Looking for rock solid frontend

[electricd]

Hello,

Been out of the Mame game for some time now.  Built a cabinet years ago which serves me well.  I have a guy who I helped build a cabinet that is using MameWah for his front end (not sure of the version.)  Anyway, he has had some problems with Mamewah flaking out on him and not launching games, freezing, etc.  I am looking for a rock solid front end which does not require the use of a keyboard or mouse which can be used on his cocktail cabinet.  What are all of you using these days?  Thanks!

ED7

[HaRuMaN]

MALA

[Epyx]

I second Mala...I registered Maximus Arcade but have had nothing but issues with it since day one. Its a nice looking front end but very flaky imo.  Mala is a bit more work up front but a lot less "troublesome".

[Cakemeister]

Try them all and make your own informed decision.

The wiki has a listing of frontends. The six most frequently mentioned are (alphabetically) Atomic, GameEx, Hyperspin, MaLa, MAMEwah, and Maximus.

[severdhed]

another vote for MALA.  i've tried quite a few front ends, and i always end up back at MALA.  it is easy to work with...and just plain works.

[zelony]

GameEx is where it's at.  I have it on two systems and my 7 year old daughter was able to use it with no problems.  Worth paying to register it.  It has been rock solid and is super easy to set up and use.

[reko19]

Mamewah for me. Highly customizable, stable, great front end. More of an arcade feel as compared with gamex IMHO.

[Vamp RN]

MaLa for me.  I've messed around with Mamewah but it just doesn't "click" with me.  I had many, many problems with it.  Could have been the user rather than the program though  .

[Kman-Sweden]

GameEx is where it's at.  I have it on two systems and my 7 year old daughter was able to use it with no problems.  Worth paying to register it.  It has been rock solid and is super easy to set up and use.

The 7 year-olds of  today could probably McGyver-hack your calculator to work with Facebook and Twitter. 

[electricd]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I simply don't have time to "try them all", thats why I turned to the forum, to draw on everyone else's experience   Sounds like I should give Mala a shot, as for GameEx, it doesn't "look" like an arcade to me which is one of the big appeals of having a dedicated cabinet.  Thanks for the suggestions, i will try a couple of these out.

[Todd H]

I second Mala...I registered Maximus Arcade but have had nothing but issues with it since day one. Its a nice looking front end but very flaky imo.  Mala is a bit more work up front but a lot less "troublesome".

I've been running Maximus Arcade for a while and it's working like a champ. Haven't had a single problem.

[Mr. Dude]

I'm running MameWAH but the choice is really a matter of taste as there are a lot of great frontends available these days.

[DaveMMR]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I simply don't have time to "try them all", thats why I turned to the forum, to draw on everyone else's experience   Sounds like I should give Mala a shot, as for GameEx, it doesn't "look" like an arcade to me which is one of the big appeals of having a dedicated cabinet.  Thanks for the suggestions, i will try a couple of these out.

+1 for MALA but if you should definitely make some time to get it set-up the way you like it.   You can be setting options, themes, etc. for hours on end - not that that's a bad thing of course.      Of course, you can use the default theme with just a list of roms, but thats kind of boring IMO.

I'm using Hyperspin now, but in your case, that'd be something I'd play with on the side for a bit before "going live" with it on the machine.