LanGun Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Hello all I am new to this community and sorry if this ahs been covered 100 times already but I am curious about the best PC build for a MAME/Retro arch machine. I am designing and building a complete cabinet for home and personal use. I would like for this build to have the capability to run everything in my library from PS1 and earlier (before analog controls). I use big box and emumovies with great success they look awesome, I have built mock ups of 8 way sticks and 8 button controllers, all working good. I am currently running this on a Mac Pro from 2009 with win 10 installed on it. I am at the point in the project where I want to start building a dedicated PC for this project that will live in the cabinet. My first question is what is optimal for smooth emulation and snappy front end? Also my game library is pretty large so I would like to access the games fairly quickly, I don't think I need an SSD for this and am currently looking at () what are your thoughts on this HDD selection? My second question is the monitor, I cant decide if its better to keep hunting for a 4:3 24"CRT or to settle and use a 16:9 flat screen? I own a 36" Sony Trinitron that works perfectly but its way to large for a cabinet unfortunately. I have found some CRTs but the shipping is more that the TV. I don't mind continuing to search for the perfect CRT but am I wasting my time? Do you prefer to use widescreen monitor forced to a 4:3? if so do you use filters to smooth/blue pixels, add scanlines etc.? Again sorry if this is already covered content, I did a quick search but did find what I was looking for so I thought I would post new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 (edited) Could anyone with experience in this area let me know if this is overkill for an emulation station? Looking to run PS1 and older content, library is under 2 TB. I will make a custom case that mounts inside the cabinet so no case needed, all wires are in mmy wire box so need for those. (shopping list attached) Thanks. Edited January 24 by LanGun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Beats Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I can play PS1 and under on my Anbernic handheld that cost me less than 100USD. It doesn't take much to emulate those systems. I'd just look into a BeeLink mini-PC or something similar. If you're more comfortable building the PC I'd assume those specs would work, though I admit hardware isn't my strong suit so I'd wait for some one else to chime in potentially before making any decisions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Thanks for the reply, on your system do you find that the front end is snappy and loads quickly etc.? I was thinking its overkill and am not even sure you need a dedicated graphics card as most of the emulator runs on CPU not GPU, Thank you for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 OK lets try this from the other direction, are these specs good enough? I feel like this old system loads Big Box slow and isn't as snappy as I would like. I have two of these old systems that are identical and would be great if I could turn them into arcade cabinets. The only upgrade I can do though really is increase the RAM and add or upgrade the video card (not sure if that helps at all though). Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks. Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit System Manufacturer: Apple Inc. System Model: MacPro4,1 Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU W3520 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHz Memory: 16GB DirectX Version: DirectX 12 --------------- Display Devices --------------- Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT Manufacturer: NVIDIA Chip type: GeForce GT 120 Display Memory: 4064 MB Dedicated Memory: 480 MB Shared Memory: 3583 MB Current Mode: 1280 x 720 (32 bit) (60Hz) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmonkus Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 That CPU has very poor clock speeds and the GPU is even worse. The GT 120 has DDR2 vram which is very slow and not up to the task of running LB. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Perfect, thank you. I will look through our IT graveyard and see if there are any fresher corpses. Worst case scenario I drop the cash on a small system like C-Beats suggested "BeeLink mini-PC ". Thank you for your reply, do you have an opinion on monitors? I have been looking for 20"-24" CRT TV's but I might end up going with a monitor in the end. Not having the monitor sorted has frozen my design as I cant finish the cabinet unless I know the components that are going in it. Since everything pre PS1 is 4:3 that's what I have been looking for. The sharp edges of pixel art on some of the best games like MvC are so distracting on a monitor, what are your thoughts about running filters to generate a more tritonal feel? Also do these filters increase the demand on the hardware a lot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmonkus Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 If you want to go with a CRT TV then you are going to need to do some further research on using it with a PC. You cannot just simply hook it up and use it. You can use any PC monitor, especially a newer more modern one but a 4K or 1440p OLED with variable refresh rate would be the best option. OLED will give you the blacks and contrast that will closely resemble a CRT, variable refresh rate will let you run arcade games at their proper speed without having screen tearing or forcing the games to run faster than intended at 60hz. 4K and 1440p will give the best CRT shader effects their best look because of the pixel density, plus 4K and 1440p will allow you to do integer scaling with zero or minimal black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skizzosjt Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I also have a 2009 Mac Pro, still all hooked up and ready to go as it's my backup audio workstation! I also played modern games on it until I built my current Z390 system which is my daily driver now. I had up to a RX 5700 XT in there for a bit, but it was also obvious I was CPU bottle necked for some games like Assassins' Creed Odyssey I was playing at the time. I would have been playing at 1080p and medium settings to get decent 60 FPS. So I think that should answer the question about if putting in better GPU helps.....I also have X5690 CPU in there which is 2 more cores and faster clock. On 1/24/2024 at 10:51 PM, LanGun said: The only upgrade I can do though really is increase the RAM and add or upgrade the video card (not sure if that helps at all though). Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks. You can and should upgrade the CPU. You can get X5690 CPUs (6 core 3.46GHz) the best CPU for that socket for $50 now-a-days on E-bay. They are triple channel systems (yet have 4 DIMM slots per CPU socket) but emulation, especially at this level, is not exactly super RAM limited here. So whatever combo you got for that 16GB of RAM is plenty for emulation. Adding more RAM is pointless and a waste of money. Please tell me it's a single socket system? Those CPUs can be changed out by anyone who has the tool to do it, which is a long allen key and some thermal paste. The heat sinks on these guys are huge and the screws are deep down in holes that can only be reached by a rather long allen key. The single CPU socket systems used the Xeons as normal, ie, they still have the IHS (Integrated Head Spreader) on them. I'm a little worried you got a dual socket system because the W3520 is only 4 core CPU, yet you list your specs as a 8 core system?! Hopefully you just meant it's got 8 hyper threaded cores.... For whatever genius reasons Apple made the dual socket versions of the 2009 (4,1) Mac Pros use CPUs without a IHS and had the heat sink direct to the die. This makes them a little different to deal with as you would need to buy X5690's that doesn't have the IHS on them, or take the route that lots of us enthusiasts did and remove it yourself (delid the CPU's IHS). This was a bizarre choice by Apple, in the 2010 (5,1) Mac Pro's they went back to using the Xeons with IHS on the dual socket systems. The GT 120 is what came with the system base model, and was really only meant for driving displays. It's terrible for playing games, even when it was new in 2009. You can play 2D systems OK but you will mostly have a mediocre time with Playstation 3D era. You can easily plop in a better GPU like a RX 580 8GB model which would have enough horse power for those 3D titles. You would need a dual mini-6pin to standard 8-pin PCIe cable to power this card. You need a cable to combine the two mini 6pins ports into an 8pin to give that card proper power. These are easy to find on Amazon for less than $10 (google "dual mini 6pin to 8pin Mac pro") So Mac Pro would be like $200 investment. New CPU (~$50), new GPU (~$100), cable to power new GPU (~$10), SSD $25-50 for like a 500GB SSD for the boot drive and put the front end on a SSD. ROMS can go on a HDD by comparison if you cannot get, or already have, a large enough SSD If you're on a budget and have your expectations in check, the Mac Pro is a usable system with the upgrades. But it's gonna feel like a decade plus old machine if you don't do these upgrades. I see you already have Windows 10 installed, but I want to mention, I hope you're up to speed on how to install Windows? Make sure you create the install media with a dual layer DVD and DO NOT create it via USB thumb drive. There was a discovery several years ago that installing Windows in it's EFI format which is how it defaults to through USB has the possibility of bricking your Mac Pro's firmware through installing multiple Windows Secure Boot Certificates. Installing through a DVD will default to legacy/CSM format and will not install multiple certificates. Keep that in mind if you ever have to reinstall Windows on this Mac Pro! With all that said, I would personally either upgrade the Mac Pro, or get a pre-built mini-PC. I think you're investment in building a new DIY PC with parts as old as you listed is a terrible choice for the cost and time you will put in. If you want to tinker, keep tinkering with the Mac Pro or get something that will be "turn key" like a mini-PC here's why I would avoid all those parts you listed..... 64GB of RAM is way too much, you can save some $ and buy less GT 730 is a poor choice. As I point out a RX 580 8GB would be a much more powerful card, for just another $20 for $100 total. The NVMe disk with that mother board might work as you think. I have doubts it would work as a boot disk. (NVMe was at it's infancy when these CPU's chipsets were new - mother board might be too old to use it as a boot disk) So point being NVMe disk is overkill for storing ROMs and stuff like that. Better to get a standard 2.5" SATA III SSD that is larger size that can be used for both the boot disk and large enough to store all your games. Thats price dependent though, you might be able to find a NVMe disk that is same cost as 2.5" disk or just a little more expensive. If cost isn't an issue, I understand why NVMe is preferred, but it is still overkill for the use case. Personally I wouldn't run anything on HDD's today, I only use them for backups or long term storage. Costs of SSD's has come down so much in recent years is my reasoning to justifying that. I also like having less noise, SSD's make no noise compared to a HDD CPU comparison...upgrading to the best Xeon is just a little better than buying the old 2nd gen i7 https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Xeon-X5690-vs-Intel-Core-i7-2600K/m16752vs621 GPU comparison....not even close lmao RX 580 over 1000% better! (this is from TPU's GPU database) And user benchmark has same data on that GPU comparison, RX 580 >>>>> GT 730 https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GeForce-GT-730-vs-AMD-RX-580/m12582vs3923 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 THANK YOU!! That's some of the best information I have received on this journey. 1. I did not know about the USB EFI certs, wow I will use a disk in the future. Thank you so much, I never thought about it but of course they tool would build the freshest copy of the software with new certs. 2. DXdiag shows it as "Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU W3520 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHz" (I will have a look this evening and report back) 3. The project budget for this project is decent, I can easily make the suggested upgrades in order for this to be the core of my cabinet. (if the processor is upgradable) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skizzosjt Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 10 minutes ago, LanGun said: THANK YOU!! That's some of the best information I have received on this journey. 1. I did not know about the USB EFI certs, wow I will use a disk in the future. Thank you so much, I never thought about it but of course they tool would build the freshest copy of the software with new certs. 2. DXdiag shows it as "Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU W3520 @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHz" (I will have a look this evening and report back) 3. The project budget for this project is decent, I can easily make the suggested upgrades in order for this to be the core of my cabinet. (if the processor is upgradable) ah ok I was wondering where you got that info from as it looked copy/paste. DXDiag will list out hyper threaded cores. So an "8 core" CPU in this case is really a 4 core CPU with hyper threading, a hyper threaded core per each physical core. So I think you got a single CPU system, which makes the upgrade adventure much more palatable to anyone who doesn't want to get their hands dirty doing stuff like needing to delid a CPU. If you want to verify that pop open the side panel and take a look at the CPU tray in the bottom of the case. Single CPU system has one massive heatsink on it. While the dual CPU systems have two slightly smaller heatsinks. You'll also notice another bank of 4 DIMM slots on a dual CPU tray. Here's a pic that shows them side by side. Fun fact, these trays can be interchanged between any 2009 4,1 Mac Pro. Turn a single CPU system into a dual CPU system or vise versa. Apple actually did a great job with the modularity of these systems. CPU upgrade can be done in ~20 mins. It's really not much more than pulling out the CPU tray, remove heat sink, exchange CPU and put it back together. This upgrade has been done by tens of thousands of enthusiasts. so you can def find lots of youtube videos going over it and lots of posts on macrumors forums, specifically the Mac Pro sub forum. if you want to get into nitty gritty details to see if you're comfortable with the process before you buy anything you should check that stuff out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Oh yeah, they are the single socket version. I have two of these machines and would like to thank you for the idea of upgrading them to make the usable again. I tried to give them to my neighbor awhile back and he didnt want them (thank goodness). So with me refurbishing two of them I was thinking of picking this pair up what do you think? https://www.ebay.com/itm/143708990539?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3D481a90006cae4c6c82b3bfa4fd411ec2%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D7%26sd%3D282121438900%26itm%3D143708990539%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2351460%26brand%3DIntel&_trksid=p2351460.c100667.m2042&LH_BIN=1 And as for the graphics card upgrade you mentioned the RX 580 in 8GB being about as high as I can go, what do you think about this as an option? I saw some used ones but for a few more dollars to get new I thought it might be worth it. https://www.ebay.com/itm/296158881665?hash=item44f471e781%3Ag%3AJ7AAAOSwiqRk6GTk&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4F3U0EPOXsw5ztaSJtUlAarR2W%2FbxobGSXbl0QWpqHB%2FOCwHGqzMgheJXmVkCUkZrMs3ZRShsC4gJOGiFcmjf7RxgSt4kklfLf6rKozM8T88ROdR%2F7eMZb016dOxD6jUDVUeuScINeuSOaVFog%2Bz76VTLYXKNMxJhZe9q3AfBz4E9oQgT9N5CNVFa63jWug0%2FHKWnznvpLrSPL%2BVlpIXLpzNvTxlkBmLZxSPIqEAVwh4rX3%2B8dbgmo1SCWpi%2FcLjTvl9DGYlHX6LgUWYrtSvzb7VmxkxxlfikV7ufe7CBkzp|tkp%3ABk9SR5KJh66rYw&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=1000 Here is ah HDD that I think could work its 500GB and that would have OS, LB and EMUMovies data and meta data etc. loaded on it, I can have a 2TB 7200rpm drive in secondary bay for Rom storage, the thought here is that LB is snappy loading videos etc. What do you think? https://www.amazon.com/OWC-500GB-Mercury-Electra-Serial-ATA/dp/B074ZNZCPW/ref=sr_1_15?crid=27T6LL433TY4Y&keywords=SSD%2BHDD&qid=1706628167&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_six_browse-bin%3A6158682011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A14027459011&rnid=6797515011&s=pc&sprefix=ssd%2Bhdd%2Caps%2C129&sr=1-15&th=1 I know you didn't recommend upgrading the RAM and it looks like waste of Monday but I might turn the second one of these boxes into a media server, what are your thoughts on this RAM for the upgrade? https://www.amazon.com/OWC-PC10600-1333MHz-Compatible-Westmere/dp/B0714BKLGX/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1I9PZ89REKORW&keywords=1066%2BMHz%2BDDR3%2BECC%2BSDRAM&qid=1706627597&sprefix=1066%2Bmhz%2Bddr3%2Becc%2Bsdram%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-3&th=1 Thanks again for helping me with this, I am really excited to get these two boxes back in service again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skizzosjt Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) The pics you posted make that system look like it was very well kept! Lots of these guys have bent feet, missing drive sleds, dirty AF, etc. That system looks immaculate for it's age! Nice looking grid mat you got there to work on too! the CPU listing looks like an excellent deal. Those CPUs were going for $100 a piece when I did the upgrade years ago so to find two for ~$65 total is perfect! the GPU listing gives me bad vibes. Do not buy that. Stick to a known, trusted, reputable brand. I've always bought Sapphire brand for AMD cards if I am not getting an actual AMD brand card. The Sapphire Pulse is the model I'd recommend. This by contrast looks much more appealing to me if it were my $, this is used though https://www.ebay.com/itm/375220460596?hash=item575ce1dc34:g:-QAAAOSwah9lttYZ&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8F%2BKGjQsMinXUm2Gpa1ie28Yy4MX%2BzR5h5WdfOcPi185DDJfE1Vj4flwoLBnjSHk122Ck41pcnQuEP9ivZQBEX%2FI6lGrjdMAmNaneTaosTD0IfK6dtUtzGRhZzi9DC%2FXP1vlbh3vrgQzU5Pn%2FkEDk4NQ%2BLZMdGdAp8OBQy8i20EijkovsJJ2afXx7Fw7ntHjnr%2Fs6exfQJnMkdUKUx%2Bs70%2FkOpnShqLca3NzWdSyWR8tzZ6dYtAh%2Fqnt7KBJ39U8Obsux8wr5txVAfiGTlWeVSbtjAGtDeiUXRr0Ow58%2F%2Fp2ZtIumcDmCd8eaQKD2WT4iQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR97hkLOrYw And here is one that is new.....I think it will be difficult to find anything new for this card that isn't some Chinese company selling it. RX 580 came out in like 2017 and is def discontinued. But Powercolor is at least a trusted brand users know in the USA, so if you want new, this would also be more appealing to me https://www.ebay.com/itm/134910724009?epid=6030522182&hash=item1f694e47a9%3Ag%3AlLYAAOSwHytlpE5X&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4JV7qBkWER1YSm7BBiVQ1wbDM543jDMc4mXifncd3kkTCJ8JcrBa2G29KVSyY5eNZettdA%2BSrE9BAGu0qltfNP7CSHR8U6uThx%2FmeOyGAV1uK%2FqTMgxgh%2Bz2RrSIct50V30hH1wYZN6013o7wjpqoSTu%2BDiN3INDNA1AvM38h1OCSoeYH0W6le9ncEcc8AltJMlbD9Lj0TsHzD8DTP%2Bi3e3daHtqc5wbr%2B2jqX%2BJ%2FggWE3thDEzPhfBfR8vgUxF4kfemZqRq%2B2YYh0nG%2Bqj6vAMma%2ByKVVTxYMvzZoDmWzLL|tkp%3ABk9SR9qauYOsYw&LH_ItemCondition=1000 Edit: Gah! Should have checked prior to posting. The Powercolor RedDevil RX 580 uses a 8-pin + 6-pin connector. This card is overclocked from the factory, more powerful, so has another power connector. You cannot get enough juice from the two native mini 6-pin ports. It is possible to use this card, but you need to think outside the box to power it. Like, literally need a 2nd PSU and you can snake the cables into the case through an open PCIe slot. Or a more elegant solution is to use a dual SATA to single 6-pin cable. You can use two of the SATA ports meant for disks and that will give enough power for the card. This assumes you only use up to two of the disk bays since the other two would be used to give power to the GPU. You would need some parts like this The dual SATA to 6-pin cable https://www.ebay.com/itm/353143104747?hash=item5238f824eb:g:0FAAAOSw1xtfEhQ1&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4F7G868o91ii9KfgS3XYgjWpO45zBIsX%2BqTtwQxLbnMAwxZM7PufMcQW%2B%2BbjNiPDnGCX1futK%2BPRWcpa390cZHbqjArKuc1HBxzzWMS8hZP8I1g1e0AN6FhVo1EFlcsMg4njP5NUZ5skaOO1rJJ8qrg7r1ATt7V5R4NhUU%2FNUqkrNULqSMSLWEP6Qxxm2jxcFHyacWggOU0p8Y%2BWn40SN9F2hGjzrC8F12JEidgoOD2mBSnJwY2ZsnOdzibi47s4AK7FQYIRHO6CSA%2FiCq1dM06UdMkGTgqbtJgxW5pbcqNx|tkp%3ABFBMsKelhKxj And I know from experience of doing this with RX 5700 XT, that the dual SATA to 6-pin cable is going to be too short or just BARELY reaches and not connected well and stressed from tension. So you would want to use an extension cable so it has some reasonable slack. This a pack of two, you would need just one, so just sharing this for reference on the part. I also recall I had to break the tab off on the SATA end due to Mac Pro backplane has the SATA power connector directly next to the data connector like on the disk. But these standard SATA connectors weren't meant for connecting to ones that have power and data right next to each other. Imagine the tab ends up poking into the area where the data connector is so it will not go in all the way unless you bust off that little plastic tab. https://www.ebay.com/itm/186269079680?hash=item2b5e809880:g:FxwAAOSwe01lsg7y&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8K%2FNPzmt%2FMUDx3S024l0H4WUj81Bz9p6kVFfNAoNVJx0mcfEH8Sh1wrlf%2FC9B%2B7x0ALmzJ1sQF5sCew5VmkMiu6ssvYhpb7RugUULcoH2gqQA3Ogy6U5cBXrosnAWo3X70TragqP9keCPfuECtL%2BP%2FG9gYrMyqL9Dxtl4W2WiHHaIU%2Fi8cRhQkEDQHBnOBPlkA%2BqgjmujmT37cnTGMn9a9UK6tIaJdxKAI2vJkwCSvFvR1jihSIeqSRxFJ9dQ287XrkuTdtyTS1Me9cwhSq9dsstyDe%2B9L8mFn38bTixqhID6PPcNUZwbsxsDWt1dBDgYg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5biqYSsYw The explanation on why to avoid the first GPU link you posted... I've never even heard of that GPU brand (MLLSE), and the card is 6-pin for some unknown reason! Reference RX 580 uses 8-pin PCIe connector for power, and there are AIB (Add in board - vendors other than AMD) model out there like the Sapphire Nitro version that uses a 8-pin + 6-pin because it's more powerful PCB and overclocked from the factory...but point being, there is no RX 580 variant I am aware of that uses just a single 6-pin. makes me think it could be a fake Chinese knockoff. Could be selling an RX 480 (which uses single 6-pin) that they modded in a sneaky no moral compass kind of way to make it recognize as RX 580 if it were plugged into a PC. Why does their listing feel the need to show a screen shot of GPUZ to prove the card is actually a RX 580....not like we have any idea what card was actually plugged in when they made the screen shot so it's really pointless to even show it. No reputable brand would feel the need to post such screenshot. There is a lot of shady stuff like that in the GPU market out there so it's buyer beware (particularity when they are some unknown Asian vendor associated with Ali Express). You can actually put in an even more powerful GPU. PCIe is backwards compatible, any newer GPU will install fine (if they fit and you have a solution to power it if it needs more than a single 8-pin). But RX 580 is more than fine for your emulation goals. I have one OWC disk and it's still going OK. It's great your system has all four drive sleds still. Lot of them end up going missing or broken. However, Apple only assumed users would put in 3.5" HDDs of that time period. You need a special adapter bracket to mount a 2.5" disk to those existing drive sleds. Or there are different sleds you can buy all together. OWC being Mac-centric has these parts. I got a couple of their adapter brackets and those worked out fine. Also important to know, if you want to put in a more modern and higher capacity HDD the mounting holes on disks have had their standard position change since 2009. Those disks if I recall right need a new drive sled with mounting points positioned correctly....I don't recall there being an adapter bracket solution for newer HDDs. This part will also be available through certainly OWC and likely other various vendors on Amazon and E-bay and the like. Sorry I completely forgot about this at the start but this means there is another little bit of cost to add. They were about $10 I think for the 2.5" adapters. The modern 3.5" sled were maybe $15 or $20 because they are built just like the original Mac Pro sleds (metal rather than the adapter brackets are plastic), but have the original and the newer mounting points RAM kits looks fine. What I meant about upgrading to more RAM is pointless is on whatever system would be used for playing games. You won't use even the 16GB playing up to Playstation games. Hell, I don't think I've even seen modern games use over 16GB....maybe stuff like the new FF7 remake just barely does.....but my point being the game system has plenty of RAM with 16GB. If you use the 2nd system for what sounds like a NAS you likely don't need 32GB either but I'm not so knowledgeable in this area. I think it would depend on how much it is used, ie is it going to be a single system connecting to it just playing 1 movie file at a time, or will there be like 6 devices connected each doing multiple things simultaneously. More devices connected at once and more stuff going on at once would benefit from more RAM for a NAS....I think lol. Ahh, actually.....recall back to me mentioning these systems are triple channel memory. So they work at their most efficient with only 3 DIMMS installed. So if you do need a new kit of RAM I actually recommend to either get three 8GB DIMMS for 24GB total, or three 16GB DIMMS for 48GB total.....I would assume the 24GB option would be plenty for your use case, but go to the next step for 48GB if you want to. When you install a 4th DIMM they still run at rated speed but they all cannot work as efficient between them, one DIMM is not part of the triple channel configuration.....details more than that go above my head. Most consumer platforms are dual channel, hence why getting two or four DIMMS is optimal but installing only one or three would be consider suboptimal. Installing four into these Mac Pros is suboptimal. Only use 4 DIMMS unless you NEED that AMOUNT of RAM. ie I need 64GB and only way to get that is to install four 16GB DIMMS. Since you don't need that much, it's best to have them run as efficient as possible by using only 3 slots. I see there are 4 DIMMS in your picture, and that is OK. It's not detrimental to performance, just slightly suboptimal. Just saying that in case you think you need to change it around due to my above advice. Assuming that is four 4GB DIMMS for 16GB for the game system, that is totally fine! Now if the 2nd system has no RAM and you need to get a new kit, then that is where I recommend getting the most optimized kit possible, following that above RAM advice. Edited January 31 by skizzosjt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 (edited) Yeah they are in good shape, thanks for the compliment , but really who doesn't take care of their stuff!? I ordered the processor and it should be here by Feb. 8th. I want to explore the graphics options a bit, I don't want to add another power supply if I don't have too, want to keep it looking stock or at least clean . That sapphire card you mentioned sold today at 2pm when I was looking at it lol, What do you think about this one? https://www.ebay.com/itm/364709941818?epid=23027545256&hash=item54ea68123a%3Ag%3AV9AAAOSwWPhlux0D&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4OYtLHztL2RBPGBlS76r76ss2qrkQiF436uS%2BhKfJ%2BayjeUGGoUfrCF4QvxgqA%2FUObNL%2Fr4zCPClGSh6%2BfpASXkY10C9PsmTuHOVe4c4dHY6sOLMxEtAolHt%2BjZa9b5QKcbJNiG8%2BbjqCjDEvXuzo29zNYfTKOPP8oSk3La8%2FgnUX5iLn61pbHzfv8LdZnXDSxTrYshCdOORRyuPNwxwbWS22ZP%2FxPu8rw4uERb5GLr3tDYw4qESQH6SWZNivwvGWQvu7Fxe%2F3oUi%2FsLmQZ7Qznb7vGWNmfMF2n4dhtYf02g|tkp%3ABk9SR6yMqMWtYw&LH_BIN=1&LH_ItemCondition=1500|3000 I can use the 2x mini 6-pin connectors to 8pin harness: https://www.amazon.com/TeamProfitcom-Express-Adapter-Braided-15-inches/dp/B07P82ZH22/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2D7BTS9B7INQH&keywords=dual+mini+6+pin+to+8+pin+adapter&qid=1706918790&refinements=p_n_condition-type%3A2224371011&rnid=2224369011&s=electronics&sprefix=dual+mini+6+pin+to+8+pin+adapter%2Caps%2C143&sr=1-4 Power consumption should be good, I think this uses a custom apple 980Watt delta power supply so it breaks down like this: (PCIs slot) 75W + (6pin) 75W + (6pin) 75W = 225W | Card needs <225. Hey, thank you again for your time and thorough replies. I wouldn't have continued down the Mac Pro path if you hadn't given me some tips to go on. Now to work on my ROM sets while I wait on parts to come in. Hey what's your opinion on a display for a proper arcade cabinet? Edited February 3 by LanGun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamfighter Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I’d like to upgrade my old (old) HP slimline and Sony Vaio with something off the shelf that’ll run Big Box with a large arcade collection and consoles up through maybe 360/PS3 era. Any y’all notice as good bang for the buck that’ll run smoothly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skizzosjt Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 On 2/2/2024 at 7:51 PM, LanGun said: What do you think about this one? that looks even better being a bit cheaper! that's a great deal for that card. good things come to those who wait and that is the proper cable needed to power it also. I see you know a bit about the PSU, yes those things are super powered at 980W which was really powerful at that point in time. But GPUs were not giant monsters back then like they are now and Apple only think to deliver 150W of auxiliary power. There are some pretty crazy smart people that figured out how to mod the PSU. Google for "Pixlas Mod" for an interesting read. That mod kinda scared me away because it's rather involved, which is why I always stuck with using power from the internal SATA ports if I needed more than more than what the native mini 6-pins could do. I say, take the path of least resistance and using all the native options will make the upgrade go as easy as possible. So I think you're taking a good approach to it all. I (unfortunately) don't actually do the arcade cabinet stuff....yet. I've been using this frontend stuff to run a HTPC in the living room. So I don't have any experience to share on a good display. My thoughts I have had on the topic are people standing at the cab likely will not be looking at the display straight on, so might be good idea to use IPS type vs a VA type panel. I normally like VA better for higher contrast ratio but they loose color accuracy when viewed at an angle. Some displays have stuff to mitigate that now. I always like rtings.com for a good source of info on TVs and monitors so I'd recommend checking out their reports and their forum or little question and answer area has enough people using it that you can likely get some good answers from their staff or community members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanGun Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 (edited) Thanks for the reply and I agree about the path of least resistance. I have been busy with work for the past few days but wanted to give you an update, I have received the processor! (see image below). That card I linked to also sold on eBay before I could buy it but I just pulled the trigger on a comparable card in the box, was supposedly used for a month then put back in the box and has been in the closet ever since, lets hope that's true lol. The harness is coming from amazon so it should be here in a few days. I will keep you posted on progress. Once I make a decision on the display I can finish drawing up my cabinet and can get this project moving again. eBay link to card purchased: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166596545836 Image of processor: Edited February 13 by LanGun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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