Video Card Recommendations

[atomaka]

Hey all!

I'm working on putting together my MAME computer and decided to see what you all thought about video cards.

I intend on running this computer in my cabinet with a 21" monitor.  Does the video card matter that much. I plan on doing minimal PC gaming with the machine (Unreal Tournament and other such games) so is that what I should base my graphics card on?  Or does MAME have some requirements I should meet?

There are also other consoles that I would like to emulate, so having S-Video (so I can just pull the cable across the room to the TV) is a requirement.  Will any of the console emulators require certain specs?

Basically, I'm just a clueless man in the ways of emulation video and am looking for a little push in the right direction

Thanks for any responses you may have!

[tom61]

2D emulators don't really have any requirements, as long as it's a fairly modern card(Mame's 'hardware stretch' actually is a 3D card function, but it doesn't need much power).

Sicne you want want S-Video, I'd recommend getting a true ATI card, since they consistently have good TV-out.

[atomaka]

What if 'm also looking into N64 or Playstation emulation where the graphics are more 3D??

[radiator]

a second vote for ATI (but make sure its built by ATI, and not powered by)

a radeon 7500 would easily handle 3d stuff like N64/PS emulation...

i got mine for

[atomaka]

Alright guys. Thanks a lot for the infromation.  I really appreciate it!

[AlanS17]

It all depends on your budget. I really do prefer ATI, but I use a Matrox G400 (single) and it gets along fine. Since the original games were pretty low- res anyways, the only reason you may want a to go with a higher resolution would be if you wante clarity beyond the original game with the rendering. I suppose this is technically possible (as I've done it in Zinc) but it's not faithful to the original. Matrox G400 have the power to push most arcade and console games I know of at 640X480. They probably wouldn't be the first choice for PC games since they're old news now, but they handle emulation pretty darn well, they're solid as hell, and they've proven themselves on the emulation scene.

I actually showed up at a friend's house to play Quake 3 with him and I took computer. He was like "what the heel is that thing" but it kept up pretty well throughtout the whole game. Maybe it didn't get 100fps but it got 60 fps.

Granted a newer ATI is better, but my Matrox G400 is "good enough" and you can find them in AGP or PCI. For people with other stuff to be spending their money on, I really think a Matrox can do the job.

[HeadRusch]

Well, I think the thing of it is....I wouldn't go recommending anyone run out and buy a Matrox card today, because there are better options for less money.  

If you have a matrox, for MAME you're sitting pretty, but to not buy a sub-$50 ATI Radeon would be foolish, since even a radeon 7500 will have more options in terms of 3D power for modern games as well ast excellent TV Out.  

Plus, ATI isn't going anywhere....Matrox on the other hand isn't the company it used to be...technically its products today in terms of mainstream pc hardware are no longer top contenders, they're "..also ran's"...