PC setup recommendation for emulators

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alex2005
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PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by alex2005 »

Do you currently have a PC in the cabinet to play emulators?
If so what would be good specs to play the below at 31khz:

- MAME
- Dreamcast
- Taito Type X-X2
- Wii
-SF4, MK9, etc.

And any other "recent" emulators (I am not really updated on this at the moment).

I currently have an old laptop that can use to test on the cabinet, but my intention is to build a new PC and I am wondering which configuration would be best (at least in terms of processor and graphic card to allow these emulators run smoothly).
I am happy to know your experiences.

Thanks for your advise!
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by Spectre »

Be wary of laptops and what they output via the external vga port. If you have a 31k monitor you'd be wise to ensure you only ever feed it 640x480, the standard function key switching process on windows between extended desktop and external display can send a display signal to your monitor which potentially will cause damage.
alex2005
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by alex2005 »

Thanks for your advise! sure will do that... I dont want to burn anything on my first attempt :)
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joeblade
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by joeblade »

I am wondering which configuration would be best
The best you can afford is a good place to start! ;)

Looking at your emulator list I would be thinking i5 3570k, you could go lower but that processor is pretty affordable these days. Ram I'd say 8gb, again not absolutely necessary but again prices aren't as "wallet breaking" as they use to be. GPU, again you could go lower, but I'd be heading for a 6 or 7 series nvida and finally for hard drive I'd say go for a fast 512gb ssd.
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alex2005
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by alex2005 »

:D :D :D :D
This is actually the max I can afford, would that be a good choice?
What about CAVE games? Would that be enough too?

Asus P8Z77-V LX 49462
Crucial MX100 256GB SSD SATA3
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4Ghz Box
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 OC 2GB GDDR5
G.Skill Trident X DDR3 2400 PC3-19200 8GB 2x4GB CL10
Tacens Mars Gaming 700W 62379 - Tacens Mars Gaming 700W

If I am not mistaken I wouldnt be able to use CRT_Emudriver right? If I decided to buy this PC setup, what would be the best way to get it working on the Blast City? Via VGA and soft15khz and set the default PC resolution to 640x480 and the Blast switch to 31khz?

Thanks a lot for your guidance!
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joeblade
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by joeblade »

Yep, that looks good to me spec wise fella.

With that GPU you won't be able to go with CRT Emudriver but just keep everything 640x480 @31k and run fake scanlines for mame. ;)
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by alex2005 »

Great! Thanks, I'll go for it then :awe:
Regarding CRT_Emudriver is there a lot of difference compared to fake scanlines? If CRT_emudriver is best what would be the ideal GPU to go with it? :roll:
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joeblade
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by joeblade »

Tbh, running 640x480 31k with fake scanlines looks very good. I believe it's Mr Cools preferred setup.

If you were going down the CRT Emudriver route the GPU you want is the ATI HD4350. :)
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by alex2005 »

thanks!
i was just looking at arcadevga 5000 today.
is that recommended? can it run all of these emulators? anyone knows what the upper limit may be for this card?
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by stellarola »

I'm running the following:

Intel G3258 3.2ghz OC'd to 4.5GHz
Asus H97 mATX motherboard
4GB Memory
120 SSD
Radeon 4550 GPU (Radeon 43XX would work fine too)
Windows 7 x64

I can run everything you would possibly want to run in MAME at 100% speed, even Cave games.

I'd say this build is perfect for future releases of MAME too. Call it "Cave ready". ;)
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by chubsta »

stellarola wrote:I'm running the following:

Intel G3258 3.2ghz OC'd to 4.5GHz
Asus H97 mATX motherboard
4GB Memory
120 SSD
Radeon 4550 GPU (Radeon 43XX would work fine too)
Windows 7 x64

I can run everything you would possibly want to run in MAME at 100% speed, even Cave games.

I'd say this build is perfect for future releases of MAME too. Call it "Cave ready". ;)
how does that rig get on with the likes of Gauntlet Legends?
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Re: PC setup recommendation for emulators

Post by stellarola »

chubsta wrote:
stellarola wrote:I'm running the following:

Intel G3258 3.2ghz OC'd to 4.5GHz
Asus H97 mATX motherboard
4GB Memory
120 SSD
Radeon 4550 GPU (Radeon 43XX would work fine too)
Windows 7 x64

I can run everything you would possibly want to run in MAME at 100% speed, even Cave games.

I'd say this build is perfect for future releases of MAME too. Call it "Cave ready". ;)
how does that rig get on with the likes of Gauntlet Legends?
I haven't tried yet, but I would say yes. Checking google I see people are running Gauntlet Legends at full speed with an overlock of 4ghz+. Since mine is set to 4.5ghz it should be fine. I'll give it a shot some time though.
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