PC Questions

[morton]

Hi all, hope everyone is keeping alright.

I finally came into some PC parts and am going to piece together a rig to run GroovyMame so I can install into a JAMMA cab.

My parts are older but still sufficient I believe. It's a Z87 Motherboard and an i7 4770 processor. Naturally I need other parts to complete this... Which leads me back here.

Others have told me they run 8gb ram on their GroovyMame rigs and others run the now typical 16gb. I am curious how much ram is needed to properly run GroovyMame and whether there is benefit to more than 8gb of ram. This board takes DDR3.

Planning on an SSD and finding a suitable Radeon card to push 15khz.

Can I run Windows 10 or is it not recommended? If that is the case, is Windows 7 the suggested OS?

Thanks in advance.

[Osirus23]

8 GB is plenty and so is that CPU. My GroovyMAME test setup is an i5 3470 with 8 GB RAM and a Radeon HD 6450. I'm running Windows 7 but I think 10 would work just as well.

[morton]

Thanks. There isn't a ton of used DDR3 kicking about but I should be able to scrounge 8gb up easier than 16gb anyways.

Do you find any drawbacks to only 8gb? If one were to use various lag reduction and latency reduction features etc, would adding more ram have any benefit? What about if I wanted to try other options like ShmupArch etc?

I see GroovyArcade as an alternative OS but presume there are many caveats. It appears that it's a Linux distro of GroovyMame yes? I have a Windows 7 key here so I could probably just use that for an OS I think? I presume Windows has the most flexibility and support vs the alternative OS's?

[Phreakwars]

I use 8 gigs in mine under windows 7 x64. Make sure you are using an x64 version of the OS if you plan on 8. Will work fine on both Windows 7 & 10 & Linux distros as long as you are using a compatible x64 version of it. I prefer Windows 7 because of the ability to hack and modify the boot up and shutdown screens, turn off updates so you can administer remotely and have it connected to wi-fi. I also prefer older boards like the socket 1155 or 1150 that are name brand like Asus, MSI and have BIOS boot logos that can be modified. You don't have to do all that at all, you can easily use an old Dell or HP board with Windows 10 and hide the OS and boot right into your front end, but I like customizing personally.

[Substring]

I see GroovyArcade as an alternative OS but presume there are many caveats. It appears that it's a Linux distro of GroovyMame yes? I have a Windows 7 key here so I could probably just use that for an OS I think? I presume Windows has the most flexibility and support vs the alternative OS's?

Takes 10 minutes to setup a cab with GroovyArcade, you can even simply test it from a live USB if you're scared of installing it. No harm will be done to your HDD.

[morton]

My board is an Asus Z87 which is an 1150 socket so I should be good there. I'm not sure I have the wi-fi antenna or if it has onboard LAN. Once set up, online connectivity is not a need for me but it's something to think about.

So there is no real benefit in doubling ram to 16gb?

I'll have to give GroovyArcade a shot at some point. Really, 10 minutes to try something... I have that.

[Phreakwars]

For wi-fi I buy these up like crazy. https://amzn.to/3lVaaka

Please make a habit of disclosing when a link is an affiliate link - thanks!  --- saint

[psakhis]

My board is an Asus Z87 which is an 1150 socket so I should be good there. I'm not sure I have the wi-fi antenna or if it has onboard LAN. Once set up, online connectivity is not a need for me but it's something to think about.

So there is no real benefit in doubling ram to 16gb?

I'll have to give GroovyArcade a shot at some point. Really, 10 minutes to try something... I have that.

16gb it's overkill for emulation proposes, my system runs well with 4gb.

[morton]

My board is an Asus Z87 which is an 1150 socket so I should be good there. I'm not sure I have the wi-fi antenna or if it has onboard LAN. Once set up, online connectivity is not a need for me but it's something to think about.

So there is no real benefit in doubling ram to 16gb?

I'll have to give GroovyArcade a shot at some point. Really, 10 minutes to try something... I have that.

16gb it's overkill for emulation proposes, my system runs well with 4gb.

Good to know. I and my wallet thank you.

[morton]

I came across 6gb of DDR3 ram from an old Dell a buddy had down the road. Ordered an SSD and grabbed a power supply... In theory, a case and some time should have me able to at least try running GroovyArcade.

As i understand with Groovy Arcade it's MAME only... So no FBNeo etc? If that is the case, is GroovyMame able to run FBNeo etc or will I need something like RetroArch instead?

[Substring]

I will add the FBNeo standalone in some time, As I've made it CRT compatible a few weeks ago, it's been merged in their code.

The next candidate is mednafen/emu4crt, which silmalik has been making compatible with switchres.

[donluca]

I will add the FBNeo standalone in some time, As I've made it CRT compatible a few weeks ago, it's been merged in their code.

Ah, I missed this! Congrats!

[Substring]

It had its own announce : http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,163785.0.html

[donluca]

LOL I even posted in there.

We truly live in messed up times, wonder where my mind has gone

[morton]

I saw the announcement but I am so green, I didn't realize it was connected etc. There are lots of different variants of software etc out there, and getting into things shows me why I never got a tech job. I was more woodshop than tech lab kind of student haha.

I love FBNeo and am super stoked about that news as some games I enjoy play best in it.

Further more... I haven't gotten myself a SSD yet for this rig, but have most all the other essential parts. I know things like Batocera can run solely off a USB, without need for HD. Is GroovyArcade similar in that respect? Or will I need a HD in order to properly install and run? I have some 128gb USB thumb drives and wondered if I could use it as an unconventional hard drive of sorts.

Thanks.

[Substring]

errrrr ... Let's say the USB key you'd use 1st for GA is really made to install on a "drive", it's not like Batocera where you burn an IMG to a drive and can then work from it. In the GroovyArcade case, I guess you should be able to install to a pen drive from the GroovyArcade USB thumb

[morton]

Got ya. Thanks for quick reply. I wasn't 100%. Someone told me I could try running it on a USB to see if I liked it, but guess it's less permanent.

[Substring]

That's the idea behind a "live CD" : it's to give a try, but you need to install to enjoy it fully.

[morton]

That's the idea behind a "live CD" : it's to give a try, but you need to install to enjoy it fully.

Thanks.

I am going to give it a shot and see how I like it. I just was trying to get out of having to order a Hard Drive, but may as well.

The question is... how do I actively gauge what size Hard Drive will suit me? I am not looking for 5000 games... just ones I will want to play. That said, Naomi, X2 and other stuff like that appeals to me and would like to do some of those games as well.