What mame version to use

[helmut365]

I am getting an arcade cabinet in a couple of weeks.I have a HP DC5100 MT, 3.2 GHz HT CPU, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HD with mameuifx 32 which I plan on putting in my arcade cabinet.Is there another version

of mame I should get for my arcade cabinet with arcade monitor.Also please let me know if my computer is good enough for my arcade cabinet.I have been throwing some money at this and I want to do this right.Just joined the game ex website and I love it.Keep up the great work.

[Adultery]

Your hdd will not be sufficient if you plan on a full set and CHDs. Just off the top of my head.

Newer games will need a better processor, and what type of video card will you be using?

[Draco1962]

Build Your Own Arcade Controls (BYOAC) site is pretty much the defacto place to start with a plethora of different plans and advice. I use MAMEUI64 as I am running on Windows 7 x64 version. There are those that prefer MAMEUIFX or other derivatives of the MAMEUI builds. As adultery noted, knowing what kind of graphics card you will be using plus your OS will be more helpful in lending guidance and advice.

[helmut365]

Your hdd will not be sufficient if you plan on a full set and CHDs. Just off the top of my head.

Newer games will need a better processor, and what type of video card will you be using?

I'm new at this.What graphics card do you recommend?Or even what kind of cpu do you recommend.Thanks.

[Draco1962]

Here are the minimum requirements for running GameEx and other support docs.

Pentium 3 800Mhz CPU (or equivalent)

DirectX(DirectDraw) Compatible Video card, capable of 16 bit colour at 640X480.

[Your video card does not normally need to be too special unless using videos or DVD, although older motherboard onboard video is not recommended]

DirectSound Compatible Sound Card.

256MB Ram

Windows 2000 (SP4), XP (SP2), MCE, Vista, Windows 7

250MB Free hard drive space

Microsoft .net framework 2 service pack 1

Microsoft Direct X 9.0

Windows Media Player 9 or above

If you are planning to run just MAME along with video snaps, marquees, etc. you would probably be OK at 250MB but that will not leave you much room for anything else. With the price of HDDs being very reasonable, a 1TB drive to store all ROMS, snaps, etc would probably be sufficient and allow you to use the 120MB just for your MAME executables and Windows.

[Draco1962]

On reviewing information regarding your system that I found here, I would say that you should be able to run all OK. I assume you are running Windows XP Home or Professional on this microtower with SATA HDD support.I would not recommend using onboard video. Would recommend looking for a PCI graphics adapter with no less than 512MB of RAM with 1MB being preferable.

[helmut365]

On reviewing information regarding your system that I found here, I would say that you should be able to run all OK. I assume you are running Windows XP Home or Professional on this microtower with SATA HDD support.I would not recommend using onboard video. Would recommend looking for a PCI graphics adapter with no less than 512MB of RAM with 1MB being preferable.

Is the pci graphics adaptor better for the arcade monitor and does it run on my current computer?By the way thanks for helping me out here.

[Draco1962]

Hard to say as I don't have an arcade monitor. You may want to post as much information as you can about what you have. There are others here that do run cabs with arcade monitors that may be able to help further.

[Adultery]

Is there a pci express slot on your board? Ultimarc has a fantastic card for arcade monitors.

[helmut365]

Is there a pci express slot on your board? Ultimarc has a fantastic card for arcade monitors.

I dont think so.Here is all I know about what is on my cpu.

HP Compaq DC5100 MT micro tower computer

fast 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 hyper-threading CPU

fresh install of Windows XP Pro SP3

COA sticker & restore disks included

2 GB memory

120 GB hard drive

CD-RW/DVD combo drive

onboard audio and VGA video

[Draco1962]

I believe his has a standard PCI slot and not PCI Express per the pdf link I posted previously. That may be a limiting factor to card availability since he will be dealing with an older card design. Not to say it would impossible, but if running on an arcade monitor will probably need to be able to run it at 15khz to display properly as most arcade monitors run at that speed.

[helmut365]

Is there a pci express slot on your board? Ultimarc has a fantastic card for arcade monitors.

This is going to be my monitor.

27" Makvision High Resolution

Monitor VGA/SVGA

[bkenobi]

You don't need to get a bigger hard drive if you are just running MAME and opt to at least prune the list of CHD games. If you want a full set, then you will certainly need a bigger drive. IMO though, most of the CHD games are only needed if you really want to play the rhythm games (DDR and such). If you have a fast enough system (which I don't think applies to your specs), you can also play some of the seattle based games (San Francisco Rush, NFL Blitz, etc). Since you have a small drive (by today's standards), you should either upgrade or simply not use a full CHD set. If it were me, I'd opt for the latter option for reasons I've already stated.