Recommended
video cards for MAME
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For the official Windows MAME release (or
MAME32) on a
1. 15kHz Arcade Monitor or SCART TV -- Ultimarc's
ArcadeVGA.
2. TV -- Any modern ATI
video card. IT MUST BE BUILT BY ATI (Radeon or newer chipset
recommended).
3. PC Monitor -- Any modern video card from ATI
(Radeon or newer), Matrox,
or Nvidia.
For DOS MAME on a
1. 15kHz Arcade Monitor -- Ultimarc's
ArcadeVGA.
2. Multisync PC monitor -- Any ATI
video card.
For AdvanceMAME on an
1. Arcade Monitor -- Nvidia
TNT2*, Trident
Blade T64, or Matrox
G400* + JPAC
(or Video Amplifier).
2. Multisync PC monitor or D9200 -- PNY Geforce4 TI 4600*,
Nvidia Riva
TNT2*, Retail ATI Radeon 7500 AIW, Matrox
G400*, ATI
Rage 128 Pro, or Trident
Blade T64.
*These cards work great in Linux. The Matrox
G400 will allow you to boot a 15kHz console using the kernel's
fb, however, it falls short of Nvidia's Riva TNT2 when it
comes to 15kHz support, as it doesn't support low pclocks
reliably (both cards support interlace). PNY's Geforce4 TI
4600 is the best choice for a PC monitor or D9200 setup in
Linux (note, this card does not support interlace).
Click here for
help with terms used in this video card review.
Recommended sound cards for DOS MAME
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All PCI sound cards made by Creative Labs
require the Emm386.exe device in DOS. Because of this they
are not yet compatible with FreeDOS. For a fairly comprehensive
list of sound cards that do not require the Emm386.exe device,
check out vsynchmame.mameworld.info.
Otherwise, if you plan on running MS-DOS, or an MS-DOS based
operating system like Windows 98SE, below are my recommendations.
Creative Lab's Ensoniq Audio PCI (any chipset
1371, 1373, 5880) is the easiest sound card to setup in DOS
mode and it works perfectly with every release of MAME I have
tested, including all DOS frontends, like ArcadeOS. It is
natively supported by dmame under sound option 7. If you are
having problems getting your sound card to work in DOS mode
just buy an Ensoniq card and stop wasting your time. While
they don't decorate the store shelves anymore, if you do manage
to find one, it will be very affordable. This card also works
great in Linux.
Sound Blaster's 16 PCI works perfectly with
every release of MAME I have tested, including all DOS frontends
like ArcadeOS, however, it is a total pain in the rear to
setup correctly!!! The legacy device by default uses IRQ 7,
and configuring it to use IRQ 5 is real trick. If you do get
this card, save yourself hours of headaches and just download
the drivers from this website. Unlike the Ensoniq Audio PCI,
this card is easy to find online and at the stores. They are
usually available at www.newegg.com.
I suggest you start there. This card also works great in Linux.
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