Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: mlcampbe on May 26, 2009, 03:32:23 pm

Title: which mame version to use?
Post by: mlcampbe on May 26, 2009, 03:32:23 pm
I've got an old pentium 3 machine with 352mb ram that I am using for mame. It currently has mame 0.96 on it and it works fine. I am doing some work and wonder if I should upgrade the mame software. I know I can't use the latest versions but what is the last version that would work well on an older machine that is used to run old games (pacman, dk, etc..)
Title: Re: which mame version to use?
Post by: Ginsu Victim on May 26, 2009, 03:33:39 pm
I think you're pretty much at the cut-off.
Title: Re: which mame version to use?
Post by: bkenobi on May 26, 2009, 04:41:22 pm
I could be wrong, but there shouldn't be any problem upgrading even to the newest version.  The only thing is that you won't be able to play the most recent games.  All the games you currently have will still work (once updated to the current version of course).

I don't know that this is an advantage though.  If it's working now and you don't see anything you just have to play then I'd just leave it as is.  Don't break a working setup just cause it's an old version number!
Title: Re: which mame version to use?
Post by: Paul Olson on May 26, 2009, 05:00:36 pm
You won't be able to play DK past version .120 with that computer. My Athlon XP 2500+ couldn't handle it after emulated sound was added.
Title: Re: which mame version to use?
Post by: Turnarcades on May 28, 2009, 10:37:33 am
Stay where you are at .96. Graphics and sound changes began with 0.97, then there was a big re-write at 0.106. Tests I have done at these marks showed that without the use of D3D capable graphics cards anything over about 0.105 will struggle on certain specs, and even with the highest P3 PC and decent graphics/sound cards there will be issues with certain games that shared a certain hardware type.
Title: Re: which mame version to use?
Post by: zallax on May 28, 2009, 10:54:35 am
Actually, 0.106 should be good as that was the last stable build before major graphics changes.

0.106 - good
0.106u1 - bad
Title: Re: which mame version to use?
Post by: Kayden on May 28, 2009, 01:55:10 pm
If it works, don't fix it.   ;)

With that machine, you wouldn't be able to play more than you do already, and as I've read, and others have stated, you're likely to only hurt performance.