The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Front End Support => MaLa Frontend => Topic started by: slsimon on January 30, 2008, 10:57:22 am
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Hey guys. Thought I would toss this questions up to you and see what type of feedback that I can get back. I have a chance to obtain a core 2 duo processor, (2.13Ghz) for a great price. I currently have a P4 3.0GHZ (800Mhz) FSB processor with a compiled version of mame (.122u3 with sound diff update as well as hiscore update). Thanks to headkaze's awesome mame compiler.
I know that the hyperthreading is a virtual core processor in Windows while the duo actually has 2 core processors. Correct me if I am wrong here. I am just wondering if it would be worth my time to purchase the core 2 processor, install on my system board, and then go through the compilation process with the same version of mame that I currently have?
This question is pointed directly at headkaze. If I do decided to purchase the processor what compile options should I select in your compiler for the duo 2 processor to get maximum efficiency out of the compiler and mame executable?
I would compile mame with the u1, u2, u3, u4, u5, u6, u7 updates. I can't remember if the hiscore and or the sounddiff update would need to be compiled next in the list. I have mame up and running at the moment, so I am not sure if I want to take the risk of breaking something during the upgrade process.
Any suggestions from the forum members and or headkaze?
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I have a chance to obtain a core 2 duo processor, (2.13Ghz) for a great price. I currently have a P4 3.0GHZ (800Mhz) FSB processor...
Even if you ignore special builds, C2Ds run mame about twice as fast as P4s, and it's not because of multicore vs hyperthreading. I just posted this on a different forum:
| ROM | Core Solo/Duo | Pentium 4 |
| | 3600 Mhz | 3500 Mhz |
| blitz | 53.84 | 24.76 |
| calspeed | 37.6 | 17.01 |
| carnevil | 126.65 | 57.19 |
| crusnusa | 118.04 | 57.1 |
| mace | 57.3 | 26.049 |
| propcycl | 37.17 | 16.61 |
| xevi3dg | 157.49 | 80.09 |
Data from mame benchmarks (http://benchmark.mameworld.net/), mame ver 0.118, in FPS. Notice that the C2D is running about twice as fast for most game, even after you adjust for the 3.5 vs 3.6 Ghz. Call it a 2x speed up per hertz.
You'll get a bigger speed up getting the C2D (2x * 2.13 Ghz / 3.0 Ghz = 1.42, or a ~40% increase) than you did when you switched from standard optimization to your (I assume) P4 optimized build. I'm not sure how well (or if at all) a P4 optimized will run on a Core2, but you can try. Getting a core2 optimization on a core2 machine (or a P4 on a P4 machine) normally only ups from between 2%-10%, depending on game.
The question is how many games are boardline, that a 40% increase will fix? A few games still need a 4.0 Ghz C2D or faster (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=72776.0) to play at speed, while most games already run fine with a 3.0 P4. If the games you want are either of these, it won't help.