The team behind the popular PlayStation 2 emulator has released a major update: PCSX2 2.8. This update brings significant architectural optimizations to the graphics pipeline, reduces processor and graphics card load, and changes to preset rendering.
On Windows PCs with NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards, Direct3D 12 is now the primary API and is comparable to Vulkan in terms of compatibility and performance. Obsolete Direct3D 11 has been moved to the Legacy category, and support for the Direct3D 12 Enhanced Barrier API has been added for modern graphics cards. Introduced optional renderbuffering for titles with an unusual number of draw calls. For example, in Need for Speed: Dungeon 2, the number of calls dropped from 5624 to 2828, and in Speedy Dungeons, the number of calls dropped from 4956 to 2976.
Other powerful optimizations include texture cache editing, added ROV support, FFmpeg support for embedded Windows, EyeToy support on macOS, hardware AA1, improved depth/fog rendering and OSD interface customization.
The developers have also updated the system requirements. For Heavy configuration profiles, it is now recommended to use an Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600 processor paired with a GeForce RTX 4060 (8 GB), Radeon RX 6600 XT or Intel Arc B580 class graphics card.
