Acceptable low end computer for a mame cabinet?

[Lilwolf]

I'm not used to AMD's.  Will this work for a small arcade cabinet?  I'm getting annoyed that I can't get raspberry pi to look right... so I wanted a full version of windows I can set hlsl and possibly direct3d...  And maybe run hyperspin. 

I don't expect running too many top end games (I have my main pc for that).  Was wondering if the stats for this laptop should run a cabinet without huge problems.

Thanks

[Howard_Casto]

Sup man.  What are the stats on the laptop?  That might help.   

Just a general ballpark thing, a core 2 duo is about as low end as I would go for mame these days.  You are going to need a video card with some kind of hardware acceleration to run hlsl though.

[Osirus23]

Paging paigeoliver.

[ark_ader]

I'm not used to AMD's.  Will this work for a small arcade cabinet?  I'm getting annoyed that I can't get raspberry pi to look right... so I wanted a full version of windows I can set hlsl and possibly direct3d...  And maybe run hyperspin. 

I don't expect running too many top end games (I have my main pc for that).  Was wondering if the stats for this laptop should run a cabinet without huge problems.

Thanks

I have an AMD R-embedded CPU that plays Dig Dug pretty fast.  Also the E series are pretty good, crap you can get one of those $50 Windows 10 tablets to do a decent job.  Just get an earlier Mame build as the newer versions are crap and full of bloat. The APU on the R-embedded is fast enough for 2006 software and hyperspin, but the less hassle get the Pi or Tinker board if you have the dosh.

Not sure about Donkey Kong as you need an i7 just to get running full speed without skipping enabled. 

[paigeoliver]

Paging paigeoliver.

My Mame cabinet is running a PC that could legally drive a car if it was a person.



I have no tears or sadness about it. It rocks out whenever I want it to. I also have a 6 core 8GB AMD gaming computer sitting next the the cabinet that I have not bothered to migrate to, because there is little reason.

[Lilwolf]

RRR - not sure how I missed the copy/paste

And Hey Howard!  Long time no talk!  My cabinet days had to take a back seat for a bit... but started getting into it again recently.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/600377/ideapad-130-15-156-laptop-computer---black

AMD A6-9225 Processor 2.6GHz
4GB DDR4-1866 RAM
500GB Hard Drive
AMD Radeon R4 Graphics
Microsoft Windows 10 Home

I'm a bit worried about the processor, but 2.6 ghz seems like it should be good enough for emulation.  Last I checked, multiple cores wasn't as important as clock speed...  But that was before win10...
And the R4 should be enough to turn on all the settings in mame... but not sure if it's too slow for hyperspin. 

But for 180 bucks, seems like worth not having a full size case in the cabinet.

Thanks!

[Haze]

Keep in mind that most Laptop CPUs will perform worse than desktop CPUs of similar spec from the same era by design (they're typically designed for lower power use)

Laptop CPUs also aren't designed to run at full speed for extended periods due to much weaker cooling hardware.  This usually results in them downclocking after 10-15 mins of use, which will immediately kill emulation performance at that point.

AMD CPUs also perform 20-30% worse than Intels of the same generation/clock speed for MAME.

I'd be surprised you couldn't get a MUCH better desktop machine for a lot less.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

A refurbished desktop can grab you a much more powerful CPU at around the same price level:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADT27770983&ignorebbr=1

$179.99
Intel Core i5-4590 3.30GHz Processor
4GB DDR3 Memory
500GB Hard Disk Drive

[Malenko]

If your baseline is a Pi there isn't much that wont run better.

[ark_ader]

An A6?  Walk in the park.  You could also play fallout 4 on the APU (low settings)

[Howard_Casto]

I agree.  You are fine man unless you want to try gamecube emulation or something like that. 

[Zebra]

It depends on your expectations. The general point is that more processing power is better for Mame. The GPU matters less.

I use an I7 3930k 4.2ghz and it's far from perfect for Mame. Get the best one you can afford if you want games to run as intended.

[Lilwolf]

Thanks everyone for the input! 

I'm putting it in a small cabinet (why I'm leaning away from a full desktop, why doesn't someone sell a laptop computer without a LCD and batteries in a small case without jacking the price up to more then the laptops?!?)...  And really, I have a gaming PC about 5 feet away if I need (I'm considering putting a KVM switch on it so I can plug my main PC into it at some point for some games...  How I have it setup now... but really, I play older titles 99% of the times, and I want one that just works and just sits there no matter what my main PC is doing. 

[Lilwolf]

I just took a look, this WOULD fit in the cabinet (barely) but good enough.  Trouble is, it uses an intel video driver and I don't think it will work for hlsl stuff.  I know we don't need much, but I always though Intel was just out.  Did someone get this working in the last few years??  This would make my search a LOT easier!

A refurbished desktop can grab you a much more powerful CPU at around the same price level:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADT27770983&ignorebbr=1

$179.99
Intel Core i5-4590 3.30GHz Processor
4GB DDR3 Memory
500GB Hard Disk Drive

[lilshawn]

why doesn't someone sell a laptop computer without a LCD and batteries in a small case without jacking the price up to more then the laptops?!?

they do...

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Description=ultra%20small%20form%20factor%20pc&Submit=ENE

all these are basically a laptop motherboard sans screen,keyboard, etc....  jammed into a small case. many of them come with VESA mounts so you can just screw them on the back of the monitor.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

I just took a look, this WOULD fit in the cabinet (barely) but good enough.  Trouble is, it uses an intel video driver and I don't think it will work for hlsl stuff.  I know we don't need much, but I always though Intel was just out.  Did someone get this working in the last few years??  This would make my search a LOT easier!

A refurbished desktop can grab you a much more powerful CPU at around the same price level:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIADT27770983&ignorebbr=1

$179.99
Intel Core i5-4590 3.30GHz Processor
4GB DDR3 Memory
500GB Hard Disk Drive

I guess it would put the price over your initial budget, but you could always just throw in a video card:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487221
That's only $42 more, but I don't have enough experience with HLSL to know how much GPU it requires to run smoothly.

[Lilwolf]

Unfortunately, they are pretty expensive compared to a laptop...  And they all use Intel video cards on that list (minus 5 that show up as 'other', but they also had integrated video cards).

I had one that was similar to some of them as a whitebox a few years ago.  Worked OK, but at times the crap integrated video card couldn't stream a netflix movie.  Chromecast fixed it and I never looked back.

why doesn't someone sell a laptop computer without a LCD and batteries in a small case without jacking the price up to more then the laptops?!?

they do...

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Description=ultra%20small%20form%20factor%20pc&Submit=ENE

all these are basically a laptop motherboard sans screen,keyboard, etc....  jammed into a small case. many of them come with VESA mounts so you can just screw them on the back of the monitor.

[lilshawn]

Unfortunately, they are pretty expensive compared to a laptop...  And they all use Intel video cards on that list (minus 5 that show up as 'other', but they also had integrated video cards).

I had one that was similar to some of them as a whitebox a few years ago.  Worked OK, but at times the crap integrated video card couldn't stream a netflix movie.  Chromecast fixed it and I never looked back.

why doesn't someone sell a laptop computer without a LCD and batteries in a small case without jacking the price up to more then the laptops?!?

they do...

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Description=ultra%20small%20form%20factor%20pc&Submit=ENE

all these are basically a laptop motherboard sans screen,keyboard, etc....  jammed into a small case. many of them come with VESA mounts so you can just screw them on the back of the monitor.

some of them have the ability to install a mini pcie styled graphics card. i've never looked into it though. not going to be a super gaming rig, but it's better than integrated.