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Hypothetical ... cheap x86 scratch build

IHateMyJob2004

IHateMyJob2004

Lifer
I was thinking about Mame (emulator for old arcade games) and what it takes to run most 80s era games.

What would it cost for:
1.5 GHz+ processor
0.5 GB memory
~200 gig hard drive
Windows 7
Power Supply
Motherboard
4 extra USB ports (not including mouse/keyboard if they are USB)
No Case

Assuming that this would be a new build, how cheap could one go? Ignore the $100 for the OS. Probably cheapest find something old, get a new hard drive and install Windows 7. But this is a curiosity of mine.
 
Ebay may seem like a good idea. Ever thought of dumpster diving or going to a community technology turn-in day?

For around $279 you can buy a new Dell with the OS.

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...px?rn=7716&SC=lowToHigh&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

It is probably more than you want.

Processor: Intel Pentium dual-core E5800 (3.20GHz, 2MB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
Inspiron Desktop 560 Mini-Tower
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (3 DIMMs)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive

Just ask friends if they have an old comuputer they are not using.
 
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DaveSimmons said:
Didn't you just ask this?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2188464

Again, for MAME you want pure CPU power and Atom / Zacate are a bad idea, since they have weak CPU.
Click to expand...

No, that was a decision based on reality.

This is more of a hypothetical for a new mame cabinet that I might do this summer. These are full sized arcade cabinets I am referring to. I made one and might do a second this winter. If I do a second I would once again need hardware. New preferable. Thus this hypothetical question.
 
Exactly what to buy weeks from now would depend on what's on sale that day.

The cheapest capable CPUs I see at newegg are:

$42 - AMD Sempron 145 Sargas 2.8GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Desktop Processor SDX145HBGMBOX
... and there are 3 $40 motherboards to choose from.

$50 - Intel Celeron E3400 Wolfdale 2.6GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80571E3400
... and there is a $43 ASRock G31 motherboard for it.

I'd probably pay the extra $11 for the intel dual-core, especially since the AMD stock heatsinks are allegedly louder. Also, Core 2 is faster clock-for-clock than AM3 so the Sempron being +200 MHz won't let it win.

Add some $20 - 40 Hot Deal PSU, Hot Deal HDD, and 1 stick of RAM.
 
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A Zacate e-350 board should have enough power to handle this but...

0.5GB is not enough ram for running a Windows 7 machine. Go for at least 2GB.
Or better, just run Linux, the overhead of Windows won't be doing you any favors.

You can also find barebone minicomputer systems on Newegg pretty cheap that should handle this.

E-350 systems are around $200, barebones, $300 fully configured. You can get a fully configured core i3 system for $400.
The zotac zbox for around $250 comes with a CULV core 2 duo.

For full sized systems:
I see a foxconn barebones for under $100 that supports core 2 duo processors. Around $150 for a core i3/i5/i7 barebones. Similar stuff for biostar and shuttle.
 
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Issue with Linux is that the good front ends are Windows based. Check out Mala which is the most common one. Then Google Hyperspin to see what a modern front end can do.

Hyperspin:
http://youtu.be/lEgaqXsavYA

For what it is, Hyperspin requires a good amount of horsepower. The code must not be very efficient but then again, as a software engineer I and co-workers tend to go by hte motto of make it work then fix performance issues.
 
Pulled my cabinet appart. Didn't realie how new my LCD is. Has HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs. Dug through my cable box and found a 6' HDMI cable.

AWESOME!
 
Well, I wish luck would mean that the 146 gig torrent I need is downloaded by Wednesday. Should be able to get the required 26 gig one by then thuogh.

The 146 Gig one is bascially things like digitzied laser disks such as used by Dragons Lair.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_Lair

Wow, laserdisks have been around since 1983? Wow.
 
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Spikesoldier said:
note OP said 80 eras games (pac man, galega, space invaders, tetris, street fighter 2)

i would agree with you if were talking about mid 90's games (area 51, nfl blitz)
Click to expand...

The Sega Outrun ROM caused occasional intermittent stuttering (and constant 100% CPU utilization) on my XP2500+ running Mame w/XP.

OP is going to need 2.0-2.5GHz minimum.
 
stahlhart said:
The Sega Outrun ROM caused occasional intermittent stuttering (and constant 100% CPU utilization) on my XP2500+ running Mame w/XP.

OP is going to need 2.0-2.5GHz minimum.
Click to expand...

Some N64 games need alot of power. My single core P4 at 2.4 GHz played maybe half of the games properly.
 
IHateMyJob2004 said:
Some N64 games need alot of power. My single core P4 at 2.4 GHz played maybe half of the games properly.
Click to expand...

I forgot to add that my Athlon board is AGP -- I had pretty much the fastest GPU you could put in the thing (an X800XT). I just assumed from seeing 100% CPU with a ROM running that I was CPU limited more than GPU. Mabye with a newer board (at least PCIe 1.1) you won't be as constrained.
 
So, now that I have more power, there are alot of games that work. And sadly soem games that work at 90% like NFL Blitz. Would a future upgrade in processor be possible? I guess I'd have to go to an i7 when they get cheaper.
 
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