MAME - better run on single or multi-core processors?

[candycabguy]

May be a dumb question, but I'm curious.  i have all the parts laying around for a CHEAP P4 3.2 Ghz 4GB RAM build, will be running .126 with some CHD games, but for an extra $120 or so I could go dual core.  Any thoughts?

[Beretta]

not really, mame just does'nt utilize more then 1 core very well.. you'll see a VERY modest gain using a duel core with multi threading on.

on the other hand dual core cpu's are usually faster then single core processors.. clock for clock and core for core..

since you already have a p4 3.2ghz laying around, thats not to shabby.. infact it should play everything not 3D pretty well.

the 3d games in mame are total hogs, luckly that only accounts for a very small portion.

my vote would be go with that system you got laying around.. 4gb ram is over kill though.. 1 should suffice..

if you wanna play ALL games 100% currently you need roughly a 4ghz duo or quad, and running 64bit os and mame.

[TAG]

It really depends on what games you want to play.  If you absolutely have to have the arcade versions of games like NFL Blitz or Gauntlet Legends, then you'll need more than the P4.  There's a great thread here that discusses this sort of thing in great detail.

[Turnarcades]

3.2Ghz modest?!

If you're talking about pre-3D/polygonal games then you barely need an old P3, as long as it is set up correctly, with maybe a low-end P4 to get those awkward Midway games running well, or around a 2Ghz model for chds and those few properly-emulated 3D games. Anything over 3Ghz is overkill, as trying to get those latest-supported, high demand games will show little improvement no matter how high you go. In which case, it's better to stay with older MAME versions anyway as I dont think the additions following the 0.106 rebuild will reach their full potential until the emulation is improved with further subsequent releases and optimisation with newer hardware is correctly done by the MAME devs.

I'm sticking with my trusty custom build of 0.105, you can keep your NFL pap.

[Beretta]

i'd agree, vast majority of games run well on older systems..

personally i've always been fond of .55, although since i discovered fastmame .56 offers a lot of games and runs very well, infact better then .37b16, which a lot of people keep as a benchmark.

only thing is it does'nt support direct 3d, and direct draw tends to blur when stretching i hate that.

im also looking for other versions of fast mame since the website for it is no longer offering downloads *wink wink, nudge nudge*

[wweumina]

I guess the only other consideration is your frontend.  If you want to use Hyperspin for example, it is more of a system hog than the majority of MAME games.  That said, the P4 3.2 will run that with the basic options selected.  Other emulators will care more about your graphics card etc that MAME doesn't really use to full effect.

[candycabguy]

Thanks guys!