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PiMame- are we finally there?

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ark_ader:
Xbox 1 and CoinOPS 5 = $20 or £9.99.

sairuk:

--- Quote from: Well Fed Games on February 23, 2013, 05:36:44 pm ---
Hey, didn't realize you were a member here.  :cheers: Excellent work.

--- End quote ---

Thanks, bred from curiosity... nothing more  ;D

paigeoliver:
I agree with Randy here. I don't see the point. It isn't a good mame platform, you have to run an even more archaic mame version than I use just to get full speed with most titles (and I run some OLD mame versions). The "savings" (if any) vs. using a PC don't even add up to a $10 bill, while the functionality is far less than you could ever get with even a decade old PC. This is the same basic crap (underpowered cell phone processor on a gameboard) that most of the cruddy chinese multiboards run. Yep, I have a few of those chinese multiboards in cabs, and I enjoy them somewhat, but my mame cabinet with 8 year old PC runs everything they run and 10 times more and it runs them a lot better.

I can't think of a single application where this would be the best choice or even an competitive choice. Not even a bartop, which indeed has plenty of room for a PC motherboard (in fact a lot of them are PC based). Once you move to any type of full size cabinet the space saving part becomes ridiculous.  I can install a PC based solution up in the marquee area of the cabinet while still saving enough room for the lights.

The fact is, PiMame will never "be there" because it costs money and yet is significantly outperformed by end of lifecycle computers people are throwing away on a daily basis.



--- Quote from: RandyT on February 23, 2013, 09:24:42 am ---This definitely cool for something small, but I still wonder about the economy of taking this route.  With the number of low end PC's being landfilled, and the still limited number of games which it can do well with, and other limitations, I'm still finding it difficult to get on board.

I constantly see P4 3+Ghz mini desktop systems on the refurb market, with all of the necessities (except operating system...if you want to use Linux, then it's free) in the $85 range.  And that system will be a lot more capable than the pi.  I suspect there are plenty of systems with lower specs than that which will perform as well, or better, and can be had for much less.  I've seen 1.8 to 2ghz mini desktops go for $35 on the market, and then there are freebies.

It's good to see some progress being made, but am I missing something particularly advantageous about these units being used in a full sized machine, or over stripping out the guts of a mini desktop and putting them in a bartop or cocktail?

--- End quote ---

sharpfork:
I totally get the old PC argument but have hope for a common, powerful hardware platform to make this hobby more accessible.  As much as I want it be, the Pi isn't it.  Like ark_ader, I think the xBox + Coinops is the sweet spot for common hardware at the moment but it isn't exactly accessible, especially if you want VGA video.
I'll be keeping an eye on the more powerful ARM based Pi cousins running Linux and Android as well as the maturation of Retroarch as a unified emu foundation.  The oDroid U2 (1.7ghz Quad core) is getting in the right neighborhood: http://goo.gl/dAu6N .  I think we are still a year+ form having price, performance, and software I'm looking for.

tris_d:

--- Quote from: sharpfork on February 24, 2013, 01:13:10 am ---The oDroid U2 (1.7ghz Quad core) is getting in the right neighborhood: http://goo.gl/dAu6N .  I think we are still a year+ form having price, performance, and software I'm looking for.

--- End quote ---

For the same price you can get Android handheld. Less powerful than that oDroid but still able to run even N64 and PSX games at full speed. And unlike PC or any of these naked boards you could put it in a pocket and play on the go, or use it as a tablet via touchscreen. This also means such naked Android board, that is without joystick/d-pad and without touchscreen, should cost around $35 as well.

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