ps2 or usb interface for controls

[speedklz]

Which should I choose ps2 or usb interface for my mame cabinate if I am going to be running other emulators. GGG states that each one is better then the other. so what are the advatages of one over the other.

[u_rebelscum]

Which should I choose ps2 or usb interface for my mame cabinate if I am going to be running other emulators. GGG states that each one is better then the other. so what are the advatages of one over the other.

That's a choice between five different interfaces:

USB gamepad
USB keyboard*
PS/2 keyboard
USB mouse*
PS/2 mouse

*  these two each have "no standard" standards.  99.9% of the products follow the same two protocols, even though they don't have to.  This means they have the same limits & features even though they can get around many of them by sending the info differently.

Without knowing which other emus you're playing, it's hard for me to tell you what's better for you. (Especially since I don't know other emus well. )  I hear some prefer gamepads, other prefer keyboards, others don't do mice.  Not sure which ones or if they've been fixed and not true anymore.  So check the emus and see what they (mouse/keyboard/gamepad) they like.

Then you your motherboard: if it doesn't have PS/2 ports, the decision is made for you.

Very quick list of limits:
keyboards: some games don't let you map one keyboard to two players.  AFAIK, only mame & mess let you use two keyboards as two separate inputs (keyboard "a" is different from keyboard "b").
USB keyboard: most have a limit of 6 keys pressed at the same time, but the ipac ups it to something like a dozen.  Some OSes don't poll the input fast enough.
PS/2 keyboard: Might not poll fast enough by default.

Mice:  limited number of buttons.  AFAIK, only mame & mess let you use two keyboards as two separate inputs (mouse 1 button 1 different from mouse 2 button 1).
USB mouse:  Some OSes don't poll the input fast enough.
PS/2 mouse:  Might not poll fast enough by default.

[Beretta]

i'd go with ps/2 when possible.. reason being is you can get heap ps/2 to usb adapters..

having ps/2 to start with gives you the most flexibility, usb can sometimes be a problem under dos for example.

although chances are you wont be missing anything with just going straight to usb.

[speedklz]

Assuming that I get mess fully working just mame and mess, otherwise I will use individual emu`s for each set of roms. like NESticle, GEN, and such. I need two player with 6 butttons each and extra buttons on CP.

[Blanka]

For a recent mame, USB gamepad interfaces are the best. They do not suffer from keyboard limits, and the support analog sticks. Did I recommend U360 sticks here?

[u_rebelscum]

... ps/2 ...  reason being is you can get heap ps/2 to usb adapters..

The adaptrers only work well if the encoder board can do both ps/2 & USB.  Almost all current mice can, but keyboards are a totally different story.  The keywiz and hotrod encoders (both ps/2) do NOT do well with adapters.

For a recent mame, USB gamepad interfaces are the best. They do not suffer from keyboard limits, and the support analog sticks. Did I recommend U360 sticks here?

Ahh, that reminds me.  Mame treats gamepads differently than keybaord or mouse interfaces.  Mame does an extra 8/4-way conversion map with gamepads.  This can be a plus if you know how to use it, but can cause confusion with qbert.

[AndyWarne]

i'd go with ps/2 when possible.. reason being is you can get heap ps/2 to usb adapters..

This is not good advice unfortunately. When using a PS/2-only device an adaptor will not work at all. If you mean a converter, this will be useless for gaming since PS/2 to USB keyboard converters cancel all keypresses every 5 seconds or so, to avoid stuck keys, and also have a key-press limit. They are useless for gaming.

USB keyboards have limitations but I must mention at this point that the I-PAC boards, when used in USB mode, have no key-press limitations at all, and are also not limited by the low-speed USB poll rate of 8ms as they use full-speed USB.

[Ginsu Victim]

...otherwise I will use individual emu`s for each set of roms. like NESticle, GEN, and such.

It's 2009. Get a new NES emulator!

[Beretta]

i'd go with ps/2 when possible.. reason being is you can get heap ps/2 to usb adapters..

This is not good advice unfortunately. When using a PS/2-only device an adaptor will not work at all. If you mean a converter, this will be useless for gaming since PS/2 to USB keyboard converters cancel all keypresses every 5 seconds or so, to avoid stuck keys, and also have a key-press limit. They are useless for gaming.

USB keyboards have limitations but I must mention at this point that the I-PAC boards, when used in USB mode, have no key-press limitations at all, and are also not limited by the low-speed USB poll rate of 8ms as they use full-speed USB.

hmm i was'nt aware, but that leads me to the obvious question, if usb keyboards have that limitation and ipac presents it self to the computer as a keyboard then how are you getting around this limitation?

Your above statement is pretty "blanket" so im a bit confused.

[AndyWarne]

hmm i was'nt aware, but that leads me to the obvious question, if usb keyboards have that limitation and ipac presents it self to the computer as a keyboard then how are you getting around this limitation?

Your above statement is pretty "blanket" so im a bit confused.

Put simply, there are conventions which normal keyboard use in the format of the data sent. The conventional format is fine for a keyboard but not acceptable for gaming. The I-PAC departs from the convention.

[CheffoJeffo]

Ach ... the old USB vs PS/2 keyboard issue ...

While there are a number of threads here, I always end up referring interested folks to TH's documentation:

http://tigerheli.mameworld.info/

Have fun! 

[speedklz]

I went with the usb one. Ordered it yesterday! THanks for all the advice now I just need to get it in and put it all togather. And I am trying to use a newer emu for nes like mess if I can get it going right.

[Blanka]

http://tigerheli.mameworld.info/

Have fun! 

I Can't find any discussion in the Tiger Heli section itself, only 2 links to Andy's and Randy's text.
If I read Randy's, he says PS2 can handle 454 key presses/second. With a 60fps game, that's 7.5 keypresses/frame, which seems insufficient for a fighter like SF2, which has parallel key sampling at 60fps in a real machine. In theory you would need 1200 key presses/second for that, an if I read Andy's story, and iPac can handle that with ease.

Also the parallel sampling of USB seems more close to arcade board sampling of keys as the serial PS-2 model. If I understand it right, PS-2 can handle like 200 presses on the "spacebar" in a second and separate them as individual key presses, but it can't handle 60 times/second simultaneous presses of say number 1-9 on the numpad.