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RandyT:
--- Quote from: PixelCloud on August 13, 2004, 06:16:15 pm ---there is no need for legacy ports anymore. I mean if you need legacy ports you probably have a computer that supports them anyways ;). But if you are buying a new one there is really no point, (USB keyboards are cheap)
--- End quote ---
If this were true, the legacy ports would already be history. Evidently, the MB manufacturers see it otherwise ;).
But seriously, this has been discussed in the past on here and a search will bring up more than you probably want to hear on the topic.
RandyT
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: patrickl on August 12, 2004, 02:56:46 pm ---Heh, I see you still believe the performance of PS/2 is better ::)
Really, someone should clock that sometime to get this out of the way. I'd put my money on USB (since the bandwith is vastly superior and a few interrrupts are not gonna kill that lead) On the other hand, who cares. With games running at 60Hz (max) the computer has ages to wait on your keypresses. Still, it would be nice to know.
Nice overview though. You sure take a lot of time to research all these things. very impressive work.
--- End quote ---
Man, oh man, I leave my computer for a day and look what happens . . . :P
Okay, this has been discussed before, and I don't want to belabor the point or fan the flame war. . .
PatrickL: I found it interesting that in the post I am replying to you said "Really, someone should clock that sometime to get this out of the way." Then when RandyT asks you to test it you post "Maybe if you tell me what would it prove I would be interested. Right now I just don't see the point. I wasted enough time on this already."
Obviously it's important to you or you wouldn't harp on it so much.
For the record, to me, it's not that much about speed or performance as capability.
1) There IS a limitation to the I-PAC in USB mode. It's more like 14 or 16 keys instead of six, but it's there. You can make the argument that this is similar to the Japanese speedbikes being limited to 185 Mph - it doesn't make a difference in most circumstances, but it's there.
2) I personnally experienced slowdowns with a pair of cheapo PC USB trackballs in MAME. These were sharing a hub and I haven't seen issues with my keyboard with a USB connection as opposed to a PS/2 connection.
3) I fully expect that 90% (probably more) of MAME users could use either USB or PS/2 mode with no noticeable difference in performance. That said, if you search the threads on here, you will find dozens of posts of users having trouble with USB mode with their encoder. Since almost all USB encoders (I-PAC/2, I-PAC/4) also supported PS/2, it was simple enough for most people to switch to PS/2 mode if they couldn't solve the problems. However, I can only remember maybe one example of a person having a problem with an I-PAC in PS/2 mode that was fixed by using it in USB.
4) I would like to see a speed/performance comparison between USB and PS/2 also, just to put it to bed, but you also need the following conditions -
Should use the same encoder for both tests, same keys and same programs, and should test multiple simultaneous keypresses.
Also, the tests should be done under both Win98SE and WinXP, and for that matter, on entry, mid-level, and high-end systems to get accurate benchmarks.
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: Bgnome on August 12, 2004, 05:23:33 pm ---i would be interested in seeing an updated review.
i just got the Two-bit encoder and soldered a ps/2 splitter for it last night. i am now waiting on my joysticks/buttons so i can test it out on a temp cp..
if you need more info on it, i posted a fairly informative email about it in another thread and am willing to post whatever other info i have, (pictures, key map, etc.).
--- End quote ---
Yep, I'd like the info. Also, I was curious whether the grounds are common on it (There are two grounds on each of the eight 10-pin Molex connectors). Are the grounds on Connector 1 common with the grounds on Connector 8?
Having said the above, I would prefer to concentrate the updates more on the minipac, I-PAC VE, and KeyWiz Max 1.5, as the two-bit encoder is about 40 units, NOS from the early 80's and only available on E-bay for probably the next six months, while the others are current production models.
Hoagie_one:
anyone have any experience with that Two-Bit Score encoder? That sounds like the ultimate multiplayer encoder if it works well.
Tiger-Heli:
--- Quote from: Hoagie_one on August 14, 2004, 09:00:10 am ---anyone have any experience with that Two-Bit Score encoder? That sounds like the ultimate multiplayer encoder if it works well.
--- End quote ---
That's what we were talking about (besides USB vs. PS/2). Bgnome has one. Non-programability is a big drawback if you want to use it for more than MAME. The price is right, though . . .
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