Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Everything Emulator related
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

I use a removable HDD bay for that.
Image
User avatar
pubjoe
Fosters Political Ambitions
Posts: 9836
Joined: August 19th, 2008, 8:58 am
Location:

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by pubjoe »

I wonder if their mini itx version is the same.
User avatar
keropi
Please Continue...
Posts: 294
Joined: January 14th, 2016, 6:04 pm
Location: Greece
eBay: sainshov

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by keropi »

@Shadolf

I did the 4.2ghz o/c - actually there is a menu that takes care of the settings so I just used that:

Image

I run OCCT for ~2hrs and 13mins :

Image

Image


and here is the VCORE OCCT measured:

Image


I am not an o/c fan tbh so my knowledge there is limited.

A sidenote about the Zalman CNPS8X cooler: although I find it good in keeping low temps the fan is not that great. It is noisy and not because of the airflow. You don't notice it when sound is playing but I would expect it to be completely silent... I don't have a back cover for my wooden cab yet - maybe the sound echoes and gets amplified or something...
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

Finally got around to setting up my G3258 + H81M-DG4. BIOS 1.0 flashed, stock cooler, pressed the "overclock to 3.8Ghz button", disabled HPET. Windows 7 Home Premium installed, BlackViper "safe" services disabled. All "Windows Features" disabled. Power saving set to "High Performance".

CRT Emudriver 2.0 latest beta for HD4350 installed, super resolutions. GroovyMAME 0.183. Portaudio enabled with WASAPI

Blitter delay 63%. CV1000 is perfect, slowdown included. :awe:

About the only thing I can find that's not exactly right is G-NET - no music. Other than that there's very little left in the way of vertical games I care about wrong in MAME!
Image
User avatar
keropi
Please Continue...
Posts: 294
Joined: January 14th, 2016, 6:04 pm
Location: Greece
eBay: sainshov

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by keropi »

cools wrote: [...]
disabled HPET
[...]
Why did you disable it? What am I missing?
Calamity released NEW CRTEmuDrivers that support the newer Rxxx cards as well... 8-)
also here are a couple of D9D9ex X64 binaries with the no-nag patch applied:

Full version (MAME+MESS) : http://www.mediafire.com/file/19cu4fgv5 ... 0183-k.rar
Arcade-only version (MAME only) : http://www.mediafire.com/file/gdqmv1jrb ... 0183-k.rar
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

I disabled it because I saw the option there, and remembered there was all sorts of talk on the GroovyMAME forum regarding the timers in the past. It doesn't seem to have done any harm so I'm not switching it back on now.

BTW do you have a nonag standard (not d3d9ex) version by any chance?
Image
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

Just realised I have frame delay disabled too, and didn't notice it during testing at all.
Image
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

Using keropi's build with frame_delay 1, and CPU bumped up to 4Ghz. SH3 does framedrop in the most bonkers areas, but it's otherwise fine. <£150 of parts vs the ridiculous cost of the PCBs nowadays? I'll live with it.

Also you get to see how quick everything boots up and some exciting scrolling through the frontend :awe:
Image
User avatar
keropi
Please Continue...
Posts: 294
Joined: January 14th, 2016, 6:04 pm
Location: Greece
eBay: sainshov

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by keropi »

cools wrote:I disabled it because I saw the option there, and remembered there was all sorts of talk on the GroovyMAME forum regarding the timers in the past. It doesn't seem to have done any harm so I'm not switching it back on now.

BTW do you have a nonag standard (not d3d9ex) version by any chance?
Didn't knew that HPET weirdness, gonna ask at GM forum and see if that is still the case , it would be great to know

Here are the non-D3D9ex builds

Full version (MAME+MESS) : http://www.mediafire.com/file/2ysiebrd1 ... 0183-k.rar
Arcade-only version (MAME only) : http://www.mediafire.com/file/ootrcwtxf ... 0183-k.rar
User avatar
keropi
Please Continue...
Posts: 294
Joined: January 14th, 2016, 6:04 pm
Location: Greece
eBay: sainshov

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by keropi »

^ Less rendering lag. If you are in vista/win7 there is no reason not to use the D3D9ex version.
User avatar
zipper
Posts: 122
Joined: March 20th, 2015, 11:47 am
Location: Southend on Sea
eBay: bazpatts
Initials: BAZ

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by zipper »

cools wrote:Using keropi's build with frame_delay 1, and CPU bumped up to 4Ghz. SH3 does framedrop in the most bonkers areas, but it's otherwise fine. <£150 of parts vs the ridiculous cost of the PCBs nowadays? I'll live with it.

Also you get to see how quick everything boots up and some exciting scrolling through the frontend :awe:
Simply awesome. I have an older CRT Emudriver set up (Mame 0.158 on a core2duo) and I love it. Pretty sure I followed your original thread couple of years back to get that up and running!.. but it's clear things have moved on without me and I need to upgrade. You have set the standard for me in that video. Couple of questions if you don't mind...
How are you fitting everything in the Pony? Or do you have it all cased next to the cab?
Are you using a SSD, extra fast RAM? :crazy: I've only ever used old, pre-built desktop computers before, but I'm well up for giving this a crack.
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

Thanks for the compliment. I'm really happy with everything, it came together better than I hoped.
My Pony has a few internal mods, you can see some here (very old pic).
Image

The floor and side are fully lined with MDF, the PSU was replaced with a UK model (and moved to the front) and there's an internal stepdown for the monitor you can't quite see. Doing this gives you ample space to fix things inside.

I was very kindly donated a Taito Type X 1 shell (the bottom half of the case) some years bac, this hosts the motherboard and SSD. This is attached to the side directly (the PCB holders were removed a while back), and my JammASD is bolted to the bottom of the cab behind the PSU.

The SSD was a cheap 64GB one I picked up a few years back and hadn't used. RAM was a 2GB ECC stick left over from my latest HP Microserver build. Motherboard/CPU is as mentioned in this thread. Motherboard is set to boot on power recovery (AC ON) and on any keypress. CPU is overclocked to 4GHz which you do by simply changing a single BIOS setting. Radeon 4350 is flashed with an ATOM-15 modified BIOS (allows the motherboard BIOS/Windows boot screen to display safely).

IIRC CPU £35 (found unused on this forum), motherboard £42, RAM "free" (does anyone have much use for a 2GB stick nowadays?), SSD £25, case "free" - but I did have to buy a (used) TFX PSU for it I managed to find for £10. JammASD £60, Radeon 4350 £10.

It won't be apparent from that video but this build I spent approximately 2 days waking hours on, tweaking and testing stuff. A good chunk of that was spent understanding why things were different from the last time I built one, bashing my head against a wall :lol: Had I gone in blind and followed the available instructions to the letter - dead easy.
Image
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

I'll throw together some pointers in the next day or so, there are a lot of little bits I do that are poorly/not documented. None are truly essential but combined they get rid of all the rough edges I can't stand.
Image
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

Made a start: http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/User:Cools/MAME

Calamity confirms a HD5xxxx or higher card is preferable nowadays as it's way easier to set up, so don't grab a 4350 - get a 5450 isntead: http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/v ... php?id=301
Image
User avatar
keropi
Please Continue...
Posts: 294
Joined: January 14th, 2016, 6:04 pm
Location: Greece
eBay: sainshov

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by keropi »

The recommendation is HD5xxx and above, win7/x64 and GM D3D9ex

Noone answered about the HPET stuff though :(
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

From what I can gather enabling/disabling it won't make the blindest bit of difference. There may have (historically) been motherboards where Windows used whatever timer it could get incorrectly.

I'll try enabling it on mine when I have a chance (next week probably) and see if I notice anything.
Image
User avatar
zipper
Posts: 122
Joined: March 20th, 2015, 11:47 am
Location: Southend on Sea
eBay: bazpatts
Initials: BAZ

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by zipper »

Thanks for all the info here. Brilliant that CRT Emudriver is supporting all kinds of new cards and upto Win 10.

Looking at the instructions for pre and post HD 5xxx, it certainly looks like the later cards are easier.
"A nice thing about the HD 5xxx and newer cards is the support of a feature called EDID emulation. By means of this feature, Windows will detect non-PC monitors, such as arcade monitors and TV sets"......... That is the cool bit. No more messing about swapping leads and praying. When you mentioned the 2 days banging your head against a wall, it brought back bad memories of doing my initial set up :lol: . Although as you say, once done it's rock-solid.

I've just bought a HD6450 and will give it a go with win7/x64 and GM (arcade only) D3D9ex as per you and keropi.
Come payday I'm going to buy some bits for a G3258 system, mount it to a board, get it in a NAC, go TATE and will never look back :awe: :thumbup:
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

Hpet disabled/enabled makes bigger all difference. There's evidence to suggest useplatformclock causes a minor, barely noticeable dip in performance.

I'm going to stick with Hpet on as I can't be bothered going in the BIOS again, and useplatformclock false.
Image
User avatar
keropi
Please Continue...
Posts: 294
Joined: January 14th, 2016, 6:04 pm
Location: Greece
eBay: sainshov

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by keropi »

Interesting thanks for the update cools!

Btw Calamity suggests the 6450+ cards:
By the way, prefer the 6450 to the 5450. Although it has a single analog output, it handles super resolutions better
User avatar
cools
Armed Police Buttrider
Posts: 13457
Joined: August 17th, 2008, 4:49 pm
Location: Wales, United Kingdom
eBay: hordarian
Initials: CLS

Re: Mame in cab thread. Frontends, gamelists, configuration etc.

Post by cools »

Oh ffs, I've got a bunch of 5450 on the way.
Image
Post Reply