IPAC and OPTIPAC

[gmunny]

Hi Folks,
First time poster and just started planning my first machine for primarily MAME32 games.  Thanks for all the informative posts.  I have a few newbie questions.

I am trying to start my order list and will be ordering the IPAC and OPTIPAC from Ultimarc.  With both, there are options to get either the USB or the PS/2.  My computer has both USB and PS/2 ports, so is there any pros/cons by ordering one or the other?

Also, if I order the IPAC with PS/2, I assume that i need to order the OPTIPAC with USB, since I only have one PS/2 port? 

I am planning on having 2 8-ways sticks, 1 dedicated 4-way stick and maybe one flight stick. I am not planninng on playing any 4 player games though.  Can I get away with using an IPAC-2 (vs the 4), by maybe wiring them 1 8way & 1 4-way to player 1 and the other 2 sticks to player 2?

And my last question is do I need to order any special cables for the IPAC and OPTIPAC to connect to the computer? 

Thanks for any advice!
gmunny

[divemaster127]

I have the contract for the united states sells here on the forums, so I ship from the states & can save you money on the shipping, the optipac only comes vga to vga or vga to usb, i like the usb version on the ipac faster load times, from winpac, im on the buy/sell thread send me a pm if i can help anymore, everything is in stock
thanks
dm

[pointdablame]

I have the contract for the united states sells here on the forums, so I ship from the states & can save you money on the shipping, the optipac only comes vga to vga or vga to usb, i like the usb version on the ipac faster load times, from winpac, im on the buy/sell thread send me a pm if i can help anymore, everything is in stock
thanks
dm

isn't the Optipac SERIAL, not VGA?

[divemaster127]

my mistake, its serial
thanks
dm

[hypernova]

Won't the flight stick be wired to the optipac, since it's an analog controller?

Yes, you can wire the 4 way with the P1 joystick.  Just running both wires to the same directional terminals on the ipac will work.  I THINK you can also chain them, saving some wire.

Regarding the ipac, get both cables.  There's a thread discussing the pros/cons of each somewhere here. 

[horseboy]

Actually, if it is analog, you will need an Apac or AKI. Optipac is optical.

[gmunny]

Thanks for all your help! 

[Tiger-Heli]

Unless you plan on having dual trackballs, you might consider the Mini-Pac from ultimarc instead of the Opti-Pac/I-PAC.  Or you could consider the Opti-Wiz and either the KeyWiz or GP-Wiz from www.groovygamegear.com.  Or you could mix and match a combination of these.

Also see the comparisons on my website.