Fastest PC

[mytymaus007]

Does anyone know if you were to build the fastest PC out there today would it run all MAME games 100%. Also Dolphin Emulator and all others. Does it even matter the speed or size of video card or Ram. I see Intel has the new i7 6 core processor Has anyone set it up. Basically I want to run Hyperspin with as many emulators as possible 100% and also have enough for the near future. Any Specs recommended

[Dazz]

Does anyone know if you were to build the fastest PC out there today would it run all MAME games 100%. Also Dolphin Emulator and all others. Does it even matter the speed or size of video card or Ram. I see Intel has the new i7 6 core processor Has anyone set it up. Basically I want to run Hyperspin with as many emulators as possible 100% and also have enough for the near future. Any Specs recommended

No, even the fastest PC today will not run all the MAME games 100%.  Some MAME games are probably going to require PC's in the 8 to 10ghz quad core range to run at 100%.  Dolphin emulation is still pretty far from perfect, but my AMD 925 @2.8 seems to run some games pretty good, but others like New SMB Wii run pretty slow.

[DillonFoulds]

Even less than dazz, I'm running an AMD Athlon II 260, and it can handle very many emulators just fine, including Sega Dreamcast and ePSXe at standard 60fps emulation, with little to no slowdowns. I'm running these CPUs with an HD4350 video card, HDMI out to LCDs @ 1080p, on a clean install of windows xp, with the majority of the services disabled. This is a 50$ cpu, so I'm sure you'll be fine with nearly anything on the shelves today...

[LeedsFan]

This kind of question has been asked many times before. Personally on my latest project I bought an i3-550 processor and OCed it to 4.2 GHz. That's a decent OC (it's @ 3.2GHz stock) but it won't run all games in Mame. I didn't OC it for Mame as such because I wanted it to run PC games also.

I will say that Hyperspin runs much sweeter now the system is OCed. I have HS set up with all the bells and whistles at max. and at stock 3.2 GHz it ran fine. But there were some stutters and glitches here and there with the themes loading etc. But since the OC it all runs like butter. You should just concentrate on getting HS running like this first because you're never gonna get ALL games running perfectly on any system built today. You'll still run about ~97% of them at full speed no probs though.

[Donkbaca]

No, because not all games have good emulation.  A lot drivers are still preliminary and some games are just broken. 

[bkenobi]

Does anyone know if you were to build the fastest PC out there today would it run all MAME games 100%.

I bet it would play the Mahjong games pretty good!

[Donkbaca]

These type threads pop up from time to time.  Its funny because a p4 3.0ghz can run 95% of the games you want to play, and you can get one of those for somewhere between free and 75 bucks.  I don't get why some people spend several hundred dollars on a fast new rig, just to play a handful of extra games 

It would be neat if there were some sort of resource to point this out to people.  Something like, if you have a p4, you can run xyz, upgrading to a core 2 duo lets you  now play a,b,c. 

[Rusty Shackelford]

These type threads pop up from time to time.  Its funny because a p4 3.0ghz can run 95% of the games you want to play, and you can get one of those for somewhere between free and 75 bucks.  

Ha! thats exacly how I got mine. It went blue screened at work so I offered to get rid of it.....

[clutch]

Show me a computer that will play Mace The Dark Age smoothly with no frame skipping or herky-jerkyness.

[notroubleclubber]

p4 3.0ghz with 2gb ram and a 512mb grafix card runs most stuff including pc games on my setup.

[wweumina]

Show me a computer that will play Mace The Dark Age smoothly with no frame skipping or herky-jerkyness.

Nintendo 64?

[GreatLamer]

Intel CPU. Video card isnt a problem.

[clutch]

Show me a computer that will play Mace The Dark Age smoothly with no frame skipping or herky-jerkyness.

Nintendo 64?

 

[Truecade]

Show me a computer that will play Mace The Dark Age smoothly with no frame skipping or herky-jerkyness.

I just built a computer that does this.  In fact, I recorded a playthrough of Mace the Dark Age and posted it on Youtube a few days ago.  This rig will also play Gauntlet Legends at near 100%.



My specs:
core i5-2500
DH67CF
4 GB Ram
Windows XP 32 Bit (So i can use Soft 15Khz)
No overclocking required for Mace.
(I built this box for LAN gaming which is why I used the Mini-ITX board.  But I tested a few 3D MAME games and was amazed that they ran at 100%)

I plan on getting a i7-2600K next month and overclocking it to 4Ghz to do some more MAME recording of 3D games.

If you are looking for the best processor available to play MAME, get one of the new 2nd generation Core i5 or Core i7 processors (The K series are for overclocking).  You won't even need to overclock, but if you do, you just set the multiplier in the Bios.  No more messing with FSB frequency, etc.  Many people can get 4.2Ghz stable with the stock cooler.  These new Sandy Bridge processors should run everything at 100%, no joke.

Here's another short Mace: The Dark Age video I did last week.

[DillonFoulds]

o0o0 show me the play-through of gauntlet legends! Even on my I5 rig I can't get all the way through the first level

[clutch]

My specs:
core i5-2500
DH67CF
4 GB Ram
Windows XP 32 Bit (So i can use Soft 15Khz)
No overclocking required for Mace.
(I built this box for LAN gaming which is why I used the Mini-ITX board.  But I tested a few 3D MAME games and was amazed that they ran at 100%)

I plan on getting a i7-2600K next month and overclocking it to 4Ghz to do some more MAME recording of 3D games.

If you are looking for the best processor available to play MAME, get one of the new 2nd generation Core i5 or Core i7 processors (The K series are for overclocking).  You won't even need to overclock, but if you do, you just set the multiplier in the Bios.  No more messing with FSB frequency, etc.  Many people can get 4.2Ghz stable with the stock cooler.  These new Sandy Bridge processors should run everything at 100%, no joke.

I humbly bow to you sir.

[bkenobi]

I thought I was pretty clear about requesting a Mahjong video.   

[shateredsoul]

nice.. wonder what my rig could do with that game. Any other games that need a fast pcu ? I'd like to test them out on my cab.

[clok]

the new 2500and 2600K are pretty amazing when OC'ed (just wisht he MB's didnt have the sata flaw)... Of course the old e8400 OC did almost all games at 100% (note, i said almost)  I played alot of Gauntlet Legends with others on it and it played fine  that was a year + or so ago. It was the reason I built a A new MAME machine  gauntlet  love that game!

[Donkbaca]

I play gauntlet using the dreamcast emulator on my P4.  runs great.

[Jollywest]

Which ever spec you go for I would definitely recommend Compiling your own version of MAME and using a 64-bit OS with a 64-bit version of MAME, for increased performance.

Here is a link for compiling your own MAME version >  MAME COMPILER 64

[JODY]

I second using a 64 bit OS (e.g. Windows 7 64 bit) and a 64 bit version of Mame.  I have not compiled my own but found that MameUI64 (one 64 bit version) is much faster than a 32 bit version on my Windows 7 HTPC.  Games that were not very playable in the 32 bit version were very playable using the 64 bit version.

[shateredsoul]

How about this question,

what's the cheapest solution to getting most mame games to run well?

an overclocked i5?

[Turnarcades]

Man, I've been off the forum since Christmas and return to this same question?

This will never be answered and the closest answers have been given a million times already. I've given a 200-word brief on 3 specs and what they can achieve loads of times; check my past posts if you're looking for a quick answer.

The reason it's not worth starting these threads is the benchmark and consideration factors change daily; almost as quick as the thread does.

[Donkbaca]

Depends on what you want to play. I am running a p4 3.0ghz and there are only like 5 games, maybe, that I can't play that I would want to

[DCsegaDH]

Depends on what you want to play. I am running a p4 3.0ghz and there are only like 5 games, maybe, that I can't play that I would want to

What games you can't play? I might just get a p4 3.0ghz if you can play Tekken 1-3 and Tag Tournament on it, those are the only 3D games I actually care for since Gauntlet and Blitz require a really good PC. I have a PC with a Core 2 Duo 2.9 ghz in my office that runs most of the 3D games in Mame just fine, but I think it would be wasted if I use it for my Mame cabinet just for a couple extra 3D games.

[Donkbaca]

I can go up to tekken 2 with zinc. Tekken 3 has sound issues, which I think is an emulation problem, not a horsepower problem. Can't run tekken tag

I can run the ex streetfighters okay though

[DCsegaDH]

I can go up to tekken 2 with zinc. Tekken 3 has sound issues, which I think is an emulation problem, not a horsepower problem. Can't run tekken tag

I can run the ex streetfighters okay though

Cool, I think it's okay, Tekken Tag isn't that good anyway, I don't think it's worth getting spending more money just to play that game.

[lastrega]

I run a core 2 duo at only 2.5ghz, 4 gigs of ram, and a nvidia 9600gt....... and I run almost everything........Well....... Gauntlet slows a little...... but still I have little to no problems, with most 3d mame titles, and I run in a verticle resolution with dual screens blasting at the same time........ PS awesome specs in some of these cabs by the way...... some overkill, but when new titles get fixed you guys will be more than ready........... Cheers....... Can't wait till they fix tekken 5........ I'll upgrade for that:)

[chepin]

Can Time Crisis 1 run well with a really fast processor, or is the emulation not there yet?

[Blanka]

88% of games runs well on most normal PC's
2 % of games will benefit from a faster processor available today
10% will need serious amount of extra power, not available anytime soon.
So, you will buy the faster processor just for 2% of the games.

My advice: buy the cheapest (a basic dual core i3 or i5) and upgrade in 3 years when processors gained enough for say PS3 emulation, and the PS4 will be out to fill the 10% segment once again.

[Corbo]

Back around 1996 UltraHLE hit the internet.  It ran Mario64 perfectly on my AMD.... 1.6ghz I'm guessing, at the time.  If you tried to run Mario64 on any other N64 emu at the time you would of struggled along at 2fps if it even ran at all.

You need to take a look at the emulators you are trying to run first and foremost.  Are they mature and optimised or are they still being developed.  Only when you can answer yes can you consider your hardware to be the bottleneck.

[scofthe7seas]

I agree with what Corbo is saying. In time you won't need a super computer to run the more modern games. You can see that some 3d games from the older era run like crap, but others run fine, due to optimization. Once 3d hardware is Incorporated to a degree (to take load of the CPU) it will be even faster. Just a bit of time is needed.
However, if you want to go cheap, the Pentium "dual core" series is actually pretty fast and super cheap, cheaper than any of the I series and just as fast. The dual core series is basically a cheap version of the core2duo, but it runs very fast for the price. Plus it comes in 755 chipset flavor which makes for cheap motherboards and ram (ddr2).
Don't build a super computer. In all honesty, buy the time the emulation actually catches up to the hardware, the supercomputers of today will be mostly given to everybody's mom. The cheapy versions of whatever new chip is out will be faster than the i9.

[Donkbaca]

A big misconception is that more horsepower will make everything run well. The truth is most of these games are just broken with imperfect emulation.  Look at Tekken 3, for example: http://maws.mameworld.info/maws/  It has bugs, the sound and video are imperfect.  Doesn't matter how powerful your machine is.

If you can't run something you really want to play, look up the game on MAWS and see what the state of emulation and what the bugs are before going for the upgrade...

[Donkbaca]

The dual core series are decent.  On the plus side, they can run a 64 bit OS.  On the negative side, they draw a lot of power, run super hot and are not at all well sited for overclocking.

I agree though, anything above a 3ghz P4 will suit you fine for MAME.  Go cheap/free/Craigs list, you can usually find these machines for next to nothing.

[scofthe7seas]

I forgot to also mention, as had been said above, 64bit does add about up to a 10 fps boost to demanding games. Multiple cores add 2-3. 2 cores is fine for now, 4 cores does nothing more than the 2, and the redunkulous 8 virtual cores for i9s are meaningless. (though a single core in an i9 IS pretty fast and would help with speed, the multple cores won't do much)

[DCsegaDH]

Thanks for everyone's input on this page, now I know what to get

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Back around 1996 UltraHLE hit the internet.  It ran Mario64 perfectly on my AMD.... 1.6ghz I'm guessing, at the time.  If you tried to run Mario64 on any other N64 emu at the time you would of struggled along at 2fps if it even ran at all.

You need to take a look at the emulators you are trying to run first and foremost.  Are they mature and optimised or are they still being developed.  Only when you can answer yes can you consider your hardware to be the bottleneck.

Just some history clarification here... UltraHLE was 1999. The N64 itself was only released in 1996. Also AMD had only just released the Slot A Athlon in 1999, and didn't break 1Ghz with it until the next year, I believe.

[krick]

The dual core series are decent.  On the plus side, they can run a 64 bit OS.  On the negative side, they draw a lot of power, run super hot and are not at all well sited for overclocking.

I agree though, anything above a 3ghz P4 will suit you fine for MAME.  Go cheap/free/Craigs list, you can usually find these machines for next to nothing.

Yes, you can get P4 machines practically for free.  If cost is an issue, then by all means, go for it.

That said, I'm not sure where you get your information.  According to Wikipedia, there have been 10 Pentium 4 3.0 GHz models and nine of them are 80-89 Watt parts.  All of the low end Core2Duo E5xxx and E3xxx chips are 65 Watt parts, even the 3.0 GHz and 3.2 GHz models, so they don't draw a lot of power or run "super hot", especially when compared to the P4.

The Core2 Quads and Extremes are the ones that use a lot of power, but I'm not advocating them for use in a MAME machine.

There is also no problem with overclocking.  I overclocked my E5200 2.5 GHz processor to 3.5 GHz using the stock Intel heatsink/fan combo on a dirt-cheap $55 ASUS motherboard without increasing the voltage and by changing only two BIOS settings.  Most of the E5xxx and E3xxx processors will overclock similarly into the 3.5-3.6 GHz range, given the right motherboard and memory.  Some people have gotten lucky and were able to overclock to the 4.1-4.2 GHz range, but that requires a better cooling and more voltage.

Any one of the low end Core2 based chips kicks the crap out of a P4.  Plus they can run a 64-bit OS with 64-bit MAME for a 15-30% increase in performance in most games.

My personal recommendation for a MAME cabinet is a low-end Core2 based processor combined with a cheap LGA 775 motherboard from ASUS or Gigabye in the $50-70 range and 4GB of quality memory (2 x 2GB).   Then couple it with a 64-bit OS, preferably XP x64 if you can find a copy on eBay.

For example a quick search of Newegg turns up...

$53 - GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357

$50 - Intel Celeron E3400 Wolfdale 2.6GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80571E3400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116348

$80 - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

This combo for $183 would form the basis of a very powerful computer for MAME now, and probably for quite some time in the future.  There's probably better motherboards for slightly more money, I just picked the cheapest highly rated LGA 775 motherboard that came up in my search.

With the extra headroom from the 1066 memory, you should have no problem overclocking the CPU into the 3.5 GHz range with the stock cooling.  The memory is very important because most of the cheap LGA 775 boards do not have fully unlocked memory dividers so you need to be able to overclock the memory too, hence buying 1066 memory for a 800 motherboard/CPU.

[Corbo]

Back around 1996 UltraHLE hit the internet.  It ran Mario64 perfectly on my AMD.... 1.6ghz I'm guessing, at the time.  If you tried to run Mario64 on any other N64 emu at the time you would of struggled along at 2fps if it even ran at all.

You need to take a look at the emulators you are trying to run first and foremost.  Are they mature and optimised or are they still being developed.  Only when you can answer yes can you consider your hardware to be the bottleneck.

Just some history clarification here... UltraHLE was 1999. The N64 itself was only released in 1996. Also AMD had only just released the Slot A Athlon in 1999, and didn't break 1Ghz with it until the next year, I believe.

Thanks for the clarification on dates.  Nostalgia plays tricks on the mind but the sentiment remains true.  Emulation is only as good as the code it runs on.

[scofthe7seas]

Any one of the low end Core2 based chips kicks the crap out of a P4.  Plus they can run a 64-bit OS with 64-bit MAME for a 15-30% increase in performance in most games.775 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80571E3400

(multiple responses to your post, but I don't like quoteing an entire big block)

Your recommendations are suspiciously close to my recommendations However, the pricing is a littttle bit off. It's easy to forget things like power supplies, and hard drives, plus if you don't have a space CD/dvd drive you will need one of those (at least for some of the initial work)
Also, you won't need 4 gigs of Ram, I rock 2 gigs in my mame PC on windows 7 64 with no hicups. There isn't really too much in MAME that needs that much ram (think about the sizes of the individual games/CHD images.. not so huge, and only one loads at a time.)
Also, Core2duo based processors are very fast, and honestly don't need much overclocking for mame. I haven't overclocked my ram at all, and often the voltage settings have to be meddled with which a lot of people aren't comfortable with.
The heating in any of the corex cpus is actually comparatively low. Look up some heating in alevels for a pentium D, you'll be pretty shocked. The low heat levels of the corx processors make them VERY overclock friendly. My mame pc isn't overclocked at all, but My personal one is. You can overclock to a decent degree just using the standard garbage intel sync/fan but I have a crazy looking zalman that keeps it very cool.
As had been said, it's really the emulation that needs to catch up (not at all knocking the amazing state it is already in!!) The 64bit issue is a HUGE help though, bringing NFL blitz from kind of choppy to very playable.

[JODY]

I say "Yes".  Get the Intel Core I7 and match it with very high speed RAM.  Install 64 bit Windows 7.  Use a 64 bit version of Mame.  Any it won't do at 100% is due to poor emulation.

My 3.4 Ghz AMD quad core (non-overclocked) can do the games I noticed glancing through this thread at over 100% and it is slow compared to an Intel Core I7.

64 bit OS and Mame yields a substancial speed improvement.

[scofthe7seas]

Seriously though, how many "high end" games are there that tax people's systems pretty heavily? Under 10? I don't know if that's worth several hundred more dollars. I loves me some games and all, but I'm made of bones and meat and stuff, not money.

[Donkbaca]

 +1 If you can play 90% of the games for dirt cheap, is NFL blitz really worth spending 300 bucks to play?