Different arcade emulators

[zorrobandito]

Can anyone provide a summary / overview of the impact of running all the different arcade emulators? What sort of speed increases, additional features, efficiencies does one get?

e.g. RAINE vs Kawaks vs MAME vs Zinc vs Daphne vs Final Burn vs Nebula vs CPS2?

RAINE:
Kawaks:
MAME:
Zinc:
Daphne:
Final Burn:
Nebula:
CPS2:

I already run MAME, Zinc, CPS2 and Daphne but what am I missing out on by not running RAINE for example?

[Celsius]

as for zinc, nebula model 2 emu, daphne, demul (for naomi and atomiswave) and vivanonno, most games aren't working in mame or slower. It'll take some time before mame will reach the speeds (with "normal" pc specs) as those single sytem emu's. Haven't tried the others yet.

[Donkbaca]

Anymore info on this? I think I have MAME pretty much down, but the others, aka final burn alpha, model 2, zinc.  I am clueless about. 

[BobA]

[quote author=zorrobandito link=topic=107307.msg1137260#msg1137260 date=1289828507

I already run MAME, Zinc, CPS2 and Daphne but what am I missing out on by not running RAINE for example?
[/quote]

For RAINE you are not missing much. MAME pretty well takes care of all of its games easily.  (Bad choice for an example)

CPS2 and Daphne surpass MAME not sure about zinc.

[BadMouth]

Eh, there are probably a few games Zinc will do better, but if you have a modern pc (say 2.8Ghz+), MAME does just as well.
I have zinc installed, but haven't used it since installing.

Nebula's Sega Model 2 emulator is my favorite.  None of the model 2 games are playable at all in MAME.
I wouldn't have bothered with a driving cab if it weren't for the M2 emulator.

[zorrobandito]

Here's what my limited research tells me:

• RAINE: Good for 2D games under-powered PCs (< 2Ghz), has some non-core features.
• Kawaks: CPS 1 & 2 (90s Capcom games) & NEO-GEO + netcode (online multiplayer)
• MAME: Resource-heavy, perfect emulation but lacking 'gamer' features - netcode, high-scores, etc. Can be compiled with expert tech.
• Zinc: Emulates System 22 games (Namco fighters - Soul Calibur, Tekken) & other 1st-gen 3D. Clunky config, good emulation on under-power PCs (< 2Ghz).
• Daphne: Dragon's Lair, Space Ace (MAME does not currently support Laserdisc games. Laserdisc ISOs are large.
• Final Burn: The Capcom fighter emu. Like Kawaks it supports CPS 1 & 2 as well as NEO-GEO but recent versions (FB Alpha) support CPS3 (Street Fighter III). Many variants supporting movie recording, cheats, netcode (via Kaillera)
• Nebula: Similar gameset (CPS 1&2, NEO-GEO + others) and features as Final Burn
• CPS3: Focuses exclusively on Street Fighter 3 and does a superb job

In essence, apart from Laserdisc games, test your game in MAME and if it's slow on your hardware, try one of the alternatives. If multi-player or cheats are your bag, you have options.

There's a very good emulator wiki here if you need more details.

My cab has an Athlon 2800 that is a tad under-powered for 3D (possibly because it uses an ArcadeVGA card), so I use Zinc for System 22 games.