DuckStation Settings for Gran Turismo 2 (PS1 Emulator)

My original PlayStation 1 (SCPH-7502) and physical copy of Gran Turismo 2 (711719723523) were still working in 2024. However, the emulated experience with DuckStation looks and feels amazing in 60fps 16:9 widescreen with functioning VRR at 144Hz.

The best way I’ve found to run this iconic and revolutionary racing game from 1999, specifically:

DuckStation version 0.1-7371-gb2577ef8b (dev): 19^th August 2024. (Download from the bottom of that page.)

Why an old version? DuckStation version 0.1-8153-g31c1cfa65 (dev) from 19^th December 2024 is buggy for me. I went back to 7371 and the game ran nicely again. I’ll try new versions from time to time, updating this section if they work better for me.

Review the hardware I’m using and the various system settings I use for Windows and my graphics driver.

Contact me if there are any settings you want to know.

Summary

	Value	Reason
Image Path	`Gran_Turismo_2_-_Project_A-Spec_v1.2`	A-Spec is the best way to experience the game in 2025.
Serial	`SCUS-94488`	Just so you know the exact version I’m playing.
Region	`NTSC-U/C (US, Canada)`	30fps but with the GT Hi-Fi cheat code from Silent, unlocks true 60fps. PAL (UK) only has 25fps/50fps.

Interface

	Value	Reason
Pause On Controller Disconnect	`Ticked`	Batteries always run out during bumpy mid-corner oversteer corrections.
Enable Discord Presence	`Ticked`	Playing games from the 1990s makes you look cool on the Internet.
Render To Separate Window	`Ticked`	Game is on my big gaming screen, with everything else on my office screen.

BIOS

	Value	Reason
NTSC-U/C (US, Canada)	`SCPH1001.bin`	It’s usually called this so I called mine the same.
Fast Boot	`Ticked`	Skips some of the console boot animation, maybe? It’s a nice nostalgia trip every time so maybe untick this.

Console

	Value	Reason
Enable 8MB RAM (Dev Console)	`Ticked`	A bigger help in GT2, it can still smooth out frame rates in GT.
Enable Cheats	`Enabled`	Native 60fps is unlocked by a cheat code using GT Hi-Fi mode.
Execution Mode	`Recompiler (Fastest)`	It says it’s the fastest.
Enable Clock Speed Control (Overclocking/Underclocking)	`1000%`	Helps complete all work every frame. Preventing late frames is nice at just 60fps.
Enable Clock Speed Control (Overclocking/Underclocking)	`500%`	A lower value sometimes makes frame timing more consistent, even if they are late more often.
Async Readahead	`32 sectors (213kB / 64ms)`	Maximum value to reduce lag during menu scene changes.
Read Speedup	`10× (20× Speed)`	Fastest read speed.
Seek Speedup	`Infinite/ Instantaneous`	With the game loaded into RAM (below) we can load everything straight away.
Preload Image To RAM	`Ticked`	Maximum performance. Menus and even starting a race is almost instant on my 2017 laptop.

Emulation

	Value	Reason
Emulation Speed	`100%`	Make sure the game is timing things correctly.
Vertical Sync (Vsync)	`Unticked`	The below setting optimises frame timings for G-Sync/Freesync monitors, like my Asus PG329Q.
Optimal Frame Pacing	`Ticked`	Game will run as close to 60fps as possible. My screen is at 144Hz. Slightly late frames will be displayed in the next 144Hz interval, instead of that frame being late/dropped/tearing.
Sync To Host Refresh Rate	`Unticked`	DuckStation says: `Users with variable refresh displays should disable this option.`
Reduce Input Latency	`Ticked`	With working VRR, the CPU can wait until the GPU is almost ready.
Frame Time Buffer	`2.0ms`	Default value reduces risk of jitter with the latency change. (I use this when capturing.)
Frame Time Buffer	`0ms`	Minimal latency when not recording as frame pacing is perfect.
Enable Rewinding	`Unticked`	DuckStation says: `Please note that enabling rewind may significantly increase system requirements.`

Graphics

	Value	Reason
Renderer	Direct3D 12	Trying this in 2025 on my GTX1060 (driver 450-ish) and liking it.
Adapter	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060	Make sure to select your actual GPU and not the CPU or APU graphics package.

Graphics > Rendering

	Value	Reason
Internal Resolution	`Automatic (based on Window Size)`	The suggested 6× is upscaled too much. Testing auto mode in 2025 and seems legit.
Down-Sampling	`Unticked`	Gran Turismo is 3D during races.
Texture Filtering	`JINC2 (Slow)`	Textured 3D surfaces look slightly cleaner than `Bilinear` and it can still Turbo to 120fps.
Texture Filtering	`Bilinear Sharp`	An efficient upscaling method without the blurry look of the simplest upscalers.
Sprite Texture Filtering	`JINC2 (Slow)`	Mostly affects menus, especially the text. In-race HUD text and dials are also clean.
Sprite Texture Filtering	`Nearest Neighbour`	Bad. Scenery looks like original hardware. Look at trackside trees in Rome before colliseum.
Aspect Ratio	`16:9`	Works brilliantly!
Deinterlacing	`Adaptive (FastMAD)`	Is ignored due to `Diable Interlacing` setting below.
Crop	`Only Overscan Area`	A good balance to remove dead space around the picture whilst keeping details near the edges. Aspect ratio is slightly stretched - newer DuckStation versions fix this.
Scaling	`Bilinear (Sharp)`	An efficient upscaling method without the blurry look of the simplest upscalers.
True Color Rendering	`Ticked`	Improves the smoothness of colour transitions, text, HUD and UI.
PGXP Geometry Correction	`Ticked`	Very important! Solves much of the wobbly geometry that makes PS1 games look so odd compared to 2000s titles.
Force 4:3 For FMVs	`Ticked`	Not sure if Gran Turismo actually needs this. There is an intro movie and credits movie, though.
Disable Interlacing	`Ticked`	This forces progressive mode at all times. `Deinterlacing` setting earlier might not be needed.
Widescreen Rendering	`Unticked`	Yes, really. Widescreen 2.0 cheat code and the `Aspect Ratio` setting work best.
FMV Chroma Smoothing	`Ticked`	Makes video look slightly better, maybe?
Force NTSC Timings	`Unticked`	Just in case there’s any issue with region selection. It would make the game run 17% faster.

Graphics > Advanced

	Value	Reason
Exclusive Fullscreen	`Borderless Fullscreen`	Lets the game fill my gaming monitor at the right picture size, even with DuckStation on a different screen.
Screen Position	`Center`	Balances out any hardcoded borders.
Threaded Presentation	`Ticked`	Cannot be switched off. This is simply how GPUs work with contemporary software.
Multi-Sampling	`2× MSAA`	Reduces jaggies on the outside edges of 3D objects. Colourful liveries in bright tracks are improved.
Multi-Sampling	`Disabled`	Jaggies around 3D objects are not that big a deal in such a massively upscaled situation. Can save some GPU performance.
Line Detection	`Unticked`	Isn’ needed for this game.
True Color Debanding	`Ticked`	Smoother gradients look better.
Threaded Rendering	`Ticked`	Cannot be switched off. It’s just how GPUs work with contemporary software.
Scaled Dithering	`Ticked`	Blends the dithering techniques across the much larger picture size. (~6× the game’s original size for 1440p.)
Software Rendered Readbacks	`Ticked`	Not sure this does anything on my hardware. Potentially, it makes these enhancements run faster.

Graphics > PGXP

	Value	Reason
Perspective Correct Textures	`Ticked`	Straightens out some wobble/warp/crooked effects across flat surfaces in PS1 games.
Culling Correction	`Ticked`	Improves the accuracy of selecting which things which do/don’t need to be drawn.
Perspective Correct Colours	`Ticked`	Not sure. Maybe to do with vertex pre-lighting effects at distance, where there’s often a fog or fade-out effect?
Preserve Projection Precision	`Ticked`	Improves the accurate placement of post-processing effects, maybe?

Graphics > OSD

	Value	Reason
Show Emulation Speed	`Ticked`	Verify and capture that in-game time is matching realtime.
Show Frame Times	`Ticked`	Excellent frametime graph. Makes late processing or lag spikes really visible as they happen.
Show FPS	`Ticked`	Verify the game is at 60fps.
Show Resolution	`Ticked`	Lets me monitor the effect of auto resolution/upscaling on target output.

Post-Processing

Although some pretty useful filters seem to be in here, I haven’t played with them yet.

Audio

	Value	Reason
Backend	`Cubeb`	Seems to be the most feature-rich implementation and lowest latency.
Expansion Mode	`Disabled (Stereo)`	I only use earphones (Koss KSC75x) or laptop speakers for DuckStation. No surrround sound.
Stretch Mode	`Time Stretch (Tempo Change, Best Sound)`	Makes sounds seem correct even if frame rates are varying a bit.
Buffer Size	`20ms`	Seems to stop rare sound stutter on scene changes.
Output Latency	`9ms`	Might be ignored because I’m using Cubeb backend.
Mute CD Audio	`Unticked`	The songs in Gran Turismo 2 are from commercial releases in the 1990s. I have this `Ticked` when recording.

The music can cause copyright checks if you share video — it happened to me on YouTube. There is a cheat code to enable/disable music on a button press. That will be good for streaming to make the menus more entertaining.

Controllers

	Value	Reason
Enable XInput Input Source	`Ticked`	XBox One wireless controller.

Controller Port 1:

Value

Reason

Controller Type

NeGcon

8% steering deadzone instead of 33% is huge upgrade for ovals and overtakes.

Bindings to achieve radio control car controls, where left stick steers and right stick is gas/brake:

	Value	Reason
Steering/Twist > Left	`XInput-0/-LeftX`	Push left stick left to steer left.
Steering/Twist > Right	`XInput-0/+LeftX`	Push left stick right to steer right.
II	`XInput-0/+RightY`	Push right stick forward to throttle up.
I	`XInput-0/-RightY`	Push right stick forward to slow down.
L	`XInput-0/+LeftShoulder`	Gear up
R	`XInput-0/+RightShoulder`	Gear down.

Settings:

	Value	Reason
Steering Axies Deadzone	`0%`	Default. Uses the smallest deadzone built into the game.
Steering Axis Saturation	`100%`	Default. Not sure what this does.
Steering Axis Linearity	`0.40`	Seems to make small steering inputs more useful whilst keeping near-max finesse.
Steering Scaling	`100%`	Default. Values below 100% reduce max steering.

Achievements

	Value	Reason
Enable Achievements	`Ticked`	Gotta catch ’em all.
Show Achievement Notifications	`Ticked`	Gotta know when I catch ’em.
Show Leaderboard Notifications	`Ticked`	Doesn’t seem to do anything? (Probably a skill issue.)
Enable In-Game Overlays	`Ticked`	Shows progress on a challenge or preset achievement. Haven’t used this yet.

My System Specs

For context, here are the 2017 gaming laptop components I use the emulator on:

CPU:: Intel i7-7700HQ (4 cores, 8 threads)
RAM:: 16GB DDR4 2400MT/s Kingston HyperX
GPU:: nVidia GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile (6GB)
GPU Driver Version:: 451.67
GPU Driver Date:: July 2020 via Windows Update
OS Storage:: 500GB Samsung 960 Evo-like (NVMe m.2)
Game Storage:: 500GB Crucial MX100 (SATA SSD)

My System Tuning

Laptop Performance

Power mode:: Best performance

Throttlestop

Speed Shift EPP:: 0
Disable Turbo:: Unticked (when try-harding)
Disable Turbo:: Unticked (casual play)
1 Core Turbo Ratio:: 38
2 Cores Turbo Ratio:: 36
3 Cores Turbo Ratio:: 32
4 Cores Turbo Ratio:: 30
CPU Core Offset Voltage:: -99.6mV (-0.0996V)
CPU Cache Offset Voltage:: -99.6mV (-0.0996V)

Afterburner

Core Clock Curve:: Flat-lined above 1050MHz

G-Sync

These settings can be found by right-clicking your desktop and clicking NVIDIA Control Panel:

From the left menu, Set Up G-SYNC:
1. Apply the following changes:
  - Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible
  - Enabled for windows and full screen mode
2. Select each screen to apply this to them all.

Global 3D Profile

Do these matter?

Image Sharpening:: Sharpening Off, Scaling disabled (registry tweak)
Low Latency Mode:: Ultra
Max Frame Rate:: 144 FPS

DuckStation profile

Firstly, how to create a profile for DuckStation:

Start DuckStation and then close it.
Return to nVidia Control Panel.
From left menu Manage 3D settings.
Tab Program Settings.
Button Add – can take several seconds to respond.
Window called Add appears
Make sure Sort by is set to Recently used.
Select DuckStation PS1 Emulator.
Button Add Selected Program.

Now, settings which seem to matter. Latency gains are very nice with such a low frame rate:

Low Latency Mode:: Ultra (started in 2025; previous was 1)
Max Frame Rate:: 60
Monitor Technology:: G-Sync (Global)
Power management mode: (previously: GPU Power): Prefer maximum Performance
Preferred refresh rate:: Application-controlled
Vertical sync:: Fast (maybe better as Application-controlled?)

Remember that my monitor is running at 144Hz in Windows and in the nVidia panel and in its hardware OSD. The game runs at 60Hz with slower frame pacing at times. Sending all the frames the game renders and letting the screen display them all in its shorter intervals is achieved with these settings. It’s a unique advantage to having VRR support in a low-refresh game with a high-refresh monitor. Made possible by DuckStation. It really is a fast and modern emulator.