Nano mobos

[Ophelius]

I found out about these "nano" motherboards that are used for embedded software in kiosks, terminals etc:
http://estore.bcmcom.com/

I thought these might be great to use in an arcade machine because of the low power usage and low heat(some don't need fans on the cpu). I figure the components might last longer this way too. I was looking at this model here for my project:
http://estore.bcmcom.com/product_info.php?products_id=56
More specs: http://www.bcmcom.com/bcm_product_NX530Z.htm

Anybody have experience with these or used one in their machines?

[Epyx]

Quite a few people here use these Atom ITX boards. They are "ok" for the classics but begins to struggle on some late 80s and early 90s titles.  So if you are strictly a classics guy you should be fine...if you want a bit more, look elsewhere.

[Ophelius]

It would be only for older games, so I think it would be fast enough. What I'm curious about is would the components most likely last much longer because of the low heat and energy?

[Epyx]

Theoretically, but in practice it is all a crapshoot

[gryhnd]

When I scanned the subjects in my "unread posts", I swore at first this said "Man boobs"...

moving on...

I've had the same thoughts as the OP. Just a few days ago I was checking out the Pico ITX boards, which lead me to the Beagle Board (the latter didn't seem ideal for MAME, but it has been done).

[Ophelius]

I also found these too:
http://www.compulab.co.il/all-products/html/products.htm
I'm pretty sure you can customize them to suit your needs.

[Bender]

Quite a few people here use these Atom ITX boards. They are "ok" for the classics but begins to struggle on some late 80s and early 90s titles.  So if you are strictly a classics guy you should be fine...if you want a bit more, look elsewhere.

What kinda specks would you need to run some of those late 80's early 90's games?
I'm not talking about NFL Blitz or anything

what about one of thesehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027

[Epyx]

The Atoms start having difficulty with Mortal Kombat etc and barely run them at 80-90% from the benchmarks I have seen.

[Gatt]

Quite a few people here use these Atom ITX boards. They are "ok" for the classics but begins to struggle on some late 80s and early 90s titles.  So if you are strictly a classics guy you should be fine...if you want a bit more, look elsewhere.

What kinda specks would you need to run some of those late 80's early 90's games?
I'm not talking about NFL Blitz or anything

what about one of thesehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027

Courtesy of Ischo on mameworld.net

http://www.ischo.com/mamebench/

1.6ghz Atom benchmarks for every game,  any given Atom should perform fairly close to those.

[Bender]

That's great info
Thanks

[Epyx]

Very good info!  It performs about what I expected perhaps a bit better...ok for classics but again for many of the games I like this would be unacceptable.

Some of the games I like to have running at full frame rate include the following:

Starblade
Raiden Fighters Jet
Raiden Fighters/Raiden Fighters 2
Twin Cobra 2
Street Fighter EX2
Golden Axe: RODA
Elevator Action Returns
Stun Runner

But that's just me!

 

[Ophelius]

Cool! That's around 90% of roms that run at full frame rate or close.

[Epyx]

Cool! That's around 90% of roms that run at full frame rate or close.

Agreed, but keep in mind you will want to be slightly above for the Roms that read 60fps average frame rate as they will experience dips during gameplay that bring you below what i would deem playable...

Imo, I would think just the ones that are 80-100fps or above would be playable during most situations and anything lower you are risking slowdowns.

[Encryptor]

Courtesy of Ischo on mameworld.net

http://www.ischo.com/mamebench/

1.6ghz Atom benchmarks for every game,  any given Atom should perform fairly close to those.

I can't even get that site to come up. Goes to dns search and lists recommendations for sites.

Encryptor

[WhereEaglesDare]

You really want the Nvidia Ion with an Atom, it will run everything to some of teh latest, including Team Fortress 2, BioShock, and Street Fighter 4.