Best MAME Settings? (also MAME Speed Problem (too fast!))

[Astro Lad]

I dl'ed MAME32 and am using these settings, I'll just note what's different from default:

Gamma .85
DD Triple Buffering
Draw Every Frame
5:4 Aspect
Use D3D- Bilinear (either Auto or Dot Medium Bright depending), No Prescale
Switch Resolutions/Color Depths OFF

The games look pretty nice (though I'm certainly open to suggestions) on my laptop, it's a pretty new one but I certainly didn't expect to have problems with too much speed. First of all, Punch Out! The game seems too fast to me, I don't remember how it was in the arcade but I'm pretty sure the ref didn't count to five in all of 1.2 seconds. It's not "hyper-fast" (Throttling is on and every other default option is on), but it's just not the right speed it seems. Amazingly, I think even Street Fighter 2 CE is running fast. Being the nerd that I am, I timed their clock and it was running at about 1.5X my stopwatch. I checked the FPS and everything, and it's steady at 60/60 with no frame skips, but I don't think that's the right way to check speed.

Any suggestions? I haven't been able to find too much info about this problem online, it seems that most people have it the other way around which is at least somewhat easier to address (turn off sound, skip frames, etc.). I would try a different version, like a command line one, but I'm totally illiterate when it comes to that and I like the MAME32 GUI.

I'm also open to any suggestions on settings any of you may have. Thanks!

[Flack]

What kind of laptop do you have?

I have a Dell Inspiron, and I have a similar problem. Using MAME32, often I'll launch a game and it'll be so fast it's unplayable. I've noticed that if I hit ESC, go back to the menu, and then relaunch the game, often it'll play correctly. Try that and see if it does anything -- if so, maybe we're on to something!

[Astro Lad]

I've got a Dell Latitude D600 (512MB). It's odd, because my games don't seem hyper-fast just a little too fast (except maybe Punch Out!, which is bordering on hyper-fast). It's almost hard for me to say with certainty that they are actually running too fast beyond a gut feeling. I wish there were a good benchmark to test it (maybe some older game with an accurate clock, I'm sure there are tons I just don't know which ones) because I don't really trust most game clocks to follow real time even in the real game. Have you tried using either command line version? I don't know, but it may make a difference.

Stupid Question- Do you know what the % number next to the FPS in the F11 shortcut is?

[Arcade Antics]

Gonna slide this one on over to the experts in the Emulation forum...


>>>SLIDE<<<

[Astro Lad]

Ok... I tried the Windows command line version and it seems to be running the same. I'll just leave it be for now and just chalk it up to my own insanity I suppose until I can find something else. However, I've been playing with the settings and it's REALLY HARD to find the right ones. The Mame32 guy recommends the "dot medium bright" D3D filter which looks just gut-wrenchingly ugly, at least on my computer. "Aperture grill" looks pretty sweet and is my favorite so far. I can't really tell the difference "Prescale" makes, so I have it on none right now like the MAME32 guy recommends. Same with switch color/resolution to fit. I really don't get that one. I have stretch using hardware on right now, which some say sucks, but I can't really tell the difference at all....

Decisions, decisions.