Stock Comp for MAME

[BillinIndiana]

 I assume most of you piece together(build) your own systems for your MAME projects.. I'm not sure I'm that educated? Can a regular stock tower handle MAME ? Here's just a quick Best Buy link http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Desktop+-+4GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive/6835558.p?id=1218809266786&skuId=6835558

 Will something like this work?

[BillinIndiana]

Anyone?

[404]

generally the idea is to get a processor with a bit more power to it. Mame is more processor intensive than anything. Intel processors tend to show better performance than AMD processors on mame too.

I generally recomend people simply buy parts for a build as opposed to buying a whole new pc out of the box for mame. You can even look around for second hand parts. I just made a penitum D dual core system out of parts that people threw into the pc parts trash heap. I'm able to play most mainstream games up to tekken 3.

[BillinIndiana]

Yea, I'm not sure I would know what to do? Be nice if you just plugged it all together..

[404]

Yea, I'm not sure I would know what to do? Be nice if you just plugged it all together..

If all you are looking for is a dedicated pc for mame, i understand. Unfortunately the clock speed on that unit at best buy that you linked to isn't that strong.

[BillinIndiana]

That's where I get confused too, I always hear of people using older computers and this one is brand new but too slow I take it.. Here is an example of what I've read about the system requirements..
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_kickass_mame_arcade_rig_old_pc_pics?page=0,6

 Here's a quote from the link
"Fortunately for you, the system requirements for MAME are pretty darn low. If you’ve got a spare computer or parts from the last 5 year, it’ll run MAME just fine."

 So you can see why I'm confused..LOL.. Does he just mean certain games or what?
 

[Brian74]

You can run mame on older computers. The golden era of games should run fine. If you want to run the newer 2d and 3d games you need more power. I purposely built mine so I would have control of the components. This way I could always upgrade. Im running a 3775k i5 with 8gigs of ram, but supports up to 32gigs of dual channel. A evga 560I video card and a 700 watt ps. I can always upgrade the ram CPU and gpu. This will play most games out there with minor glitches if not none at all. I suggest getting the fastest quadcore you can afford.


Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[BillinIndiana]

Like I said , I'm a total noob to all of this ... I'm not real sure what the "3775k i5" is ? Is it an Intel 5 ? What does the 3775k mean?

[404]

That's where I get confused too, I always hear of people using older computers and this one is brand new but too slow I take it.. Here is an example of what I've read about the system requirements..
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_kickass_mame_arcade_rig_old_pc_pics?page=0,6

 Here's a quote from the link
"Fortunately for you, the system requirements for MAME are pretty darn low. If you’ve got a spare computer or parts from the last 5 year, it’ll run MAME just fine."

 So you can see why I'm confused..LOL.. Does he just mean certain games or what?

I will try to explain it as best i can.

The PC you linked to from best buy is a multi-core processor but unfortunately, it has a core clock speed of just 1.4ghz. Mame however doesn't handle mutli core support like most would expect. From the Mame Performance FAQ:

"Recent versions of MAME include a -mt switch which allows some tasks to be threaded off for use by SMP or multicore systems. Thus far the benefits from this are relatively small, because accurate emulation such as MAME strives for cannot easily be broken up into parallel subtasks (it would be like trying to have a baby in one month by impregnating nine women). There are exceptions of course, and MAME will support them via this mechanism in the future. "

PC specs, mame builds and configurations are also determined by what games you actually want to run. The first question you should consider asking yourself is what games you plan on running. Just because mame will run on your computer and pacman runs perfectly it doesn't mean a more modern game is going to run perfectly as well.

Older versions of mame can run on older computers at the sacrifice of emulation accuracy (some debate this) and game support. For example, Mame 0.106 is a popular choice for older PCs and can run about 60% of the games that run on the current mame 0.148. Tweaks and accuracy are still being worked on in subsequent builds of mame as well as adding support for more games.

I handle second hand and deploy computers for a living. This is the general rule of thumb i use as a basic guideline during some of my own mame tests on newer to later computers running mame.

I stick with mame 0.106 for any pc using the following processors. Pentium III, Athlon XP and low spec pentium 4 processors.

I use more recent builds of mame on pentium 4, athlon 64 and pentium D processors and up.

Some go as far as using even older builds of mame from 0.08x-0.09x on really old pentium II, Cyrix, AMD processors.


If you do not have much experience with computers and are on a budget, you can also look for a second hand retail computer and/or factory refurbished units that has a bit higher spec processor like a core 2 duo, core 3 quad, athlon64 X2, X3, X4 etc.

[BillinIndiana]

It's the lack of experience with computers and not so much the funds.. Of course you know I'd like to do it as reasonably priced as I can.

[bearzilla333]

I had to chyme in on this. Building a computer is a very fun thing to do! The sense of accomplishment and picking the parts/pieces tailored to what you want, or for budget purposes. There are many helpful sites out there that can help you, Google is your friend  .

Here are a few places to help ya start, I think they are decent reads for a first timer:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

http://lifehacker.com/5151369/the-first+timers-guide-to-building-a-computer-from-scratch

I notice you live in Indiana I too reside there, in Fort Wayne. Good luck with your new computer 

[BillinIndiana]

Thanks for the links

[happyfunball]

building a computer is a lot easier than it used to be back in the day. the last computer i bought I didn't build myself was in 1990. the best part is you can control what you put in it and usually do it cheaper unless you buy one of those best buy 300 buck units.

i built a new mame pc about 1.5 years ago using an AMD I got from microcenter that came with a free motherboard and it works fine for everything I've thrown at it so far. i think I spent 300 bucks total. however I don't think I've tried to run a game newer than 95.

if you get confused by all the numbers and labels, and its easy to do, you can ask a lot of people here. any intel i3 and up will work just fine. just find a motherboard that supports the chip and then what ram it supports, and as long as those all match, the rest isn't an issue. any mid-range nvidia card will be fine.
the trickiest part I always have is connecting all the lights and switches from the case to the motherboard. all the other plugs have been color coded and keyed for easy install, but for some reason all those have never been standardized the same way. i still get confused which way pin 1 goes and its always a crapshoot for me to get it right the first time.

[wesbrown18]

I will also add that if you buy a desktop PC you are buying parts that you don't need in an arcade cabinet.  Like the case itself, or a DVD drive.

You can build a nice AMD based machine for a cabinet for about $150-200 total in parts once you bear the above things in mind.

[Ginsu Victim]

Short and simple:
There's a version of MAME for any computer you buy. If it can't handle the latest build, just get an older one.

[BillinIndiana]

I will also add that if you buy a desktop PC you are buying parts that you don't need in an arcade cabinet.  Like the case itself, or a DVD drive.

You can build a nice AMD based machine for a cabinet for about $150-200 total in parts once you bear the above things in mind.

So what all do I need then?.. mother board, processor, power supply and a graphics card?

edit:...Also I would have guessed a graphics card would have cost $150.

[BillinIndiana]

If you don't use a case and just mount your pc components inside the cabinet, do you need any type of cooling fan or anything?

[JDFan]

Depends on the system and the local conditions -- but is always best to keep some type of air flow going through the system- Figure at a minimum you'll have a fan and Heatsink on the CPU and inside the Powersupply and on the Graphics card if not using the onboard chipset depending on the system your using that will move some air around but it never hurts to add a couple extra fans.

As far as building a system that part is pretty easy these days since all of the pieces are pretty much keyed so the wiring only fits on the correct parts and facing the proper direction so you really have to try to mess it up ! --- It's not like the old days where you had manually set jumpers etc. to get the proper voltages\speed settings for the particular CPU you install and you could easily set it incorrectly if not careful -- only advantage to buying a prebuilt at times is the copy of windows is included vs. paying $100 just for the operating system software that you want to hide anyway but you can usually find someone with an old copy of the OS they are no longer using instead of buying a new one ! IF you don't want to attempt the build yourself check your local pc shops and craigslist and you should be able to find something that can run things fine fairly cheap since it doesn't need top of the line components.

[BillinIndiana]

What can be built for that $200 range?

[Brian74]

Here are some links from a guys video that says it cost 250 with a DVD drive and a case. It doesn't include a hdd. SeaSonic SS-300ET Bronze 300W http://tinyurl.com/258bktj

AMD A6-5400K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) http://tinyurl.com/coo6x9z

Crucial Ballistix 4GB DDR3 1866 http://tinyurl.com/ahmgsac

LG 24X DVD Burner http://tinyurl.com/bawpr64

APEX PC-389-C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower http://tinyurl.com/n9x9ku

ASRock FM2A75M-DGS http://tinyurl.com/8d3kvuc

[wesbrown18]

Here are some links from a guys video that says it cost 250 with a DVD drive and a case. It doesn't include a hdd. SeaSonic SS-300ET Bronze 300W http://tinyurl.com/258bktj

AMD A6-5400K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) http://tinyurl.com/coo6x9z

Crucial Ballistix 4GB DDR3 1866 http://tinyurl.com/ahmgsac

LG 24X DVD Burner http://tinyurl.com/bawpr64

APEX PC-389-C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower http://tinyurl.com/n9x9ku

ASRock FM2A75M-DGS http://tinyurl.com/8d3kvuc

This is about right.  The A6-5400K Trinity is a bit on the high end, and is much of the machine's cost at $75 -- you can get a dual-core Trinity for $54, but that's not worth the $21 difference to give up quad-core.  The ASRock is $54, and can't be gotten cheaper without skimping on quality.  The guy in the video made a configuration error -- you really want DIMMs in pairs rather than singletons.

Here's a pair of 2GB DIMMS for $19 each.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231395

The DVD drive is questionable in need -- but it can make setup, installation and transfer of data easier, if you don't have a network.

The case is so cheap, and it includes the PSU -- but you might want a higher grade of PSU and get that instead of a case for $35.  Or you can get just a PSU for $15.

Decent PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171046

Cheap-ass PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170012

You will need a system disk in addition to above -- a 250-500GB drive will set you back about $50.

I'm a fan of using a SSD in a cabinet, however.   32 to 64GB models can be gotten for $50-60.

So the total system cost as configured above would be about $250, including the components that are missing from the list above.

Trinity - $74.99
ASRock - $54.99
Pair of 2GB DDR3 - $37.00
32GB SANDisk SSD - $47.99
PSU - $30

edit:...Also I would have guessed a graphics card would have cost $150.

Nope.  The AMD APU has a capable GPU onboard, and for emulation purposes, a $150 card is a total waste.

Only advantage to buying a prebuilt at times is the copy of windows is included vs. paying $100 just for the operating system software that you want to hide anyway but you can usually find someone with an old copy of the OS they are no longer using instead of buying a new one ! IF you don't want to attempt the build yourself check your local pc shops and craigslist and you should be able to find something that can run things fine fairly cheap since it doesn't need top of the line components.

My answer to this is GroovyArcade, which doesn't run Windows.   Free.

[mcseforsale]

If you need dual core, try an off-lease:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=DC7900SFF-C2D30-MAR-12R&cpc=RESX

If you don't, use an old P4.  This is a Dell OptiPlex GX260 P4 3.2Ghz with 2 GB ram on Windows XP Pro, Mamewah, Mame, Daphne, SNES and Atari 2600 emus.  It also runs SKJukebox:



This cab runs an old Dell Optiplex GX150 Celeron M 3.2Ghz (I think) with 1GB of RAM on Windows XP Pro, Mamewah, Mame, SNES and Atari 2600.  No jukebox on this one...he doesn't want the added complexity.  It runs Killer Instinct just fine, which is my litmus test since I'm not really interested in games after that.  And KI is pretty resource intensive.




AJ

[severdhed]

i'm running a p4 3ghz with 4gb of ram in one of my cabinets, and an athlon xp 2500+ with 2gb of ram in my other cabinet (both windows xp).  They don't handle the 3d fighting games very well, but everything else runs just fine. 

[BillinIndiana]

Thanks for all the replies, SO Many options... Be nice if I could get something that could play everything.. I'm not even sure what all can be played ?

[05SRT4]

Thanks for all the replies, SO Many options... Be nice if I could get something that could play everything.. I'm not even sure what all can be played ?

That's a good question. Being able to play everything is a tough one, not only does it come down to PC power but also compatibility. Meaning the Roms and Emulators used sometimes if you was to run a certain game you need a specific version, then other games may not run on that version of MAME so finding that medium is kind of rough at first.

[mcseforsale]

I don't understand emulating disc games like PS2/3 since standing for that long would suck. 

I'm old.

AJ

[keilmillerjr]

I'm piecing together my own computer and it will be priced similarly to that tower, but have way better specs.

Check out new eggs CPU/motherboard combo deals. You can then add appropriate memory, a power supply unit, and a hard drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/ComboDeals.aspx?ComboStoreID=1&name=CPUs-Motherboards

[wesbrown18]

I don't understand emulating disc games like PS2/3 since standing for that long would suck. 

I'm old.

AJ

That's why I have a Japanese Candy Cabinet that I can sit down at.  I am also 6'6" so standing for long at an American cabinet sucks too.

[yotsuya]

Bill-

Don't fall into that "I want it to play everything trap" we ALL fall into at first. Figure out what you want to play, then figure out how you will be able to play it well. Sure, this will eliminate some games, but you'll be happy with the ones that really work. Unless, of course, you go the Frankenpanel route, which is your call.

[ScotM]

Bill I myself just built my first computer a few weeks ago. New Egg has great tutorial videos on you tube on how to do it. Its a 3 part series and takes you through step by step. Everything from picking out the components, to building it, and loading the operating system. I didnt get off any where near the $200 range but I wanted a machine capable of alot more than just running mame.

[candre23]

Here's what I just bought for a bartop build:



That price includes tax and shipping. 

It will absolutely smoke the E1 HP you linked in the OP.  The E1 series of chips is AMD's equivilent to Intel's atom - it's a super-low-power chip meant for netbooks and tablets.  Why they're even bothering to sell that in a desktop case is beyond me.

Even a low-end ivy bridge processor like the one I got should handle pretty much anything you throw at it.  For newer games you'd definitely want a better video card to go with it, but that shouldn't cost more than an extra $100 for something like a 7750.  Anything more than that would be mostly wasted on emulation.

[wesbrown18]

Here's what I just bought for a bartop build:

[omitted for brevity]

That price includes tax and shipping. 

It will absolutely smoke the E1 HP you linked in the OP.  The E1 series of chips is AMD's equivilent to Intel's atom - it's a super-low-power chip meant for netbooks and tablets.  Why they're even bothering to sell that in a desktop case is beyond me.

Even a low-end ivy bridge processor like the one I got should handle pretty much anything you throw at it.  For newer games you'd definitely want a better video card to go with it, but that shouldn't cost more than an extra $100 for something like a 7750.  Anything more than that would be mostly wasted on emulation.

At this point, I do need to note that the AMD A6 5400K is about 20% faster, and has a much more capable GPU -- you wouldn't need to throw an additional GPU if you wanted to run 3D games -- it has a Radeon 7540D on-chip!  For the same price, essentially.

This is why it perplexes me that people pooh-pooh AMD so much.  It's a much better proposition at the low-mid end than Intel.

[SithMaster]

I'm pretty sure newegg has a current offer for 8gb of ram free with select motherboard purchases.  Couple that with a sixty dollar processor, fifty dollar hard drive, twenty dollar after rebate psu, and use a dvd drive from another pc to install windows and you are golden.  If you have a junk pc case you can cut out the motherboard tray with the expansion card slots for support when mounting to the cabinet.  If you don't plan on going with the more modern games you could probably find a used pc on craigslist that could handle everything just fine and just need a fresh install of windows.

[BillinIndiana]

Unless, of course, you go the Frankenpanel route, which is your call.

What is that?

[yotsuya]

This.

[ScotM]

This.

OMG! Thank you yotsuya. I have not laughed that hard in a long time.

[BillinIndiana]

So I take it there aren't any games were two players play each other using the track ball or spinner huh?  I can't think of any from my arcade roaming days..Centipede only had one track ball right?.. Tempest only had one spinner I think? SO, this is Overkill huh?
  Why the 12 buttons ? Can't you play every game with fewer? 

[mcseforsale]

Hahaha.  Yeah.  Kneivel CPs are my favorite.  I tried to create my own a number of years ago and it was funk.  Then I saw Neon Mame and I had to have that layout.  I've used it on all my cabs so far. 

AJ

This.

OMG! Thank you yotsuya. I have not laughed that hard in a long time.

[yotsuya]

CrapMAME should be required reading for anyone starting out on this hobby.

Look at this one!

[BillinIndiana]

CrapMAME should be required reading for anyone starting out on this hobby.

Look at this one!

Now this one does look totally horrible..

  Yotsuya you said in order to play All games I would have to build a Frankenpanel.. Why is that?