Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Front End Support => MaLa Frontend => Topic started by: Dreadnaught on November 28, 2011, 08:41:08 pm

Title: Ancient computer to make mame out of
Post by: Dreadnaught on November 28, 2011, 08:41:08 pm: Here are the mind blowing specs of this computer that I was given. I figured I could make it into a small mame cab for my nephew.

Windows 98
Wopping 10 GB Hardisk
.8 Ghz pentium processor
128 MB RAM

Should I use an older version of mame? Is there any GUI that would work for this aging beast? I have XP but fear that the tiny HDD can't take it and a descent amount of mame roms.
Title: Re: Ancient computer to make mame out of
Post by: BadMouth on November 28, 2011, 09:55:25 pm: I built a cab for my 6yo nephew using a 667mhz (they couldn't label it 666) Celeron.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=111821.0 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=111821.0)

Current MAME builds wouldn't even run the classics on it.
I picked v.80 for it for no better reason than it was the oldest version that ran a particular game that I wanted.
It will run the classics, but struggles with some games from the mid 80's like Contra.
You'll have to "roll back" the roms using a set of rollback roms and clrmamepro.
MALA works fine on it.

IIRC, with a full xp install and a complete v80 romset(half of which don't work anyway), it weighed in around 11GB.
You're probably going to need more RAM, but it doesn't hurt to try with what you've got.

Also keep in mind that if it breaks down, you'll be expected to patch up the old computer to get it running again. :-\
Title: Re: Ancient computer to make mame out of
Post by: MTPPC on December 02, 2011, 11:18:35 pm: I'm pretty sure you can find a "free" computer with about double those specs and XP if you ask around for a week or so.
Title: Re: Ancient computer to make mame out of
Post by: Gray_Area on December 03, 2011, 04:40:02 am: You might get more attention if this were in Main...although, the information is all over the place here.