[BakaCrisis]

" In this guide I will try to explain how to properly configure PCSX2 and to give some tips for running games. Here it is in steps:

1) Download the new PCSX2 v0.9.2
2) Open the archive and extract its contents into a folder(eg C:\PCSX2)
3) Run pcsx2t.exe or pcsx2.exe which is in the folder you extracted the files

Configuring PCSX2
PCSX2 now comes in 2 versions, the TLB and the VM (virtual memory) one. The TLB version is the pcsx2t.exe while the VM version is the pcsx2.exe. First try running the VM version, following the instructions given (type your account user name, log off/on and restart). If the program still fails to allocate the memory, simply use the TLB version and dont worry the speed difference is not that great. The VM version is said to not work properly with systems not having Service Pack 2 installed, or XP Home but it is not limited to those, so if you want to save yourself from the trouble just use the TLB one.

First off you can use the Set Plugins Directory and Set Bios Directory to change the directory from which PCSX2 loads its plugins and bios respectively. So if you are not using the default directories (/plugins and /bios) you should use these buttons to change them. The Configuration,Test and About buttons that you see under each plugin section are for Configuring the selected plugin,testing if a selected plugin works (kind of obsolete since if it shows up in the list it will work) and for checking out some info about the selected plugin.

Now let's continue onto the actual plugin configuring.
Graphics
What version of pixel shaders does your graphics card support?
Check this link GPU Database to check. (thanks to Nachbrenner)

For the time being you will be able to use the ZeroGS v0.97.0 plugin (from pcsx2 plugins section), which is a new DirectX 9 graphics plugin that requires a graphics card that supports pixel shaders 2 to work.

GSdx9 at v0.10.8 (at the time of writing this), another DirectX 9 based plugin by Gabest which recently got greatly improved in both speed and image quality requires pixel shaders 2 to work as well now. Both of these plugins are included in all PCSX2 v0.9.4 packs so you won't have to download them separately and any updates will be available in our plugin download section. Other plugins like GStaris, GSmax or GSsoft will NOT appear in the graphics plugin list since their specifications are outdated and you should not expect an update to them soon.
Select GSdx9 v0.10.8 and press the Configure button.

* First of all GSdx9 comes in 2 versions,a normal one and an SSE2 one. Only IF your processor supports SSE2 (Pentium 4/Core Duo or Athlon64/FX) use the SSE2 version since it will be faster for you. Otherwise you must use the normal version or the plugin will NOT show up in the drop down list. Both flavors, the SSE1 and the SSE2 are included in all PCSX2 v0.9.4 packs.

Attention (only for the old v9!): GSdx9 v0.9.0 has a bug in both Fixed Pipeline and Pixel Shaders 1.1 which will cause color corruption.These options are removed from v0.10 and on since they are not supported anymore.
If your card does not support higher pixel shaders unforunately you will have color corruption in your games.

* Resolution: In this drop-down menu you will be able to select "Windowed" if you want GSdx9 to run in a window, or choose the resolution/refresh rate you want for a full-screen display

* Renderer: Here you can choose how the graphics will be rendered.
By selecting "Direct3D",GSdx9 will use the Direct3D capabilities of your graphics card,boosting the emulation speed significantly. Also the compatibility of this mode is quite good,so it is higly recommended to use.
By selecting "Software(float)" GSdx9 will use it's built-in sofware renderer,which will not use your graphics card at all, but your processor instead. This way the emulation speed is greatly reduced but you get maximum compatibility. Recommended if you encounter graphics bugs with the Direct3D renderer.
By selecting "Do not render" the plugin will simply not render anything, thus not giving any output on screen. Use it only if you want to eg. Hear some music since with this mode you get a dramatic speed increase.

* Shader: Here you will be able to choose between 2 options:

If your graphics card doesnt support some of the modes, they will not show up in the drop-down list. Pixel Shader 2.0: Will use Pixel Shaders v2.0, improving the graphics.
Pixel Shader 3.0: Will use Pixel Shaders v3.0, improving the graphics. Highly recommened for graphics card owners that have pixel shaders 3. Fast and compatible.

* Interlancing (F5): Here you are able to choose between None and 6 other interlancing techniques,which are used to remove the "shaking" of the display.
In parentheses you can see what kind of effect and maybe disadvantage (e.g. like the half FPS note in blend) each one of these modes have.
You can cicle through them when running a game by pressing the F5 key

* Aspect Ratio (F6): Self explanatory, you can select stretch to stretch the display to get rid of the black boarders,4:3 for a normal display and 16:9 for a wide screen display.
You can cicle through them when running a game by pressing the F6 key

* D3D internal res: Here you can specify the exact resolution you want your game to run at!
This way,if your pc is powerful enough,you can play your favorite ps2 games in much higher resolutions making the graphics crisp and more detailed.
Note that the higher the resolution,the more resources the plugin will have to use,thus making emulation much slower.

* Native: If you check this box,the plugin will render in the native resolution of the ps2 (that is why D3D internal res gets grayed out)

* Linear texture filtering: Check/uncheck to enable/disable Linear texture filtering.With this option checked texture pixels are filtered, making them look less "blocky".

* Enable tv-out: Check/uncheck this option to enable/disable tv-out. If your video card has a tv-out the output window of GSdx9 is displayed on the TV.

* NLOOP 0 hack: This fixes some problems with Final Fantasy X. It is a very specific hack and should ONLY be used with Final Fantasy X.
You can also set it to the third state (gray-checked) which will let the plugin decide when the hack is needed and when it is not and enable/disable it respectively.

* Wait Vsync:

* Movie Capture: This is a hidden (Tongue) feature. By pressing the Insert key of the Numpad while running PCSX2 with GSdx9 a message box will appear. In the first field you must show the plugin where the captured video will be stored, and type the filename too. In the second field you can choose a compression codec like DiVX or "Uncompressed" which will not compress the video at all.If you choose a compression codec, you will be able to change its settings by pressing the "Config" button. Note that only codecs already installed in your PC will show up.
Press the Insert key of the Numpad again at any time to stop the capturing. The video produced will be automatically sped up to 100% for your viewing pleasure Smile.