Pete’s plugins defined PS1 emulation in the 2000s, and the OpenGL2 core plugin remains ePSXe’s HD path today — the v2.0.5 release notes even added extra threading modes to it. This guide configures it conservatively: pretty first, but never at the cost of a game that stops working.
Where the settings live
Config > Video, select the Pete’s OpenGL2 core plugin, then Configure. One clarification first: the official ePSXe zip ships with an empty plugins folder — the core plugins are part of the emulator itself in the 2.0.x line, while the classic standalone Pete’s plugins belong to the older external-plugin ecosystem. If a guide tells you to drop DLLs into the folder for a 2.0.x install, it is describing the 1.x era.
A sane baseline
- Internal X/Y resolution: High (2x) to start; Very High only if the GPU shrugs at 2x.
- Texture filtering: option 2 (extended) as a baseline; move up for 3D games, down if 2D sprites fringe.
- Hi-Res textures: off by default — some games smear FMV and menus with it on.
- GTE accuracy: on. It steadies vertices within the limits of the plugin approach (it is not DuckStation-style PGXP).
- Framebuffer effects: full/standard, not disabled — transitions and battle effects depend on them.
- Threading mode (2.0.x): the added 2-thread and effects modes can help slower CPUs; leave the default if performance is already full speed.
- FPS limit: use the plugin’s limiter or ePSXe’s, not both fighting — one limiter, set to auto.
The Nice / Fast buttons are your reset switch
The plugin panel’s Nice and Fast presets are the fastest diagnostic in ePSXe: if a game breaks, click Fast, confirm it runs, then re-apply your HD choices one at a time. Half of all “this game is incompatible” reports are one plugin checkbox — this is also step one of our black screen fix.
When OpenGL2 is the wrong tool
Some games lean on exact software rendering behaviour. If a title shows missing layers, wrong colours or invisible menus under OpenGL2 but runs on the internal core, believe the internal core — accuracy beats resolution for that game. The broader settings context is in best graphics settings, and the plugin architecture itself in how ePSXe’s plugin system works.