Makvision 29" Tri-Mode VGA Monitor in a MAME setup? (M2929D1G-62)

[_nu_]

I will be putting this monitor in an existing MAME cabinet that will be running Launchbox on top of windows 7 or 10.
This particular Makvision supports resolutions 640 X 480, 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768.
With this configuration, will I need to use CRT Emudriver and an old ATI card or can I use a modern card, say a GTX 1060 and have the same capabilities?

Perhaps someone could explain exactly what the Emudriver setup does and why I would or would not want it.

I do plan on running a large MAME library as well as some console emulation (which is why I want a powerful GPU)


Thanks!

 

[oneleaf86]

If you want games to run in their native resolutions and refresh rates then run CRT Emudriver. The downside with this is that you'll have to adjust the vertical/horizontal width pots from game to game.
If you run at 480p or above, you can just let MAME do the scaling and you won't have to tweak controls from game to game.

 

[_nu_]

So, in theory, I could put any GPU I wanted in the machine, and let MAME scale things up to higher res?
Whats the downside to this?

second question: If I get a compatible card and run CRT Emudriver, will this actually be forcing the monitor to run at 240p @ 120hz? Will this hurt the monitor as 320 x 240 is not listed as a supported mode?

 

[oneleaf86]

The downside to scaling lower res games to a higher res and refresh is a lack of natural scanlines and smooth scrolling (motion can stutter sometimes).

If you run CRT Emudriver, games will run at their native resolution and refresh. The Makvision you mention is capable of handling anything from low res 15khz up to SVGA resolutions so you don't have to worry about damaging anything.

 

[_nu_]

Thank you. I will look into getting a nice ati card. The machine currently has a Trident Blade T64 agp card I installed in 03 with hacky drivers.

 

[RealMFnG]

So, in theory, I could put any GPU I wanted in the machine, and let MAME scale things up to higher res?
Whats the downside to this?

For you, not much. CRT Emu allows the game to run via emulation as close to the original resolution as possible. But it is still emulation. Once you cross that bridge into emulation, the idea of getting the original experience goes out the door depending on who you ask. You won't notice the difference I don't think. You're monitor still is a CRT and you will have scanlines. Arcade collectors are snobs and most of us when it comes to using real arcade boards and CRT's, wouldn't think of using a display that doesn't allow the game to run at its original resolution. But from the sounds of it, you aren't there. You would save yourself a ton of hassle just running your machine at PC resolutions than at arcade resolutions. CRT Emu is a hack that allows arcade monitors that don't support computer resolutions to connect to a PC by producing a compatible video signal from the card. Since your monitor can hook up to a PC natively, your battle is largely won.

But if you did decide to go through the hassle, you would be running graphics that were designed to run at such low resolutions. They look better like that. Think of how crappy DVD's now look on HDTV sets of today. That is because DVD is 480p and HD is at 720p1080i/1080p.

second question: If I get a compatible card and run CRT Emudriver, will this actually be forcing the monitor to run at 240p @ 120hz? Will this hurt the monitor as 320 x 240 is not listed as a supported mode?

I don't know much about your monitor. But if it doesn't support CGA resolution, it might damage your monitor if you tried feeding it a CGA signal. More than likely, you'll be sitting in front of a blank screen when doing the setup as CRT Emu is incredibly tricky to setup across different PC configurations.

Since your monitor doesn't support those resolutions. No point trying to get a CRT Emu compatible ATI card. Run with what card you have no and see if you dig it.