Which of 2 CPU to chose for MAME and ePSXe ?

[ammitz]

Hi all

Have been thinking of building my own bartop WeeCade, and tonight I'm hopefully starting on the woodwork 

But I havn't found out about which CPU/motherboard I should use. I would like to buy a new one, and my choice is now between these to, both with integrated motherboard and CPU.

1: ASRock P4FSB1333-650 + CPU A2+Celeron 420 2.66GHz

2: Intel D945GCLF2 microITX m. onboard Atom 330

Nr 2 costing about 18$ more, but beeing smaller and would fit more easilli into the small cab.

I want machine to run MAME and Playstatin 1 and perhaps Playstation 2 also.

What are you thoughts about these CPU and which one would you choose and why?

Thanx in advance

[Epyx]

I would pay $20 more but get a better cpu option for #1...get an E5200.  It will blow both those other CPUs away. 

[Beretta]

i agree, if you're gonna go with a 775 board then get a 5200 they usually have a fair amount of room for OC'ing and it'll stop boht those other chips at stock speeds to start with.

[ammitz]

TY very much for you reply.

Just checking prices in Denamrk where i live.

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 FSB800 2.5GHz Box costs roughly 91$
but then i would have to buy a motherboard as well like this one:
ASRock K10N78 - motherboard - ATX - GeForce 8200 around 67$

Totalling 158$.

While solution nr 1 only costs 97$

A difference around 60$

If I would chose solution 3 (E5200), would that give me a significant better gaming experience with either MAME or ePSX?

[Beretta]

can get a e5200 for 60-65 bucks..

here's newegg.. free shipping, 62.99 retail box (includes intel stock heat sink)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

[Octo]

can get a e5200 for 60-65 bucks..

here's newegg.. free shipping, 62.99 retail box (includes intel stock heat sink)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

Does Newegg.com ship internationally?

Newegg.com does not currently ship internationally; we only deliver to locations within the United States and to Puerto Rico.

ammitz lives in Denmark, so no NewEgg for him.... lo siento.

[Epyx]

That CPU will work with the Option #1 motherboard...it will even overclock decently from what I have read but either way at stock it will be way faster than the other options...but still $90...ouch that is expensive compared to here (Canada/US)

[Beretta]

ammitz lives in Denmark, so no NewEgg for him.... lo siento.

well that sucks, in that case i have no idea what to suggest..

[ammitz]

The way I have understanded it, then MAME isn't demanding much from your CPU?

But what about ePSX, when I want to play Playstation 1 and perhaps 2.

What is the minimun spec you would recommend for playing ePSX v 1.7 ?

[Beretta]

dunno about the psx emulator.. but mame IS VERY VERY demanding of the cpu.. it does'nt utilize video cards very much though..

and it does'nt make very good use of multi core processors either..

right now you'ed need roughly a 4ghz system running a 64bit os and mame to play all or almost all games.

[ammitz]

but mame IS VERY VERY demanding of the cpu.. it does'nt utilize video cards very much though..

That's new to me (mut the entiry MAME world is also very new to me ) So you say I would get better performance by filling the computer with RAM instead of buying a cheap video card?

About operating system I was thinking about running a stripped version of XP -> Tiny XP Rev 09. That way i don't have to figure a way to obtain a licens for Windows Vista.

[Beretta]

never used tiny xp, it makes almost no use of your video card except for things like hardware stretching and such.

so really any card made in the last 5 years is gonna be plenty for mame.

ram wise there comes a point where ram is pointless to mame.. i'd say 1gb is probably the point where it wont make any difference, but if your system has duel channel support.. then it makes since to have say 512+512mb = 1gb

you'll get a speed boost by having duel channel running but it means having 2 physical memory modules.

For ddr2, 1gb is probably the most common size, and pretty cheap especially if you find it with a rebate.

so it's likely your'ed have 1gb+1gb=2gb even though i dont think that extra gigabyte is gonna do you much good it's not gonna hurt, and probably the easiest to get your hands on.

the newer i7's from intel use triple channel ddr3, which means you should have 3 memory modules, but ddr3 is pretty expensive right now so there is still a lot of life left in the ddr2 systems.

[david656]

i have the gigabyte intel atom single core 1.6ghz. its a very fast little machine although have only tested it with some popcap games, simple touch fe, and dwjukebox.

PS2 emulation won't be here for many years to come, i tried it a few months ago on my ... quite powerful pc and just getting into your memory card screen takes for ever let alone a game. (3.0ghz AMDx2 4gb ram) However this can run PS1 games with all the renderings very nice :-).

My arcade machine has a 2.2 amd semperon, 768mb ram and can run all the basics in mame very good and could also play a few playstation games pretty well to.

Hope this helps in some way 

[Enforcer407]

I have to disagree about PS2 emulation being years off.  I'm running a Core 2 Duo @ 2.66 Ghz, with 3.3 GBs of ram (limitation of OS) and an ATI HD 4650 (512 MB) running Windows XP Media Center and it plays pretty well.  I've currently tested it with Final Fantasy XII and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and they both run at full speed.  I'm running PCSX 2 Beta and it plays very well.  You are correct though, some games are terribly slow. 

As for the original poster, with the specs I mentioned above I am able to run a 90% of the playable MAME games, every Playstation 1 game I have tried works great, and the PS2 games are running at anywhere from 40-60 FPS. 

Good luck.  Hope this was helpful.

[DJ_Izumi]

I have to disagree about PS2 emulation being years off.

However there are still a LOT of games that ePSXe can't run.  Even if you can run the working games, there are lots of games that no ammount of hardware will make work untill they're debugged.

[torez]

Think about 2-3 years ago MAME started to demand a bit better video card (was it version 0.106?)  I would really recommend going with a better cpu, as you will be able to prolong usability of the hardware you will have.  Atom is really underpowered, so I don't see it at this stage as a gaming cpu.  If you are going with WinXP, 1 GB of ram would be more than enough (use two sticks for dual-channel mode), but it might be just easier getting two 1GB sticks for your mobo these days.  You will have two empty memory slots to expand later, if you upgrade your OS.

[ammitz]

TY for your replys

Looks like i have to get the E5200 as suggested earlier.

1: Is there any special thing i should be aware of when chosing a motherboard, or would the cheapest be allright?

I'll buy 1GB RAM x 2

2: And then what about videocard, does the playstation utilize it more than the mame?

[ammitz]

I thinks is going to be my system

MOBO: Intel DG31PR Intel G31 DDR2 PCI-E onboard VGA     

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 FSB800 2.5GHz

RAM: Kingston Value RAM DDRII 1GB x 2 PC667

Harddisk: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 250GB 8MB SATA

Will get it tomorrow if not anyone has any comments

(Also just placed an order at Ultimarc for my controlpanel, so making progress )

[Turnarcades]

I thinks is going to be my system

MOBO: Intel DG31PR Intel G31 DDR2 PCI-E onboard VGA     

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 FSB800 2.5GHz

RAM: Kingston Value RAM DDRII 1GB x 2 PC667

Harddisk: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 250GB 8MB SATA

Will get it tomorrow if not anyone has any comments

(Also just placed an order at Ultimarc for my controlpanel, so making progress )

Take it from me dude, that spec is way more than is needed to cover most bases at the moment. Use a pre-0.106 build of MAME (performs better without high video card demands) and the Playstation emulator 'pSX' rather than ePSXe, as it too runs much better at lower specs than ePSXe, is easier to set up with a front-end and requires no stupid plug-ins. Forget PS2 for now - the emulators are not yet mature enough to bother.

[Epyx]

Turnarcades...for the classics and 95% of other games I would agree with you completely.  However,  there are plenty of great Mame games that are out of reach with slower processors. I've mentioned it before but Starblade (a favourite rail space shooter of mine) only hits 100% at around 3.7ghz.  Then you might also want to play ST:IV or other PC cab friendly games.

I know if I had gone with a slower CPU I wouldn't have been happy even though most of what I play are the classics...there are times when I want to load those other games up, and do

As for Hard Drive...you can never have too much HD space imo...its nice to not have to worry about overhead when you are downloading Mame/console movie intros etc...or just want to migrate your Roms/CHDs/LDs etc.

I have a 500GB HD in my main cab and have already used easily 300GB+

[torez]

Ammitz,
Your ram is too slow for your cpu.  You listed PC667 which is PC2-5300.  Your FSB runs at 800 MHz for which you want PC2-6400 memory.

The motherboard (MicroATX) has two memory slots only, so you have to decide if these 2x1GB sticks are enough for later.  Check 2x2GB prices and make your choice.  These days ram is pretty cheap, so extra $25 could get you 2 GB more.  Keep in mind that 32-bit OS will be able to see around 3.2 GB Ram.  You would need 64-bit OS to see more.

The mobo has built in Intel video (which I hate), but has PCI-Xpress as well, so it should be fine.

Link to mobo just for reference:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3250953&csid=_25

[torez]

Have a look at this Asus P5G41-M LE/CSM mobo (it's newer):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4965066&CatId=1533

It supports faster FSB (front side bus), so you could potentially get a faster cpu, if you want to play some even higher end games in MAME. 
This cpu would go nicely with the mobo:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4675209&CatId=2851
Make sure you get PC1066 or faster memory.

This is much better overall deal/value in the long term (at least for my applications).
Again, links are for reference, as the prices might be different from where you are getting it from.

If you think long term and assuming that nothing breaks, you can easily use this setup for next 10+ years.  I think during that time there *might* be a decent PS2 emulator;)

[Beretta]

the 5200 really shines when you over clock it and although it varies processor to processor most over clock fairly well which is why they are attractive for their realtively low price but large margin of performance when overclocked.

not that they are'nt bad even at stock speeds, just much better when OC'ed.

there is nothing wrong with board you've choosen, but intel boards generally lack the ability to overclock.. it's still possible but wont get as far and will have to fight for every mhz.

i'm a big fan of gigabyte they have boards in just about every price range and they're top quality.. they also in general over clock very well.

IF you overclock also make sure you get a aftermarket cooler.. there area  lot of great ones out tthere i have a zerotherm 120 which i've been happy with and it was only 13 bucks after rebate..

but there are many other great heat sinks out there.. the stock heatsink that comes with the 5200 is really only adequate for stock speed usage.. and even then the temperatures wont be great.

it's always good to have a aftermarket cooler on your processor even at stock speeds as it will keep the chip must cooler then the stock one.

[ammitz]

Thanx for all you expensive advices, my budget has been blown away  .

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L Intel P43 ATX DDR2
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6300 Processor BX80571E6300 - 2.80GHz, 2MB Cache, 1066MHz
RAM: 1gb x2
HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB 16MB SATA

I got it assembled. (My first time doing it so that was nice trying) But suddenly i realised that there was no connection between my computer and the monitor....

Forgot to buy a videocard and there was not a build in in the MOBO
.... Have to that first thing monday morning.

[Beretta]

you could always temporarly stick a pci video card in it, till you pick get a nicer PCI-E

would at least give you access to the system for testing.

setup looks good, that chip you have is running at 2.8ghz with a FSB of 266 (quad pumped to 1066), a multiplier of 10.5

usually intel multiplier locks their chips..

ergo the OC will come in the form of a faster FSB, you should be able to quickly over clock it to 333mhz bus (quad pumped to 1333) @ 10.5 = 3.5hz

relatively easy, infact i'd bet you would'nt have to pump any voltage, heck you might even be able to drop the voltage a bit.

i have a ep45 board similar to the one you got, yours is based on p43 express chipset, mines p45, both are pretty much the same thing.. although you "might" hit a fsb wall of 400ish (quad pumped 1600mhz).. but thats still a lot of room

for testing i suggest a program called "intel burn test"
and run it for 10 cycles every time you make an adjustment while over clocking.

once you got to a speed you're happy with i suggest you run it for at least 100 cycles.
it will take a few hours.


WARNING if you do not have a good aftermarket heat sink do not run that program.. it will push your processor to the max and it will heat up RAPIDLY.

infact no program out there i've seen can push a processor harder then intel burn test, not even prime95, so this is really a worse case scenario.. not only is the test good at fishing out buggy processors but it will also give you a WORSE case scenario temperature wise, since i've yet to play a game or run a application that could heat the cpu as much as IBT.

then again if you are overclocking you should already have a aftermarket to start with..

i suggest you keep your eye on the processors temperature the first 10-20 mins of running the program.. to see what it's gonna max out at.. you should be ok up to about 60c, iirc max operating temperature on that chip is 70c so i would'nt let it get above 65 just for a margin of safety.

you can use the supplied utility for temperature or you can get another program i use core temp, and CPUID HWmonitor.

remember when overclocking to go slow, make only 1 adjustment at a time.. it might take a few days to pound out a 100% stable OC that you are happy with.. especially if you push it to the max.

also it's handy to write down your changes so you can keep track.

good luck mate.