PCSX2 is an open source Playstation 2 emulator. It's purpose is to mimic the the PS2 hardware, using a combination MIPS CPU Interpreters, Recompilers and a Virtual Machine which manages hardware states and PS2 system memory.
Project Details
PCSX2 Playstation 2 Emulator v1.4.0 64-bit for Windows - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES UNDUB. Windows 8.1 64-bit. How to get a PlayStation 2 (PS2) Emulator on your PC With PCSX2.
The PCSX2 project has been running for more than ten years. Once able to run only a few public domain demos, recent versions enable many games to work at full speed, including popular titles such as Final Fantasy X or Devil May Cry 3. Visit the PCSX2 homepage to check the latest compatibility status of games (with more than 2000 titles tested), or ask your doubts in the Official forums.
System Requirements
- Minimum
- Windows/Linux OS
- CPU: Any that supports SSE2 (Pentium 4 and up, Athlon64 and up)
- GPU: Any that supports Pixel Shader model 2.0, except Nvidia FX series (broken SM2.0, too slow anyway)
- 512MB RAM (note Vista needs at least 2GB to run reliably)
- Recommended
- Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32bit or 64bit) with the latest DirectX
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 3.2ghz or better
- GPU: 8800gt or better (for Direct3D10 support)
- RAM: 1GB on Linux/Windows XP, 2GB or more on Vista
Note: Because of copyright issues, and the complexity of trying to work around it, you need a BIOS dump extracted from a legitimately owned Playstation 2 console to use the emulator.
Note: PCSX2 mainly takes advantage of 2 CPU cores. As of r4865 PCSX2 can now take advantage of a 3rd core using the MTVU speedhack. This can be a significant speedup on CPUs with 3+ cores, however on GS limited games (or on dual core CPUs) it may be a slowdown
PCSX 2 Editor's Review
Computer software emulation for the Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) has always been hit and miss. In instances where you found some software that worked, it would often be laggy, buggy or generally poor. Enter PCSX2, an open-source emulator for Windows and Linux that offers remarkably high compatibility rate with a broad range of PlayStation 2 games.
One of the main issues that many users of PS2 emulation software found was that without a top-of-the-line processor, the emulation was not playable. PCSX2 does the best job of emulating the PlayStation 2 dual-core processor architecture, out of all the PlayStation 2 emulators. PCSX2 has a long-winded setup process as you have to choose the specifications based on your hardware. As a result, a computer novice may find trouble configuring the software to get a decent setup. The extensive official guides should be able to guide you through the process. Once you have PCSX2 set up and configured, however, all you need to do is launch the program, pop in a compatible PS2 game disc and start playing.
Pro's: Faster than other PS2 emulators, high level of compatibility, still in development.
Con's: Tricky configuration process.
Conclusion: PlayStation 2 emulation has forever lagged behind traditional, cartridge-based console emulation. The extra processing, graphics and general computer power required, made it impossible for many to play their PS2 games on their computers. PCSX2 offers a remarkable compatibility list and does the best job in emulating the required computer power of the PS2.