Main > Main Forum
A question about using a PC for my MAME cabinet
not_so_handy:
i would be leary about going on CL for getting a computer especially an old pentium 3. First off you dont know how people have treated the computer and how many viruses have been on that computer causing issues with ram and the hard drive. Even if you format the drive it could still run like garbage. I would go to a computer store and look at referbished machines there. You can find a single core pentium 4 for pretty cheap at most mom and pop computer stores that will run much better then something found on CL. Not saying that everything on CL is junk but you will have better luck with a computer store.
smalltownguy:
--- Quote from: not_so_handy on May 04, 2012, 09:04:49 am ---i would be leary about going on CL for getting a computer especially an old pentium 3. First off you dont know how people have treated the computer and how many viruses have been on that computer causing issues with ram and the hard drive. Even if you format the drive it could still run like garbage. I would go to a computer store and look at referbished machines there. You can find a single core pentium 4 for pretty cheap at most mom and pop computer stores that will run much better then something found on CL. Not saying that everything on CL is junk but you will have better luck with a computer store.
--- End quote ---
Hah..I'd buy a Pentium III machine off CL any day of the week. If there's one actually still RUNNING out there, you know it's bulletproof. It'll outlast today's crap when that dies.
Seriously, though, if you're going to go to a store and buy a PC used, you're gonna get raped. Please just let me give you a computer. I have like a dozen of them sitting in my garage - pay shipping and it's yours.
not_so_handy:
running and running well are two different things.
I didnt know mame ran better on windows xp 64 bit though. I may have to give that a try.
ArcadeSeeker962:
--- Quote from: not_so_handy on May 04, 2012, 09:04:49 am ---i would be leary about going on CL for getting a computer especially an old pentium 3. First off you dont know how people have treated the computer and how many viruses have been on that computer causing issues with ram and the hard drive. Even if you format the drive it could still run like garbage. I would go to a computer store and look at referbished machines there. You can find a single core pentium 4 for pretty cheap at most mom and pop computer stores that will run much better then something found on CL. Not saying that everything on CL is junk but you will have better luck with a computer store.
--- End quote ---
Thank you for the advice. It's still unknown at this point whether I'll buy a PC online or from a local store, so I haven't made a decision yet. Plus, I'll be using a front end with my MAME software, so I want to make sure that everything works together. Also, since krick said that running Windows 7 is a good choice for MAME, I want to make sure everything's compatible with a used Pentium PC.
--- Quote from: smalltownguy on May 04, 2012, 10:02:32 am ---Hah..I'd buy a Pentium III machine off CL any day of the week. If there's one actually still RUNNING out there, you know it's bulletproof. It'll outlast today's crap when that dies.
Seriously, though, if you're going to go to a store and buy a PC used, you're gonna get raped. Please just let me give you a computer. I have like a dozen of them sitting in my garage - pay shipping and it's yours.
--- End quote ---
It's okay, I can look for whatever you all recommend online, thank you for the offer though. Does CL stand for "Craig's List"? If so, I heard that there's a lot of scams that happen on there. Due to the fact that I'm getting mixed opinions, would ebay or amazon be a better website to buy a used Pentium PC from? I'm sorry, I'm just getting confused. ???
GregD:
I wouldn't try to run Windows 7 on a Pentium 3 pc. I also wouldn't bother with a Pentium 3 pc. The advice given was to say that most of MAME will run on a Pentium 3 processor. I don't think anyone is recommending that you use one. Pentium 4 pcs and Core 2 Duo are out there for very short money. If I was buying a pc I would make sure it is a dual core processor. The PC will also determine which front end you can use. Don't try to run Hyperspin on a pc that isn't dual core.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version