What's new
By:
Filters

MiSTer FPGA

jassin000 said:
invzim said:
The point is once you have cycle-accurate 'cores', they can be re-compiled and synthesized to other (future) FPGA platforms that can have a zillion colors
Click to expand...
Yes I agree 100%, that's why I refuse to label this project as a total waste of time (just a waste for people who actually spent money to play games on this setup).
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, what makes this current project a waste of time exactly? I know you mentioned the control lag, but there are solutions currently available and other solutions coming that make that basically have no impact. What other issues do you have with the machine?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily defending the MiSTeR, since I don’t even have one yet. I’m genuinely curious why you seem to be so strongly opposed to it though.
 
What I'm opposed to is the suggest that its better than current emulation solutions.
Also for the price I feel the hardware is skimpy, and far too conservative for 2020.

The next generation of FPGA's is on the horizon, and thanks to the fantastic work being done today they have a shot at being better/something.
But this? This is a stop gap, a stepping stone (a 32x haha)... Necessary as it maybe, I just don't understand why end users are falling all over themselves to get one.

I love @SmokeMonster I consider him a buddy (he knows this) but he has popularized this thing and now its more hype than reality.
He clearly really believes in the device, and I only the work going into the creation/documentation of accurate cores.
invzim said:
Anyone have a nice cab setup, Vewlix
Click to expand...
No, and I've never seen such a thing...
The people that own one (or more) would no sooner put a Raspberry Pi inside one (if I had to guess). ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What emulation options would you classify as better though? The only thing that I could think of is the lack of a nice front end, but otherwise, isn’t the FPGA a better solution in basically every other way?

I understand your argument about this being a middle step. The more I read, the more I definitely see where things will probably get better as time goes on, but I think saying the current implementation is no better than emulation is a little bit hyperbolic.
 
Cloggerdude said:
What emulation options would you classify as better though? The only thing that I could think of is the lack of a nice front end, but otherwise, isn’t the FPGA a better solution in basically every other way?

I understand your argument about this being a middle step. The more I read, the more I definitely see where things will probably get better as time goes on, but I think saying the current implementation is no better than emulation is a little bit hyperbolic.
Click to expand...
Jassin has very strong, often hyperbolic opinions on things. Most things, really. He can be a bit of a curmudgeon, but he's our curmudgeon.
 
KalessinDB said:
Cloggerdude said:
What emulation options would you classify as better though? The only thing that I could think of is the lack of a nice front end, but otherwise, isn’t the FPGA a better solution in basically every other way?

I understand your argument about this being a middle step. The more I read, the more I definitely see where things will probably get better as time goes on, but I think saying the current implementation is no better than emulation is a little bit hyperbolic.
Click to expand...
Jassin has very strong, often hyperbolic opinions on things. Most things, really. He can be a bit of a curmudgeon, but he's our curmudgeon.
Click to expand...
Hehe- nicely put. I was trying to think of a way of answering the guy questioning Jassin's opinion, but I didn't know how to type it without sounding negative, which wouldn't be my intention. I recently got into the Mister project, and have not been this excited about the future of, do I dare call it emulation, since the beginning day's of Mame.
 
Anyone know if cbmstuff.com is legit? They have the 128mb module for $39 and say it will be in stock in January.

If not, any other options you would suggest?
 
Cloggerdude said:
Anyone know if cbmstuff.com is legit? They have the 128mb module for $39 and say it will be in stock in January.

If not, any other options you would suggest?
Click to expand...
I will try them, we always can get our money back via paypal.
 
Raph_friend said:
Cloggerdude said:
Anyone know if cbmstuff.com is legit? They have the 128mb module for $39 and say it will be in stock in January.

If not, any other options you would suggest?
Click to expand...
I will try them, we always can get our money back via paypal.
Click to expand...
I thought you could go ahead and pre-order, but looks like it’s only an email notification. I signed up, so hopefully it’s soon.
 
Any thoughts on their IO Board, which has an RTC built in? Seems like a good deal for $43.95, but I don’t want to get in a situation where a third party product isn’t as good as the normal IO Board.
 
Yeah, it’s a good IO board. I used the earlier version which had 32 meg built-in, but moved over to the standard IO board when the 128 meg modules released.

This updated IO board they’re offering now leaves the RAM out which is good. The previous IO board used a small, noisy fan; this updated board looks like it uses the standard-sized fan but it isn’t a Noctura fan.

All in all, this new IO board looks good to me. FWIW you don’t need a RTC module though if your MiSTer is connected to the Internet through WiFi or Ethernet-it’ll sync the clock over the Internet automatically.
 
Cloggerdude said:
What emulation options would you classify as better though?
Click to expand...
A custom PC build, exclusively made for emulation, where you actually use raw input with a video card capable of true analog out via VGA (you can get both RGBs and RGBHV from it) with a heavily customized windows installation with lots of the useless stuff removed, Windows XP (32-bit) or 2003 (both 32 and 64 bits) would be excellent candidates for this.

And then you need custom video drivers and *accurate* emulators playing nice with the custom drivers in order to have them output the console's native resolution.

It can be done, most of it is on GroovyMAME's forum, but it's, obviously, more expensive than a MiSTer setup and it takes a huge amount of knowledge and time to properly set it up.

Not only this might end up being a better solution than MiSTer (depending on the setup and the emulator used), but it would give you a huge amount of possible customization which you don't get with the FPGA and you have a *HUGE* amount of power on tap with a custom PC build which will let you even get lower overall lag than even the original console/arcade board.

But it can definitely be done, so there you have it.

No one ever said it would be easy, cheap or fast, and it all comes down to what you define as "better".
Accuracy wise, I'm pretty sure bsnes, blast'em/exodus and others are still ahead of their FPGA counterparts.

The "revolution" brought by MiSTer is that it is:
• Cheap (compared to a custom PC build)
• Convenient (meaning that anyone can get one and have it up and running in no time)
• Way better than most other console clones available (and 100% better than your everyday PC, even with a very good emulator)
• (almost) Completely open source (which means that anyone can contribute and improve the cores)
• Expandable (ie: external/additional RAM)

FPGAs *WILL* get better and better, no matter what, and with the above points which are going to be always valid, they are going to become the way to go for not only 100% accurate emulation, but also "plug'n'play" for those who don't have lots of the knowledge to get a proper PC setup.

I've seen this kind of comment brought up thousands of time and grew REALLY tired of this, so it's the last time I'll ever get into this topic, but I hope it'll clear people's doubt on this whole "FPGA vs others" argument.
 
It does not take a computer more expensive than a mister to run groovymame properly, that argument is silly. You can get a 3ghz+ i5 well under $100, toss in a $20 GPU and off you go.
 
Sometimes MiSTer feels like MAME for people who want to feel like they're not doing MAME.

I dunno, I either care enough to want to run a real board, or I don't really care enough that all I want is convenience and good enough emulation. If MisTer provides that at some point great. Right now it's more effort to set up than I want to think about.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top