Mac Virtual Game Station
PS2 Emulator enables your Windows/MAC PC to emulate and behave same as PlayStation 2 hardware. Your PC is host which act as PS2, while the imitated PlayStation 2 software is the known as the guest. Thus, PS2 emulators are software programs, which enables you to play PlayStation games on your windows or Mac, although they are from a completely different platform. Over the past few years, the demand of PlayStation 2 emulators has grown. This is because some PS2 games cannot be played on Mac or windows, but with PS2 emulators, it is possible to play the games.
Connectix has announced the availability of a demo version of their popular Sony Playstation video game emulator, Virtual Game Station. VGS turned the market on its ear a couple years back,. GameEx is considered to be the most powerful, stable and feature rich gaming front-end (emulator launcher) for MAME, GameBase, Daphne, PC Games and all command line based game emulators, along with being a complete Home Theatre PC solution or plug in for windows media center. EmulationStation is not available for Mac but there are some alternatives that runs on macOS with similar functionality. The most popular Mac alternative is RetroArch, which is both free and Open Source.If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked 28 alternatives to EmulationStation and six of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement.
- Mar 31, 2020 An eGPU can give your Mac additional graphics performance for professional apps, 3D gaming, VR content creation, and more. EGPUs are supported by any Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac 1 running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later. Learn how to update the software on your Mac.
- Connectix virtual game station free download - Connectix Virtual PC, A73 Piano Station, Docking Station, and many more programs.
Topics Covered
Virtual Gaming Station (VGS)
Connectix is the developer of VGS emulator. Initially, VGS emulator was made for Mac, but it was later updated to accommodate windows PC. Apart from enabling you to run PlayStation games in your windows or Mac PC, VGS emulator library features many good games. Besides, VGS allows you to play most PS games.
The ability to run most games that were only played in PS led to increased popularity of VGS emulator. As a result, Sony filed a case against Connectix, because the competition of VGS made it a threat to Sony. However, Connectix won the case. Sony decided to buy the emulator and disabled it, although older versions of the emulator can be located on the internet.
Also Go Through Other Emulators:
PCSX2
PCSX2 is an emulator of Sony PS2. Also, it is the fullest packaged and useful PS2 emulator in the market. All updates of the emulator enable users to play and enjoy many games. Besides, the updates enhance the sound and speed of the emulator.
The most unique and greatest feature of the PCSX2 emulator is that you only need to put your PS2 games in a DVD or CD player, and you are set to play the games in your PC. Apart from the emulator being fast, installing and configuring it is easy.
NeutrinoSX2
Among the top open source, PS2 emulators are NuetrinoSX2. For the emulator to run, you must install PS2 Bio files in your PC. Maud is the main developer of the emulator, although he left the coding uncomplete. Thus, you cannot play any commercial game using the emulator, as it is unfinished. Nevertheless, the compatibility of the emulator is outstanding, and its sound emulation is of high quality. Additionally, if you are a PS2 emulator developer, NeutrinoSX2 is rich with useful information, hence a good reference.
PS2EMU
The emulator was designed by three developers, namely Scar, Shunt, and Roor, to imitate PS2. However, the emulator is still being developed. The developers released a universal compiler that was only 10% complete. Although you should not expect so much from this emulator, it is highly compatible, and its development concept is unique. Additionally, you need PS2 Bio files to operate the emulator in windows/Mac. The download of the emulator is free but does not have plugins, which are vital for its full functioning.
ePSXe
ePSXe is an abbreviation of enhanced PSX emulator. The emulator is among the few PS emulators that are regularly updated. It was developed with an aim of offering excellent PS experience that is unavailable in competitor emulators.
It is available as a free download software, which allows you to run various PS games without problems. Besides, you can customize the settings of your audio and volume while using the emulator.
Apart from the above listed PS2 emulators, there exist many others. However, it is advisable you use PS2 emulators that are regularly updated and allows you to run and enjoy many games in your PC.
An eGPU can give your Mac additional graphics performance for professional apps, 3D gaming, VR content creation, and more.
eGPUs are supported by any Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac1 running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later. Learn how to update the software on your Mac.
An eGPU lets you do all this on your Mac:
- Accelerate apps that use Metal, OpenGL, and OpenCL
- Connect additional external monitors and displays
- Use virtual reality headsets plugged into the eGPU
- Charge your MacBook Pro while using the eGPU
- Use an eGPU with your MacBook Pro while its built-in display is closed
- Connect an eGPU while a user is logged in
- Connect more than one eGPU using the multiple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on your Mac2
- Use the menu bar item to safely disconnect the eGPU
- View the activity levels of built-in and external GPUs (Open Activity Monitor, then choose Window > GPU History.)
eGPU support in apps
eGPU support in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later is designed to accelerate Metal, OpenGL, and OpenCL apps that benefit from a powerful eGPU. Not all apps support eGPU acceleration; check with the app's developer to learn more.3
In general, an eGPU can accelerate performance in these types of apps:
- Pro apps designed to utilize multiple GPUs
- 3D games, when an external monitor is attached directly to the eGPU
- VR apps, when the VR headset is attached directly to the eGPU
- Pro apps and 3D games that accelerate the built-in display of iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro (This capability must be enabled by the app's developer.)
You can configure applications to use an eGPU with one of the following methods.
Use the Prefer External GPU option
Starting with macOS Mojave 10.14, you can turn on Prefer External GPU in a specific app's Get Info panel in the Finder. This option lets the eGPU accelerate apps on any display connected to the Mac—including displays built in to iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro:
- Quit the app if it's open.
- Select the app in the Finder. Most apps are in your Applications folder. If you open the app from an alias or launcher, Control-click the app's icon and choose Show Original from the pop-up menu. Then select the original app.
- Press Command-I to show the app's info window.
- Select the checkbox next to Prefer External GPU.
- Open the app to use it with the eGPU.
You won't see this option if an eGPU isn't connected, if your Mac isn't running macOS Mojave or later, or if the app self-manages its GPU selection. Some apps, such as Final Cut Pro, directly choose which graphics processors are used and will ignore the Prefer External GPU checkbox.
Set an external eGPU-connected display as the primary display
If you have an external display connected to your eGPU, you can choose it as the primary display for all apps. Since apps default to the GPU associated with the primary display, this option works with a variety of apps:
- Quit any open apps that you want the eGPU to accelerate on the primary display.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Select Displays, then select the Arrangement tab.
- Drag the white menu bar to the box that represents the display that's attached to the eGPU.
- Open the apps that you want to use with the eGPU.
If you disconnect the eGPU, your Mac defaults back to the internal graphics processors that drives the built-in display. When the eGPU is re-attached, it automatically sets the external display as the primary display.
About macOS GPU drivers
Mac hardware and GPU software drivers have always been deeply integrated into the system. This design fuels the visually rich and graphical macOS experience as well as many deeper platform compute and graphics features. These include accelerating the user interface, providing support for advanced display features, rendering 3D graphics for pro software and games, processing photos and videos, driving powerful GPU compute features, and accelerating machine learning tasks. This deep integration also enables optimal battery life while providing for greater system performance and stability.
Apple develops, integrates, and supports macOS GPU drivers to ensure there are consistent GPU capabilities across all Mac products, including rich APIs like Metal, Core Animation, Core Image, and Core ML. In order to deliver the best possible customer experience, GPU drivers need to be engineered, integrated, tested, and delivered with each version of macOS. Aftermarket GPU drivers delivered by third parties are not compatible with macOS.
The GPU drivers delivered with macOS are also designed to enable a high quality, high performance experience when using an eGPU, as described in the list of recommended eGPU chassis and graphics card configurations below. Because of this deep system integration, only graphics cards that use the same GPU architecture as those built into Mac products are supported in macOS.
Supported eGPU configurations
It's important to use an eGPU with a recommended graphics card and Thunderbolt 3 chassis. If you use an eGPU to also charge your MacBook Pro, the eGPU's chassis needs to provide enough power to run the graphics card and charge the computer. Check with the manufacturer of the chassis to find out if it provides enough power for your MacBook Pro.
Recommended graphics cards, along with chassis that can power them sufficiently, are listed below.
Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPU products
These products contain a powerful built-in GPU and supply sufficient power to charge your MacBook Pro.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPUs:
- Blackmagic eGPU and Blackmagic eGPU Pro4
- Gigabyte RX 580 Gaming Box4
- Sonnet Radeon RX 570 eGFX Breakaway Puck
- Sonnet Radeon RX 560 eGFX Breakaway Puck5
AMD Radeon RX 470, RX 480, RX 570, RX 580, and Radeon Pro WX 7100
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Polaris architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Pulse series and the AMD WX series.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
Virtual Game Station Mac
- OWC Mercury Helios FX4
- PowerColor Devil Box
- Sapphire Gear Box
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 350W
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
- PowerColor Game Station4
- HP Omen4
- Akitio Node6
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
Connectix Virtual Game Station Mac
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 56 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 56.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- OWC Mercury Helios FX4
- PowerColor Devil Box
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
- PowerColor Game Station4
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, Vega Frontier Edition Air, and Radeon Pro WX 9100
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 64 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 64, AMD Frontier Edition air-cooled, and AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
AMD Radeon RX 5700, 5700 XT, and 5700 XT 50th Anniversary
If you've installed macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or later, you can use these graphics cards that are based on the AMD Navi RDNA architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 5700, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
Learn more
- Learn how to choose your GPU in Final Cut Pro X 10.4.7 or later.
- To ensure the best eGPU performance, use the Thunderbolt 3 cable that came with your eGPU or an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cable. Also make sure that the cable is connected directly to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, not daisy-chained through another Thunderbolt device or hub.
- If you have questions about Thunderbolt 3 chassis or graphics cards, or about third-party app support and compatibility, contact the hardware or software provider.
- Software developers can learn more about programming their apps to take advantage of macOS eGPU support.
1. If you have a Mac mini (2018) with FileVault turned on, make sure to connect your primary display directly to Mac mini during startup. After you log in and see the macOS Desktop, you can unplug the display from Mac mini and connect it to your eGPU.
2. If you're using a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2016 or 2017, always plug eGPUs and other high-performance devices into the left-hand ports for maximum data throughput.
3. macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later don't support eGPUs in Windows using Boot Camp or when your Mac is in macOS Recovery or installing system updates.
4. These chassis provide at least 85 watts of charging power, making them ideal for use with 15-inch MacBook Pro models.
5. Playback of HDCP-protected content from iTunes and some streaming services is not supported on displays attached to Radeon 560-based eGPUs. You can play this content on the built-in display on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac.
Mac Virtual Game Station Macintosh
6. If you use Akitio Node with a Mac notebook, you might need to connect your Mac to its power adapter to ensure proper charging.