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Tempest MAME 2015 - new PC

EricBall

Entry posted by EricBall

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A while ago my son asked when I was going to fix the Tempest cabinet. The fire cleanup crew removed the PC I was using to the Tempest cabinet and insurance wrote it off (although I did get the hard drive back). So the first step is to obtain a PC. MAME is still primarily a single threaded app, so I used https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.htmlto judge different processors. I figured a Core 2 Duo was probably what I wanted. I started looking at the lists of refurbished computers at local stores online and quickly realized I wanted an E7xxx or E8xxx processor rather than the E5xxx and E6xxx versions. I found a couple E8400s (3GHz) with DDR3 RAM for less than C$200. Not a bad price, but high enough for me to control my impulsiveness.

But then I decided to check Kijiji. And someone had posted a E8400 w/ DDR3 for C$100 just an hour before. A few emails and an extended lunch hour later I now have a PC.

The first thing I did was make an image backup (using a Linux USB boot) in case I screw things up or want to use the Office 2010 install (corporate license) he put on. And unfortunately it seems there's an issue with Windows Update. Sigh. Windows Update Repair isn't able to fix it. Maybe do a repair from the Win7 install CD, and if that doesn't work try a restore or a full reinstall.

I did have one idea for the cabinet. Rather than use a doorbell as a power button for the PC, wire it into one of the coin slots. So you have to insert a coin to power on the PC.

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SoundGammon

In my Tempest cabinet I put in a computer with Typhoon 2001, Tempest update of the Jaguar version, a 24" LCD monitor, mounted horizontally, (just fit!), 2) 3-way 6x9 tri-axial speakers, and adapter to use the original spinner!

 

Now all that is left is to drill one more button hole for the "jump" option!

 

I used a doorbell button too to turn the pc on/off mounted on the back wall inside behind the coin door, about where the volume control is.

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EricBall

SoundGammon You must have mounted that LCD vertically as there's no way you could have fit it horizontally in the original cabinet. I just managed to squeeze in a 21" XGA CRT vertically (which is equivalent to a 19" LCD).

 

For some reason I couldn't get Windows Update to work on the PC until I reinstalled & re-activated. Then I disabled the auto-updates and selectively installed the updates by year. That seems to have worked so I think it's now 99% current.

 

Probably should next go out an pick up a 4GB stick of DDR3 to cut down on the swapping. Then dig out the old drive and copy over the WIP before I grab the most recent MAME and FE.

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