A few suggestions....


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Posted by Rocket2600 on 17, 2001 at 5:08 PM:

In Reply to: Bit of help needed... posted by Majik on 17, 2001 at 4:33 PM:

: Okay - I've discovered MAME and fallen in love. I need to build myself a two player cocktail table akin to the Gemini project on the pic pages - great stuff!!!

: I've rooted around the office (IT dept) and managed to salvage some stuff to build the main system from. What I need to know is whether this is up to spec and whether I'll be able to run MAME fast and well enough. I'm not interested in any of the other emulators currently, as I see that the NEO GEO emu requires high memory and processor speed apparently.

: Okay - heres what I've got:

: Intel 430TX board (USB and PS2 on board)
: 128mb RAM
Good to have 128mb, can't go wrong there.

: Cyrix 6x86 MII 300GP
fast enough for classics,...maybe slow on some Neo Geo's.

: S3 Virge OR ATI 3D Rage Pro Vid card (Need to know which one best for needs...)
Either card will work. I had a 233mmx in my cab with a S3 card. They work great on PC monitors.


: 4GB HDD
I had all MAME roms on a 3.24gig HDD

: And the rest is just monitor and insignificant stuff.

: Some questions.

: 1) I won't use this for anything except MAME. Should I run a DOS only environment?
You will great faster framespeed in pure DOS. Just try running a game in Win 95/98 then in DOS. You can see a big difference on machines lower than 400mhz.


: 2) I fancy using a PS/2 or USB hack with pass through should I need to do anything. Suggestions on which one and will the USB work in DOS only?
I think you have to have Windows running to use USB. I would go with the PS/@ port and just stay away from USB on this machine.


: 3) If anything REALLY needs upgrading - what should be first? (I'm aware the VID card selection isn't great)
First thing is if you want a better speed then the mobo/CPU would have to be upgraded first. Then you'll want to look at updating video cards.

: 4) How much extra cooling is needed in the cab? It may be on for a few hours odd ;-)
I just use my case fans and have never ran into a problem yet. You can add a few fans if you feel there is a need.

: Sorry to sound dim - I'm trying to find out as much as poss by myself. Front end selection is proving a maze....

: Many thanks.

Welcome to the insanity! Good luck and remember the main thing is to have FUN! Game On!

-------->Rocket2600




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