Any suggestions for replacement CPU/GPU under 9k?
my specs: Phenom II X4 CPU and HD6770 1GB GDDR5 GPU with 4GB DDR3 RAM

I guess i'll never get to own a ps2 again ;_;


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## Nerevarine (Jun 10, 2014)

there is an official list of games that are fully compatible on PCSX2

Compatibility 

check here


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## Gollum (Jun 10, 2014)

But playable does not mean speed


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## Nerevarine (Jun 10, 2014)

I guarentee you, you will find absolutely no difference between PS2 and actual PCSX2..The emulation is super smooth, you may need to tweak settings for some games but it works flawlessly

*dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72261408/test.png


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## Bencollins (Jun 10, 2014)

Nerevarine said:


> I guarentee you, you will find absolutely no difference between PS2 and actual PCSX2..The emulation is super smooth, you may need to tweak settings for some games but it works flawlessly
> 
> *dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72261408/test.png



Try running, Gta vice city stories, tourist trophy or Gran turismo 4

Compatibility doesn't mean smooth gameplay. Tourist trophy and gran turismo 4 are compatible with pcsx2 but i can't get more than 40fps with these games.

I have played games like GoW series and dmc etc. It ran smoothly and looked better than ps2 with higher resolution and no interlacing.
But Same can't be said about GTA VCS, GT4 or tourist trophy. i barely get more than 40fps in these games even if i try QVGA resolutions, hacks, presets, 8 bit textures, different graphics plugins etc.


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## Nerevarine (Jun 10, 2014)

[YOUTUBE]watch?v=iRBeta_IIb0[/YOUTUBE]
Guy is running on an ancient HD 4890


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## Bencollins (Jun 10, 2014)

Nerevarine said:


> [YOUTUBE]watch?v=iRBeta_IIb0[/YOUTUBE]
> Guy is running on an ancient HD 4890



He's using Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.6Ghz, I'm using AMD athlon II x3 2.7GHz with unlocked 4th core  

I had asked the same question at pcsx2 forums and members there said my CPU is creating bottleneck. They have suggested FX6300 or better since pcsx2 uses only 2 cores and fx6300 running at 4GHz should be able to run it without any issues.

I guess this makes sense since i was getting pathetic fps even with QVGA resolutions and i've seen people running gt4 on gts450 + i5 2500k


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## Gollum (Jun 11, 2014)

Bencollins said:


> He's using Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.6Ghz, I'm using AMD athlon II x3 2.7GHz with unlocked 4th core
> 
> I had asked the same question at pcsx2 forums and members there said my CPU is creating bottleneck. They have suggested FX6300 or better since pcsx2 uses only 2 cores and fx6300 running at 4GHz should be able to run it without any issues.
> 
> I guess this makes sense since i was getting pathetic fps even with QVGA resolutions and i've seen people running gt4 on gts450 + i5 2500k



yeah, pcsx2 makes good use of DX11 with windows 7 and above
and its better if you have a 3Ghz and above CPU speed.


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## kkn13 (Jun 11, 2014)

i personally dont like the game compatibility of pcsx2(i also own an original ps2 launch day model with the hdd expansion slot  ) but its worth trying pcsx2 on your pc first before you go ahead and buy a ps2
ps2 is an amazing console even today but its annoying when accessories are still a bit pricey compared to say a gamepad for pc etc


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## Bencollins (Jun 12, 2014)

kkn13 said:


> i personally dont like the game compatibility of pcsx2(i also own an original ps2 launch day model with the hdd expansion slot  ) but its worth trying pcsx2 on your pc first before you go ahead and buy a ps2
> ps2 is an amazing console even today but its annoying when accessories are still a bit pricey compared to say a gamepad for pc etc



I have used pcsx2 since 2008. Played some games like gow series too. But tourist trophy, gran turismo 4, gta vice city stories run very slowly with my current Athlon X4, HD6770 setup. That's why i'm thinking about buying a ps2 instead of upgrading to a faster cpu/gpu


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## rish1 (Jun 12, 2014)

Bencollins said:


> Hello guys,
> During my early school days in 1st half of last decade, i always drooled over ps2, wanted one badly for myself but parents never bought it for me.



Same here for me it is ps3.. which i will be getting when i start earning..

be smart and buy a used Ps2 you can get an excellent condition ps2 for 3k . 

no point in spending 6k on a new ps2..

or you should upgrade your processor if you are spending 6k..  it will provide you better visual quality...

get a ps2 controller + usb converter and it will feel like you are playing on ps2


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## Bencollins (Jun 12, 2014)

rish said:


> Same here for me it is ps3.. which i will be getting when i start earning..
> 
> be smart and buy a used Ps2 you can get an excellent condition ps2 for 3k .
> 
> ...



I would have bought a new ps2 for 6k just for the peace of mind. but ps2's are now available at 10k  
I guess i'll have to buy a used ps2 instead.


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## rish1 (Jun 12, 2014)

Bencollins said:


> I would have bought a new ps2 for 6k just for the peace of mind. but ps2's are now available at 10k
> I guess i'll have to buy a used ps2 instead.



it's because PS2 has been discontinued , the seller selling that must be having old stock and trying to rip you off because it's tough to find a new ps2 now because of non availability

however the used market is full of old ps2's check olx etc


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