n00b Mame & Hardware Q's

[dj_johnnyg]

Hi All,

I've been looking around at some of the xxx-in-1 boards, and thought, I'd probably prefer to build my own MAME PC I can whack in the cab rather than bother with one of those.

I have been looking through my project-bits box, and I have a spare JVS-PAC, Naomi 2 Case & a Naomi filterboard.

I am wanting to put a PC mobo inside the Naomi case, and use the filterboard to make connections easy for the Uni.

No I have no issues with that, what concers me is getting a small but powerful enough system in the case to do this.

I was initially looking at the ATOM motherboards, with everything built in, but not sure if it would be able to handle M2, M3 and Naomi stuff, if I go down that route.

Anyone recommend a small mobo, maybe a graphics card I could use? I am going to be using Windows on a CF card (Well 2, one for a Hori setup, the other Vert), which brings me nicely onto my 2nd question:

Anyone used TinyXP, MicroXP, or nLite? If so, anyone better than any other for MAME / Emu?

Is there a MAME for dummies guide (if not, anyone fancy doing one & I'll make it a sticky?)

[philbee]

hi,
I wouldnt be an expert in mame but i can tell you what i have running in my cab,
I have all emulated naomi and model2 games running 100% and mame runs very nicely.
On the old naomi mdf board runs a intel e8400 dual core duo running on an overclockable motherboard (I dont have to overclock it but its there if i ever need it)
the memory installed is 4 gb ddr2 667 ram ( Ive tested it with only 1 gig and i cant see any difference)
the graphics card is a geforce 8600 gt (cheap 60 euro one, only really need it for pixel shader 2.0 or above) mounted in a pci express x 16 slot.
I use vista ultimate as the operating system, im told xp would have been better but ive no issues yet.
mini keyboard is handy too for leaving on the cp.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_t ... bee90&aq=f have a look here at games running on this system.

[DandySephy]

An Atom won't cope with model2, and certainly not Naomi

[markedkiller78]

It's hardly a flying machine, but I'm sure Pete had Mame running on this: http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Grade_A2_-_ ... sp?PID=171

Run an older version on mame <0.99 & it'll be fine.

[DandySephy]

yeah for older games that will do the job. I'm actually considering using my netbook for verts at work next week

[invzim]

Normal mini-atx will fit if you remove most of the plastic inside the case. Stay away from Intel integrated graphics, unless you're happy with 5 custom modes (or to go through the hassle of making your own driver package with the embedded toolkit).
The inside coating is conductive - so be aware of short circuits. I ended up using a 3.5" 1.7ghz Pentium M mobo I got for cheap on ebay, which will handle most stuff I play - but if I was going to buy something new I would go for a core2duo setup with integrated nvidia graphics.

I use tinyxp, stock mame and mgalaxy - only set it up for hori so no experience how it handles vertical.

[dj_johnnyg]

Awesome

Going to scout for a core2duo Mobo now.

By any chance do you have the pinout for the 2 white connectors on the filterboard, or am I going to have to sit down with the multimeter

Also, what do you do about power? I was wanting to use the VL connectors to power the system (hence why I was going to go the Atom route), but I'm not sure if the SUN PSU will be grunty enough to run a dual-core rig

[thesharkfactor]

what about emptying a decent spec laptop into that naomi box? that would fit with enough space left to walk your dog.

i mamed my cab with a dualcore 1.6ghz celeron e1200, 1gb ram, 500gb hdd, nvidia 7600gt (with soft-15khz), winxp and ajpac hooked up to the original arcade monitor.. pc cost under £250 and ive yet find a game it wont emulate to my satifaction.. bare components, it would probably fit inside your naomi box. mine fits perfectly into the small space behind a steel door above the coin boxes in my cab with enough room left to rent out to students.

with regards to front end, hyperspin is the ony way to go!.. heres mine!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf0OBy6WCw4

[dj_johnnyg]

OK,

So I really need to go for a mini-itx with a low power consumtion cpu.

I am torn between the Celeron 220, and the Atom330.

Now on paper it would be simple, go for the dual core.

But if I am going to be running an older version of MAME (<0.99) then there's not much point going for the Atom, as MAME won't take advantage of the dual cores, and the single core atom has less performance than the celeron.

This is me assuming that I can't make an earlier version of MAME dual-core compatible.

Based on this info, what version of MAME should I go for too? Mainly wanting to play old-school 2d stuff (i.e. pre 1990's)

Cheers

John

[penrhos]

Probably not MAME at all - Why not look at some of the other emulators Raine, Nebula etc... Some dont need the horsepower that MAME does to run well. It all depends on what you want to run.

If your going the single core route I might be able to get some P4 CPU's from some old PC's at work that are being binned as they are out of warrentee and wont run widescreen LCD's.

Prob 2.4 / 2.8G 475pin CPU's.

[Gadge64]

If you're happy just to just play 2D games on it, you might want to look into putting an old Xbox in there. With the default HDD you could fit in 6-7Gb worth of CPS1, CPS2 and Neo-Geo roms, and if that's not enough, the hard drive can be upgraded with not too much difficulty. I'm not sure how complete the romset is, but they're still releasing new versions of the likes of MAMEDox so it can't be that bad.

[dj_johnnyg]

Just want it for things like Pacman, donkey kong & that ilk. CPS might be of interest, but I have the CPS2 games I want, and have a neo mobo anyway, so will just get the carts if I want them.

@Penrhos - thanks for the offer. Let me know details via PM

John

[Gadge64]

If that fails an old xbox will set you back £40 or so. Xboxes don't even have to be opened to be modded, there's software hacks that do the same job