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PiMame- are we finally there?
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sairuk:
For us it was a small form factor/low cost/zero noise item that could be stuck to the back of the TV replacing a fullsized desktop case in our living rooms. Apart from the novelty factor I have no intention of sticking a Pi in my cab. Building the Pi into a custom controller could be advantageous, although I'm sure it'd be better value to purchase and interface with one of the older model smartphones which are more powerful. Pick up one with a dead screen that supports TV out?

The irony of this of course is the fact that my daughters broke the touch screen (2) on both their 7" android tablets shortly after buying the Pi's. One of which is now connected via HDMI to their TV permantley giving them a 1920x1080 android 'smart tv' .... personally I find interfacing that into a cab/controller is a more interesting hack if I get the time. Have to fix the screen in my cab first though.

The mess around factor is all I wanted the Pi for but without a HW accelerated desktop/sdl rasbian feels incredibly sluggish/limted on my Pi. You either do it yourself of wait for something to be compiled with a HW accelerated renderer. Its fine for XBMC if the SD doesn't corrupt.
Unstupid:
For a dedicated cab I dont see the advantage of the Pi over a $50 60-in-1 board...
tris_d:

--- Quote from: RandyT on February 23, 2013, 09:24:42 am ---I've seen 1.8 to 2ghz mini desktops go for $35 on the market, and then there are freebies.

--- End quote ---

Ditto.



--- Quote ---It's good to see some progress being made, but am I missing something particularly advantageous about these units being used in a full sized machine, or over stripping out the guts of a mini desktop and putting them in a bartop or cocktail?

--- End quote ---

From what I've seen so far, I estimate 500MHz PC with GeForce 2 class GPU would outperform Pi. It all always comes down to GPU and video drivers. It's the same old story I pointed out when we spoke about GCW Zero. Both teams have better chance of getting full hardware acceleration by porting Android than to write themselves anything of at most 30% compared to what would actually be possible with proper drivers.
Well Fed Games:

--- Quote from: sairuk on February 23, 2013, 08:59:22 am ---Cannonball currently runs on an sdl renderer which for the pi is only run in software. Ideally the pi needs hwsurface available in the packaged sdl.

Work now needs to be done to write a hardware accelerated render which 'should' get you 30+ fps. The video I posted merely demonstrates that project would 'run' with only minor ,mods to the compiler flags.

There are a couple of backend options, although at this point in time i not sure which will be best.

Learning as I go!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

--- End quote ---

Hey, didn't realize you were a member here.  :cheers: Excellent work.
Well Fed Games:
And I guess to be clear my point of this thread isn't whether the Pi is worthwhile-- just if it is cab-ready yet. Sure, I can find or piece together a used PC for a similar cost, but as somewhat of a noob I like the fact that it is a standard... if someone else can get MAME running well on a Pi, and posts "for dummies" level directions that I can follow, then I can get it running, too. No BS about what processor I am running or graphics card or if the old hard drive I am using is going to fail in a week. I love the fact that there is a massive group of rabid programmers developing for the exact same hardware configuration I can order on Element 14, etc. And even though the hardware is standard, it is still a computer, so there is the possibility of, for instance, a customizable front end, unlike a 60-in-1. Also, the big thing for me (again, in concept, I have yet to get hands-on with one) remains the composite out. I can think of all sorts of gaming and visual art-type things I could do with a Pi and an old CRT TV. The $35 price point sure welcomes experimentation.

I guess that is why I am excited about the possibilities.
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