choosing parts for my MAME cab PC

[moonpatrol 4 lyfe]

I purchased a 4 player GI Joe arcade cab a couple years ago with the intention of making it a MAME cab.  It's time to put my money where my mouth is.

The first step is building a PC.  I'm looking for the most bang for my buck.  While I'm a die-hard Intel guy, someone suggested I try an Athalon processor.  What do you guys think?

I went to Comp USA and saw the following mobo on sale.

AV8 ATX Socket 939 - $150

Is this a good mobo at a good price?  They had some nicer ones, but my heart is set on the Arcade VGA card.  Therefore I need a mobo with an AGP slot.  (I'm assuming it hasn't been updated to PCI-E in the past year or 2 since I checked it out.) 

Are there any other mobo options anyone can suggest?

Are there any other methods of outputing to an arcade montior that anyone would suggest?

Finally, I remember I saw a power supply on here that had a built in accessory plug.  You could plug in a power strip with your monitor, speakers, etc, and they would turn on/off with your PC.  Does anyone know what I'm talking about, and will it be compatibile with my current setup?

Thanks!
Bill

P.S.  Does anyone know if the arcade output on the Arcade VGA card can be attached to phono plugs and work with the RGB inputs on the back of my tv?  Cuz if so, I have an awsome idea for another project.

[SithMaster]

what hold on dont do anything to the gi joe i love that game.  unless your not near new jersey than never go about you business.

the mobo and processor depends on what games you want to play.  theres a faq right her on the main page check under the second sticky topic its there.  not sure if you already check it or not but it seems helpful.

edit-just remembered your in south new england so i doubt id be able to talk you into trading cabs.  damn so long joe yo joe......yo joe........

[moonpatrol 4 lyfe]

Actually, I do live in NJ.  Morris County in fact.  I love that game too, what kind of trade did you have in mind?

Im looking to play all the old school retro games, all neo geo games, and as many new games as I can with the budget I have.  Playing the Mortal Kombat games would be awsome too.  The most bang for the buck is what I'm after.

[SithMaster]

errrrrr......ummmmmmm.... "cant beleive my good luck/fortune/miracle"

ill see what i have and ill pm you.

[pointdablame]

You can get an Asus A8V off NewEgg for 81 bux.  It's a very similar S939 board with AGP, but much cheaper.

Also, if you are going to be playing mostly classics and some NeoGeo games, you don't even need a s939 board... you're wasting your money.

Get an older Socket A board and put in a cheap Athlon XP...something like a 2500+ or 3000+ 

[krick]

I second the vote on the ASUS A8V.  That's an all around awesome AMD 939 board from a top notch manufacturer.  My top 2 favorite motherboard manufacturers are Abit and Asus.  I don't buy anything else if I can help it.

An added benefit is that it's using the VIA K8T800 Pro + VIA VT8237 chipset combo which is very Windows 98SE friendly which will come in handy if you decide to use 98SE in your cab.  The alternative AMD 939 chipset, nForce4, has no Windows98SE drivers at all.

The only drawback I can find is that it only has one serial port.  If you want to run DOS mame with two trackballs, you need two serial ports.  But I admit, that's really nit picking and probably only affects a small segment of our community.

[moonpatrol 4 lyfe]

I need a min to debate if I'm sticking with a 939 or going lower.  I haven't even considered the operating system yet.  I know how to use windows.  I haven't played with linux or dos (at least, not since my last 386).  If I do go with dos mame, could I add an extra comm port?

Thanks!
Bill

pointdablame, I'm checking out that mobo right now.  Thanks for your help!

[moonpatrol 4 lyfe]

I see a few different mobos when I search for the AV on newegg.

I assume this is the one you're talking about:

ASUS A8V Socket 939 VIA K8T800 Pro ATX AMD Motherboard

$81 is not a bad price.  How much would a processor run me?  I'm really not sure what to look for in AMD, since I'm an Intel guy.

What would the total price be against a Socket A board?

[Farmboy90]

Here is the powerstrip to which you were referring (I think anyway :

http://www.bitsltd.net/SmartStrip/buy.htm

- Scott

[hnugz]

does that mobo allow for one button shutdown?  is there any easy way to find out if the mobo allows it?

[Farmboy90]

does that mobo allow for one button shutdown?  is there any easy way to find out if the mobo allows it?

I don't believe the motherboard really controls that.  It would be a BIOS option.  Mine happens to do it.  I suspect most newer (> 2-3 years old) BIOSes will allow this.  You might have to google for your potential motherboard to find out. 

- Scott

[krick]

does that mobo allow for one button shutdown?  is there any easy way to find out if the mobo allows it?

I don't believe the motherboard really controls that.  It would be a BIOS option.  Mine happens to do it.  I suspect most newer (> 2-3 years old) BIOSes will allow this.  You might have to google for your potential motherboard to find out. 

- Scott

Actually, it's part of the ATX specification.  I believe that all ACPI compliant motherboards (pretty much anything in the last 5 years) will send a shutdown signal to Windows when the power button is pressed.

[pointdablame]

does that mobo allow for one button shutdown?  is there any easy way to find out if the mobo allows it?

I don't believe the motherboard really controls that.  It would be a BIOS option.  Mine happens to do it.  I suspect most newer (> 2-3 years old) BIOSes will allow this.  You might have to google for your potential motherboard to find out. 

- Scott

Actually, it's part of the ATX specification.  I believe that all ACPI compliant motherboards (pretty much anything in the last 5 years) will send a shutdown signal to Windows when the power button is pressed.

Yup, this is how I understand it as well.  If anything, there will be a setting in your BIOS or Power Settings control panel to determine what happens when you press the power button, but it shoudl be possible on any modern ATX system.