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Recommended Graphics Cards
The official PCSX2 guide recommends either a GeForce 9600GT or 8800GT video card or better from NVidia or a Radeon 4750 or better from AMD. Users with lower-powered graphics cards may experiencea slowdown in games. At minimum, your computer should have a GeForce 6600 or Radeon X1300 card to attain "reasonable" speeds. Computers with cards below these, or those using integrated graphics only, will encounter occasional to severe performance issues.
Other Requirements
Though graphics cards play a major part in running PCSX2, you will also need to meet other requirements. PCSX2 recommends one of the following processors as a minimum CPU: an Intel Core 2 Duo or Core i3 running at 3.2GHz, an Intel Core i5 or i7 running at 2.66GHz or an AMD Phenom II or Athlon II running at 3.4GHz. Lower powered CPUs will encounter slowdown, even with a powerful graphics card. For Windows 7 or Vista, you should have at least 1GB of available RAM, or 512MB of RAM for Windows XP.
Reason for Requirements
Due to the age of the PS2 and the relative power of modern computers, emulating the old system's games may seem like a simple task. In fact, emulation requires far more processing power than running a game on the actual console. On the console, the system's dedicated hardware takes care of most of the platform's tasks, requiring relatively little raw processing power. On an emulator, the computer must run software simulations of each piece of console hardware, requiring a powerful system.
Game Compatibility
Due to the complexities of emulation, some games will run on PCSX2 better than others. While many games run flawlessly, some will not even load. Others will reach the menu screen but crash before starting. In these cases, a better graphics card will not help; the program is simply not compatible. Other games will run, but at a slower speed than intended. In these cases, a more powerful graphics card or processor will help overcome some slowdown until compatibility improves.