good MAME computer set up.

[tophatne1]

I'm a long time lurker on the message board but this is my first post.

I started a MAME project based on the plans for the Arcade Paradise 3 cabinet almost 2 years ago. (I'd include pics but I haven't been able to assemble it yet. Still waiting on the basement to get completely finished.)

I have the CP done and the cabinet building under control. My problem is with the hardware.
I've been messing with MAME32 on a few different computer. I alot of the roms I want don't work. I'm not confident enough with running dos commands so I haven't tried dosMAME yet.

To get to the point, I want a good version of MAME with a nice front end. I'd also like to be able to play the fighting games like Tekken 3, Virtua Fighter etc. I know I need a good computer rig to handle these types of games.

Could someone with a similar set up as to what i'm looking for tell me what is workign for them so I have some kind of direction to go in?

Thanks.
Byron

[Green Giant]

For Tekken and virtua fighter, you will need to run something other than mame.  Mame doesn't handle the 3D in those games well.  I forget what to use, but someone on here will know the best emulator to run those style games. 

First thing, get rid of mame32.  Try out Mala.  It is very easy to use.  No messing with dos commands.  It takes all the mame commands and puts them in a nice gui, but it doesn't work well with mame32 so use regular mame.  I am sure some of the other frontends are easy to setup too, but I use Mala.  There are very detailed setup instructions for mala including various emulators. 

As for your computer.  You probably want to be able to play all the mame games in full speed.  You need an AMD 64 3000 or greater or an Intel Pentium 4 or greater.  Pretty much either of those should be plenty.  Get a gig of ram and a harddrive big enough for everything you want.  Your video card is dependent on what monitor you are using. 

[ahofle]

You can use Zinc for Tekken and a few other PSX-based games that MAME can't handle very well.

[AcidArmitage]

tekken 3 runs great on a PSX emulator