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Is this HW ok for GroovyArcade (x64)?

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emuola:
Starting to update my old MAME-cab... This is the HW I have at my disposal/planning to get provided that you guys/gals approve it:

Athlon64 X3800+ (single core)
1 GB ram
Ati 9250 128MB
32GB SSD
MAkvision Tri-Mode 25"
Ultimarc controls

I'm not planning to run any games later than ~1995. My own understanding is that this HW should be just fine. However
my current MAME (based on Lincade) is something like .108, so the current version of MAME is significantly more "cpu hungry"?

Feedback appreciated :)
 

krick:
It will work, but I don't know if you'll be happy with the performance.

Some things I see as negatives with that hardware.

1) MAME favors Intel CPUs.  A lot.  Intel Core2Duo CPUs are as much as 30% faster than equivalent AMD chips when running MAME.
2) I think GroovyMAME works best with a dual core CPU because of multi-threading performance.
3) 1GB is kind of low for a 64-bit version of windows.
4) For a current version of MAME, you'll need about 250GB for the ROM/CHD set.   I have a 40GB SSD as my boot drive / app drive, and I have a separate 500GB "normal" hard drive for my ROMs.

mamenewb100:

--- Quote from: emuola on July 29, 2012, 04:34:30 pm ---This is the HW I have at my disposal/planning to get provided that you guys/gals approve it:

Athlon64 X3800+ (single core)
1 GB ram
Ati 9250 128MB
32GB SSD
MAkvision Tri-Mode 25"
Ultimarc controls

I'm not planning to run any games later than ~1995.

--- End quote ---
I'm not sure how much ram Linux uses. 1 gig would not be enough in windows without programs eating any remaining ram and cause major performance problems. Ram is fairly cheap and will give you the biggest performance boost. Upgrade to 4 gig to be safe.

A single core AMD is iffy. Definately no 3D arcade games like MK4. You might get by with classics like NBA JAM and Street Fighter but I'm not sure if it would perform at full speed with the latest versions of MAME. Never hurts to try.

krick:

--- Quote from: mamenewb100 on July 30, 2012, 01:05:13 am ---Well you didn't mention what OS your using but I'm assuming WindowsXP? That would work well with Groovymame but 1 gig is really only enough to run windows. Programs will eat any remaining ram and cause major performance problems. Ram is fairly cheap and will give you the biggest performance boost. Upgrade to 4 gig to be safe.

--- End quote ---

If that's a socket 939 or 754, memory will probably be expensive unless you can pick it up used for a good price.
Before I dropped a penny on upgrading any of that hardware, I'd start fresh with something more modern.

For example, you could also pick up a cheap Core i5 motherboard, cpu, and memory for around $400.
Here's my current "want" list from New Egg if you're curious...

ASUS P8Z77-M LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$129.99 -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131832

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
$219.99 -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
$45.99 -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

emuola:
Ok, thanks guys for your input. Sorry about forgettign to mention the OS. I'm using Linux. The Processor is a S939 3800+. Like I said I only wanna run the so called classics (games until ~1995). The reason I'd be wanting to use that processor is that I have a suitable (at least that's what I understood) Ati 9250 for the GroovyMAME. It's and AGP card -> agp-mobo and so on. I actually have a E8600 3.33Ghz laying around, but I'd need a suitable mobo and specifically a suitable display card (x300 or something like that?). The rather small SSD is due to the fact that my current games collection on the current cab only require something like 2 GB :)

I might be going for the CoreDuo route provided that I'd find a suitable ATI card easily (seems to be pretty hard to get...)

Thanks for your advice guys :notworthy:

*edit*
It seems that the pci-e versions of that Ati are indeed easily available and also pretty cheap :)

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