Do I need an Arcade VGA card? A few questons

[gonzobrian]

I have just about completed my first cocktail cabinet.  I have a third control panel so I can run both horizontal and vertical games.  Asides from Mame I would also like to run some NES and SNES and perhaps a few other emulators.  Because of my desire to run some of these other emus asides from Mame I will be installing Win 98se or Win 2000 pro.

I was originally thinking of using a computer monitor but have decided that I want a 19" arcade monitor but don't want to spend more than $300 after shipping.  Currently I really like Happ's  Vision Pro 19" Horizontal Mount SVGA Monitor #49-1337-VP2.  I like the price and it looks to be easy to mount in my cocktail.

The only video card I have extra laying around the house is an old TNT 2 Vanta that I would not mind keeping around to use when I am working on computers.  So purchasing a new video card seems to be in my future.

So my question is with this monitor do I need or would I benefit from buying the Arcade VGA card?  I have read many old post and also Saint's book and see that it is often recommended.  I would like to keep this as simple as possible and limit the amount of software I will have to tweak and the price for the Arcade VGA seems comparable to buying another video card.

Any impute would be greatly appreciated.
Brian

[whammoed]

There are a few ways to drive a cga monitor, but if you want to keep it simple then yes, the AVGA is the way to go.

[Harry Potter]

The monitor you mentioned is basically the same as a VGA monitor (Horizontal Frequency of 30-38khz) so the ArcadeVGA would not work with it.

There is a monitor which is a true arcade monitor (The 19" CGA Shelf
Mount Monitor:49-1329-VP2 at $198) which would work very well with the ArcadeVGA.

Can it be mounted horizontally when it says shelf mount? Ken? Help!

The first monitor can be used with any video card.

[whammoed]

The monitor you mentioned is basically the same as a VGA monitor (Horizontal Frequency of 30-38khz) so the ArcadeVGA would not work with it.

There is a monitor which is a true arcade monitor (The 19" CGA Shelf
Mount Monitor:49-1329-VP2 at $198) which would work very well with the ArcadeVGA.

Can it be mounted horizontally? Ken? Help!

The first monitor can be used with any video card.

OOPS!  sorry, didn't notice the monitor you cited was svga.  If you want to keep it even simpler you can get that monitor and any video card that supports hardware stretching and just stretch all the games to 640x480 or 800x600.  I did something similar on my first cocktail though the games do look a little better at their native resolution.

[gonzobrian]

There is a monitor which is a true arcade monitor (The 19" CGA Shelf
Mount Monitor:49-1329-VP2 at $198) which would work very well with the ArcadeVGA.

Can it be mounted horizontally when it says shelf mount? Ken? Help!

Thanks for your responce.

[Thenasty]

 I have no problem hacking a cable to connect a CGA monitor but want to keep the configuration as simple as possible.

hacking a cable doesn't make your Screen stable on 15khz (CGA). The software that you gonna use must also support 15khz (CGA) like MAME. or a software driver to drive your video card to 15khz. The other Emu's you mentiond, I don't know if it support 15khz.

[gonzobrian]

hacking a cable doesn't make your Screen stable on 15khz (CGA). The software that you gonna use must also support 15khz (CGA) like MAME. or a software driver to drive your video card to 15khz. The other Emu's you mentiond, I don't know if it support 15khz.

I understand that the cable does not make it stable but from what I have read it is the the way one must connect a CGA monitor to a video card.

[Thenasty]

As far as MAME is concern about video cards, it does not matter if you have lots of memory, but I suggest at least 64MB. Then you have to think about the other software you  gonna run on this thing, also are you going to run any PC games with it ?
As far as the Video Card itself, I think get the best w/more memory just in case you want to run other that require more memory, 3d-graphics etc...As for the system for MAME, make sure you get the highest CPU and at least 512MB to cover most of the games in MAME.

[gonzobrian]

As far as MAME is concern about video cards, it does not matter if you have lots of memory, but I suggest at least 64MB. Then you have to think about the other software you

[krick]

Here's a good page about choosing a video card for use with mame...

http://easymamecab.mameworld.net/html/hardware.htm

It covers all the scenarios you're likely to encounter.

[gonzobrian]

Here's a good page about choosing a video card for use with mame...

http://easymamecab.mameworld.net/html/hardware.htm

It covers all the scenarios you're likely to encounter.

Hey thanks.  I had just ordered a Radeon 9000 pro.  Hope it does hwstretch like the Radeon 7500 listed in your link.  I would assume that it does since it is a newer model than the 7500 but my assumptions have gotten me in trouble in the past.
Brian