Main > Monitor/Video Forum
Is my ArcadeVGA dying?
Osirus23:
I turned on my cocktail cab for the first time in several months, and when it loaded into a game there were graphics errors on the side of the screen:
When I exited to the Windows XP desktop there were some color errors near the bottom of the screen, and eventually Windows crashed with BSOD (first time ever on this machine).
Shut down, took the card out, reseated, etc. Still happened. I connected a regular LCD monitor to the DVI port of the ArcadeVGA and got the same results:
Card is from early 2011 and this cabinet has seen very little use in its lifetime. Rarely ever used more than an hour at a time.
Osirus23:
Bump since I was reminded.
Arroyo:
Drop the card and buy an AMD and install GroovyMame. I think you’d be very happy with the results, I’ve been blown away.
Osirus23:
--- Quote from: Arroyo on September 12, 2019, 05:31:38 pm ---Drop the card and buy an AMD and install GroovyMame. I think you’d be very happy with the results, I’ve been blown away.
--- End quote ---
I've been using the AVGAs for years. Will that setup allow for an only 15kHz output?
Arroyo:
--- Quote from: Osirus23 on September 13, 2019, 01:27:45 pm --- Will that setup allow for an only 15kHz output?
--- End quote ---
Not only that but you can output any frequency (24khz, 31khz, etc). The main value of going this route is that you get native resolutions of any game and native refresh rates, so that game speed is accurate (Arcade VGA has a limited set of resolutions and refresh rates). You have a lot of freedom of positioning the screen as well (mostly horizontally). There is of course familiarizing yourself with the software and getting it setup but there are tutorials and once you get it, it's really not hard. There's great support on the sub-forum with the creator of the drivers checking in regularly. I'm happy to help get you setup as well.
The only other consideration is that the Arcade VGA prevents any signal higher than 15khz from being outputted to your screen. I'll assume your screen is 15khz only. The modified drivers that control an AMD card kick in once Windows launches. Prior to that most computers from Bios (prior to Windows taking over), will want to output a 31khz signal. Significant exposure to a 31khz signal for a 15khz tube is not desirable. To get around this, you can:
1.) Wait to turn on your monitor until your computer boots into Windows (only an issue when booting up the computer).
2.) Install modified firmware on the AMD card to force it to send a 15khz signal at boot up like the Arcade VGA does.
There is support for modifying the firmware of the AMD cards, it's through a utility called Atom-15.
Hopefully this makes sense, but let me know if I can clarify further or help in another way.