USB versus PS/2 Keyboard encoder board

[Dragonman73]

I have a PS/2 encoder made by 3tronics for my MAME set-up. I was wondering if there is a difference between using a USB encoder and a PS/2 encoder? I haven't hooked this up yet, but I like it because it has 48 available inputs.

 I don't think it would make a difference in button / joystick response time but I thought I would ask. Or a delay?

Thanks again

[BobA]

Here is a quote from Randy T of GGG

I'm going to get involved here to hopefully save you some time and expense.  The PS/2 to USB converters work fine for a regular keyboard and mouse, and will work to some extent with gaming keyboard encoders, but they have some substantial limitations when used in our application.  Some may be better than others, but almost all of them limit the number of simultaneous keypresses to 6 or less, and also employ some sort of "anti-stuck key" technique which will automatically release a keypress after a predetermined amount of time.  If you are building a panel for one player, not playing games where you need to hold a button down for longer than a couple of seconds and can deal with whatever lag might be induced by the extra in-line device, then it may be ok.  Otherwise, you would be better served by replacing the encoder and looking at a native USB offering.

If you have a free PCI slot, you might also be able to find a cheap PS/2 I/O card as another alternative.

RandyT

So if your 3tronics interface does not have native USB support it will probably not work well with a converter.  If it does a simple PS/2 to USB converter should work.  Ask 3tronics what they recommend.