Author Topic: Another question about building a mame computer (Read 6947 times)

shateredsoul1979 · « **on:** July 17, 2011, 01:52:33 pm »

Hi Everyone, So I'm going to build a dual core pc for mame. I'd like to run the following emulators. Any advice on parts? I'm trying to stay within 500 bucks, i have an extra hdd so no need to buy that. I figured I could get a faster cpu for a cheaper price if it was dual core, and most emulators don't use more than 2 cores.

At least run the following very well

mame
Demul
Sega Model 2
Model 3 emulator
Psx mame (or Zinc)
nulldc
taito type x and x2

It would be great if it could run

Dolphin
PCSX2

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2011, 11:47:15 pm »

Taking into account dolphin and pcsx2, i came up with this:

Newegg.com:

Quote

HIS H667F1GD Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity
Item #: N82E16814161375
$97.99

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ...
Item #: N82E16817371033
$39.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231274
$34.99

ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157241
$59.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core
Item #: N82E16819115072
$219.99

   Subtotal:    $452.95
   Shipping:    $8.71

Grand Total:    $461.66

no case, no os. the videocard is probably a little overkill, but i know NullDC, Dolphin, and PCSX2 all want a more powerful video card.
Throw in Win7 HomePremium for another $100, and get a cheaper videocard like the HD4350 at around $40 to come in right around your $500 goal.

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 18, 2011, 12:10:35 am »

Awesome, any recommendations for a case? Hmm.. maybe I should just mount these directly into my cab?

If I decided to exclude dolphin, and pcsx2 games then I probably should have no issues with the the HD4350, right? I mean, it should have no issues runing demul and taito type x2 right?

nice pic cpu!

fallacy · « **Reply #3 on:** July 18, 2011, 04:26:42 am »

$500 for a pc that will just be used as an emulator? … na you should use your old computer or get one for free from someone.

Anyway if you cant do that spend a little more and get a good laptop with a i5 or i7 proceser. Not only will it run mame smooth as butter but then you can take it out when ever you want and use it for other things when you get board of your cab.

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #4 on:** July 18, 2011, 05:35:31 am »

If he was only asking about running Mame, then a free computer would probably serve him well, but when you take into account the emulators for newer 3D systems, you're talking about needing a lot more power.

As for cases, I'm rather fond of this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
Antec 300 - $60 / free shipping

It's a steel full tower with two large fans with adjustable three-speed settings. On the lowest speed they move a nice volume of air across the CPU and are almost silent. It also has space to hold 6 harddrives. If you're getting into modern system emulation, those disc images are going to fill up a lot of space very quickly. (The NTSC set for PSX is somewhere around 600Gb).

I'm running NullDC on an HD4350 with no issues. I'm running at 800x600 though. A higher resolution might not work as well. What are you using for a monitor? I believe some of the Taito X/X2 games have issues with ATI cards, however. You'll want to do more research on that.

Donkbaca · « **Reply #5 on:** July 18, 2011, 11:44:32 am »

Actually, the whole point of the newer 3d emulators is that you don't need as much horespower to use it as you do to run MAME. So I disagree.

You don't need a case if you are putting it in the cab, just screw it down to one of the walls using standoffs.

To put things into persepctive; there are probably, what 10 games that you would be able to run with a new $500 pc that you wouldn't be able to run with a free, or next to free 3ghz P4.

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #6 on:** July 18, 2011, 11:59:49 am »

http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-How-to-run-PCSX2-faster-with-Pentium-4
PCSX2 being listed as being too slow on a 3.0Ghz P4.

http://forums.dolphin-emulator.com/showthread.php?tid=8121
Dolphin being listed as running at between 40-70% on a 3.0Ghz P4.

On the flip side though:
http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28088
NullDC being listed as running acceptably on a 3.0Ghz P4 w/GeForce 5200FX.

Bottom line, depends on what you want to play and what you want to pay.

Cynicaster · « **Reply #7 on:** July 18, 2011, 12:07:56 pm »

Quote from: Donkbaca on July 18, 2011, 11:44:32 am

To put things into persepctive; there are probably, what 10 games that you would be able to run with a new $500 pc that you wouldn't be able to run with a free, or next to free 3ghz P4.

I've always kind of wondered about this.

Care to list some examples that might be on that short list?

fallacy · « **Reply #8 on:** July 18, 2011, 12:38:45 pm »

Quote

http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-How-to-run-PCSX2-faster-with-Pentium-4
PCSX2 being listed as being too slow on a 3.0Ghz P4.

http://forums.dolphin-emulator.com/showthread.php?tid=8121
Dolphin being listed as running at between 40-70% on a 3.0Ghz P4.

On the flip side though:
http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28088
NullDC being listed as running acceptably on a 3.0Ghz P4 w/GeForce 5200FX.

Bottom line, depends on what you want to play and what you want to pay.

ya you will not get those emulators to run well on a p4.

Donkbaca · « **Reply #9 on:** July 18, 2011, 12:54:49 pm »

I don't know much about those emulators, I thought that they didn't run that great to begin with. I was thinking more along the lines of arcade emulators, and for 500 bucks, you can pretty much get a ps2 and a wii and all the games you would want to play anyway

On my P4 3.0 GHZ, the only things that I can play that I can't play on my quad core pc are some of the 3d games, though with model 2 and zinc the virtua fighters and tekken 1-2 work failry well. Tekken 3 has sound emulation issues, so it doesn't run well on any machine. That's the thing, a lot of the late 90's games have broken emulation, so even on super awesome rigs, they won't run perfectly. I was in the same spot as you about a year ago. Was thinking if I should get a brand new PC, use my current PC or what, then a P4 3.0ghz fell into my lap for free, and it does pretty much everything I want it to. KI2 runs kind of slow, Some CHD games run fine, I can play SFIII without any problems it seems. It wasn't worth it to me to spend a few hundred bucks for a couple of MAME games I wouldn't play that much when 90% of what I want to play works fine with the current setup. There is SO much to play with 90% of the games available, I don't feel like I am missing much with the games I can't play.

I have console emus on my cab, I have everything up to Dreamcast, and it all works fine. THough, I think I may build a little HTPC to handle consoles and hook that up to the TV, most console games don't feel right playing on the cab

Diet_Pepsi · « **Reply #10 on:** July 18, 2011, 04:29:20 pm »

Quote from: cotmm68030 on July 17, 2011, 11:47:15 pm

Taking into account dolphin and pcsx2, i came up with this:

Newegg.com:
Quote
HIS H667F1GD Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity
Item #: N82E16814161375
$97.99

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ...
Item #: N82E16817371033
$39.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231274
$34.99

ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157241
$59.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core
Item #: N82E16819115072
$219.99

   Subtotal:    $452.95
   Shipping:    $8.71

Grand Total:    $461.66

no case, no os. the videocard is probably a little overkill, but i know NullDC, Dolphin, and PCSX2 all want a more powerful video card.
Throw in Win7 HomePremium for another $100, and get a cheaper videocard like the HD4350 at around $40 to come in right around your $500 goal.

I agree with the P4 comments -- but if you really want to build your own system I would consider an AMD platform. The CPU/Mobo combo in the quote above will cost you $280. Consider swapping the CPU/Mobo for one of these combos -- it could save you about $180 depending on what you choose: http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html

I know the AMD chips are not as quick as their intel counterparts but for the use that we are talking about I don't think it matters all that much.

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #11 on:** July 18, 2011, 04:44:37 pm »

Almost every system I build is AMD when it comes to normal desktop activities, but in my experience in the emulation field Intel chips tend to fair better, clock per clock.

Going with the same clock-speed processor, you might go this route:

Quote

MSI 760GM-P33 AM3 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813130559
$54.99

HIS H667F1GD Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity
Item #: N82E16814161375
$97.99


Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817371033
$39.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231277
$43.99

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103727
$134.99

Subtotal:    $371.95
Shipping:    $9.03
Grand Total:    $380.98

If you're really aiming for speedy emulation of modern systems like the Gamecube, Wii, and PS2, you really want every bit of power you can get as these emulators are still very young and inefficient.

Disclaimer: Do your own research though. I have not run these emulators enough to know what's "minimally sufficient". Either of these certainly maximizes your potential for the emus to run at 100% within your given budget.

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #12 on:** July 18, 2011, 05:21:25 pm »

Yeah I'm doing research right now. I thought I commented earlier, but guess that was lost.

I do know that about 20 to 25 games may need a higher end cpu (demul and taito type x). I'd also like to get Super Street Fighter Arcade Ed., but that doesn't require the fastest computer. I think I might go for sandy bridge cpu, I've heard it does really good things for emulation. I think I can probably get away with a less powerful graphics card. I'm also checking to see if I can get my buddy to help me out with win 7 64bit or get a student discounted version.

Seems like this would also make a good HTPC :> no no, I must stay focused

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #13 on:** July 18, 2011, 07:11:29 pm »

What display are you planning on using?

Donkbaca · « **Reply #14 on:** July 18, 2011, 07:58:09 pm »

Are you kidding? Have you seen the benchmarks on SSFIV? You need something pretty beefy to run it.

As far as I can tell none of the Taito Type X games run all that well..

If you plan on tunning that stuff, a high end graphics card is pretty much a must

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 18, 2011, 08:45:02 pm »

Quote from: cotmm68030 on July 18, 2011, 07:11:29 pm

What display are you planning on using?

My display is 1920 X1200 (or was it 1900 x 1200), well it's somewhere up there.

Hmmm sounds like maybe I should stick to the high-end graphics card,I guess the first suggestions wasn't overdoing it.

Donkbaca · « **Reply #16 on:** July 19, 2011, 11:27:14 am »

Also you will want bigger storage, at least a TB I would say to house all that stuff.

Basically, if you want to do straight mame/zinc/M2, plus any emulator up through dreamcast a beater p4 and 300 gigs of hard drive space, 1 gig of ram and last generation 256 mb graphics card will suit you just fine. You will be able to run 90 - 95% (including chds) and it will run you anywhere from $0 - 150 bucks depending on what you can get for free.

If you want to run SFIV, the newer emulators and a lot of those newer arcade games (most of which are imperfect) You will need a whole new PC, I would say at least 3-400 bucks.

If I were you I would just get a $99 xbox 360 from gamestop and integrate into your cab if you wanted to play that stuff.

WindDrake · « **Reply #17 on:** July 19, 2011, 12:01:32 pm »

The Taito TypeX games that've been modified to run on Windows machines run nicely. My Cab is running a 3.2ghz AMD Tricore (Rana), Radeon 4870 1GB, and 4GB of ram on Win7 x64. I've been playing the hell out of KOF XIII with no issues. You just need to make sure you've got a "Scratch" drive for the game to use (D: Logical Drive, be it a disk or partition).

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 19, 2011, 02:27:54 pm »

Quote from: WindDrake on July 19, 2011, 12:01:32 pm

The Taito TypeX games that've been modified to run on Windows machines run nicely. My Cab is running a 3.2ghz AMD Tricore (Rana), Radeon 4870 1GB, and 4GB of ram on Win7 x64. I've been playing the hell out of KOF XIII with no issues. You just need to make sure you've got a "Scratch" drive for the game to use (D: Logical Drive, be it a disk or partition).

For the taito type x stuff, I actually have .exes by djvj, he hacked them so that they save to the game folder instead of the scratch drive. I still at least need one scratch drive, I thin I'll a usb drive. I'll rename it to the drive letter I need.

I like the xbox 360 idea, and I do have an extra jtagged xbox 360, but then I'd have to rewire my whole panel!!! I'm also worried about overheating issues the Xenon jtag may have in a cab. That sounds like a whole project on it's own. It would be pretty great to have all that in the same arcade, decasing it would reduce the heating issues. I'd rather sell it to help fund the new pc though, but I can't seem to sell that sucker. The truth is that Jtagged Xenon's all have a chance of red ringing.. and I feel I have to tell people that so they don't feel cheated if it red rings 6 months later.

Donkbaca · « **Reply #19 on:** July 19, 2011, 02:38:11 pm »

WTF? you have an EXTRA Jtag? I looked for one for a while before just getting a regular old refurbed for 99 bucks.

I don't know much about the Taito stuff, I just assumed it was all kind of preliminary based on some of the posts I have seen with the difficulty in getting SSFIV working. In any case it seems like you would need a beefy system to run them, or at least beefy video cards.

The 360 idea isn't too hard - KVM switch and use hacked pads instead of an encoder. Let me know if you decide to go this route and I can share some info with you.

clok · « **Reply #20 on:** July 19, 2011, 03:17:54 pm »

Quote from: fallacy on July 18, 2011, 04:26:42 am

$500 for a pc that will just be used as an emulator? … na you should use your old computer or get one for free from someone.

Anyway if you cant do that spend a little more and get a good laptop with a i5 or i7 proceser. Not only will it run mame smooth as butter but then you can take it out when ever you want and use it for other things when you get board of your cab.

Of course with a laptop it will be obsolete in 3-6 months for anything other than web browsing and old stuff

(sorryas an IT guy and I HATE LAPTOPS and TABLETS! purely opinion)

That sandybridge setup will last 2-3+ years as a main desktop PC and you will have the ability to upgrade the video card (which if current trends stay the way the are, will be 3-4 X as fast as current stuff in about 2 years) and quite possibley the CPU which will extend it farther. But it seems manufactures have seen we will upgrade everything so they change slots and such quite often to "FORCE' upgrades.

jtaged 360, if its an old one have it "reballed' ya snicker all you want, it will keep it from red ringing. of course just more money.

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #21 on:** July 19, 2011, 03:34:40 pm »

The jtag is working perfectly right now, no need to reball since it's working fine.

I typed up a longer response but man it dissapeared, no idea why...

Anyways, Donkbaca

Yeah I think I saw your thread on this. I even might have commented. I might check it out and see the difficulty of the process. I still don't understand conceptually where the kvm switch goes in the whole setup. What happens if you don't have the kvm switch? Can't they just all input into the same pc since win 7 allows for multiple keyboards? I'll check out your thread again. I have time for the pc but not the whole xbox 360 thing.

Donkbaca · « **Reply #22 on:** July 19, 2011, 04:30:37 pm »

The way I ended it up wiring it is this:

I am using 2 hacked 360 pads for my CP. If you download the drivers from MS, the 360 pads are recognized as joysticks by windows, and you can assign device id's to them so they don't switch up on you when you disconnect them.

I have a KVM with audio, video and 2 usb ports and a wired remote. The 2 cables, one goes to the PC and one goes to the 360. The cables have a monitor connection, a audio jack and a usb port. You plug all the stuff into the PC as usual for the 360, I got a xbox vga cable and I needed to get a female to female vga connector to connect it up to the kvm cable. For the audio I needed to get a rca - 3.5mm adapter.

The 360 pads are connected to the USB ports on the KVM. The speakers are connected to the audio out of the KVM.

I hacked the remote and connected it to a seimitsu button on my CP. So you push that button and it switches the monitor, pads and sound from the pc to the xbox. Its pretty simple.

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 19, 2011, 10:51:45 pm »

Does anyone know if this is a full install? or an upgrade? Microsoft says windows 7 pro for students is 30, but seems too cheap.

http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/windows/buynow/default.aspx

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 19, 2011, 10:52:41 pm »

nevermind, i see the upgrade sticker now. lame

*edit* found a possible work around, nice http://www.winsupersite.com/article/win7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media

fallacy · « **Reply #25 on:** July 20, 2011, 01:32:40 am »

Quote

Quote from: fallacy on July 18, 2011, 03:26:42 AM
$500 for a pc that will just be used as an emulator? … na you should use your old computer or get one for free from someone.

Anyway if you cant do that spend a little more and get a good laptop with a i5 or i7 proceser. Not only will it run mame smooth as butter but then you can take it out when ever you want and use it for other things when you get board of your cab.

Quote

Of course with a laptop it will be obsolete in 3-6 months for anything other than web browsing and old stuff (sorryas an IT guy and I HATE LAPTOPS and TABLETS! purely opinion)

I would have agreed with that statement 5 years ago. But with laptops like the HP Envy that’s not really the case anymore. You might not be able to play the next highest FPS game that comes out but that’s about it. Everything else is Solid.

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #26 on:** July 20, 2011, 05:43:39 am »

Quote from: shateredsoul1979 on July 19, 2011, 10:52:41 pm

nevermind, i see the upgrade sticker now. lame

*edit* found a possible work around, nice http://www.winsupersite.com/article/win7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media

To the best of my knowledge all Win7 install media is essentially identical among 32bit and 64bit. There is a textfile that denotes what version that disk is 'allowed' to install:
http://lifehacker.com/5438005/eicfg-removal-utility-lets-you-use-any-product-key-with-your-windows-7-disc

Once you've purchased a LICENSE KEY in any form (upgrade key, retail key, oem, student, etc) you can do a clean install with a Win7 disc.

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #27 on:** July 20, 2011, 09:57:44 am »

So instead of trying to do all those tricks using the ugrade disc, I can use the key with a win pro full install disc...?

I don't doubt that a laptop can play most games now a days, but for 500 dollars I can definitely get a build a better desktop than any laptop I could buy.

fallacy · « **Reply #28 on:** July 20, 2011, 10:13:18 am »

Multiple uses was my point with the laptop. $500 for just an emulator machine very limited use.

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #29 on:** July 20, 2011, 10:26:16 am »

Quote from: shateredsoul1979 on July 20, 2011, 09:57:44 am

So instead of trying to do all those tricks using the ugrade disc, I can use the key with a win pro full install disc...?

Did a little more research on this..
http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/64422-invalid-cd-key-student-upgrade.html

I've installed Win7 'clean' on fresh systems with no previous OS a dozen times with the free "Upgrade from Vista" disks that you could get back when Win7 was first launched. I don't think it will be an issue.

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #30 on:** July 20, 2011, 11:05:20 am »

Quote from: fallacy on July 20, 2011, 10:13:18 am

Multiple uses was my point with the laptop. $500 for just an emulator machine very limited use.

If it had an hdmi out then it could be like a little portable console

shateredsoul1979 · « **Reply #31 on:** July 20, 2011, 01:56:19 pm »

any ideas on how to mount the other parts?

Will the graphics card be in there pretty well? I'm worried about it falling out if I mount the pcb vertically
How about Mounting the hdd and power supply?

newmanfamilyvlogs · « **Reply #32 on:** July 20, 2011, 02:43:43 pm »

As for the video card, someone had an example where the 'tail' of the back plate was bent 90 degrees then screwed into the mounting board.

I commonly see harddrives mounted via small L-brackets.

fallacy · « **Reply #33 on:** July 22, 2011, 04:15:34 pm »

Quote

How about Mounting the hdd and power supply?

I personally use these little plastic mounting bases and zip ties to mount everything. If I am trying to mount something that I cant screw those little bases in and I need to to make it work, like I was trying to use them to mount a power supply to the wall, I will just gorilla glu them on using a clap over night.


Main	Restorations	Software	Audio/Jukebox/MP3	Everything Else	Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements	Monitor/Video	GroovyMAME	Merit/JVL Touchscreen	Meet Up	Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing	Woodworking	Software Support Forums	Consoles	Project Arcade	Reviews
Automated Projects	Artwork	Frontend Support Forums	Pinball	Forum Discussion	Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board	controls.dat	Linux	Miscellaneous Arcade	Wiki Discussion	Old Archives
Lightguns	Arcade1Up	Try the site in https mode		Site News


Unread posts \| New Replies \| Recent posts \| Rules \| Chatroom \| Wiki \| File Repository \| RSS \| Submit news