GroovyArcade and HD 6xxx compatibility

[Tusten]

Hi

I am currently testing compatibility for my new setup: GroovyArcade, HD 6850 video card and H9110 monitor. Because I am completely new to Linux, I need some advice on how to proceed testing my setup:

So far I am running GroovyArcade from an USB install. My computer boots to 15 kHZ just fine after disabling splash screen. Most MAME games runs at 100% (checking with “F11”).

However I experience some issues with R-type and similar resolution games. They will not sync correctly, resulting in a very shaky picture. I have earlier been running R-type from a XP install and HD 4xxx video card with no problems.

Furthermore I have a problem starting games with “groovymame romname -v -md 4 >romname.txt” parameters, as –md4/-md 4 is not recognized as a parameter. I have attached an image of the screen running R-type with only –v.

Is this likely a video card problem?
What is the best procedure to test a video card?

[Calamity]

Hi Tusten,

I tested one HD 6450 and had no issues. That looks like a problem with unstable dotclocks. Try editing the dotclock_min value in mame.ini, set it to "8.0" MHz (dotclock_min     8.0).

The -md 4 param is no longer in use, just add the -v param to get logs: groovymame romname -v >romname.txt

[Tusten]

Thanks Calamity

Your solution works! Changing dotclock_min to 8.0 solves the problem. R-type and similar resolution games now runs just fine.

Are there any benefits in trying to lower the dotclock_min further to find the lowest stable dotclock?

[Calamity]

Hi Tusten,

It's good that it worked. There're no real benefits it using the lower dotclocks (i.e. native horizontal resolutions) in GroovyMAME. Indeed, setting GM with a dotclock_min value often leads to better horizontal centering.