Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are things that we often get asked about Project64, with the official answers from the PJ64 team, thanks to users for contributions.

New PJ64 users: please take the time to read through these pages - use the search too! - so we don't have to keep answering the same questions on the forum. You'll get a quicker answer and save our time!
 

 

  • General

    The most frequently asked frequently asked questions ;)
  • Plugins

    General questions about plugins. For Qs about particular PJ64 plugins see categories below.
  • Common GameFAQs

    Common questions about games. For questions about specific games please see the Games section .
  • Rules

    Everyone has to have some :/
  • Saving & Loading

  • Performance

    • I have a low-end / slow / old / computer, how should I configure Project64?

    • I have a fast PC, how should I configure Project64?

    • Why do games pause every few minutes?

    • Games are running at 60/50 but still seem too fast, why?

    • Why are games running at less than 60/50 in Project64?

    • Why are games running at more than 60/50 FPS in Project64?

    • Why does changing resolution have little effect on performance?

    • Project64 says "X FPS" but looks much less than that to me, why?

      This value is best thought of as "Fields Per Second" or internal VI/s, which stands for 'vertical interrupts per second', which is how often a real N64 system would be restarting it's scan from the top of the screen on a TV. This is fixed according to the TV standard in the country the game is released in, and is used in Project64 for exactly this reason - actual complete frames rendererd per second depends on the choices the game developers made when coding the game, for example F-ZeroX does run at a full 60 frames/second but Zelda renders only 20 frames/s. Thus the emulator always attempts to match the intended FPS of the game, no lower, no higher. It is not possible to change the video framerate without increading or decreasing the speed of emulation of the entire emulated N64 system, which basically causes audio problems.
    • What parts of my system most effect performance?

    • Why when I turn off the speed limiter do games not run faster?

    • Why is my CPU usage at 100%?

    • Why does Project64 run so slow with CFB/Primary Framebuffer Emulation in use?

    • Do zipped ROMs have any performance effect vs. normal ROMs?

  • Video

    Questions mainly relating to Jabo's Direct3D plugins (we do not support other video plugins).
  • Audio

    Questions mainly relating to Jabo's DirectSound plugin (we do not support other audio plugins).
  • Input

    Questions mainly about Jabo's DirectInput plugin (we do not support other input plugins).
  • RSP

    Questions about Project64's Reality Signal Processor (RSP) plugin.