Unholy Mame PC Question

[Blanka]

Run an older MAME version. They tried to improve accuracy of the classics in the more recent versions, and this accuracy takes a hefty demand on the PC. The latest version for example needs a 3Ghz Core2Duo for fluent Donkey Kong for example!
Guess below 0.119 makes a big difference, and you even can consider the real oldies like 0.36 and around that version.
In general newer ROMS work on older versions, but not the other way around.

[Etienne MacGyver]

Question for the DOS mame experts here :

I have the PC's for Ully, but some are without memory.

I have a bunch of old memory banks, the questions is, how much ram should i provide in those PC's for Ully ?

[scr33n]

Question for the DOS mame experts here :

I have the PC's for Ully, but some are without memory.

I have a bunch of old memory banks, the questions is, how much ram should i provide in those PC's for Ully ?

I can say (for my experience) 128mb minimum - 256mb optimal using Advancemame 0.106

[Etienne MacGyver]

Ohhh, no problem then, i have three slots and alot of 128Mb and 256 modules

so i will fill them up with 2x 128 Mb modules so the pc's will have 256 each

or is 512 per pc even better ?
i seem to remember that windows 98 maximum effective memory is 256 MB, i dont know what is the effective max for dos ??

Anyone ?

[DarthNuno]

Under advance mame in DOS mode, with the purpose to emulate only one old game (let's say before 1983) you won't need more than 64 or 128MB of memory... just check the size of the .zip file of the rom you want to emulate.
Do not try to use the latest mame build that would slow down the emulation and require too much memory for 'nothing'. Do not hesitate to pick up very old build.... experimentation is the key 

[Etienne MacGyver]

ok, so if i provide 2x 128 in every pc, youre good to go ully

will prepare them for you

[Superully]

thx so much, etienne, you're really giving 100%!

[Etienne MacGyver]

yeah, i hate to "deliver/sell" crap, so i always say, if you do something, better do it right. 

[Etienne MacGyver]

..... if you manage to find more leftovers and don't know where to store them, i'd gladly help you out, because i might need one or two more

I did found 1 more today, so its 2 for you now
(don't know if they are working though, need to test them...)

will do that when i digg the PC's out of "the Attic tm"  

I did have one at hand and checked the video card,

it is a ATI RAGE 128 PRO GL graphics 16 MB:





I belief from what i read the chipset "Ati Rage Pro 128" is supported.

Maybe the advancemame guru's here can confirm / help you with that.

[Etienne MacGyver]

Back on this..  Good news and Bad news..

First the good news, i found 2 more "leftovers" and i found a little time to test these parts :
A total of 7 x 128MB IDE modules, and a bunch of memory banks..




Installed 2 pieces 128 MB of memory, and lets see if it works..
P4: check, 1,8 Ghz. : check, memory: working, HDD&CDROM: Check  




After windows was loaded (that was still on the HDD) i went to see what windows made of the Video adapter..
Ladies and gentle man we have a "Rage Fury Pro/Xpert 2000"  




Now its time to check the IDE modules...
There comes the bad news  

None of them are recognised by this mainboard...  




I do seem to recognise the way "P4B-MX" is printed in the mainboard, lets check it out closer...




Hmm what to do with unrecognised hardware....   Ofcourse !  BIOS Update !  
downloaded the latest bios from the HP site, and installed it:




Too bad, the bios update was succesfull, but the modules are still not recognised..  

Another option, i remembered that i saw the printing of the model on the mainboard before....
Yes! : ASUS..
After checking the site , there was an entry for this model, so i downloaded it , but the mainboard was locked for flashing by others than HP..  so thats a NO-GO  unfortunately..

I can imagine that one or two of the modules are broken, but all 7 ?  no way

What i can do Ully, is prepare the PC's with normal HDD's, and i have tested all memory modules that i have here, and there are 3 banks on the board, so i can fill them up with 768 Mb each.

That does gives you also a possibility to install windows on them if needed.., thats a plus than  

So shall i do that instead for you Ully ?

[Superully]

I can imagine that one or two of the modules are broken, but all 7 ?  no way

What i can do Ully, is prepare the PC's with normal HDD's, and i have tested all memory modules that i have here, and there are 3 banks on the board, so i can fill them up with 768 Mb each.

That does gives you also a possibility to install windows on them if needed.., thats a plus than  

So shall i do that instead for you Ully ?

wow - first of all THX A LOT for trying so hard, etienne, you obviously spent a lot of time on this one! so basically what you're saying is leave out the modules and use a normal harddisk instead, right? nevertheless, would it be possible to get some of those modules for use on other pcs? perhaps they'll work there ...

once again, thanks for your efforts and your patience - you rock!!!

[Etienne MacGyver]

Yeah well, its my job on daily basis 

Also i like to "hobby" when i have some spare time, and i hate it when i "deliver" something that does not work,
I mean whats the point of a configuration that is not working..
that only leads to dissapointments.
so i wanted to be sure that it worked the way i had imagined.

Your conclusion is right, with a normal HDD they work fine, and with a clean install of XP they are still very "workable"

I still want to know if the modules work, so i have made a screenshot of the settings in the bios in the thinclient where they come from, and i have the parameters now:



what i will do is try to enter the parameters manually in the bios, and see if it works then, of not, than its just a case of bad luck.

Also i will test all the IDE modules in this Thin client and let you know the results.
If they work fine (which i expect since they came out working) i will add them to "the Package" ofcourse, and also for andre ofcourse.

I have counted the PC's i have in "the Attic Storage" and i have 5 available of this, and some other brands / models
but that i will list later when i "reorganise" the Attic.

How many you need of them ?, then i can prepare them and bring them to eurocade.

[level42]

Hey Etienne, if you got 2/3 of these modules checked working can you let me know please ?
Then I can order this:

http://www.atarimax.com/myide/documentation/

and have it shipped to my uncle & aunt's....will fit easily in my luggage

[McVenco]

Now its time to check the IDE modules...
There comes the bad news  

None of them are recognised by this mainboard...  

I can imagine that one or two of the modules are broken, but all 7 ?  no way

Maybe a very stupid question, but do your modules have a power connector? I have a 2GB version of this module running in one of my Amigas, and it needs a small cable to get power from a molex connector, it can't take it's power from the IDE port...

[Etienne MacGyver]

Good point !, i seem to remeber simular modules that have this connector,

I'll Check !  Thanks for the Tip !

On the other hand, they are working on a baby ATX board without powerconnector...