# Know of good MAME technical build links? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 1, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-of-good-mame-technical-build-links/458429 "2008-08-01T00:06:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clnilsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@clnilsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clnilsen)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-of-good-mame-technical-build-links/458429/1 "2008-08-01T00:06:32Z")
For my birthday my wife got me an old arcade cabinet surplused by Disney, so I can _finally_ start my MAME project. It’s actually a generic cabinet built by [The Fun Company](http://www.funcomfg.com/) that holds Virtua Fighter 2 right now. I really wanted it for the cabinet, but I was pleasently suprised to find out it had a Wells Dardner D9200 monitor in it, which as of right now I can at least connect up to my donor PC and start messing around although the picture is not very crisp. I understand this monitor is supposed to be pretty useful in these types of projects, but I’m not sure what video card i really should be using. Basically, I have a lot of questions about what to do next, and was wondering if any other dopers have expereince in building a machine if they could share thier expereinces, or if anyone knows of any good forums to post questions. ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-of-good-mame-technical-build-links/458429/2 "2008-08-01T15:46:08Z")
[QUOTE=clnilsen] For my birthday my wife got me an old arcade cabinet surplused by Disney, so I can _finally_ start my MAME project. It’s actually a generic cabinet built by [The Fun Company](http://www.funcomfg.com/) that holds Virtua Fighter 2 right now. I really wanted it for the cabinet, but I was pleasently suprised to find out it had a Wells Dardner D9200 monitor in it, which as of right now I can at least connect up to my donor PC and start messing around although the picture is not very crisp. I understand this monitor is supposed to be pretty useful in these types of projects, but I’m not sure what video card i really should be using. Basically, I have a lot of questions about what to do next, and was wondering if any other dopers have expereince in building a machine if they could share thier expereinces, or if anyone knows of any good forums to post questions. [/QUOTE] From what I recall, the D9200 supports standard VGA unlike traditional arcade monitors. Still, I like the Ultimarc ArcadeVGA which supports both traditional monitors and standard computer monitors (and yours, of course). Linky-poo: [http://www.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html](http://www.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html) I’ve built a cab, and have plans for another one this winter. The place you want to be is Build Your Own Arcade Controls (BYOAC) - their forum is fantasic for this stuff - [Build Your Own Arcade Controls FAQ - Step up to real gaming excitement!](http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade.htm) ---
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-of-good-mame-technical-build-links/458429/3 "2008-08-01T16:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=dasgupta] From what I recall, the D9200 supports standard VGA unlike traditional arcade monitors. Still, I like the Ultimarc ArcadeVGA which supports both traditional monitors and standard computer monitors (and yours, of course). Linky-poo: [http://www.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html](http://www.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html) I’ve built a cab, and have plans for another one this winter. The place you want to be is Build Your Own Arcade Controls (BYOAC) - their forum is fantasic for this stuff - [Build Your Own Arcade Controls FAQ - Step up to real gaming excitement!](http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade.htm) [/QUOTE] Yeah, that site rocks. Although I “cheated” every step of the way - if you’re OK with 2 sticks and 6 buttons per, plus a few additional inputs, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a JAMMA Plus wiring harness rather than trying to hook them up yourself. Ultimarc also has a JAMMA to ASB adaptor for the controls. Bob Roberts sells parts cheap, is easy to buy from, and has a wealth of knowledge, most of it posted on his site: [http://www.therealbobroberts.net/](http://www.therealbobroberts.net/) Don’t spend a lot of $$$ on a high-end video card - MAME does not benefit from 3D acceleration or anything. If you’re going to beef up the machine, spend your cash on the fastest non-multicore CPU you can find, and RAM.