Emulation is a big part of what makes PC gaming so appealing, and a good amount of console emulators are already available on PC. One of the most stable and longest-running emulators is the PS2 emulator PCSX2. Even in 2020, it’s getting major updates, and you can now download PS2 Emulator PCSX2 1.6.0.
This updated emulator has brought a bunch of quality of life changes, better performance in many games, and improved rendering. PCSX2 has allowed players to play their favorite PS2 titles at 4k resolution and unlocked frame rate.
Download PS2 Emulator PCSX2 1.6.0
You can download the latest build (PCSX2 1.6.0) from the links below.
The download size is 6.85 MB in total.
PS2 Emulator PCSX2 1.6.0 Setup and Configuration
If you are new to PS2 emulation, we recommend following this official guide provided by PCSX2 themselves. Despite being a guide for an older version, this still works as intended.
While this guide will cover most of what is needed to start emulation, you can read the following configuration thread as well.
PS2 Emulator PCSX2 1.6.0 Release Notes
This update has been 4 years in the making, and has seen many many changes over the years. Here are some changes that came out in Q3,Q4 2019 – Q1 2020
GSdx changelog
- GSdx-HW: Improve search/invalidate texture in render target by correctly matching vertex offset draws with buffer offset reads in the texture cache.
- GSdx-HW: Implemented Software Sprite Renderer feature which allows to CPU emulate (SSE accelerated) certain sprite draws directly from the HW renderer.
- GSdx-HW: Added a dedicated fix for Big Mutha Truckers which allows rendering the shadows properly. This also allowed us to reduce the crc hack level so there are fewer effects skipped.
- GSdx-HW: Sprite Hack has been completely removed as it is no longer needed and is replaced by far better alternatives.
- GSdx-FX: The TFX shader on Direct3D10/11 has been rewritten to match OpenGL code and its’ accuracy for certain effects.
- GSdx-D3D: Blend no Barrier support has been ported from OpenGL to Direct3D 10/11.
- GSdx-GUI: Hardware hacks GUI has been updated for better usability.
Core changelog:
- Prevent the UI from hanging/locking up when a game boots.
- TAS Recording functionality has been disabled for 1.6 release as there are some issues to work out (such as hanging/locking up the emulator).
- DI execution is delayed by one instruction.
- Reverted back to older VRender/VBlank timings.
- Partially fixed IPU pack command.
- Fixed the emulator hanging when pressing F4 too fast when toggling the Frame Limiter in some occasions.
- Fixed the emulator hanging when pressing F9 to toggle rendering between Hardware and Software in some occasions.
- Fixed the emulator hanging when pressing F9 to toggle rendering between Hardware and Software mode too fast.
- First Time Wizard now properly selects the correct GSdx plugin based on the highest instruction set supported by the CPU.
- Improved pointer patch command handling.
You can read their detailed report at the following link.
PS2 Emulation
PS2 emulation has come a long way, and is definitely the ultimate way to experience classic titles by making use of PC resources. Not only do games run better, but due to upscaling, and higher resolutions, older titles look considerably better too. Here are a few examples of PS2 titles running on higher framerates, and resolutions.
![Ratchet & Clank 2 Locked & Loaded [1440p 50 FPS] running on PCSX2 1.5.0](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/szlcCocohck/hqdefault.jpg)
What do you think about the latest build for PCSX2? Let us know in the comments below and share your experience with it.