Question regarding hardware

[Cyber]

Hi folks

New here, and this forum looks preatty neat, since it is all related to what im intrested into Very good!
Hope i can be at help when i can as well

But this time i need some help and i hope some of you can help me answer.

I would like to build a game, years since i last touched a game, so unfortanly things you should remember goes away.

So, i would like to build a game that has POWER!
Large HDD of course.

Here`s an idea:

Mainboard: ABIT AN-M2HD, GF7050PV, Socket-AM2, DDR2 , HDMI, SATAII, GbLAN, m-ATX, PCI-Ex16
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 2.8GHz Socket AM2 2MB, BOXED
RAM: Crucial DDR2 BallistiX PC6400 2048MB CL4 ,Kit w/two BallistiX 1024MB's, E.P.P
VGA: ArcadeVGA PCI-E
HDD: 2 x Seagate Barracuda ES 500GB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM in RAID (MIRROR)
DVD: NEC DVD-burner AD-5170 IDE Black OEM DVD+R/+RW/DVD-R/-RW (Dual layer)
Cabinet: Apevia X-Qpack II Blue, mATX, Aluminium,  3 windows,  ATX

Would this be enought to build a computer related to only used with MAME


Also, i would ask, since it is an game that i am building, then i would ask for some help on these questions:

What MAME should i use?
What FRONTEND should i use?

It would be best that, when i turn on the power of the game, the MAME starts directly after Windows XP has been started up, how and what should i use to get this done ??


Thank you all for all the answers!!

Take care, and best regards,  Cyber

[Green Giant]

Welcome to the board. 

-About your computer, that is way overkill.  Currently MAME doesn't take advantage of dual core processors.  There is work on the future of using dual core, but it should only enable a handful of games currently unplayable, maybe 10.  An AMD 64 3500 can pretty much handle every mame game playable to date. 
-The vga card is only necessary if you plan on using an arcade monitor.  Many people use tv's with a good graphics card cause they are cheaper.
-1TB of space is enormous.  You could easily fit every mame, nintendo, snes, genesis, playstation, dreamcast, a huge song collection, and whatever else you might want.  Maybe if you plan on using this as a media center with thousands of videos it would work.  This is all possible with different frontends.  Mine has a 250GB and there is plenty of space for mame, nes, snes, gen, old school games, n64, and a few others.  Originally it had lots of japanese and european versions of all those games, but after narrowing it down, I have an extra 100gigs of space.  Gonna add juke features eventually.
-Why would you need a dvd burner.  Chances are this is going in a cab and you will hardly ever open the drive to use it.  I have an old dvdburner that was already partially broken in mine.  It can read dvd's but can't write.  However, I have hardly used it.
-Don't spend alot on a case too, the cheaper the better since you won't be seeing it ever.

As for mame, there is only one thing to use, the original command line version.  Don't worry about command line, several frontends handle all the mame commands automatically using a nice gui.

For frontends, I use MALA.  It is extremely easy to setup, looks great, and the plugins enable all kinds of extra features.  I have all my buttons hooked up to GGG electric ice buttons, and when I choose a game, the plugin for MALA lights up the original controls for the game in the original colors.  Looks very cool.
I know AtomicFE has many cool features including special graphical designs.  It is under constant development which makes it pretty useful too, although I have never tried it.

Read the wiki for more info.  http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page

Look at these three sites as well, http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/   http://www.ultimarc.com/   http://happcontrols.com/
Probably the best three places for parts on arcade controllers.  However, happs is pricey and can be bought all over the internet for less.

[Disturbed013]

Welcome.  Giant's advice to you is very accurate.  Just wanted to add that the case may not be necessary either, depending on your cab build plans.  Many people mount the pc caseless inside the cab.

[Green Giant]

I usually pick up my cases from geeks.com.  That way I get a case and power supply for maybe 20, sometimes less than that.  Mounting the board straight helps in cooling and you can get a power supply from geeks for $12.  Either way, you should waste your money on controls and aesthetics instead of a nice computer.  When people play it, they won't care about the insides as long as it plays the games like an original.

[Cyber]

Welcome to the board. 

-About your computer, that is way overkill.  Currently MAME doesn't take advantage of dual core processors.  There is work on the future of using dual core, but it should only enable a handful of games currently unplayable, maybe 10.  An AMD 64 3500 can pretty much handle every mame game playable to date. 
-The vga card is only necessary if you plan on using an arcade monitor.  Many people use tv's with a good graphics card cause they are cheaper.
-1TB of space is enormous.  You could easily fit every mame, nintendo, snes, genesis, playstation, dreamcast, a huge song collection, and whatever else you might want.  Maybe if you plan on using this as a media center with thousands of videos it would work.  This is all possible with different frontends.  Mine has a 250GB and there is plenty of space for mame, nes, snes, gen, old school games, n64, and a few others.  Originally it had lots of japanese and european versions of all those games, but after narrowing it down, I have an extra 100gigs of space.  Gonna add juke features eventually.
-Why would you need a dvd burner.  Chances are this is going in a cab and you will hardly ever open the drive to use it.  I have an old dvdburner that was already partially broken in mine.  It can read dvd's but can't write.  However, I have hardly used it.
-Don't spend alot on a case too, the cheaper the better since you won't be seeing it ever.

As for mame, there is only one thing to use, the original command line version.  Don't worry about command line, several frontends handle all the mame commands automatically using a nice gui.

For frontends, I use MALA.  It is extremely easy to setup, looks great, and the plugins enable all kinds of extra features.  I have all my buttons hooked up to GGG electric ice buttons, and when I choose a game, the plugin for MALA lights up the original controls for the game in the original colors.  Looks very cool.
I know AtomicFE has many cool features including special graphical designs.  It is under constant development which makes it pretty useful too, although I have never tried it.

Read the wiki for more info.  http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page

Look at these three sites as well, http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/   http://www.ultimarc.com/   http://happcontrols.com/
Probably the best three places for parts on arcade controllers.  However, happs is pricey and can be bought all over the internet for less.

Thank you Green Giant =)

- This must be the most perfect reply i have ever got at any forum i have been a member of, so thank you so much for you huge explain, help and links you have gave me here.
Now i understand the hole mame alot more than i did before!
I used to sell them (arcade games) and work on service with them, but never build my own. Did not have the time. So i miss the "good old onces"

Computer idea is gone, did not order this one.
When mame do not support dual core yet, i have to find something older to build on, and that i have.

About the software bit, i will look into it more later this week!

Thank you again for your very helpful reply!

[Cyber]

Welcome.  Giant's advice to you is very accurate.  Just wanted to add that the case may not be necessary either, depending on your cab build plans.  Many people mount the pc caseless inside the cab.

Yes, that was an good idea!

Thank you for that one, did not think of that.. doh!

[Cyber]

I usually pick up my cases from geeks.com.  That way I get a case and power supply for maybe 20, sometimes less than that.  Mounting the board straight helps in cooling and you can get a power supply from geeks for $12.  Either way, you should waste your money on controls and aesthetics instead of a nice computer.  When people play it, they won't care about the insides as long as it plays the games like an original.

Nice tip there, so thank you for that!
Will check out geeks.com later on!

Thanks

[Green Giant]

Also check out tigerdirect.com.  They have lots of cheap parts too.  On my last two computers, I picked up half the parts from geeks and the other half from tigerdirect.

[paigeoliver]

Using a new computer for mame is mostly a gigantic waste of money. The differences between an old freebie computer running an old mame version and a brand new $2000 one are going to come down to about a dozen decent games, half of which you won't have the controls for. Use a freebie or $50 used computer at first and then only upgrade later if you really feel the need. Mame is not a first person shooter, it does not need a killer PC, not at all.

Instead use that money to get a GOOD display (like an actual 27" arcade monitor), and quality controls. If you spend that money on an AWESOME computer you will find that it is going to eventually be a "formerly awesome computer that is now worthless" and you will have never even used any of the awesomeness that it had.

[u_rebelscum]

Welcome to the board. 

-About your computer, that is way overkill.  Currently MAME doesn't take advantage of dual core processors.  There is work on the future of using dual core, but it should only enable a handful of games currently unplayable, maybe 10. 

This isn't exactly true anymore; the future is now.  Mame has a -multithread option.  However, it only speeds up the few specific games that are coded for it, and even then only a ~5-10% increase.  Which IIRC doesn't move any games from too-slow-to-play to playable.

An AMD 64 3500 can pretty much handle every mame game playable to date. 

You might get a couple more games with a top end core 2 (but not because it's dual core).   For less than 1/10th of one percent... not worth it (unless you really want that game).

[MrMojoZ]

I usually pick up my cases from geeks.com.  That way I get a case and power supply for maybe 20, sometimes less than that.  Mounting the board straight helps in cooling and you can get a power supply from geeks for $12. 

Now power supply is the one area I wouldn't skimp on, it is the key to having a reliable system. I've seen far too many dead cheapo power supplies (you know the ones that weigh nothing when you pick them up) that took motherboards with them when they went out.

[divemaster127]

I agree the above pc is overkill, but I built a amd 4000+ w/2 gig of ram, for under $200.00.  So you can get a very nice pc for very little $$$.
dm

[Cyber]

Hi guys

I am sorry for my late reply regarding my question here, i see there is many that show intrest into to help me out here. Thank you all for that!!

The main reason is that i have got it all (almost) working, and my time goes by to playing!! :D

So thank you all for the help!

PS: There is one thing i can`t get to work, like i have seen on the screenshots for MALE i hope someone have`s a answer to...

In the game list, should`t it show a picture of the game when you select it? Besied the text (game name) ??

Thank you again

Cheers, Cyber