Soft-15KHz - slim new tool for 15KHz on normal vga cards

[krick]

This is kinda old and you've probably already seen it, but just in case...


CASE STUDY OF PROBLEMS CAUSED EDIDs
Fixing the nVIDIA EDID Problem

http://www.geocities.com/jgeneedid/

That doesn't apply for ATI cards.

I know.  That post was for SailorSat.

[KissMyWookie]

You have to use the FIRST Output on ATI cards. Most likely it is NOT the VGA port, but the DVI port on modern cards.

Thats why you have to use \\.\DISPLAY2 on your setup.

Give it a try with a DVI-VGA adapter.

That would make sense if I couldn't see any of the custom resolutions under the \\.\DISPLAY1 list - but I can see around 15-20, just not all of them.

...I've just spent another several hours working on the problem. I removed the existing Soft-15kHz settings, downloaded Catalyst 9.6 (which came out this morning), removed Catalyst 9.5 and deleted the registry entries for the card.

I then installed the new Catalyst 9.6, backed up the registry key(s), installed my custom user modes using Soft-15kHz into both display entries (even though I am only using one attached monitor) and rebooted.

The good news - no black screen this time, so I guess they've fixed that in 9.6. The bad news - MameUI behaves exactly as before. \\.\DISPLAY1 only shows around 20 of the custom modes and \\.\DISPLAY2 shows all 40 (or so) of them. (This must be a MameUI bug).

320x224@59Hz mode has borders top and bottom still and appears to be identical to a 320x224 game running in 320x240 mode. (Remember that I made this mode with the NVidia card attached and it worked perfectly - with no borders).

I shut down the computer, swapped the monitor cable from the DVI port with dongle, back to the dedicated VGA out port. Restarted the computer and results were identical.

Altering the mode of \\.\DISPLAY1 or \\.\DISPLAY2 changes the mode that the game(s) run in, no matter which output port the VGA cable is connected to. This is probably a behaviour of the ATI driver running in single display mode.

I don't think the ADVV tool will work with ATI 4000 series cards, so I'm unable to experiment with the values of the 320x224 mode - but if the mode displayed correctly with the NVidia board, it should work with the ATI, right?

I did run AdvanceMame and the 320x224 mode it generated filled the screen without performing any stretching of the image. Too bad it's no longer kept up to date.

I think the only thing left to do is see if there is a verbose debug output in MameUI, to double check that it is at least attempting to put the screen into 320x224 mode. If it is, then the problem has to be ATI's fault - they might be messing around with the mode values.

[krick]

I was a long-time user of an AGP ArcadeVGA 7000, but now that I've upraded my computer, I decided to give Soft15KHz a try.
I run Windows XP and my setup includes a JPAC and a Hantarex Polo 25 15KHz arcade monitor.

Something very wrong is happening with my new card and Soft15KHz.

It's a Sapphire ATI Radeon 4550 purchased from Newegg...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102819

I managed to get it working ONCE on my 15KHz arcade monitor.  I tried two games... Galaga (vertical) and Bosconian (horizontal) and they both looked great.  I tried the windows desktop at 640x480 (very shaky and hard to look at) and 800x600, much more stable but text was harder to read.

I shut it down, started it back up, and nothing.  The JPAC has an orange LED lit, which I think means an out of range signal.  I see the split screen during the bios and windows XP splash screen, though they're rolling quite a bit.  As soon as it gets to windows, it's out of range and completely black.

I've got it connected to the VGA output on the card.  This was the output that I used the one time that it worked.

I hooked it back to my normal monitor, booted into VGA mode, then uninstalled Soft15KHz.  Another weird thing is that after uninstalling it, I don't get all my normal resolutions back in the display properties settings tab.  I end up with a bunch of weird resolutons where the X is always  the same, 1280, I think.   However, the Y changes.

Also, and I don't know if this means anything, but when I boot into VGA mode before uninstalling Soft15KHz, my PC monitor (a multi-sync LCD) tells me that the signal is out of range.  29KHz or something like that.  And the image is shifted off the screen a bit.

If you want, I'll gladly donate $40 for you to get one of these cards for testing.  Just say the word.

[SailorSat]

I managed to get it working ONCE on my 15KHz arcade monitor.  I tried two games... Galaga (vertical) and Bosconian (horizontal) and they both looked great.  I tried the windows desktop at 640x480 (very shaky and hard to look at) and 800x600, much more stable but text was harder to read.

I shut it down, started it back up, and nothing.  The JPAC has an orange LED lit, which I think means an out of range signal.  I see the split screen during the bios and windows XP splash screen, though they're rolling quite a bit.  As soon as it gets to windows, it's out of range and completely black.

I've got it connected to the VGA output on the card.  This was the output that I used the one time that it worked.

Hum... Maybe give it a try with the DVI port and a DVI-to-VGA Dongle inbetween.
But its still strange at least three people reported such an issue lately.

I hooked it back to my normal monitor, booted into VGA mode, then uninstalled Soft15KHz.  Another weird thing is that after uninstalling it, I don't get all my normal resolutions back in the display properties settings tab.  I end up with a bunch of weird resolutons where the X is always  the same, 1280, I think.   However, the Y changes.

Also, and I don't know if this means anything, but when I boot into VGA mode before uninstalling Soft15KHz, my PC monitor (a multi-sync LCD) tells me that the signal is out of range.  29KHz or something like that.  And the image is shifted off the screen a bit.

Guess I'll need to take a look into the backup routines once more.
As for VGA mode... Hm... ok... Thats strange.

It's a Sapphire ATI Radeon 4550 purchased from Newegg...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102819

If you want, I'll gladly donate $40 for you to get one of these cards for testing.  Just say the word.

That would be very nice, though I can't promise anthing.
(wow... 4550 cards seem to be pretty rare)

[krick]

If you want, I'll gladly donate $40 for you to get one of these cards for testing.  Just say the word.

That would be very nice, though I can't promise anthing.
(wow... 4550 cards seem to be pretty rare)

Donation sent.  Hopefully you can find one locally once they become more common.

[KissMyWookie]

...
Something very wrong is happening with my new card and Soft15KHz.

It's a Sapphire ATI Radeon 4550 purchased from Newegg...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102819
...

Krick - have you tried it with the newest Catalyst 9.6 drivers? (They came out yesterday - June 15th).

Also, create a usermodes.txt file in your Soft-15kHz directory and put these VESA standard modelines in it...

Code: [Select]

ModeLine "640x480_60Hz (VESA)" 25.18 640 656 752 800 480 490 492 525 -HSync -VSync
ModeLine "640x480_72Hz (VESA)" 31.50 640 664 704 832 480 489 492 520 -HSync -VSync
ModeLine "640x480_75Hz (VESA)" 31.50 640 656 720 840 480 481 484 500 -HSync -VSync
ModeLine "800x600_56Hz (VESA)" 36.00 800 824 896 1024 600 601 603 625 +Hsync +Vsync
ModeLine "800x600_60Hz (VESA)" 40.00 800 840 968 1056 600 601 605 628 +HSync +VSync
ModeLine "800x600_72Hz (VESA)" 50.00 800 856 976 1040 600 637 643 666 +HSync +VSync
ModeLine "800x600_75Hz (VESA)" 49.50 800 816 896 1056 600 601 604 625 +HSync +VSync
ModeLine "1024x768_60Hz (VESA)" 65.00 1024 1048 1184 1344 768 771 777 806 -HSync -VSync

I put those in for my multisync monitor (which can handle these rates), so delete the ones that your monitor can't handle.

After you've installed the Catalyst 9.6 drivers, reinstall Soft-15kHz with the above (appropriate) user modes too - then try rebooting.

Steve

PS: I'm installing Ubuntu 9.04 on my PC, so I can experiment with my 320x224 modeline in a different environment (drivers etc.) but with the same hardware. I have used Linux before, but it's been a few years - and X-Windows config has never been easy. I'll post my findings soon.

Update: Linux was a waste of time. The kernel framebuffer drivers that are needed for the AdvanceMame mode tool (ADVV) don't work with any of the recent ATI Radeon cards (basically, anything newer than 2004).  Of course, I only found this out by looking at the source code - there were no error messages from the radeonfb module - and I wasted around 35 hours trying to get it to work!

[Chunce DeLeone]

Does anyone have a picture of Soft 15k running native resolutions on a TV? 

[muzzakus]

Hi All,

I've been using an old clunker in my cab with a Gforce4MX AGP succesfully with all resolutions including 480i.   

I'm currently switching to a more powerful multi core system with a Geforce 7100GS PCIE gfx card.  I cannot get interlace out of this which defeats me running Naomi etc emulation at 480i 15khz.

Can anybody please confirm if they have sucesfully gotten interlace resolutions for a Geforce 7100GS.  Maybe I just need different drivers?

If not possible, whats the cheapest PCIE card that is certified to do all the listed 15kz resollutions provided by Soft15kz ?



Thanks in advance.

[krick]

Krick - have you tried it with the newest Catalyst 9.6 drivers? (They came out yesterday - June 15th).

Also, create a usermodes.txt file in your Soft-15kHz directory and put these VESA standard modelines in it...

Code: [Select]

ModeLine "640x480_60Hz (VESA)" 25.18 640 656 752 800 480 490 492 525 -HSync -VSync
ModeLine "640x480_72Hz (VESA)" 31.50 640 664 704 832 480 489 492 520 -HSync -VSync
ModeLine "640x480_75Hz (VESA)" 31.50 640 656 720 840 480 481 484 500 -HSync -VSync
ModeLine "800x600_56Hz (VESA)" 36.00 800 824 896 1024 600 601 603 625 +Hsync +Vsync
ModeLine "800x600_60Hz (VESA)" 40.00 800 840 968 1056 600 601 605 628 +HSync +VSync
ModeLine "800x600_72Hz (VESA)" 50.00 800 856 976 1040 600 637 643 666 +HSync +VSync
ModeLine "800x600_75Hz (VESA)" 49.50 800 816 896 1056 600 601 604 625 +HSync +VSync
ModeLine "1024x768_60Hz (VESA)" 65.00 1024 1048 1184 1344 768 771 777 806 -HSync -VSync

I put those in for my monitor, so delete the ones that your monitor can't handle.

After you've installed the Catalyst 9.6 drivers, reinstall Soft-15kHz with the above (appropriate) user modes too - then try rebooting.

I installed the 9.6 drivers and it was still doing the same thing.  However, I tried two things and it fixed it.  I'm not sure which did the trick...

1) I installed Soft15KHz to BOTH adapters (I had only installed to the first before).

2) I connected my monitor to the DVI port using an adapter dongle.

I'm thinking it might have been the dongle that did the trick.

However, my party got cut short when the flyback tranformer in my Hantarex Polo 25 started arcing electricity out the top and I quickly yanked the power plug from the wall.  I don't think it's related to using Soft15KHz, but maybe it was starting to go and running my windows desktop at 800x600 for a few minutes pushed it over the edge.  Who knows.  I'm in the process of ording a new flyback and a cap kit (might as well, since I'll have it apart) and I hope to be back testing within a week or so.


I'm curious about your list of modelines above.  How do they differ from the modelines that soft15khz offers?

I'm pretty sure that trying to run 800x600 is probably the most that I can expect out of my monitor.  I would be afraid to even try 1024x768.

[KissMyWookie]

I'm curious about your list of modelines above.  How do they differ from the modelines that soft15khz offers?

The 640x480 mode from Soft-15kHz runs at 59.6Hz, the 800x600 and 1024x768 modes are around 50Hz. None of them are done to VESA timing standards - which are common modes that all PC/multisync monitors (made within the last 15 or so years) are compatible with (providing it supports the clock and refresh rates). These modes are normally built in to a video cards BIOS.

I found the modes listed in various places on the web and cross checked them against different lists to make sure they were correct.

I installed the VESA modes so that I could run my desktop at normal resolutions, with no flicker on my multisync monitor (which can display 5-60MHz pixel clock, 14.2-65kHz horizontal clock and 40-120 vertical refresh).

Steve

_{* Added clarification that the VESA standard modes are for PC and multisync monitors.}

[SailorSat]

If you run those VESA modelines on a normal 15kHz monitor, you won't get anything usefull except a screaching chassis.

640x480 60Hz Progressive is 31kHz.
800x600 60Hz Progressive is 37kHz.
1024x768 60Hz Progressive is 48kHz.

[SailorSat]

I'm currently switching to a more powerful multi core system with a Geforce 7100GS PCIE gfx card.  I cannot get interlace out of this which defeats me running Naomi etc emulation at 480i 15khz.

Can anybody please confirm if they have sucesfully gotten interlace resolutions for a Geforce 7100GS.  Maybe I just need different drivers?

If not possible, whats the cheapest PCIE card that is certified to do all the listed 15kz resollutions provided by Soft15kz ?

Quite funny you did get interlace on a GeForce4 MX.
Though It doesn't surprise me that the 7100GS doesnt.

NVidias Lowend cards usually are feature limited including a "forced" inability to use interlace.

I've used a 7300GS before with ForceWare 93.71 so maybe give it a try with older drivers.
I've also used a 7100 ONBOARD with ForceWare 163.75.

As for the cheapest solution... Well, for a new card, most likely the ATI HD4350 should do its job.
But maybe a used GeForce 7600GT would be better. Maybe take a look on ebay.

[muzzakus]

I'm currently switching to a more powerful multi core system with a Geforce 7100GS PCIE gfx card.  I cannot get interlace out of this which defeats me running Naomi etc emulation at 480i 15khz.

Can anybody please confirm if they have sucesfully gotten interlace resolutions for a Geforce 7100GS.  Maybe I just need different drivers?

If not possible, whats the cheapest PCIE card that is certified to do all the listed 15kz resollutions provided by Soft15kz ?

Quite funny you did get interlace on a GeForce4 MX.
Though It doesn't surprise me that the 7100GS doesnt.

NVidias Lowend cards usually are feature limited including a "forced" inability to use interlace.

I've used a 7300GS before with ForceWare 93.71 so maybe give it a try with older drivers.
I've also used a 7100 ONBOARD with ForceWare 163.75.

As for the cheapest solution... Well, for a new card, most likely the ATI HD4350 should do its job.
But maybe a used GeForce 7600GT would be better. Maybe take a look on ebay.

Thanks SailorSat.  WIll try your recommended drivers and report outcome here.  Otherwise will go for HD4350.  Need that 480i !

[Chunce DeLeone]

Sharp 19' arcade monitor, jpac, ati x550 and mame1.09 and ofcourse soft15k 
Some games are perfect, some are split in half and blurry, some are blank, and some look like they are out of sync.  How do i get all the games to look perfect with the exception of some rotating here and there? Is there a list of custom resolutions, mame ini's or modelines that people have been using?   

[Chunce DeLeone]

Another thing is that the JPAC is not recognized, I have to start up the pc with a standard PC monitor and then switch to the ARCADE monitor....

I have a couple Mame sets 1.09, 1.04, and 1.30,  Which one would you use for the most classic compatibility? 

Has anyone gotten frogger &  Mrs. Pacman to work and at what res? 

Robotron is fine, 4Dwarriors, street fighter etc.  are fine. 

ATI Radeon X550, I want to save cash. 

[SailorSat]

Some games are perfect, some are split in half and blurry, some are blank, and some look like they are out of sync.  How do i get all the games to look perfect with the exception of some rotating here and there?

Simple put, you can't.

However. First, check each resolution with QuickRes (Soft-15kHz downloads).
If you select a resolution that doesn't work. Hit ESC, and it should switch back.
Note every resolution that doesn't work, and we'll see about that later.
Could be a driver issue. (Catalyst too new).

Another thing is that the JPAC is not recognized, I have to start up the pc with a standard PC monitor and then switch to the ARCADE monitor....

If you get a black screen after windows starts up with the J-PAC, try using the OTHER port on the Radeon. You may need a DVI-to-VGA dongle.
Modern cards "sense" monitors via the RGB-to-Ground resistors (usually 75 Ohms), but the J-PAC doesn't have these.
Soft-15kHz enforces detection of BOTH VGA ports and on newer cards, the primary is "in" the DVI port.

Has anyone gotten frogger &  Mrs. Pacman to work and at what res?

Without rotating the monitor? 352x264 if your monitor & radeon like it.

I installed the 9.6 drivers and it was still doing the same thing.  However, I tried two things and it fixed it.  I'm not sure which did the trick...

1) I installed Soft15KHz to BOTH adapters (I had only installed to the first before).

2) I connected my monitor to the DVI port using an adapter dongle.

I'm thinking it might have been the dongle that did the trick.

I'd bet on the dongle too.

However, my party got cut short when the flyback tranformer in my Hantarex Polo 25 started arcing electricity out the top and I quickly yanked the power plug from the wall.  I don't think it's related to using Soft15KHz, but maybe it was starting to go and running my windows desktop at 800x600 for a few minutes pushed it over the edge.  Who knows.  I'm in the process of ording a new flyback and a cap kit (might as well, since I'll have it apart) and I hope to be back testing within a week or so.

Holy Sh!t... Those moments get the blood pumping.

As for the resolution. Well its harmless as the total line count (625 / 2 = 312,5 [interlaced]) multiplied by the refresh (50Hz) outputs 15625 Hz.

As for the maximum resolution. Well 1024x768 works, but is more likely 1024x600 visible. It's there for "compatibility" only. Not usefull at all.

Theoretically you could get real 768 lines, by reducing the refresh to 45Hz. But most arcade screens won't sync and even if it did, it would be VERY bad for your eyes.

[krick]

Is there an easy way to remove all the 16-bit resolutions from QuickRes?

I really can't see me ever using them over the 32-bit versions.

[Ummon]

Hi All,

I've been using an old clunker in my cab with a Gforce4MX AGP succesfully with all resolutions including 480i....I'm currently switching to a more powerful multi core system with a Geforce 7100GS PCIE gfx card.  I cannot get interlace out of this which defeats me running Naomi etc emulation at 480i 15khz.

I know nothing about Naomi systems, but I just couldn't see them using 480i. And according to Wiki, at least the ones they list the display resolution for, they're mostly standard res, with a few being medium res, and one can be, either, medium res or VGA. I bet those that aren't listed are VGA.

[muzzakus]

Hi All,

I've been using an old clunker in my cab with a Gforce4MX AGP succesfully with all resolutions including 480i....I'm currently switching to a more powerful multi core system with a Geforce 7100GS PCIE gfx card.  I cannot get interlace out of this which defeats me running Naomi etc emulation at 480i 15khz.

I know nothing about Naomi systems, but I just couldn't see them using 480i. And according to Wiki, at least the ones they list the display resolution for, they're mostly standard res, with a few being medium res, and one can be, either, medium res or VGA. I bet those that aren't listed are VGA.

Naomi's mid rez games you may aswell upscale to interlace if running 15khz.  But thats just one example, theres also Capcom games that run SONY ZN-1 harware capable of 740x480.  And there are many more I'm sure.

[muzzakus]

I'm currently switching to a more powerful multi core system with a Geforce 7100GS PCIE gfx card.  I cannot get interlace out of this which defeats me running Naomi etc emulation at 480i 15khz.

Can anybody please confirm if they have sucesfully gotten interlace resolutions for a Geforce 7100GS.  Maybe I just need different drivers?

If not possible, whats the cheapest PCIE card that is certified to do all the listed 15kz resollutions provided by Soft15kz ?

Quite funny you did get interlace on a GeForce4 MX.
Though It doesn't surprise me that the 7100GS doesnt.

NVidias Lowend cards usually are feature limited including a "forced" inability to use interlace.

I've used a 7300GS before with ForceWare 93.71 so maybe give it a try with older drivers.
I've also used a 7100 ONBOARD with ForceWare 163.75.

As for the cheapest solution... Well, for a new card, most likely the ATI HD4350 should do its job.
But maybe a used GeForce 7600GT would be better. Maybe take a look on ebay.

Thanks SailorSat.  WIll try your recommended drivers and report outcome here.  Otherwise will go for HD4350.  Need that 480i !

I can confirm ForceWare 93.71 gives me full 15khz support including 480i on Geforce 7100GS PCIe AND even the onboard Geforce 6150.  It just goes to show how selective drivers are.  Good on you SailorSat!

[Chunce DeLeone]

SailorSat,
Thank you very much for the info!!!!  What are people using for their windows desktop res on a 19inch vertical 15k arcade monitor? 

Simple put, you can't.

However. First, check each resolution with QuickRes (Soft-15kHz downloads).
If you select a resolution that doesn't work. Hit ESC, and it should switch back.
Note every resolution that doesn't work, and we'll see about that later.
Could be a driver issue. (Catalyst too new).

Soft15k told me that my drivers were too new for the X550, I should have listened.  I will try the older ones that soft 15k is recommending.  I fooled around with one of the res tools that produces mame ini's, the name is escaping me right now, but things are working better now.  Also the I was able to correct the wavy lines with the V-hold on the monitor itself.  I think that is going to be hard to get rid of and I may just have to tweak the v-hold for different games.  Anyone else come to this conclusion?  I think rewiring the V-hold to the front of the cab is a must in the future. 

If you get a black screen after windows starts up with the J-PAC, try using the OTHER port on the Radeon. You may need a DVI-to-VGA dongle.
Modern cards "sense" monitors via the RGB-to-Ground resistors (usually 75 Ohms), but the J-PAC doesn't have these.
Soft-15kHz enforces detection of BOTH VGA ports and on newer cards, the primary is "in" the DVI port.

That is easy, and would be awsome if it works.  I will try, the card came with a DVI to VGA dongle.

Has anyone gotten frogger &  Mrs. Pacman to work and at what res?
Without rotating the monitor? 352x264 if your monitor & radeon like it.

Somehow with the res tool and tweaking the V-hold, they work.  How can you tell what res mame is actually using when a game is played?  Is it the res that shows up in the dialouge box right before the game starts? 


I am getting huge overscan with Streetfighter games on my standard 19inch monitor, I know it is vertical but i am just testing it on the vertical until i hook up the horizontal.  Anyone have a good res for StreetFighter?

[SailorSat]

Anyone have a good res for StreetFighter?

392x240

[Sosetsuken]

Hey SailorSat,  i'm getting my new Cab PC really soon and i'm going with a Radeon 4770 512mb.   Have you had any experience with this card?  I'll probably be running WinXP 32 nLited and HyperSpin FE.  I see most of the 4000 series radeons are supported, I really hope the 4770 is soft15khz capable

Cheers.

[SailorSat]

Actually it should work fine.
Don't see a reason why it shouldn't

[Ummon]

SailorSat,
Thank you very much for the info!!!!  What are people using for their windows desktop res on a 19inch vertical 15k arcade monitor?

Depends. I use 336x240 on my standard res monitor, but could easily go up to 640x240.

I fooled around with one of the res tools that produces mame ini's, the name is escaping me right now, but things are working better now.

Just mentioning in general: it would be so helpful for everyone to start with Mame32, and look at the ini format after making changes. A lot of things would become obvious.

How can you tell what res mame is actually using when a game is played?  Is it the res that shows up in the dialouge box right before the game starts?

On a monitor with no OSD, you can't - unless you used Advancemame.

[Martijn]

hi sailorcat.

I am using a ati x800XL now with catalist 6.5 and all works fine with soft15khz

but now i want streetfighter 4 to run on the pc. it needs pixel shader 3.0 and some more horsepower

what videocard do you recommend now because i dont know how far you improved soft15khz

so i am looking for the fastest PCI-E passive videocard what is compatable with your latest soft15khz and has alle resolution support for the old arcade games.

thanks in advance

*p.s. Michael Jackson, you made my childhood*

[SailorSat]

I'd recommend any of the Radeon HD 4000 series.

[Martijn]

i found a passive

SAPPHIRE TECHNOLOGY Radeon HD 4670 Ultimate Edition - 512 MB DDR3

with vga connector

is it ok?

[SailorSat]

I think so.
Just note that the VGA out most likely is NOT the primary output, and once Soft-15kHz is running, it will output on the DVI port (usually theres a DVI-VGA dongle supplied).
Just in case you're getting a black screen after reboot

[Martijn]

ordered one..

now that we are still on the subject, what driver version can i use now?

because first i had to use 6.5. Higher woudnt work you said

any installation tips?

[SailorSat]

With a HD 4000, any Catalyst should work. At least I've used 9.2 and 9.4 myself, and they worked fine.

[Chunce DeLeone]

SailorSat  I am not done with my builds and haven't reached the end of all this troubleshooting BUT I think you have saved me ALLOT of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$    
Correction, not saved, allowed me to use the alloted budget for other Arcade related items.  

[krick]

However, my party got cut short when the flyback tranformer in my Hantarex Polo 25 started arcing electricity out the top and I quickly yanked the power plug from the wall.  I don't think it's related to using Soft15KHz, but maybe it was starting to go and running my windows desktop at 800x600 for a few minutes pushed it over the edge.  Who knows.  I'm in the process of ording a new flyback and a cap kit (might as well, since I'll have it apart) and I hope to be back testing within a week or so.

Holy Sh!t... Those moments get the blood pumping.

Well, I got the flyback installed and my monitor is working again. HUZZAH!!!

I've noticed a couple of strange behaviors that I was wondering if you've seen before...

1) When I first set everything up, I was able to select 800x600 and 1024x768 using quickres.  Now, for some reason, when I select either of those resolutions, I get the "keep this resolution" prompt, but nothing actually happens.  The highest I can seem to go with quickres is 640x480.  Strangely, I CAN select those resolutions using display properties and it works.

2) I'm running my windows desktop at 640x288.  When I run command line mame, the built-in mame text "GUI" always comes up in what I think is 800x600 (it might even be 1024x768) and it's completely unreadable.  However, if I blindly start a game by typing pacman and hitting enter, when I exit the game back to the mame GUI, it's at a MUCH lower resolution (I think 640x288).  I plan on using MAMEwah as a front-end, so it's not really an issue, but the behavior really strikes me as odd and I was just curious what is going on.

[pubjoe]

SailorSat,

First of all, thank you for your wonderful tool.  Soft15khz.

I have a question regarding something I have read you mention several times in the past - Using Soft15khz with newer nvidia cards and a "dongle" to provide a DDC signal (or something like that?).

Is there anywhere you could point me for instructions on this.  Or do you know if I could have one built by soemone for me for a small cost?

I've searched for more information about it.  I'm sure I remember reading something in the past, but I cannot for the life of me find anything now.

Regards,

Joe

P.S:  The main reason for this is to play SFIV on my (15k-24k) arcade monitor (while keeping soft15khz compatibilty for mame).  Does anyone have a nice simple suggestion?  ATI/nvidia card?

[Martijn]

With a HD 4000, any Catalyst should work. At least I've used 9.2 and 9.4 myself, and they worked fine.

got the card installed with latest (9.7) drivers and soft15khz and it works fine

the display seems better then normal

and best yet. SfIV demo rocks solid on 60fps in 640x480

[SailorSat]

I have a question regarding something I have read you mention several times in the past - Using Soft15khz with newer nvidia cards and a "dongle" to provide a DDC signal (or something like that?).

Is there anywhere you could point me for instructions on this.  Or do you know if I could have one built by soemone for me for a small cost?
P.S:  The main reason for this is to play SFIV on my (15k-24k) arcade monitor (while keeping soft15khz compatibilty for mame).  Does anyone have a nice simple suggestion?  ATI/nvidia card?

I still have a few dongles from the first batch available. PM me for details.

Any Radeon HD 4000 should be fine for SF4.

[djbubba2002]

i lookin for a new card .. what one should i go with?
i want to run mame to the arcade cabinet and i have the J-pac, i need a card now ..
what is the  best video to go with .. i need PCI ONE

[john_abey]

the last page it was sayed that you do not need a dongle for windows 7 is that true for a 8400 gforce ?

I would like to play future pinball and the arcadevga will not allow me to.

If anyone knows how to play future pinball with arcadevga that would help alot .

If i dont have to switch OS that would be alright

[djbubba2002]

I GOT my new video card today ..does anyone know what driver i should use with this for my arcade t.v.  thanks ..
128 MB Ati Radeon 9200 PCI Video Card VGA DDR

[SailorSat]

Catalyst 6.5 ( http://files.arianchen.de/drivers/6-5_xp-2k_dd_32464.exe )