ePSXe Optimal settings for my PC

Hey guys! New to the forums here so please excuse any mistakes I might make.

I'm setting up ePSXe on my current laptop and would love some help with making sure I'm using the correct plugins and settings for what my PC can offer. I have poured over info for days now and still can't seem to make heads or tails of what would be best for my system. So here I am asking for help.

My PC's info is below:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Service Pack 1
System Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
System Model: K55A

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3982MB RAM

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
DAC type: Internal

Display Memory: 1696 MB
Dedicated Memory: 64 MB
Shared Memory: 1632 MB

Current Mode: 1280 x 720 (32 bit) (59Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: FPDUS-FN
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(i) (60.053Hz)
Output Type: HDMI

D3D9 Overlay: Supported
DXVA-HD: Supported
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

NOTE: This monitor is my HDTV in my living room for couch play and although it is 1080i, I run it at 1280X720 so it is easier to see from the couch.

I would also like go fullscreen and have the image fill as much of the screen as possible without losing it's aspect ratio. I am currently using Pete's OpenGL 2 with the fullscreen set at 1280X720 and the windowed set at 960X720. This works fine so at least I got that much done. Now for some smoothing and whatnot.

So what plugins would work best? Mainly the GPU plugin is what I'm looking for first. Thank you so much in advance guys! I really do appreciate it!

No such thing as best but go over to http://psxdatacenter.com/ and look in the PSX section then look at any game and it will outline high quality settings for that game but this is mostly different depending on the game (don't think your GPU can handle those settings mind, but give it a shop just uibnstead of OpenGL2 use the latest OPENGL instead most the settings are the same anyway)

You may also want a few versions of ePSXe but you can store them all in a single folder with main exe file name different per version e.g. ePSXe170.exe ePSXe190.exe ect ect

versions 1.7.0 and up all share the same settings anyway (not sure about version 2.0.0 though not looked at it yet) 1.9.25 has more bugs than fixes so mostly avoid that version unless it does actually fix something

Generally though the best plugin is OpenGL2 by Pete but you lack the hardware to use it, but the Original OpenGL and or Direct 3D may produce some nice visuals as long as you keep the settings reasonably low, you will also want the soft plugin for 2D games (again it's on a per game basis)

From your system specs though ePSXe might be best avoided or just use the software plugin Intel GPU's tend to be very low end, especially noticeable with 3D rendering

Retroarch may be the best option, though have heard of ePSXe 2.0.0 being considerably faster than it's previous installments, Retroarch aims at accuracy as far as emulation goes and games tend to just work fine (once setup for the first time), very little to play with just a few basic filters

ePSXe though you will want to play with settings per game and for you with the choice of 2 to 3 plugins Software and either Direct 3D or OpenGL (Maybe both) all of those are by pete sometimes listed as P.E.o.P.s. or something like that

Thank you so much for the info! It is very helpful compared to what I have been reading. At least now I know my GPU is considerably low end (which I kind of already suspected). I'm not completely ignorant when it comes to PC stuff and I know how things work and what does what when it comes to hardware but knowing which is better than the other is where I lack.

I am going to purchase the HP Stream Mini soon and I plan on beefing it up for a mobile style for gaming. I will eventually start investing in some high end PC hardware. Something I have wanted to do for years but have never had anywhere near the amount of funds required. Again, thank you for the in depth explanation and the really helpful tips. I never could tell a difference in performance even with OpenGL2's settings maxed out and now I see that it's simply because it isn't doing anything different in the first place. I'll move down to the OpenGL and see what I can get done.

Thanks once more for everything!

ePSXe 2.0 runs better than Retroarchs PSX core on my laptop. I have a 1.5 gHz AMD with 512 megs of vram and Retroarch is too slow even with no shaders. ePSXe 2.0 I use the GPU core 2.0.0 video plugin and Hyllian or Lottes shader without issue, games run @60 fps. I have not messed with Petes OpenGL 2.0 video plugin much but it seemed to run just fine when I did mess around a little. I only use the other video plugin because I only care about the 2D sprite based games and it gives me the look I like.

But like I said, ePSXe 2.0 runs much better than Retroarch and I have seen some charts comparing accuracy and supposedly ePSXe 2.0 is a tad bit more accurate than Retroachs Mednafen core.

Yours is a CPU issue rather than a GPU issue, your GPU is not a bad one, not the best either but still a nice one (Take it your CPU is the GPU)

The feedback is still very much appreciated and nice to see ePSXe is finally doing something for those on more basic hardware, yet to look myself though it's not something I emulate on PC all that much any more

Honestly i'm not sure if the gpu is part of the cpu or not, it was a 400$ laptop my parents bought for me over 2 years ago for Christmas. It was most definitely a lower end laptop. I do know that previous versions of ePSXe were basically non playable on the system (by non playable i'm talking not at full speed). Version 2.0 was a big jump in performance. Like you I don't play much PS1 era games, the 3D of that era just aged so badly I can't do it but there are some great 2D games that aged extremely well and are very fun to play, Harmful Park is a prime example.