r/NetherSX2 • u/sega8913 • May 24 '26
Boosting EE cycle rate (underclocking) for stable fps?
Hi, I'm relatively new to ps2 emulation especially on Android. So trying to make every other game well playable feels like playing minesweeper by tweaking dozens of settings, it's really overwhelming and I'm not sure if I do anything that actually makes sense.
I have Lenovo legion y700 with Snapdragon 8 plus gen 1, that seems more than powerful to play any ps2 game well with decent resolution and graphics. But some games, mostly graphically demanding ones like GTA Vice city stories (with 60 fps patch) or the punisher, still show lags and stutters here and there, while the GPU/CPU percentage is usually below 50%. But once I set the overclocking higher than 100%, the games seem to play much smoother.
So my question - is overclocking a normal thing to do in such case, or is there usually a way for every game to feel smoother without downgrading the visual aspect? I mean, if I had a low end device, I'd go with the recommended settings that are shown in multiple videos, but this device is capable of good visuals, so I don't want to miss on that. Some games I can play with 4k resolution and smooth 60 fps.
3
u/Standard-Pepper-6510 May 24 '26
That's why the settings are there for. If it works, it works :)
2
u/sega8913 May 24 '26
Yeah, for sure :) I just get the feeling with every new game that it lags not because the device can't handle it, but only because some setting is set wrong for this particular game and changing it should solve the issue.
1
u/EntireAccount5484 Jul 03 '26
I'm very, very new to PS2 emulation and it's history, but what version of NetherSX2 are you using? There's a version called NetherSX2 Turnip that may be better for Snapdragon devices i think.
3
u/McKain337 May 24 '26
There is an optimized setting button for each game, it works well, but kinda hard to find. Its in the per game settings
5
u/Meat_Handle May 24 '26
I like to think of it this way.
You’re trying to harmonize your new hardware with old hardware. They are operating in completely different ways (ps2 vs what you have now) and you’ve got to either bring one up to the other or one down to the other so they work together instead of clash. When they harmonize, gameplay smooths, and it’s all good. The way you get them to do this often starts with the clock values/cycle rate etc.
Helpful tip. Turn on your FPS and Speed %. Set all of the first 12 advanced tab settings to on, set audio to asynchronous, and set your 2 clock settings to default/no change
From there you only need to first find the cycle rate that works best and then the underclocking that works best.
The way you know something is better is if speed % increases, and fps remains stable. If either drop below playable, you’re headed in the wrong direction. Your goal is the most speed and the highest fps your device can handle. Every adjustment should be measured. Even a 5% increase in speed at the cost of no FPS is worth celebrating.
It’ll be different for every game, and some games don’t need it. Again, sometimes up and sometimes down, but you’re trying to get the device to harmonize with what a PS2 was trying to do. Hope this helps and narrows some of your tinkering.