A question about using a PC for my MAME cabinet

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Me and my father are deciding on which type of PC to use for our MAME cabinet. We're deciding between buying a basic computer and install a more powerful graphic card inside of it, or buy a gaming PC. Why I'm choosing from these two options is because of the fact that I'm interested in including more newer games into my MAME cabinet(such as Soul Calibur III). So, which type of PC do you recommend I purchase?

[AlanS17]

Unless they've changed the way MAME works (which is entirely possible since I've been out of the scene for a while), it's all about the processor. A multi-core processor isn't as important as individual core speed so (theortically) a dual core with high top speed could be more effective than a quad core with lower top speed. And the graphics card is more of an afterthought. Unless MAME is leveraging graphics cards now, all the video processing is handled on the CPU. For larger games, it probably doesn't hurt to have some decent RAM, but I'm not sure more than 4GB will be particularly useful. Since most MAME machines are dedicated for arcade games, and you can only play one game at a time, you probably don't need butt loads of RAM.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

What's the difference between a dual core PC and a quad core PC? I'm sorry, I'm a little confused, because I don't know all of the technical terms for computers.  I do know a bit about computers, just not all of the technical terms.

[postmortem]

the main processor (which determins the bulk of the speed in mame) can have multiple cores. the more cores you have, the more things the processor can do at a time. Having 2 cores is essentially like having 2 processors. quad core (4 cores) is nice for multitasking, but im not sure its necessary for mame. hope this helps

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Thank you for helping me figure out what those terms mean. I'm going to look for a PC with a dual core processor with no more than 4GB RAM(like what Alan said). That's what me and my father decided on for the MAME cabinet.

[AlanS17]

Well I don't think you want less than 4GB, either. I think that's your sweet spot. And make sure that the processor has high MHz.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

No worries, that's what I meant by "no more than 4GB". How much MHZ is recommended for my type of MAME cabinet?

[AlanS17]

Oh gosh... I really think we need to draw more opinions into this thread to answer that question. MAME has grown since I last installed it so it can handle much newer, more complicated games now. :-/ When in doubt, though, just try to maximize it. A good example would be a high end Intel Core i5. Unless someone disagrees, the Core i7 series may be overkill and the Pentium series may not be beefy enough.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Okay, thank you for the advice. I'll take a look at the Intel Core i5. I'm also going to check and see what Dell has available, since our family are into Dell PC's(except for my sister, she prefers Mac's).

[AlanS17]

You may even want to check out the Intel Core i3's. It depends heavily on what games you intend to play. And like I said, I don't have a very good CURRENT gauge for max requirements so a second opinion would be recommended.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

You may even want to check out the Intel Core i3's. It depends heavily on what games you intend to play. And like I said, I don't have a very good CURRENT gauge for max requirements.

No worries, I'll look into it. I'll check for different current MAME requirements(depending on what version I choose).

[elkameleon]

I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get away with the i3, just get the fastest one you can afford, pretty much anything above 2.5GHz should be fine. Try to get a dual core (do they even make single cores anymore?).

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Okay, thank you for letting me know about the processor, and I'll buy a dual core PC. I don't think they make single core processors anymore.  For the 4GB, I noticed that there's no PC's available with 4GB built right in. So will I have to install a certain type of 4GB card into the PC I buy(along with the processor)?

[AlanS17]

For the 4GB, I noticed that there's no PC's available with 4GB built right in. So will I have to install a certain type of 4GB card into the PC I buy(along with the processor)?

4GB is a common entry-level amount of RAM. Are you sure you're looking at the right specs?

[Ravenger]

To be honest an older second hand PC will do just as well as a new one. You can often pick them up for next to nothing.

I used an AMD 64 4800+ dual core PC for my mame build, it was an old PC I had hanging around from several upgrades ago, but with a replacement second hand dual-core processor to make it a little faster, and to spread the OS CPU load a bit.

It runs everything at full speed, except for those few games which don't run at full speed even on more modern processors (I've tried problematic games running on my i5 760 and they run at exactly the same speed as my Mame PC).

Though Mame mainly utilises the processor for emulation, the new HLSL CRT emulation effects for LCD screen need a reasonably capable graphics card to run well, but even then that doesn't need to be a top-end card. An old Nvidia 8800GT is more than capable. It's unlikely that on-board video would be fast-enough for HLSL, but should be fine for standard output to an LCD or CRT.

[BadMouth]

I'm probably throwing way too much at you since you're just getting into this, but for the benefit of other people reading this thread and keeping your expectations in check, here are my thoughts.

I'm interested in including more newer games into my MAME cabinet(such as Soul Calibur III). So, which type of PC do you recommend I purchase?

The only emulator that supports Soul Calibur III is PCSX2 (Playstation 2 emulator).
To run that game on that emulator, you'd need an expensive bleeding edge top of the line gaming PC.
You'd be better off putting a real playstation 2 in the cab if that game is important to you.

Most people only play classic 80's games and 2D fighters from the 90's on their cabs, so that's what the specs mentioned so far are good for.
But they aren't going to cut it when it comes to running 3D games and emulators for newer arcade games.
If you want to play the newest games that are emulated, you'll have to use emulators other than MAME. (Demul, Supermodel, Dolphin, etc)

On processor speed (most important spec):
Tekken 3 in MAME for an example:
When I had a 2.8Ghz Athlon X2, even with a lot of tweaking I still had some sound skips.
With a 3.2Ghz Athlon X2, the sound skips went away but there are still other 3D games like Time Crisis that it struggles with.
For emulators that run newer games that MAME can't, this is pretty much a bare minimum.
The current best option seems to be the Intel i5 2600k, but it ain't cheap.
It's a huge overkill for most of what people play in MAME, but you said you wanted to play newer games.

On # of cores:
On my driving cab, moving to a triple core processor made a bigger difference than I was expecting.  Last time I checked, MAME only utilizes 2 cores (this will change someday), but the extra cores help out with all the windows stuff running in the background.  Other emulators will utilize the extra cores.

On the Video card:
A basic video card will work fine for MAME.  Other emulators that run newer 3D games (Demul, Supermodel, Dolphin) heavily utilize the video card.  I'm too far behind on the current crop of cards to recommend one.  The newest version of Demul is useless without Directx11, so make sure you get a Directx11 card if playing the newest games possible is important to you.  There was an arcade system called Taito Type X which was just a regular windows pc in a cab.  These games have been cracked and will run on a regular PC (no emulator required), but people have reported problems getting them to work with ATI video cards.

These other emulators aren't anywhere near as easy to set up and use as MAME.  You may just want to accept that your cabinet will be limited to 80's & 90's games, but the computer will cost a LOT less and be a LOT easier to set up.  It can be a case of diminishing returns where you are spending  a fortune and spending a lot more time just to get two or three more games playable.

If you buy an older used computer, try to get one with a 64bit operating system as that results in a pretty big speed boost for MAME.

[AlanS17]

Fwiw,  the speed bump between the i5 2500K and i5 2600K doesn't warrant the extra cost. The i5 2500K could be a sweet spot on the high end.

Choosing a specific processor probably only matters if you're building your own computer, though. Otherwise, you're better off choosing a processor class and maximizing within that class while accounting for cost. Really not as complicated ad I make it sound.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

I'm probably throwing way too much at you since you're just getting into this, but for the benefit of other people reading this thread and keeping your expectations in check, here are my thoughts.

I'm interested in including more newer games into my MAME cabinet(such as Soul Calibur III). So, which type of PC do you recommend I purchase?

The only emulator that supports Soul Calibur III is PCSX2 (Playstation 2 emulator).
To run that game on that emulator, you'd need an expensive bleeding edge top of the line gaming PC.
You'd be better off putting a real playstation 2 in the cab if that game is important to you.

Most people only play classic 80's games and 2D fighters from the 90's on their cabs, so that's what the specs mentioned so far are good for.

These other emulators aren't anywhere near as easy to set up and use as MAME.  You may just want to accept that your cabinet will be limited to 80's & 90's games, but the computer will cost a LOT less and be a LOT easier to set up.  It can be a case of diminishing returns where you are spending  a fortune and spending a lot more time just to get two or three more games playable.

I actually already own a real Playstation 2, and Soul Calibur III for my Playstation 2(thinking that it would have similar features to the arcade version). It's just that I prefer the arcade version more than the Playstation 2 version(because I played the arcade version of Soul Calibur III in an arcade at a movie theater awhile back), but that's alright if Soul Calibur III hasn't been emulated for MAME(I can do without it). I can also accept that only 80's and 90's will be in my Cabinet(since I appreciate both era's of arcade games). You're not putting too much information towards me, I understood everything just fine. Thank you for your advice.

[xmenxmen]

I am starting to think this thread is about gaming PC and not mame...  for most games, a Pentium 4 will do perfectly.  To get the more CPU demanding one move up to the core 2.  Most name games don't require much to run.   

Actually it require more to run front end like hyper spin, than most games.  My updated mame runs a core 2 e6300 (newer edition) with a radeon 4550.  The radeon is mainly for windows, hyperspin and sfiv ae.  This pretty much runs most mame games at full speed.  My other machine are still at pentium 4 3ghz and athlon xp 1800.  And they do also work perfectly for the games i run on them. 

Hope this helps...

Sent from my Iconia A500 using Tapatalk

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Thank you for your advice. I know my family is biased towards Dell, but I'll talk to my father about buying the Pentium 4, along with the Pentium i3 processor(unless if that's already built into the Pentium 4).

[elkameleon]

The reason I didnt even recommend something like a Pentium 4 is that unless you have one laying around (like I do) you are gonna be hard pressed to find for as cheap as you could get a current processor, it just makes no sense when you are buying new.

[fallacy]

Even though a Pentium 4 works it's not very pleasant experience.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Okay, well in that case, I'll go for a Dell and install a Pentium i3 processor. Is that possible?

[BadMouth]

Okay, well in that case, I'll go for a Dell and install a Pentium i3 processor. Is that possible?

You're probably better off just buying it the way you want.

Check out the refurb inventory at dell:
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=2202&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

One of the Inspiron 570's for $270 would be enough if you just plan to run MAME and play the 80's and 90's game.
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&puid=5f0753d2
The warranty on the refurbs is 1yr.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Okay, thank you. I'll just go for a Dell computer, since that's what my father said we'll use for the MAME cabinet.

[mytymaus007]

Just to clarify it's i5 2500k and i7 2600k the 2600k is not an i5. So i3 is dual core i5 2500k is around $100 less then i7 2600k which are both quad core probably the best bang for the buck now adays is the i5 2500k. I currently run my system with an i5 2500k with no overclocking which it is capable of doing no problem over 4ghz Nice for the future!!! I have no problems running 50 different emulators with hyperspin!

[AlanS17]

Just to clarify it's i5 2500k and i7 2600k the 2600k is not an i5. So i3 is dual core i5 2500k is around $100 less then i7 2600k which are both quad core probably the best bang for the buck now adays is the i5 2500k. I currently run my system with an i5 2500k with no overclocking which it is capable of doing no problem over 4ghz Nice for the future!!! I have no problems running 50 different emulators with hyperspin!

That's right. I also use the i5 2500K, but for something else. I'm very satisfied with it.

[FALSE]

Everyone is pushing intels processors. 
Why not use an AMD fx4170?
I dont have any experience with it yet, but I figure the 4.2 ghz clock speed has got to perfect for most anything mame could throw at it.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Why not use an AMD fx4170?
I dont have any experience with it yet, but I figure the 4.2 ghz clock speed has got to perfect for most anything mame could throw at it.

I never heard of that PC before, but it sounds good. Thank you for the recommendation.

[elkameleon]

Everyone is pushing intels processors. 
Why not use an AMD fx4170?
I dont have any experience with it yet, but I figure the 4.2 ghz clock speed has got to perfect for most anything mame could throw at it.

AMD, in my opinion are for people in the know I personally use AMD processors in my computers, but Intel is what everyone knows, so it's just easier to recommend that. My gaming pc has a AMD phenom X4 945 at 3.5GHZ. Yeah, see how that can be a bit more confusing than just saying i3?

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Everyone is pushing intels processors. 
Why not use an AMD fx4170?
I dont have any experience with it yet, but I figure the 4.2 ghz clock speed has got to perfect for most anything mame could throw at it.

AMD, in my opinion are for people in the know I personally use AMD processors in my computers, but Intel is what everyone knows, so it's just easier to recommend that. My gaming pc has a AMD phenom X4 945 at 3.5GHZ. Yeah, see how that can be a bit more confusing than just saying i3?

It sounds more confusing. My PC skills are about average, so I don't think an AMD processor would work for me. So I'll see about a PC with an Intel i3 processor for my MAME cabinet,and I'll talk to my father about it as well. 

[postmortem]

Everyone is pushing intels processors. 
Why not use an AMD fx4170?
I dont have any experience with it yet, but I figure the 4.2 ghz clock speed has got to perfect for most anything mame could throw at it.

AMD, in my opinion are for people in the know I personally use AMD processors in my computers, but Intel is what everyone knows, so it's just easier to recommend that. My gaming pc has a AMD phenom X4 945 at 3.5GHZ. Yeah, see how that can be a bit more confusing than just saying i3?

It sounds more confusing. My PC skills are about average, so I don't think an AMD processor would work for me. So I'll see about a PC with an Intel i3 processor for my MAME cabinet,and I'll talk to my father about it as well. 

using computers with AMD processors isnt any different than an intel processor. The only confusing thing is how they name and rate their processors.

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Okay, that makes more sense. Thank you for sorting that out for me.

[elkameleon]

Everyone is pushing intels processors. 
Why not use an AMD fx4170?
I dont have any experience with it yet, but I figure the 4.2 ghz clock speed has got to perfect for most anything mame could throw at it.

AMD, in my opinion are for people in the know I personally use AMD processors in my computers, but Intel is what everyone knows, so it's just easier to recommend that. My gaming pc has a AMD phenom X4 945 at 3.5GHZ. Yeah, see how that can be a bit more confusing than just saying i3?

It sounds more confusing. My PC skills are about average, so I don't think an AMD processor would work for me. So I'll see about a PC with an Intel i3 processor for my MAME cabinet,and I'll talk to my father about it as well. 

using computers with AMD processors isnt any different than an intel processor. The only confusing thing is how they name and rate their processors.

That's kinda what I was getting at, the naming conventions will throw you for a loop if you aren't on top of your game.

[AlanS17]

I'm going to preface this post by saying it's not a recommendation. It's just an observation.

I only have one arcade cabinet anymore, and it runs just classic games. Since the overhead is so minimal, I use a 1Ghz VIA processor with an x86 instruction set running DOS. The chip is built right into the board, and it gives off very little heat. It's perfect for what it does.

Now, going back to Intel vs AMD... Back in the day (when I was still building), AMD could generally match Intel on horsepower, but they would definitely get hotter. That can be a small issue in a PC, but turn into a major issue in an arcade machine if you don't account for it. If you account for it, though, it's not that big of a deal. And if AMD has gotten over the heat hurdle, then it's a moot point.

[mytymaus007]

Intel Proven  BMW vs Chevy

[ArcadeSeeker962]

I think I'll just buy a Dell(kind of like what BadMouth said, but I'll be buying a brand new one that fits my needs for the arcade cabinet). Thank you for all of your advice though.

[kahlid74]

This is the machine I use as a template when for all arcade machines I make.  Plays everything I've come across with no issues and cheap/affordable.

[elkameleon]

Whats the case for? cheap PSU?

[ArcadeSeeker962]

Whats the case for? cheap PSU?

What's a PSU? I apologize, I just don't know all of the technical terms.