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Boot CD installs DOS, Vantage, Raine, MAME (1 of 7 versions) and Game Launcher
spystyle:
Slow loading OS, slow loading ROMs, slow everything ... I don't think it matters that the OS is optimized and the ROMs are small if data is bottlenecking so badly. I foresee impatient players at your machine ... waiting for it to loooooaaaaad.
I don't see any practical gain in substituting the hard drive. "Minimalist" ? That's good for art class but this is a machine, don't make it less efficient on account of aesthetics.
The flash cards have a much shorter lifespan than hard drives as well (number of writes).
Flash drives and hard drives are like tricycles and automobiles - yes similar in some ways... but each with a very different purpose.
OK, I'm off to get more coffee!!!
Good luck,
Craig
IG-88:
Not doubting you at all Craig, but as a side note, when listening to the infamous Kim Kommando this weekend a caller asked about solid state cards (cf in particular I believe) and she stated they were "the wave of the future" if memory serves. "They were more reliable, faster, and ran cooler". I couldn't help to think of you when I heard that.
EDIT:
I found what she was saying on her site:
Solid-state drives are the wave of the future. They use flash memory to store your data, operating system and programs. Since flash memory has no moving parts, the drives are more rugged than hard drives. They also work in environments where temperatures are more extreme.
The solid-state drives offer other advantages, too. They’re faster than hard drives. Solid-state drives will boot in a fraction of the time it takes a hard drive to boot.
Solid-state drives are more efficient. They use less power and run much cooler than hard drives. This is great for laptop users; it means laptops can go longer between charges.
Solid-state drives face failure, just like hard drives. Flash memory can only be written to so many times. But SanDisk claims a solid-state drive will last six times longer than a hard drive.
Whats your opinion on this statement?
spystyle:
As far as I know :
"Solid state" and "flash memory" are two different things.
Shown below from left to right :
Conventional hard drive, solid state drive, flash memory.
If "flash memory" is the successor to floppy disks than "solid state disks" are the successor to hard drives that use platters.
A solid state disk uses RAM instead of platters. The problem with RAM is, when the power is off all data instantly disappears.
I think the trend will be to marry platters and RAM in a solid state / hard drive "hybrid" - the platters can act like the cache and the RAM acts as the hard drive. So when the power goes out the RAM writes to the platters before it powers off.
It all sounds great but that technology is still in it's infancy, stick with sata-150, it's the evolution of conventional hard drives. Fast, affordable, and with large capacity. They are surprisingly quiet too. If one isn't fast enough buy 2 and put them in a RAID-0 array.
That's what I think so far, we'll see what the IT guys have to say. I may be wrong as I don't really keep my thumb on the pulse of computer technology, I have recently started studying photography.
Dig my big camera :)
Have fun :)
Craig
Ummon:
On the SATA thing, I'd suggest 300. I think ss drives will be a near-future product, as they're trying to create ram that retains data after power-off. But I'm waiting for wetware devices.
spystyle:
There's the voice of the IT guy :)
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