I started out with MAME before becoming an arcade snob. I've mastered setting up a MAME box. All my MAME builds hide Windows completely. I boot right into the front end of my choosing and launch games from there. Never have to use a keyboard. Everything is controlled via joystick and push buttons. I find the emulation works well enough for the games that I don't have and am able to enjoy them thoroughly, though I am still an arcade snob. Also, I find that CRT Emu does a fine job with rendering video. To be quite honest, I love the simplicity of the 'Ultracade' inspired front ends; they make sharing games with non-hobbyists very easy. I've built several dozen MAME PC's by now. It costs me in most cases, less than $100 bucks to get a MAME box going. And sometimes when I can scour a free PC, it costs me less than $40. I know full well the advantages/differences between MAME software emulation and MiSTer FPGA. The only drawback I have with MAME is that it takes some 3-5 hours to setup. Though, it is mostly a passive effort however (Windows installation, copying over roms).
Pricing out a MiSTer is going to cost $350-$400. And then I would still need controller PCB's. A JAMMA interface. An audio amp. I know the cores aren't all running well yet. Wondering if it is worth it. Asking if there is someone with comparable experience with MAME to mine if you've found it worthwhile exploring MiSTer?
P.S. I've dabbled with RPi stuff and have not been impressed (yes, I know RPi and MiSTer are two different things).
Pricing out a MiSTer is going to cost $350-$400. And then I would still need controller PCB's. A JAMMA interface. An audio amp. I know the cores aren't all running well yet. Wondering if it is worth it. Asking if there is someone with comparable experience with MAME to mine if you've found it worthwhile exploring MiSTer?
P.S. I've dabbled with RPi stuff and have not been impressed (yes, I know RPi and MiSTer are two different things).