Arcade monitor or CRT PC monitor?

[dekar24k]

Hey guys!

I'm currently planning a new arcade cab build and I can't decide whether I want to use an arcade monitor + ArcadeVGA or simply a PC-monitor (with MAME effect overlay).

For my last cab I used a 17" LCD with MAME effects and I actually think the results were pretty nice (the image looked pretty authentic imho).

Since my new cab will be twice as big as my last, I will need a bigger screen and therefore I have been considering two options:

1. A 25"-27" WG arcade monitor (or similar) + an ArcadeVGA graphics card

2. A 24"+ CRT PC monitor

Since I have no experience with arcade monitors, I have no idea how they work. So my question is; will I have to set custom resolutions depending on which game I run, or will the ArcadeVGA/MAME emulator do this for me? I will mostly use this cab for MAME and Future Pinball.

Is it as simple as connecting the arcade monitor to the ArcadeVGA and then all games running in MAME will look great? Or do I have to go through countless hours of tweaking in order for every game to look correct?

Any tips/help is appreciated. Thanks!

[Jack Burton]

It all depends on how much tweaking is enough for you.

It is possible to set mame to choose the best resolution for you, and most of the time it will get it right. 

Sometimes a game will be slightly off-center, or will be a little too big or small.  Mostly this doesn't effect playability at all.

If you want you can tweak this.  If not I wouldn't sweat it.

[dekar24k]

It all depends on how much tweaking is enough for you.

It is possible to set mame to choose the best resolution for you, and most of the time it will get it right. 

Sometimes a game will be slightly off-center, or will be a little too big or small.  Mostly this doesn't effect playability at all.

If you want you can tweak this.  If not I wouldn't sweat it.

Thanks for the reply!

So if a game is slightly off-center or too big/small, then I can just tweak that in MAME's setup menu and save it for that particular game, or do I have to make "profiles" for each game (e.g. graphics card profiles)?

[dekar24k]

I was just offered a 25" LG Philips CRT 15 Khz arcade monitor (model no A59EEJ03X60). This is only a few hours drive away from me and it'll cost me less than 1/3 of what it would cost me buying a WG and having it shipped to Norway.

Does anyone have any experience with these monitors? I understand they might not be as good as a WG D9200/D9800, but they should be better than using a PC monitor, right?

[Ummon]

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