4Ghz Core 2 Duo vs M.A.M.E. 0.120 (benchmark results)

[taz-nz]

Man, I have been trying for ever to get win 7. I really wanna see what my 4ghz monster can do with it. I really don't wanna go for an old torrent. I do have a serial for the x64 ultimate thought that microsoft sent me, but they just do not host the files any longer.

Microsoft closed the public beta and took down the file about a while back, Windows 7 RC1 will be out in a few more weeks. If you can't find someone local with a copy you can burn , your ony choices are slow torrents, or a News Group server with 200 day binary retention.

Note it is a beta and is a little broken here and there, and if you have an Nvidia graphics card the beta drivers were totally broken last time i looked, so I'd probably wait until Microsoft post the Release Candidate and then grab a copy of that.

[DiskTwo]

I currently have an Intel Pentium D 940 sl94q 3.2 ghz CPU. Could anyone advice me on weather or not this is a decent chip to be able to Overclock to 4.0 with the correct cooling? To be able to play things like Gauntlet legends, and Blitz properly like the other chips. And possibly suggest a good Motherboard to go with it?

Thanks for any advice.

[massive88]

It wont matter with a Pentium D.

The Core 2 Duo is much faster for Mame per MHZ, that is the processor you need at 4ghz to run those games.

[DiskTwo]

ah ok thanks ill ditch this one and get a core 2 duo

[Ummon]

Yeah, just like that, huh?

ah ok thanks ill ditch this one and get a core 2 duo

Yeah, just like that, huh?

[retrometro]

Does anyone have recent numbers with i7's?

[ivwshane]

Does anyone have recent numbers with i7's?

Give me a couple of weeks

[BASS!]

Yeah I just built an i7 machine with 12 gb ram and 4 tb hdd space. The payment will be to let me bench out mame. I wish there was a batch util I could run.

[massive88]

Yeah I just built an i7 machine with 12 gb ram and 4 tb hdd space. The payment will be to let me bench out mame. I wish there was a batch util I could run.

...Just make your own batch file, start it running and come back in a few hours.

Id post the one I used but Im not at home.

Edit:  Duh, the first post in this thread gives you the commands to test it against Taz's numbers.  Just copy and paste that string several times in a batch file, and test it on some demanding Roms.

[BASS!]

Duhh, Yeah. Thanks man. I'll report back. This thing is a freaking beast. Its a 2.9 8core or 4 2core chip I cant tell, with water cooling and a geforce gtx 285. He even had me put dual blueray burners in the thing. Lets see what this puppy can do 

[KissMyWookie]

...
If you can't get 64bit drivers you have three options:
- Stick to 32bit windows and MAME32. (not really a solution, more like putting ones head in the sand)
- Sell your old Arcade VGA to someone here that's happy to stick to the older MAME versions and replace it with a newer Arcade VGA2 (and run Vista 64bit if needed)
- Buy a cheap entry level ATI graphics card that is atleast a radeon 9500 or newer which has 64bit driver support, and run Soft-15Khz to get the required screen resolutions & refresh rates for your arcade monitor.

Unfortunately, Soft-15kHz does not work with Vista. So the closest option is to use XP 64-bit.
From what I've read, SailorSat said the same problem continues under Windows 7 too.

Steve

[Pete4321]

Can someone benchmark naomi  games. Are they playable at 4.0 Ghz??

[Neverending Project]

I'm looking for some tips on the following system (I have been pouring over the recommended setups here on the forums - thanks taz-nz and everyone!). I have never overclocked before, so my goal is to hit something as fast as I can but I don't need 4+ GHz. I also want to keep the costs down as much as possible, preferably under $400 if possible (although I don't see how that is possible considering Vista 64 is $100). I already have an HD.

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail	$40
ENERMAX Tomahawk ETK405AST 405W ATX12V V2.2 AirGuard, Speed Guard and Safe Guard Power Supply - Retail	$45
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail	$95
Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7500 - Retail	$120
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail	$50
GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile ... - Retail	$35
LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM	$20
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail	$40
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM	$100
Total	$545

Any tips for reducing costs? Can I just mount all the components on the inside of the arcade cabinet and forget the case, or will this adversely affect cooling? Yes, no.

Edit: Oh, and this will be for MAME only - no PC games or other emus. Kthanksbye.
Edit again: Just reread this previous post answering my question about the case (not necessary). Coolio.

[John IV [MameUI64]]

Can someone benchmark naomi  games. Are they playable at 4.0 Ghz??

Hah, ah no. Approx. 25% at 3.5Ghz.  RB's DRC for the SH4 should help but 100% full playability may only come when we transition to GPU assisted emulation.

[clok]

I'm looking for some tips on the following system (I have been pouring over the recommended setups here on the forums - thanks taz-nz and everyone!). I have never overclocked before, so my goal is to hit something as fast as I can but I don't need 4+ GHz. I also want to keep the costs down as much as possible, preferably under $400 if possible (although I don't see how that is possible considering Vista 64 is $100). I already have an HD.

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail	$40
ENERMAX Tomahawk ETK405AST 405W ATX12V V2.2 AirGuard, Speed Guard and Safe Guard Power Supply - Retail	$45
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail	$95
Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7500 - Retail	$120
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail	$50
GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile ... - Retail	$35
LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM	$20
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail	$40
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM	$100
Total	$545

Any tips for reducing costs? Can I just mount all the components on the inside of the arcade cabinet and forget the case, or will this adversely affect cooling? Yes, no.

Edit: Oh, and this will be for MAME only - no PC games or other emus. Kthanksbye.
Edit again: Just reread this previous post answering my question about the case (not necessary). Coolio.

PSU is a bit weak, I cant underestimate how important a good one is. I must admit you are working with a failry bare system (as in not a big video card sucking power) But I hate to say it. I just wouldnt go with anything less then a 500. Your system should use about 300watts (most OC's will take some voltage tweaking, and yess 300 watts is a bit high, but I would rather guess high then to low) so at 80% efficency thats 320 watts... you are right on the edge, so your PSU will be working at its 100% load (almost). I know most will do that just fine, and Enermax is a good enough PSU brand. I would guess my figures are worst case and that PSU would probebly last forever, but a few more watts would really give you a much more overhead.  I work and build systems (how I make my money) and PSU are one of the worst headaches to find, fix on unstable systems. Again, it looks like a nice build to me, looks like you are going rebate crazy (so price will be even better then your list when you get um all back). I have a E7500 but have yet to play with it, I do know the 8400 are wonderfull to OC and mine have been rocks. I build more "gameing" systems with 8400's then anything else and almost always get an OC of 4Ghz out of them with close to stock voltage (personal machine for gaming is runing 4.2 at stock (but its the excpetion, not the rule)).

Again, I think you are fine, but I would bump the PSU for peace of mind (but you may just be fine).  Really looks like you ahve done your research to me. Great Bang for Buck!!!!

[Neverending Project]

PSU is a bit weak, I cant underestimate how important a good one is. I must admit you are working with a failry bare system (as in not a big video card sucking power) But I hate to say it. I just wouldnt go with anything less then a 500. Your system should use about 300watts (most OC's will take some voltage tweaking, and yess 300 watts is a bit high, but I would rather guess high then to low) so at 80% efficency thats 320 watts... you are right on the edge, so your PSU will be working at its 100% load (almost). I know most will do that just fine, and Enermax is a good enough PSU brand. I would guess my figures are worst case and that PSU would probebly last forever, but a few more watts would really give you a much more overhead.  I work and build systems (how I make my money) and PSU are one of the worst headaches to find, fix on unstable systems. Again, it looks like a nice build to me, looks like you are going rebate crazy (so price will be even better then your list when you get um all back). I have a E7500 but have yet to play with it, I do know the 8400 are wonderfull to OC and mine have been rocks. I build more "gameing" systems with 8400's then anything else and almost always get an OC of 4Ghz out of them with close to stock voltage (personal machine for gaming is runing 4.2 at stock (but its the excpetion, not the rule)).

Again, I think you are fine, but I would bump the PSU for peace of mind (but you may just be fine).  Really looks like you ahve done your research to me. Great Bang for Buck!!!!

Excellent. Thanks for the response and advice. What would be the difference in a $32 RAM and the $50 RAM I listed above, in terms of overclocking? Like:
OCZ System Elite 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2SE8002GK - Retail $32

Oh, and I seldom account for the rebates when I am pricing anything. They are such a pain to get and take so long that I usually don't even consider the rebated price when making my budget. Then when/if the rebate does come it's like free cash to me.

[clok]

The cheaper stuff is older OCZ, i notice there is no warrenty info listed, possilby only throuhg OCZ on that stuff? Older OCZ memory is known to be fussy. That memory has older specs (lower voltage) so its possilbe it wont work in your board. It should but.... Its slower all around but for waht you are doping that shouldnt matter. I use gigbyte boards myslef for my peresonal machines(for OC and customer rigs, have had great luck). But I did have some OCZ memory (older stuff actually) that didnt work in one of my boards.  if you are looking to save a buck... great reviews and cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163

[Neverending Project]

I placed an order with Newegg for my shopping list above. Three longs days later I was like a kid in a candy store with all my new parts. I was hoping that this post would be about my benchmark results, but instead it was mid-assembly when I noticed that the CPU cooler was missing the mounting bracket for the 775 motherboard. And it wasn't until after I liberal applied the thermal paste that I realized this. I would have continued without the cooler for now until I could get a replacement delivered, but then I found a problem with the hard drive (I already had one) that I thought I was going to use.

So I'm stuck with a mostly assembled machine. Once I get the correct mounting bracket I am sure I will need to remove the old thermal paste and apply new again. Argh. The frustration begins.

[John IV [MameUI64]]

Recent bench pass completed at 3.5Ghz w/ some new games:

http://www.mameui.info/Bench.htm

[Neverending Project]

After I got the hang of getting my BIOS settings correct, I was able to get my above setting to 3.6GHz with the stock cooler and almost NO tweaking even necessary.

I am having a hard time with the Core-Contact Freezer CPU cooler because I received it without the retaining ring. I have left four messages (on four separate days) with Sunbeam Tech at their "customer service" and RMA number so far without a single response. I can return the cooler to NewEgg and have a new one sent, but that is going to cost me another $8 for return shipping, which is an additional 20% of the original price. I just don't feel I should have to pay extra because they screwed up and sent me an incomplete package. So I installed the stock Intel cooler for now.

On OC news, all I did was set the frontside bus to 400MHz, multiplier to 9X, and voltage to 1.3725 I think. The trick I was having was in getting the memory setting correct. Once I got the memory to a 1:1 ratio and set at 400MHz with a multiplier at 2, all was golden. I ran Prime95 at 3.6GHz and hit temperatures in the mid to high 50's at full load. I think this is highly do-able, since in all practical use both cores will not be at 100% load for hours at a time.

Once I get the new cooler situated I will bump the multiplier to 10X and see if I can get 4GHz stable. That is my goal.

[Neverending Project]

Well, I am almost there. I got my new cooler installed (thanks to NewEgg for stepping up and paying for the return shipping) and began incrementing the multiplier and voltage. I got 3.8GHz stable (400MHz 9.5X) but couldn't hit the magic 4GHz with a 10X multiplier. First shot it gave me a BSOD at boot. I bumped the voltage a little and got it to boot, but it gave a BSOD after a few minutes. Bumped the voltage a little more and got it to seem stable. Then I ran Prime, but it quit after about 15 minutes. One more bump to the voltage and got Prime to run for over 2 hours with both CPUs between 45-55C (according to CoreTemp). But alas, when I woke up this morning, it had crashed with a BSOD. The CPU voltage under load as reported by CPU-Z was 1.424V.

So my questions: should I bump the voltage a little more and go for the gold at a 400MHz 10X multiplier? Or try to get 500MHz at 8X stable? If it is the latter, I couldn't get it to even boot - so something was funky with either my voltage setting, memory timings, or both. If I try 500MHz, how do I set the memory timing (DDR2 PC6400)?

[Neverending Project]

OK, I went ahead and bumped the voltage one more tick, and I am now a member of the 4GHz club. 

I tested last night for 10 hours using the Prime Blend test and the temperatures were very reasonable, and the voltage under load was at 1.454. I am going to call that good enough for me!

[isucamper]

Tomorrow, this thread will officially be 2 years old.  Am I to believe that getting a core 2 duo and overclocking it to 4Ghz is still the only way to get max performance in MAME?  Has there been no advance in processor technology in the last 2 years for running a nearly single threaded application like MAME?

[Neverending Project]

Tomorrow, this thread will officially be 2 years old.  Am I to believe that getting a core 2 duo and overclocking it to 4Ghz is still the only way to get max performance in MAME?  Has there been no advance in processor technology in the last 2 years for running a nearly single threaded application like MAME?

I can't speak for everyone, but I went with the Core 2 Duo because it is cheap. I bought an E7500, which came out at the beginning of the year. The introduction of the "i" line of chips helped drive down the price. For my 4GHz rig I spent under $400 (excluding OS) and was able to overclock it fairly easily. 2 years ago it would have cost twice that, and been significantly more difficult to overclock the same.

These days processors are all headed to more cores, and MAME is still being developed to take better advantage of this. Some might say MAME will never be optimized for many cores, while others think it is just a matter of time.

My guess is that in 2 more years we won't see anything with fewer than 4 cores in it, and MAME development work will be heading in that direction also (more than it is already).

[mlalena]

For MAME, the next best thing after the Core 2 Duo is the Core i7. While these are faster, they are MUCH more expensive. The chips are $500, the motherboards start at $250, they use triple channel RAM... Intel is just now coming out with the lower end i5 & i3 chips which will eventually phase out the Core 2 line by the end of 2010.

Since there is so much knowledge about overclocking the Core 2 Duo, I think it is still the way to go today. Note that Intel keeps improving these processors and model numbers have changed over the past 2 years. They are not the same exact chips and they overclock better than they did 2 years ago.

If you were to wait 6 months to a year, you will want to go with one of the i5 processors. Right now, they are too new for me. The chips themselves might not be expensive but motherboard costs are higher. If you want to look at the i5, check out this link: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-750-overclock,2438.html

Like the previous poster, I got to 4GHz with an E8500 very easily and spent about $400 for the whole system after rebates. I could probably push to 4.4GHz, but right now I don't have a reason to. I'm only running the CPU .00625V above stock and all the MAME games that I play run fine. What I really need is a good DirectX 10 video card for SF IV for PC. I have a crap video card (MAME doesn't care) and with everything turned off I only get 30 FPS (15 FPS with everything maxed out).

[u_rebelscum]

For MAME, the next best thing after the Core 2 Duo is the Core i7. While these are faster, they are MUCH more expensive. The chips are $500, the motherboards start at $250, they use triple channel RAM... Intel is just now coming out with the lower end i5 & i3 chips which will eventually phase out the Core 2 line by the end of 2010.

Just small correction:
Core i7 9xx series is triple channel,
Core i7 8xx & Core i5 are double channel. 
Xeons based on the i7 9xx sersies can do either triple or double channel (or if you eff up the memory stick matching, single or a mix of double and single).

And yes, the triple change MBs run in the $200 range, but the double channel i5/i7 8xx MBs are cheaper (betwween $100 & $200).


I'm looking at getting the i7 860 as a Chrismas present to myself, ATM.  Even if it runs mame about the same speed as a Core 2 @ same Hz (based on one poster's i7 920 benchmarks), the i5/i7 will compile faster, the new i7 8xx/i5 7xx have better "turbo" than the i7 9xx.

[mlalena]

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that the i5 was also triple channel.

While I wont bother going i7 for MAME until there are much newer games that demand it (latest Golden Tee would be cool), I would love to have one for work - also for the faster compile times.

[u_rebelscum]

the Core i7 ... use triple channel RAM...

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that the i5 was also triple channel.

Err, I was trying to say that some i7's are not triple channel also, and share the same (cheaper) MBs as i5s.

[Expressline99]

Anyone have some input on which motherboard to use with c2d 4ghz setup? Was thinking a Asus P5Q version.

[J.Max]

Tomorrow, this thread will officially be 2 years old.  Am I to believe that getting a core 2 duo and overclocking it to 4Ghz is still the only way to get max performance in MAME?  Has there been no advance in processor technology in the last 2 years for running a nearly single threaded application like MAME?

Well, there's the E8500 and E8600...

Anyone tried OCing an E8600?  Just wondering if it can get past 4 Ghz, since it starts at 3.33 anyway.

EDIT: This topic should really be stickied.  It seems to come up a lot.

[DillonFoulds]

@Neverending Project: I'm debating dropping the coin on an e7500 for my cab this xmas. How does your cab handle the gauntlets, and how much ram do you have in your machine?

[Neverending Project]

@Neverending Project: I'm debating dropping the coin on an e7500 for my cab this xmas. How does your cab handle the gauntlets, and how much ram do you have in your machine?

I have 2GB RAM, and it handles all the Gauntlets fine. I can play SF Rush too. And on my previous 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo games like Cruisin USA and Cruisin World would stutter - now they are great.

I hit 3.6GHz pretty easily with the stock Intel cooler, but this wasn't quite good enough for these games. It wasn't until I put on the Core Contact cooler and pushed it to 4GHz that they stopped stuttering. And I had to set it to a slightly higher voltage to hit 4GHz - but now it is very stable. And I don't really know what I am doing, so there may be a way to get the voltage lower. It works great for me, and I am happy.

Edit: Make sure you make the jump to a 64-bit OS and recompile MAME. It will give you a 10% boost, or more.

[DillonFoulds]

recompile mame? Isn't there a 64bit version on mamedev?

[Silly Burrito]

So what would currently be the easiest chip to overclock and hit 4Ghz? The E8400 seems to be the biggest bang for the buck chip, but if the E7500 can do the same with the same type of cooler, is there any reason to spend the extra $50?

[Expressline99]

Well I'm about to setup my e6300 (wolfdale 2.8ghz)with a coolermaster V8 to see if I can get 4ghz out of it. Will be my first OC'ing experience.
Should be fun. Will report setup of course.

[Hyperfan]

Been reading this but im a bit confused.

Im looking to build a new mame machine. I was going to get this cpu  Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Socket LGA1156 8MB L3 Cache

Is this a good move or should i get a duel core?

[DillonFoulds]

@ihmedia: benchmarks are your best bet. Tom's Hardware Guide will be an invaluable resource to you. In the List i linked, find your CPU, and it will be paired with a score, compare the score between CPUs, and you'll have an idea of how it ranks at the task given it.

[Silly Burrito]

I'm looking for some tips on the following system (I have been pouring over the recommended setups here on the forums - thanks taz-nz and everyone!). I have never overclocked before, so my goal is to hit something as fast as I can but I don't need 4+ GHz. I also want to keep the costs down as much as possible, preferably under $400 if possible (although I don't see how that is possible considering Vista 64 is $100). I already have an HD.

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail	$40
ENERMAX Tomahawk ETK405AST 405W ATX12V V2.2 AirGuard, Speed Guard and Safe Guard Power Supply - Retail	$45
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail	$95
Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7500 - Retail	$120
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail	$50
GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile ... - Retail	$35
LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM	$20
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail	$40
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM	$100
Total	$545

Any tips for reducing costs? Can I just mount all the components on the inside of the arcade cabinet and forget the case, or will this adversely affect cooling? Yes, no.

Edit: Oh, and this will be for MAME only - no PC games or other emus. Kthanksbye.
Edit again: Just reread this previous post answering my question about the case (not necessary). Coolio.

Thanks for posting this list. I ended up buying any of the same items as you (especially the motherboard and the cooler, although I did buy the E8400), and I was shocked by how easy it was to overclock to 4Ghz even though I had never overclocked before. I probably could have bumped it up to anywhere from 4.2-4.8Ghz on air cooling (and judging by how many people have done it, it shouldn't be that difficult), but I just wanted 4 with reasonable voltage/temperatures. My only real problem came when the motherboard had my RAM voltage too low. Setting it to 2.1 (the recommended manufacturer setting) had it working in no time, and 27 hours of Prime95 (with no errors) later, I'm running a 4.05Ghz PC w/4GB of RAM for $466 (not counting rebates). Not too shabby at all.

[Truecade]

Well everyone, its been a few months and there are new processors out there for benchmarking.  Specifically, the Core i5/i3 processors built on Intel's 32nm process.  I am particularly interesting in the Core i5 since the stock clock speeds seem to be pretty high and with the 'turbo' ability to push even higher. 

So has anyone had a chance to see how MAME runs on one of the new Core i5 processors? 

Processor	Core	Un-core	GPU	Max Mem Clock	Cores / Threads	L3 Cache	Max Turbo
Intel Core i5-670	3.46GHz	2.40GHz	733MHz	1333MHz	2 / 4	4MB	3.76GHz
Intel Core i5-660	3.33GHz	2.40GHz	733MHz	1333MHz	2 / 4	4MB	3.60GHz
Intel Core i5-650	3.20GHz	2.40GHz	733MHz	1333MHz	2 / 4	4MB	3.46GHz

[taz-nz]

Ok so it's been over a year since I've posted anything in this thread, but I'm back a happy to annouce I have some new toys to play with for a few days in the form or the Intel Core i5 655K and Core I7 875K unlocked CPUs.

My kitchen table currently looks like this:



Currently I have the I5 655K running stablily at 4.6 GHZ. 



So the question is now people what do you want benchmarked?  My copy of MAME is way out of date, but that's easily fixed, and I can soon undate a rom set of two dozen, so what do what to see, make it fast the CPU have to be back at work on monday