Getting back into hobby, what’s new in 2020?

[CanadianRyGuy]

So I’ve had my original ninja turtles cabinet sitting in the garage now for about 3 years which is way too long and I’m tired of my wife telling me to get rid of it lol. So embarrassingly I’ve forgotten all that I need to do to get everything running properly on my crt. I have an old pc that I’ll be using and I did have a video card that I used custom firmware with, but can’t find that now. Any recommendations for video cards in 2020? What all else do I need software wise?
Hoping to have everything pretty simple and use GroovyMame with Coinops next arcade edition or something else super simple to use.
Any suggestions or quick refreshments of all that I need to do and get is much appreciated!

Cheers
Ryan

[Dacasks]

The first step is to get rid of a wife that wants you to get rid of a TMNT original cab.   

From there, pretty much is the same thing for best results (low input lag + compatibility with demanding games):
CPU with 4ghz+ Overclocking capability + AMD/ATI video card from 2012-2016 timespan (supported list is on the crt-emudriver post/thread).

Recommend:
Any I5 or I7 Intel Processor from 2014 ( i.e I5 4690k/ I7 4790k) onwards with Overclock support ("k" digit after number) with matching motherboard that allows at least basically, no-voltage changing overclock.

AMD R9 380 (last, easy to find gpu with analog support. Some R9 390 have it but they're harder to come by, and a r9 380 is pretty much overkill already)

bear in mind this setting would be a "enthusiast setup". You can go for a lot less (specially in the gpu department) and save for other things, like SSD storage for faster  system/rom loading.

[CanadianRyGuy]

Hey this is great! Thanks so much for the reply. I have a computer that I had used int the last, but it’s from like 2008 and kinda slow now. I’ll probably look for something newer and faster but still inexpensive. I do have and ssd I will reuse though. And I’ll keep looking for my ATI graphics card as it has to be somewhere but maybe look for a newer one as well.

Is there an easy to use and graphically pleasing front end that works well with GroovyMame and crt? I like CoinOps next arcade, but not sure it would translate well to crt

[CanadianRyGuy]

Looks like I’ll be able to grab one of these computers from work for free. Any issues pairing it with the graphic card below that I’ve talked the guy down in price?

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hp-prodesk-600-g1-sff-desktop-computer-intel-core-i5-4570-120gb-ssd-8gb-ram-wins-10-pro-refurbished/13494798

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-computer-components/belleville/xfx-radeon-hd-6450-1gb-graphics-card/1527863781?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ios_social

[donluca]

Intel silently released a new budget CPU: https://www.pcgamer.com/intel-sneaks-out-a-sub-dollar100-quad-core-comet-lake-cpu-to-take-on-amd-ryzen/

At 3.60Ghz base with 4.30Ghz Turbo clock with 4 cores and 8 threads is already overkill, IMHO, for MAME standards.
It should also be well under 100 bucks.

[psakhis]

The problem of a new cpu/motherboard it's the lack of W7 support; i prefer an old one with W7 for a cabinet.

[donluca]

Are there issues running GroovyMAME on win10? I've been using exclusively LTSB/LTSC version for quite some time now over win7 and I vastly prefer it: way faster booting and way better memory management.

[buttersoft]

Are there issues running GroovyMAME on win10? I've been using exclusively LTSB/LTSC version for quite some time now over win7 and I vastly prefer it: way faster booting and way better memory management.

Nope, not really. Every 12 months or so they do a big "Creators' Update" which clears the registry of modelines and your unsigned crt_emudriver. I take a backup of my modelines, have a long VGA cable handy to reach a LCD monitor and just reinstall crt_emudriver. Not even a problem if you don't connect to the net.

You do still need to disable fast startup (power options>change what the power buttons do>show options currently hidden>disable fast startup) and stop and disable the service called AMD External Events Utility (Startmenu>type "services">right click on AMD EEU>stop and disable). But after that you should be good to go.

[donluca]

Nope, not really. Every 12 months or so they do a big "Creators' Update" which clears the registry of modelines and your unsigned crt_emudriver. I take a backup of my modelines, have a long VGA cable handy to reach a LCD monitor and just reinstall crt_emudriver. Not even a problem if you don't connect to the net.

Or if you use the Long Term versions (as said, LTSB/LTSC), which is why I've been using them since I discovered their existence. Just security and performance updates without new features or random crap creeping up with each update.

Just use the 1507 version which is the most crap-free one and still updated and have everything you'll ever need for your groovymame needs.

Interesting about the fast startup, why do you need to disable it?