so i just purchased some new pc parts for my arcade. [need opinions]

[clickhea]

i purchased the following so far:

gigabyte motherboard
intel core 2 duo 3.0ghz (e8400)  (i currently have this chip in the pc iam using and i love it)
4 gb dual channel ram.


but iam stuck as to which video card i should buy.

I know mame doesnt require anything special, but how about the other emulators... dreamcast.. the mame chd files.. playstation

etc etc

[clickhea]

anyone?

[stephenp1983]

Here's a really good deal on a 9600gt for 60 bucks after rebate at fry's - http://shop3.frys.com/product/5706532?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[clickhea]

is somthing of that caliber necessary tho for emulator use?

[taz-nz]

Just pick up a cheap gigabyte Radeon HD 2400XT (MAME doesn't need anything more , some other emulators may benefit from a faster card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125076

Stay away from anything Nvidia graphics cards right now, basically they're all faulty, you can read why here:

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/01/why-nvidia-chips-defective

Get a good heatsink like the Sunbeam (Tuniq) CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" (that way you can overclock your CPU and get the most out of it)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

A good 7200rpm HDD is a must now for MAME, now the laser disc games are supported, they are very hard on disk I/O.

I suggest a Western Digital 300gb or larger 3.5" Sata drive, you are going to need the space for all the laser disc CHDs in the near future. (make sure you don't get any of their green drive models, they are good drive but have a slower average seak time.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

Or if you want to go over the top on the hard drive preformance side or things and be really safe get a Western Digital VelociRaptor 10,000rpm drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260

Vista 64bit is must to get the most out of MAME, XP Pro 64bit works but it's harder to find driver support for hardware.

and don't under estimate the effect a good power supply has on the reliablity, stability and longevity of a system, also a stable power supply is a must for stable overclocking.

[clickhea]

appreciate the reply, would you say 500 watts is sufficient?

[Games001]

500-600w is fine so long as the video card is not a true monster.

[Loafmeister]

Be careful on powersupplies and don't fall in love with a number.  Some 400watt powersupplies will kick the butt of other 600watts.

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From Wikipedia:
The most common modern computer power supplies are built to conform to the ATX form factor. The power rating of a PC power supply is not officially certified and is self-claimed by each manufacturer. A common way to reach the power figure for PC PSUs is by adding the power available on each rail, which will not give a true power figure. The more reputable makers advertise "True Wattage Rated" to give consumers the idea that they can trust the power advertised.
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My own personal lesson:  don't go too cheap, stick with a known brand and you'll be ok.

[MrMojoZ]

Stay away from anything Nvidia graphics cards right now, basically they're all faulty, you can read why here:

This just isn't true. The inq has an anti-nvidia agenda and you have to take any article they post involving nvidia with a grain of salt. They have posted several articles this year about nvidia that turned out to be outright lies. The only 100% know nvidia chips that have issues are laptop based 8000 series chips, and even then real cases of people having problems are rare.