GameEx with ArcadeVGA / JPAC / New Astro City cab

[midiman]

Hey all - I'm getting ready to install GameEx with a New Astro City, ArcadeVGA, and JPAC and a full 0.125 mame set. The computer will be specifically for the cab and nothing else.

I'm not entirely sure which emulator to use for MAME, as there are many that are "made specifically for cabinet monitors." Any recommendations? I'm noticing that GameEx has lots of options for AdvanceMame. Should I use that instead of the original mame? I'm seeing alot of issues randomly with this setup and am hoping people can pass along their experiences.

[bkenobi]

A lot of people just use vanilla MAME. AdvancedMAME was written to improve the display on arcade monitors and TV's, but it hasn't been updated in a LONG time. I have never run an arcade monitor, so I can't say how much of a difference there is between these two builds, but one reason derivatives die off is that the code gets incorporated into the vanilla build. I guess I would personally say get a few that you are considering and fire up the same small set of games in it to see what the differences are.

[emphatic]

As Astro City is high res, you shouldn't even need special resolutions, so just use regular (some call it Vanilla) MAME. And also, upload a couple of pictures later of your beautiful cabinet.

Emph

[midiman]

As Astro City is high res, you shouldn't even need special resolutions, so just use regular (some call it Vanilla) MAME.

OK I'll set up with vanilla mame, but wait...as I had understood it, I needed the ArcadeVGA card so that this monitor would emulate the games without any pixel reproduction, etc - correct? I'm assuming I still follow all of the "ArcadeVGA" related items in the GameEx tutorials - i.e. setting the res to 640x288, and stuff like that. Let me know, because I don't want to damage the monitor. I'm also a bit confured with the order I need to load stuff in while reading some other postings around here. For instance, not entirely sure if I need soft15 or not.

Pretty stoked because I just got a call from the shippers, and they'll arrive Monday. ArcadeVGA and JPAC will come later next week.

[emphatic]

I have an EGRET II (which is low-res) that I sometimes hook my latop up to using a J-Pac. The J-Pac prevents any harmful signals reaching your monitor.

Try running GameEx @ 640x480 and see what happens. If it doesn't work, you'll need to install a little program called Soft15khz. But I'm guessing your monitor will handle it.

Emph

[Tom Speirs]

Hey all - I'm getting ready to install GameEx with a New Astro City, ArcadeVGA, and JPAC and a full 0.125 mame set. The computer will be specifically for the cab and nothing else.

I'm not entirely sure which emulator to use for MAME, as there are many that are "made specifically for cabinet monitors." Any recommendations? I'm noticing that GameEx has lots of options for AdvanceMame. Should I use that instead of the original mame? I'm seeing alot of issues randomly with this setup and am hoping people can pass along their experiences.

If you have a arcadevga just use Vanilla MAME and turn on the arcadeVGA settings in GameEx. Your monitor wont be damaged if you have a JPAC. I use the exact same setup on my cab, and just use Vanilla MAME. AdvanceMAME and Soft15Khz are designed for people that DONT have an ArcadeVGA card generally. Since you have a "Hardware" rather than "software" solution it really is cake .

PS: Dont confuse AdvanceD MAME settings in the config with AdvanceMAME.