PC video card with component/s-video output for CRT TV?

[sofakng]

I'm looking to upgrade the PC in my MAME cabinet, but I'm using a 27" TV (Toshiba 27A33) and it has component (Y Pr Pb) and s-video inputs.

However, the PC video cards today (PCI Express) only have DVI and HDMI output.

I'd love to just use RGB from the PC to the TV, but the TV doesn't have SCART or RGB inputs...

[404]

New board? pci express 16x?

you will have to go with a slightly older card. from a nvidia 7-9 series. ATI radeon x series- 3 cards. I have found that ATI has far better support for both RGB via RCA and Y Pr Pb support on their cards than nvidia has. You will notice more often than not that the later card models for both ati and nvidia have tv output on only their low profile weaker 64bit bus cards.

[BadMouth]

Get a used 8800GT or 9800GT off ebay.  Get the s-video to component pigtail adapter if you can.  Component looks much better.

If you plan to run the Taito Type X games, a few of them have issues with ATI cards because you can't turn the ani-aliasing off on some models.
Other than that, I don't know of any other issues with ATI cards.

I'm using a 9800GT in my driving cabs and on my standup cabs.
They run modern games at 720 with detail settings about halfway.

[sofakng]

Awesome, thanks for the information!

Do I just need to get any of the 7-pin S-Video to Component adapters?  Are they the same for ATI and NVidia?

[pbj]

You know, I got some SVGA -> Composite converter that cost me about $12 and the image quality is pretty good on a 27" CRT.  That would open up your video card options considerably.

[sofakng]

Thanks for the tip, but I went ahead and ordered a used 9800 GTX video card ($40) and a 7-pin mini-din to component cable ($3.99).

I'm hoping my upgrades (mostly leftover parts from my main gaming PC) will let me play Gauntlet Legends and other CHD games.  (the CPU will be a Intel E8400)

EDIT:  Yikes, it looks like even my E8400 won't be fast enough for Gauntlet Legends and NBA Blitz, etc?

[BadMouth]

Awesome, thanks for the information!

Do I just need to get any of the 7-pin S-Video to Component adapters?  Are they the same for ATI and NVidia?

I don't know if they're all the same.  I might have a spare Nvidia one if the one you have doesn't work.

You may have to connect the tv with a pc monitor also connected so the output type can be changed to component in the NVidia software.
I don't remember which one it defaults to.

The E8400 might cut it if you overclock a little bit.
It's nice to say that your setup can run Gauntlet Legends, but once the novelty of being able to run it wore off, I stopped playing it.
I play NFL Blitz fairly often though.  Having a 64 bit OS and 64 bit MAME build make a big difference with Blitz.
You can also reduce the resolution in the DIP switch settings, which makes it less demanding.
I'm barely squeaking by with a 3.4Ghz Athlon X3 and a lot of tweaking.

If all else fails, play the dreamcast versions on a dreamcast emulator.

[sofakng]

I didn't realize this until now, but Blitz and Gauntlet Legends both use 49-way joysticks and I'm only using Perfect 360 4-way so that will make them mostly unplayable.  Oh well... I don't think I'll be replacing the joysticks anytime soon...

[BadMouth]

I didn't realize this until now, but Blitz and Gauntlet Legends both use 49-way joysticks and I'm only using Perfect 360 4-way so that will make them mostly unplayable.  Oh well... I don't think I'll be replacing the joysticks anytime soon...

MAME's control system is very flexible.  I find it very playable with a standard joystick.
Your Perfect 360's will have to be switched to 8-way mode though, by flipping the actuator on the bottom of the joystick shaft over so that the smaller part is down.
http://na.suzohapp.com/images/pdf/ins-0057.pdf

Just to be clear in case you're new to this stuff:
The fact that the joystick only has 4 outputs for the primary directions does not make it a 4-way joystick.
8-way means the joystick can hit two primary directions at once, ex. both right and down will be triggered when the joystick is pushed diagonally.
4-way means the joystick can only hit the primary directions, it is either very hard or not possible to register a diagonal.