Guides

AetherSX2: How to Get Insanely Good Performance on Low-End Devices

— 2 min read

This guide shows how to get significantly better performance in AetherSX2 on low-end devices. To get the best results, you need to make a few changes in the Audio, Graphics, System, and Advanced settings.

Reset to Optimal Defaults

This section walks you through resetting all settings to their default values. By following the steps below, you will be able to select the Reset to Optimal Defaults option to restore the settings.

  • Open the App Settings, tap the three dots icon at the top-right corner of the screen.
    A menu with several options will appear.
  • Select the Reset to Optimal Defaults option.
    A confirmation window will appear.
  • Tap Yes to confirm.
    All settings will be reset to default.

General Settings

This section explains how to adjust the General settings to improve game performance. You need to open the pause menu during gameplay and access the settings from there.

  • Launch the game on your device.
  • Pause the game and tap the Gear icon at the top-right corner of the screen.
    The settings menu will appear.
  • In the General tab, scroll to On-Screen Display and enable Show FPS and Show Speed.
    This helps monitor game performance.

System Settings

This section explains how to adjust System settings to improve game speed.

  • Open the System tab in the settings menu.
  • Find EE Cycle Rate (Underclocking) and lower its value.

Lowering the EE Cycle Rate can increase game speed. Values such as -2 or -3 often provide smoother gameplay, depending on the game.

You can also set EE Cycle Skip (Underclocking) to Maximum Underclock (3) to further improve performance. If it does not help, set it back to Normal (0).

  • In the System tab, select EE Cycle Skip (Underclocking).
  • Set it to Maximum Underclock (3) or the highest available value.
    If performance does not improve, revert to Normal (0).
  • Enable Multi-threaded VU1 to further boost performance.

Graphics Settings

This section covers changes to Graphics settings for better performance.

  • Open the Graphics tab in the settings menu.
  • Select GPU Renderer and choose the option that works best for your device.

On low-end devices, lowering the Upscale Multiplier can improve performance.

  • Set Hardware Download Mode to Disable Readbacks (Synchronize GS Thread).
  • Enable Widescreen Patches to improve performance.

Audio Settings

This section explains how adjusting Audio settings can improve performance and fix some audio issues.

  • Open the Audio tab in the settings menu.
  • Set Synchronization Mode to Async Mix (Breaks FMVs/Games).

This setting can improve performance and resolve certain audio problems.

Advanced Settings

This section explains how to adjust Advanced settings.

  • Open the Advanced tab in the settings menu.
  • Enable GPU Palette Conversion, Skip Presenting Duplicate Frames, and Threaded Presentation.

Threaded Presentation only works with the Vulkan GPU Renderer.

Read more

Manage Cookie Settings