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First timer needs help.
#234135 - 09/21/10 03:16 PM
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Hello all, been reading for a few days, think I finally have my questions narrowed down, any help is appreciated:
Plan:
I am buying an Ultracade machine (appears to be one with the conversion kit) that I am going to convert to a Mame cabinet. From what I understand I need to pull out the computer that comes with the machine and swap it out for one that I set up Mame on.
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1. Is the adapter in the Ultracade useable for Mame if I remap the buttons or am I better off just getting the Jpac adapter to make life easier? From reading the documentation it appears that the USBLinx can be used but the buttons will have to be remapped?
1a. I dont have the machine yet from what I have read it should have a Jamma harness so I would just plug in the Jpac and go from the Jpac to the Mame computer and be all set?
2. Do I need the ArcadeVGA card or will a standard one work? Again the USBLinx says it handles this so can I just use it instead?
3. Is Vista 64 the preferred OS for Mame? If I am going to use this OS do I have to buy a dual core processor? Can anyone suggest where to get a deal on older computers (besides the obvious Ebay).
4. Can anyone recommend a good front end? I want to run Mame64, Daphne, and possibly NullDC.
5. Is there any advantage to running MameUI vs Mame64 or is it just the interface?
6. I know it gets asked all the time but I want to run all of the older games, most intensive games I will probably run are Tekken 1,2 / NBA Jams / NHL 2on2, can I get away with a cheap 3.0ghz Pentium or the like?
Thanks again for any help.
Edited by pbiancardi (09/21/10 08:44 PM)
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234189 - 09/21/10 10:48 PM
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Did I post this in the right area? Just wondering why everyone is looking but not talking??
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234190 - 09/21/10 10:55 PM
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Because nobody here owns Ultracade machines so we don't know what's in them. If you rip it apart and post high res pictures of all of its pieces and list your PC setup in detail then maybe someone will try to help...
3. Is Vista 64 the preferred OS for Mame? If I am going to use this OS do I have to buy a dual core processor? Can anyone suggest where to get a deal on older computers (besides the obvious Ebay).
I'd get an E8400 or E8600 and overclock it and use Vista 64 or Win7 64 with a 64 bit version of MAME.
4. Can anyone recommend a good front end? I want to run Mame64, Daphne, and possibly NullDC.
I just use MAMEUI64.
5. Is there any advantage to running MameUI vs Mame64 or is it just the interface?
Interface.
6. I know it gets asked all the time but I want to run all of the older games, most intensive games I will probably run are Tekken 1,2 / NBA Jams / NHL 2on2, can I get away with a cheap 3.0ghz Pentium or the like?
Not sure but if it doesn't have 2 cores, use a 32 bit OS.
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| R. Belmont |
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234195 - 09/22/10 12:01 AM
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1/1a/2 can't be answered because I don't know what's shipped in the Ultracade machines. (The PC Hardware & Arcade Cab forum would be a better bet, incidentally).
> 3. Is Vista 64 the preferred OS for Mame? If I am going to use this OS do I have to
> buy a dual core processor? Can anyone suggest where to get a deal on older computers
> (besides the obvious Ebay).
The preferred OS for MAME is 64-bit, be that Windows, Linux, or OS X. Specific flavor doesn't matter, although you really should go with 7 if you're doing Windows. For Vista, make sure it's SP3 - earlier versions had performance issues.
> 4. Can anyone recommend a good front end? I want to run Mame64, Daphne, and possibly
> NullDC.
Good front ends on Windows are plentiful on the ground. Which one you choose is 98% personal preference - what we like may not be what you like.
> 5. Is there any advantage to running MameUI vs Mame64 or is it just the interface?
If you're using a frontend, there's no point to running MAMEUI.
> 6. I know it gets asked all the time but I want to run all of the older games, most
> intensive games I will probably run are Tekken 1,2 / NBA Jams / NHL 2on2, can I get
> away with a cheap 3.0ghz Pentium or the like?
For Tekken 2 you'd want a Core 2 Duo of 3 GHz or better. MAME is very much a "you get what you pay for" situation and if price is a major concern you're probably ahead playing your cabinet with it's built-in Ultracade while you save up.
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: R. Belmont]
#234241 - 09/22/10 02:04 PM
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Thanks for the replies, I apologize I thought the Ultracade machines were more common.
I did find some information online and it appears that the Ultracade conversion kit basically turned a Jamma machine into an Ultracade machine by adding a USBLinx adapter (similar to JPac) and a computer running their "custom" software. It appears to me that all I have to do is replace that computer with one running Mame and remap the buttons and I should be good to go (USBLinx handle the monitor input / output also).
So I guess my only question becomes the computer.
In shopping for a barebones system (I have hard drive, memory, and DVD already) I find that I can get:
AMD Phenom II 555 (2 x 3.2ghz) for around $180.00
Core 2 Duo E8600 (2 x 3.33ghz) for around $350.00
Am I to believe that the Core 2 Duo will run Tekken 2 (at full speed and well) and the Phenom II will not? I understand future proofing but if I can do everything I want for 1/2 the price that is what I am looking for.
My home computer has a Phenom II x 4 (4 x 3.0ghz) and runs everything I want to run very well minus Tekken 3 and NFL Blitz (which are not going to run on the new system anyway) and I am assuming that its not using two of the cores anyway so the Phenom II x 2 should work? Thanks again.
Edited by pbiancardi (09/22/10 02:08 PM)
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| R. Belmont |
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Cuckoo for IGAvania
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234253 - 09/22/10 03:35 PM
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> AMD Phenom II 555 (2 x 3.2ghz) for around $180.00
> Core 2 Duo E8600 (2 x 3.33ghz) for around $350.00
>
> Am I to believe that the Core 2 Duo will run Tekken 2 (at full speed and well) and
> the Phenom II will not? I understand future proofing but if I can do everything I
> want for 1/2 the price that is what I am looking for.
>
> My home computer has a Phenom II x 4 (4 x 3.0ghz) and runs everything I want to run
> very well minus Tekken 3 and NFL Blitz (which are not going to run on the new system
> anyway)
I'm a bit confused here - if everything you want to play runs fine on your quad-core Phenom, the higher-clocked dually Phenom will obviously run 'em just as well.
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| Cable |
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retro gamer
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234255 - 09/22/10 04:14 PM
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For the frontend try hyperspin it might be time consuming to set it up the way you want it but it has great support and documentation on their site. It would look impressive in your cab. That's what I'm going to put in my planed cab
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: R. Belmont]
#234273 - 09/22/10 05:23 PM
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> I'm a bit confused here - if everything you want to play runs fine on your quad-core
> Phenom, the higher-clocked dually Phenom will obviously run 'em just as well.
I just want to verify, sometimes in reading this board you get the impression that you have to have a Core 2 Duo to run all of the playable games.
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| R. Belmont |
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Cuckoo for IGAvania
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234283 - 09/22/10 06:07 PM
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> > I'm a bit confused here - if everything you want to play runs fine on your
> quad-core
> > Phenom, the higher-clocked dually Phenom will obviously run 'em just as well.
>
> I just want to verify, sometimes in reading this board you get the impression that
> you have to have a Core 2 Duo to run all of the playable games.
You do given that "all of the playable games" includes CarnEvil and NFL Blitz 
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: R. Belmont]
#234286 - 09/22/10 06:31 PM
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> You do given that "all of the playable games" includes CarnEvil and NFL Blitz.
So of the two I have listed above the C2D will play blitz at a playable speed and the Phenom will not? If that is the case I may drop the extra $$...
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| R. Belmont |
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Cuckoo for IGAvania
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234402 - 09/23/10 05:24 PM
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> > You do given that "all of the playable games" includes CarnEvil and NFL Blitz.
>
> So of the two I have listed above the C2D will play blitz at a playable speed and the
> Phenom will not? If that is the case I may drop the extra $$...
Yes, the C2D should hit full speed, the Phenom will not.
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: R. Belmont]
#234542 - 09/24/10 04:14 PM
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Thanks for the info, what about NullDC?
If I buy the Phenom and setup NullDC as another emulator on my frontend (thanks for the hyperspin heads up by the way), then can I run Blitz2k (along with some others like Giant Gram 2000, Virta Fighter 3, Virtua Tennis, etc) at full speed?
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| AWJ |
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234549 - 09/24/10 04:59 PM
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> Thanks for the info, what about NullDC?
>
> If I buy the Phenom and setup NullDC as another emulator on my frontend (thanks for
> the hyperspin heads up by the way), then can I run Blitz2k (along with some others
> like Giant Gram 2000, Virta Fighter 3, Virtua Tennis, etc) at full speed?
Blitz2K isn't on Dreamcast-based hardware.
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: AWJ]
#234551 - 09/24/10 05:03 PM
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I am talking about running the actual dreamcast game Blitz 2000 from an ISO stored on my harddrive, that should work correct?
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| R. Belmont |
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Cuckoo for IGAvania
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#234556 - 09/24/10 05:36 PM
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> I am talking about running the actual dreamcast game Blitz 2000 from an ISO stored on
> my harddrive, that should work correct?
I'm not familiar with NullDC's performance characteristics - I run Demul for that stuff since it can use unmodified MAME ROMs. That said, any of those emulators should be OK on the Phenom if you have a decent video card.
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: R. Belmont]
#234557 - 09/24/10 05:39 PM
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> be OK on the Phenom if you have a decent video card.
That brings up my next question, should I use the ATI Radeon HD 4850 that I have or get an ArcadeVGA card?? I would prefer to use what I already have if it will work.
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#236781 - 10/19/10 09:15 PM
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Well here she is completed.
Thanks to all for the help.
It was as simple as ripping out the Ultracade computer (which I got $350.00 for on Ebay) and replacing with my new Mame computer. I redid the control panel to include a trackball from Ultimarc, replaced the marquee with a new custom one and I am all set. Still trying to figure out a good way to get Giant Gram 2 or 2000 working (do these run on Demul??).
Edited by pbiancardi (10/19/10 09:26 PM)
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: pbiancardi]
#237214 - 10/24/10 03:43 PM
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Did you decide on a PC and processor? and if so what did you choose and does it run tekken and blitz. I am in the same predicament right now on trying to decide on PC hardware.
Thanks
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: alphafilter]
#237258 - 10/25/10 02:13 AM
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Nice cabinet mayne
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| R. Belmont |
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Cuckoo for IGAvania
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Re: First timer needs help.
[Re: alphafilter]
#237335 - 10/25/10 05:42 PM
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> Did you decide on a PC and processor? and if so what did you choose and does it run
> tekken and blitz. I am in the same predicament right now on trying to decide on PC
> hardware.
Blitz requires an Intel (no AMD) dual or quad-core at 3.2 GHz or better running a 64-bit operating system (Win7 or Linux) and a 64-bit version of MAME. (And Tekken will run more than fine on anything that runs Blitz well).
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