Compact Groovymame/31khz/Steam setup

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Hello,

Not sure if it's the right section, I know it's emulation, but I still use this kind of setup because I like to have both real hardware and emulation to compare/tweak and still play games that I can't afford.

I would like to gather resource to make my dedicated groovymame windows setup as compact as possible to fit inside (or outside) my NNC.

Right now I put a standard ATX tower in the corner near the cabinet, and I switch between Jamma and the PC with a manual extron vga/audio switcher

I would like the pc to have a smaller size, I don't want to see it sitting there.

I could put it very far hidden somewhere else, but VGA/DVI/USB length can be prone to noise/latency. So I guess it needs to stay around.

The conditions are :

- ATI card compatible with groovymame that can support up to steam games because because I have 31khz support on my cabinet, so it would be a waste to not use the most modern cards available.
- Soundcard that can support low latency, right now I am using an asio compatible usb professionnal recording soundcard that can get as low as 10ms delay
- Good PSU when graphics can get some charge with modern games and avoid voltage spikes.
- SSD for fast boot + Big capacity HDD for my launchbox setup that has a lot of media, and installed steam games
- VGA/DVI output for analog video output with no limitation on custom resolutions (HDMI>VGA adapters tend to limit this)
- Most cores possible because groovymame can reduce latency depending on how much cores are powerful since the framedelay option is automatic

So what is the best solution for the space inside the NNC/Naomi cabs with at the same time giving enough room for large pcb in case I want to switch with jamma ?

I thought about installing an ATX PSU inside the cab near the coin box and putting the PC in an acrylic case like the pcbs, but still wondering how to manage hdd/ssd/soundcard and gpu mess.

This would require unplugging the pc and removing it each time I need to put a jamma board.

What is the most practical solution in your opinion ?

I know the arduino/pi solutions are good, but can't give 31khz emulation, so my aim is to stick with something that can give 15/24/31 coverage.

Here is a picture to illustrate space available inside the cabinet.

Thanks for your suggestions and sharing your builds.

 

[Fantazia2]

Why do you think Pi's cant give 31KHz emulation, they can be setup to ouput 640x480 at 60Hz refresh quite easily, or are you referring to the emulation of the 31KHz era of gaming (Naomi, TTX etc).

You could always build a Micro-ATX system and it might fit in the back corner of the cabinet out of the way of the where the jamma boards would be. A cube style case might fit in their quite easily, although you may need to run it with the outer case removed and possibly trim a couplf of the corners to get it to fit with the slope of the base unit lid.

 

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Rpi sure can give the resolution, but not the emulation of the 480p systems yes.

The slope of this base yes is the most difficult problem, I will try to get the exact measures.

Micro atx cases I found until now are all too big, do you have a particular model in mind ?

 

[Fantazia2]

No particular model, just sSomething low cost that you wouldnt mind cutting bits out of.

Probably what you will have to do is make it fit in the space by cutting it down to size and just using it as a frame

 

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this is the maximum room available

 

[Fantazia2]

Tighter than I though, best option would be to just go without a case and mount the separate components on a wooden board or boards like the jamma area, and cut up an old or cheap case to get a structure for the motherboard and graphics card to support them.

You could make a main piece of wood that fits in the space available and maybe add another piece over it towards the coinbox to stack parts on top of each over.

 

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that's what I was thinking, case would be a lot of pain, but the mobo choices is very limited if I want it to fit this space along with the PSU.

 

[midwaydj]

If mounted everything on a piece of ply wood, you could get a pcie and pci extension ribbon cable so you can lay the video card and sound card flat next to the motherboard. Get a Jpac from ultimarc and run the vga out from the video card to the Jpac and you’ll have a jamma edge for the PC. Get a two way Jamma switcher from Mike’s arcade and you can switch between the pc and a jamma pcb without using the video switcher.

 

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looks promising !