Low-specs machine ? which release-version to use ?

[tsjarlie]

I've been building an lod arcade machine.
I am now finishing the PC to use, for the moment I have only an Pentium 233 MMX CPU with 64 MB Ram, 8 GB Harddisk and a Matrox Millenium 2 Videocard.
I want to run only the early games (for the moment),  reack & filed, gyruss, ghost & goblins, ...

Which mame version should I use ? I've tried several versions of mame, mame32, my conclusions : (all tried with gyruss)

- When I use mame or mame32 , almost no difference between speed
-  When I use mame32v80 or later, gyruss works to slow
- When I use mame32v36b9, gyruss works fast enough ...

So, I should use mame32v36b9 ...
The problem is, I want to play some game which were only available with later versions of mame ...

So here are my questions :

1. Which options should I use on recent mame(mame32)  versions to get games working faster ?
2. Where do I find a list with which game is supported from which release ?
3. Should I use another mame version to get some things working faster ?

I would also like to see some benchmarks from people with a system like mine (<350 MHz), and which version (mame, mame32, advmame,fastmame, ...) and the release they use (mame36b9, mame070, mame 082b,...)

thank you very much already ....

Why am I using such an old system ?

I wanted to build an arcade machine as cheap as possible :
I bought myself an old arcace cabinet (100

[Generic Eric]

I am not an expert on this sort of thing, but that 233 definetly isn't up to the task of .80 or higher versions.  Stay in the .36 era


BTW,  This should be posted in the software forum.

[Tiger-Heli]

I used a Pentium 200MMX, 48M Ram, 4M PCI Vid card with MAME for many years, so I can give you some helpful advice.

First - be realistic - PacMan, Galaga, Donkey Kong, etc. should play perfectly on that machine.  Gyruss will work but will show Frameskips of 5-6 (out of 11).  Games like 1942, 1943, Twin Cobra, Pole Position, etc. will run but they will also be around Frameskip 5-6 (but very playable).  Newer games like Afterburner will be around Frameskip 10 and virtually unplayable.  Forget about Mortal Combat, NBA Jam, etc.

Second, Automatic Frame Skipping on that slow a machine is noticeable during gameplay.  (The game will stutter as AFS decides it needs to kick it.).  For games that can't play full speed, it works better to run the game with AFS on and F11 pressed, see what the average or highest FS encountered is and then run the game at that fixed Frameskip.

- When I use mame or mame32 , almost no difference between speed

Agreed, but it will vary with the game in question.

- When I use mame32v36b9, gyruss works fast enough ...
So, I should use mame32v36b9 ...

36B9 is a pretty good choice, 36b12 has possibilities also.

Setup suggestions - Run command-line versions of MAME.  (B/c you will use a front-end for the interface).  Pick a primary build and install it to C:\MAME\mame.exe  (say R36B12).  Install your ROMS to C:MAME\ROMS\.  Install "other" versions of MAME to C:\MAMER37B16\mame.exe or C:\MAME053\mame.exe.  Edit the mame.cfg or mame.ini files of these versions to point to C:\MAME\ROMS or their individual ROMS folder (separate the paths with a ;  ).  This way you only need different ROMS for the MAME versions that won't work with the main one.  (i.e. you have 3000 Roms in one directory and 10-20 in separate folders, rather than 5 folders with 3000 roms each).

Next, find a front-end that allows you to specify a commandline for each game and ideally, a custom list of games.  www.mameworld.net/emuloader and www.arcadeathome.com can do this, as probably could MAMEwah or Dragon King.  This way you just see a list of games, but one might run in R36B12 and one might run in 0.56, but you don't have to keep track of which MAME version to open to play each game.

Here are my notes on older versions of MAME.  I would not run anything much beyond 0.75 on that machine, unless you needed that version for a particular game.

R36B10 - R36B16, The PONG Dynasty.

[tsjarlie]

Waaw, what an answer Tiger-Heli, thank you very much !

I will check out all your suggestions tonight (and the next nights  )
I may have the chance to use a P2 266 instead of a 233 MMX, don't know if it would make much change...

Anyway, thank you, I will post my results so everyone can see which hardware you actually need to get something running ...

[Tiger-Heli]

I may have the chance to use a P2 266 instead of a 233 MMX, don't know if it would make much change...

Doubtful, I've used a Pentium 200 MMX, Duron 850, and will be going to an XP2800 Barton soon.

It might be cheaper to upgrade than to do the workarounds to make it work, though.

Anyway, thank you, I will post my results so everyone can see which hardware you actually need to get something running ...

No problem, actually, that's pretty well known, see the "What computer do I need to run MAME?" thread on the main page sticky links.

I can say from experience, a P 200 will do what I said.

The Duron 850 runs probably 95% of the games.  You can use bezel artwork, but you have to crank the resolution down.  Some of the latest MK and NBA Jam games won't run, but everything else is fine.

I got the XP for $30 after rebate (with a motherboard), or else I wouldn't be upgrading.  I expect it will allow the bezel artwork to be high resolution.  And maybe Cruisin' USA will be playable with a mild underclock on the game CPU.  SF Rush will not be playable, but it won't be on a $3500 computer either, so why upgrade higher than this.

[JoyMonkey]

I've been using a P2 266mhz in a cocktail cab running AdvanceMame 0.66 (pentium optimized) from DOS and it works a treat. I mostly use the cab for vertical games though, it runs about 99% of them at full speed. I've tried out games like the Street Fighter Alpha series, just to see how they run, and it seems to do a pretty respectible job (can't remember exactly, but I was impressed).