Whats the ideal configuration for fighters?

[Gatsu]

The cab Im building is gonna run fighters only. CPS1, 2 & 3 stuff. Neo-Geo, Midway and the Killer Instinct games.

Im using a custom compiled command-line Mame with MaLa 1.0.5.8 as the front end. Running on windows xp pro. The computer is hooked up to a 27" LCD television via a DVI to HDMI cable converter.

whats the ideal setup for these games to get consistent frame-rates, good quality audio, resolution adjustments, etc.

I've done some searching and found a few small bits of info...but so many threads or forums say different things, use emulator A, or this or that.

[massive88]

Imo, use just mame, and get whatever hardware you need for the highest demanding game you want.

Do you want any of the 3d fighters?  Tekken Tag?

Are you going to want Naomi games?  DC ports?

[DaveMMR]

Get yourself a decent box and then start tinkering with the different MAMEs.  Don't be afraid to drop back a few versions.  On my 2Ghz computer in my cab (1GB memory), I use a combination of .99, .116, and FastMAME (for Mortal Kombat).   But after all that, I just play Moon Patrol.   

[Gatsu]

well gonna mostly stick with Mame fighters....but I wouldn't mind using the Naomi & chankast stuff as well.

[massive88]

well gonna mostly stick with Mame fighters....but I wouldn't mind using the Naomi & chankast stuff as well.

Question still stands then.

Imo, theres a few level of fighters for CPU requirements in Mame:

CPS2/3, SNK games
MK1-3
KI 1+2
Early 3D fighters (Rival Schools, Early Tekkens, Beastorizor)
Later 3D fighters (Later Tekkens, Im sure some others)

To get through the early 3d fighters, a low level Core2 Duo should be plenty, somewhere in the 2 Ghz range.

If you just want through KI, you can probably do so with a mid range AMD.

If you want later 3D fighters, Id go for a beefier 3+ Ghz Core2.

Also, if you are fine playing the console ports, you can reduce the requirements on a lot of these, as Dreamcast/PS1 emulators will run much faster than Mame.  As well if you are willing to mess with Zinc and all its problems, you can run many of the early 3d fighters on much less hardware (I ran them on an Athlon XP 1700), KI will be a pain though and require Ultra64, or the bad console ports.

KI was actually a main reason I upgraded my arcade machine, dropping Zinc for Mame was a nice bonus though.

Anyway, if you want everything but the most advanced fighters on Mame, Id go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206 as a good price point.  It should also be plenty for SF4 on the PC when it comes out.

[Gatsu]

thanks for all the help and info. Its greatly appreciated.

One last question.

As for setting up/fine tuning the software side of things....what would I really need to tweak to keep things running well?

[cluster]

Gatsu, I'm in the same boat.

In fact I've been thinking about buying a dedicted machine for Killer Instinct 2 because all the questions you asked, I've asked and read up about.  Even if you get replies in this forum on how to tweak your settings and optimization, in the end the quality will not turn out the way you want it if you're using an LCD screen (ESPECIALLY one that size).

The end result, if you're trying to use a 27" LCD monitor, the game will look like crap.  The Ki1 & 2 roms are not meant to run on LCD screens, and there are no settings that will get the picture nearly as good as the original game in the arcades.

Unless you're fine with settling on less then perfect picture quality (which doesnt sound to be the case considering you're trying to convert the signal to HDMI quality* and probably a precision freak like me), I wouldn't waste hours of time tweaking and playing with settings for less then signifcant results, in the end, you will need to buy a CRT monitor (4:3 ratio), then and only then will you have a quality picture like the original.

Can someone can prove me wrong?

[Gatsu]

cluster. you are right. I'll never be happy with the older games on an LCD monitor. And there isn't a point in wasting the time or energy fighting for something I'll never be happy with.

I sat back and thought about what I really wanted out of this particular cab. And really its beyond what Mame can give me right now.

So for now I'm gonna stick with using just my Xbox 360, and look into getting a Naomi/GD-Rom setup.

My next cab will probably be a astro city candy cab....so it'll work better with Mame and some of the older "low-res" arcade stuff.

[massive88]

So for now I'm gonna stick with using just my Xbox 360, and look into getting a Naomi/GD-Rom setup.

Good news is theres a lot of good fighters on the 360.  Excited to see BlazBlue coming soon!

[Malenko]

Final Burn will run CPS1,CP2, and MVS with lower requirements then MAME. KI will require either MAME or the SNES emu version (while not bad is no where near arcade quality) KI2 requires either MAME or you can play KIGold on U64.

KI1 and 2 run just fine on my P4 2.6 with very minor sound skipping every once in a great while. I'm using a BFG GeForce 6600 PCI card output to a hanatrex via Soft 15. If you drop KI/KI2 from the equation your system requirements drop through the floor.

I dunno where you are, but I have a KI1 cab that Im using for MAME that Im looking to get rid of (jamma harness and everything is still in it, I just put ina  breakout cable and use an IPAC, my JPAC broke...I'd take the PC back out) and I have a KI2 cab in mint condition thats totally dead that Im lookin get rid of)