Q. I want to build a MAME arcade cabinet, where I will buy the monitor and PC to run the MAME emulator.
I will probably play with it a bit and then want to sell it.
Is it illegal for me to sell the arcade cabinet WITHOUT ANY ROMS just the emulator?
I will probably play with it a bit and then want to sell it.
Is it illegal for me to sell the arcade cabinet WITHOUT ANY ROMS just the emulator?
A. As mentioned, it should be legal to sell without any roms (although not 100% sure if that violates any licensing with MAME.. might want to sell it without MAME as well if you want to be 100% legal.. maybe just delete the main EXE file and leave the rest configured hah).
As for where to buy the PC and monitor... any PC and monitor will do. The more powerful, the better for newer games, but most classic games will run fine on even an older PC.
Some people get proper old school CRT monitors so they have the right look and feel, but you can use an LCD monitor as well. Many emulators have a simulated scanlines options to make it look more like an older CRT monitor or support plugins to enable this kind of feature.
MAME for Windows isn't optimized for 3D hardware acceleration (last I read), so if you're trying to get something that'll run newer 3D games, you're probably going to have to go with raw processor horsepower rather than something with a fancy graphics card. I think it'll do 2D hardware acceleration but there's no DirectX support for 3D acceleration so it's all decoded with the main processor.
If you're buying a PC specifically for it, depending on what you want to do, you might look at home theater PCs (HTPCs). Lenovo, Asus, Shuttle and Zotac have a wide range of small Mini-ITX (?) and smaller boxes that look pretty good. Some look like the Nintendo Wii or like a cable modem. Very tiny. Half the time they come as barebones so you have to provide some extra parts.
If you wanted something halfway portable, you could get one of those and a small monitor (maybe even a USB-powered one from Liliput or Mimo so you'd have one fewer power cables).
Also, I'd highly recommend either an X-Arcade controller (or the buttons/sticks/etc they sell non-assembled) or SlikStick for the controls. Very durable.
As for where to buy the PC and monitor... any PC and monitor will do. The more powerful, the better for newer games, but most classic games will run fine on even an older PC.
Some people get proper old school CRT monitors so they have the right look and feel, but you can use an LCD monitor as well. Many emulators have a simulated scanlines options to make it look more like an older CRT monitor or support plugins to enable this kind of feature.
MAME for Windows isn't optimized for 3D hardware acceleration (last I read), so if you're trying to get something that'll run newer 3D games, you're probably going to have to go with raw processor horsepower rather than something with a fancy graphics card. I think it'll do 2D hardware acceleration but there's no DirectX support for 3D acceleration so it's all decoded with the main processor.
If you're buying a PC specifically for it, depending on what you want to do, you might look at home theater PCs (HTPCs). Lenovo, Asus, Shuttle and Zotac have a wide range of small Mini-ITX (?) and smaller boxes that look pretty good. Some look like the Nintendo Wii or like a cable modem. Very tiny. Half the time they come as barebones so you have to provide some extra parts.
If you wanted something halfway portable, you could get one of those and a small monitor (maybe even a USB-powered one from Liliput or Mimo so you'd have one fewer power cables).
Also, I'd highly recommend either an X-Arcade controller (or the buttons/sticks/etc they sell non-assembled) or SlikStick for the controls. Very durable.
is there a way i can use MAME on my laptop but play it through my TV?
Q. is there something i could buy that would allow me to play mame on my laptop but use my TV screen as a monitor?
A. To be honest with you your not going to be happy with the laptops performance with most newer games trying to prot it out to a tv.
My experience of using a laptop that I connected to a cabinet conversion I made. I used dazzle video edit to be the hub between the Laptop and the monitor, I had the usb Ipac connecting the Laptop to the controls, full sound. I installed a docking station in the cabinet for quick connection. It worked well with the older classic arcade games but the newer higher graphic games did not fair as well. many times freezing. I changed the Dazzle out and the monitor. I placed an LCD monitor and used the S-video output of the laptop. This helped out alot but performance lagged compared to my table top computers. I eventually just went with a mobo mounted to the cab and built it from there. I have a Mini PC that I can take with me to play where ever that has a graphic card with s-video I connect to a TV or my fav a projector.
Hope my lesson can help you...
My experience of using a laptop that I connected to a cabinet conversion I made. I used dazzle video edit to be the hub between the Laptop and the monitor, I had the usb Ipac connecting the Laptop to the controls, full sound. I installed a docking station in the cabinet for quick connection. It worked well with the older classic arcade games but the newer higher graphic games did not fair as well. many times freezing. I changed the Dazzle out and the monitor. I placed an LCD monitor and used the S-video output of the laptop. This helped out alot but performance lagged compared to my table top computers. I eventually just went with a mobo mounted to the cab and built it from there. I have a Mini PC that I can take with me to play where ever that has a graphic card with s-video I connect to a TV or my fav a projector.
Hope my lesson can help you...
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