Is it necessary to optimise mame with mame compiler? What does it do?

[kvncooper]

I'm just wondering what the difference is between compiling mame as standard and compiling mame opimised for your pc.

I am compiling mame on a PC that isn't going to be used for mame (I will be moving mame over to my old pc), so I can't really optimise it because I don't know what processor my old pc has (other than P4).

I'm wondering whether I should wait until I get to my old PC (which will be a few weeks), or if it's not going to make that much of a difference if I optimise it or not.

Thanks.

[gazz292]

some people say optimizing does nothing worth while, others swear by it,

i tried it, but it wouldent work, i was optimizing for my particular P4 processor, but it just wouldent do it, i had to copile with no specific processor in mind, just adding the hi-score diff patch,

i'd like to compile an optimized version sometime, i'm going to be going to a 64 bit OS, so will compile a 64 bit version and preferably with the processor optimization in place,

but even the 32/64 bit debate causes problems with some people, some will tell you that the few % higher speed with 64 isnt worth it, others say it's more than worth it and everyone should do it,

me personaly, i believe that every few % helps, they all add up, and whilst i wouldent expect the difference between a standard non optimized version and a fully optimized version to be night and day, i would hope it's help the odd game that is at around 95% perfect get nearer 100%.

and yes you should really optimize on on the pc you'll be running mame on, when i was having problems optimizing, a few people sent me their compiles, some worked but were slower than a non optimized version, some didnt work at all, even tho they had very similar specs,

[Havok]

As far as optimizing for older processors, I believe it does give a very slight increase in performance. You might want to check out the benchmark thread, lots of good info:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61600.0

As far as going from a 32bit to 64bit OS, that has been conclusively proven to give a good 30% or more boost on the same exact hardware. So if you have the means to use a 64bit OS, do it...