X-Arcade, Sound and mameui32fx

[FalconYT]

I looked on Ebay for a used cabinet before I started my project and unfortunately there were none available in my area. If there were any available locally, (drive to get them) they were a bit to expensive, plus you'd have to re-do them as they were pretty beat up from arcade use.. So I opted to build one from scratch.... The JAMMA standard is new to me as I knew nothing about it before I started reading and was not sure about the connection to it.

I am a little confused on the monitor, arcade vga card combo still.. Do you need them both to re-create the look of the arcade games??.. or can you use say the Wells Gardner monitor with a regular graphics card or the ultimarc arcade vga say with a regular crt or lcd and get the proper refresh and appearance?? When you read the specs and description at X-Arcade and Ultimarc it kind of sounds like you can, but not entirely sure... After priming and painting the cabinet, I am at the point where mounting a monitor would be next so I can make a bezel...

[FatTrucker]

The latest generation of AVGA's are fine to use with a PC monitor. TBH though, they are only really worthwhile if you're hooking them up to a PC or Arcade monitor as they are designed to output the non-standard resolutions and refresh rates that these displays require.

If you're going to use a CRT PC monitor or LCD then in all honesty, any graphics card will do.

[FalconYT]

Okay so if I invested in an Ultimarc Arcade VGA card per say then my regular LCD Display will be able to correctly display the proper resolution and refresh??? For some reason I was thinking the newer LCD's couldn't display those lower resolutions and refresh rates that the games required natively.

Also I contacted X-Arcade and they said that their 27" Wells Gardner that they sell is made to use with any VGA adapter as it goes up to 800 x 600 SVGA and does not need an Arcade VGA card... $400 + $99 shipping that's a big chunk of change..

Sounds like sticking to a regular D3D capable graphics card may be the least expensive option..

[FatTrucker]

No as a rule an LCD is fixed at 60Hz and will only support higher screen resolutions. This makes absolutely no difference to mame as it will run at your desktop res perfectly well and you can fix the refresh rate just below your monitor refresh.
Regardless of what graphics card you use you won't get an authentic looking arcade monitor image with an LCD display, thats not what the arcadeVGA does.

The arcadeVGA is designed to output the non standard resolutions and refresh rates required by a TV or 15 -31 Khz arcade monitor. It will still perform perfectly well as a PC graphics card but on an LCD monitor any PC graphics card will do the same job.

You only need an AVGA if you are using a non standard display, but its still a perfectly ok graphics card for use with an LCD or CRT PC monitor. But it doesn't enhance or improve the image on a normal PC monitor or LCD.

If you're using an LCD you can apply screen filters to mame which go some way to making the image look more authentic by simulating different pixel and scanline effects that you get with a real arcade monitor. You can get them at MrDo's arcade artwork page.

[FalconYT]

Thanks Trucker that explained it perfectly for me... I was trying to understand how a new monitor would work with lower refresh rates.. Obviously it doesn't... I'll have to think about now what I really want to put in there..