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GPU resolution advice needed - Rig update


dschulpius

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Hi all. I need a little GPU advice. I've been searching the www and and this forum can't find the answer I need. I hope and figure you who are building these platforms are the people to ask anyway. 

I built a gaming rig over 9 years ago using Gamex as the front end running most of the popular emulators running Mame, Daphne, Exc. This rig has a WG lower res arcade type monitor that is able to plug directly into a GPU card. Sorry, it's been so long that I don't remember it's name and model number. Anyway I don't think it will run on anything higher then a 600 x 800 resolution and I remember windows XP locking up if it was set any higher. 

Fast forward 9 years and the computer running Win XP (high end and fast at the time) stops working. Probably a motherboard issue because everything else checks out OK. I figure now's the time up upgrade everything. I now have a i7 based computer with a ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Low Profile GPU with DVI-D outputs and the latest version of Gamex installed. 

My issue comes hooking the WG lower res arcade type monitor to the DVI-D output of the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Low Profile GPU. I know I need to have a converter adaptor to change the digital signal coming from the DVI-D of the GPU to the analog VGA input of the monitor. However I'm not sure how to feed it the lower resolution of 600 X 800 from this GPU. Is it even possible? I don't see that low res offered in the res choices. Is there a way I can use this card to get this lower resolution?

If not possible is there a powerful GPU card out there that will offer a lower resolution like I need and still have the oomph needed for fome of the more demanding games?  I need a low profile card that will fit into this skinny case I now have or I'll have to move everything over to my old case that is full gameing size. 

Thanks in advance for the help this old timer needs. LOL. 

Dave

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Thanks for the quick reply. My apologies if I jumped the gun here. I was judging the lack of lower resolution support from the onboard graphics on my new motherboard. I am waiting on the DVI-D to VGA converter to arrive today. So I haven't actually installed the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti to  confirm. I guess I assumed that today's modern cards stopped supporting these lower resolutions. It's been a long while since I've worked on stuff like this and am behind the curve for sure. I'll stop bothering you guys with things that might not be true. Again, many apologies. 

However I do appreciate the info that there are other alternatives in case this GeForce GTX 1050 Ti  doesn't work. 

I'm a little flustrated that I can't find information on any site that gives the supported resolutions. I guess people nowadays are looking mostly for cards that will push the limits upwards instead of the other way around.  

Thanks again and I will post back with either good news that this will work or with more questions if needed. 

 

 

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No worries at all, we all get by helping one another out!

Do keep us posted, please:)

After reading your thread I'm glad I hung onto my HD4850.  While not a WG I couldn't bring myself to throw it out, and so lugged home my trusty P260 instead of sending it off to the landfill.

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I set up my GPU yesterday and BEHOLD! I have 600 X 800 resolution offered. I guess I just need to curb my fears until they come true. All is good now in GPU world. 

Thanks Tom & tthurman, It's good to know someone is out there that cares to help out a struggling newbie. I know i'll have a few more questions as I reset up my reg. I already have a few bouncing around my head. LOL. Time for another post soon. 

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Humm, well after playing around with Gamex and doing some serious settingup I moved the computer from the work bench and into the cabinet. First time hooking this new computer and GPU up to the WG CRT.  I think it's a D9400.

With the old computer and GPU I was using a 600 x 800 resolution. Anyways, now using this resolution form the new GPU I get a Out Of Range message on the WG with the screen all garbeled from the time Windows 10 appears. 

I did lower the refresh rate to 47hz and was able to get windows and Gamex to run without seeing the error message and had a clear screen. However the top and bottom of Gamex were beyond the crt's borders and I couldn't get to the navigation controlls. 

I then switched the theme to another 600 x 800 offering fromwithin Gamex and the screen went garbeled again with the same out of range message. 

That's where I left it and don't really know where to go next. Not sure why the 600 x 800 resolution is looking so stretched vertically and why I'm going out of range. Maybe I need to find a way to use my old GPU that worked befor but it's not going to fit in this slim computer case. The build in GPU on the motherboard won't go down to these lower resources that I can see. 

Do you think this Groovymame would help? However I have other games beside mame I want to run.

Maybe a new CRT. What are people using now to replace 27" Crt's?

Any other ideas are welcome. 

Thanks again,  Dave Schulpius 

 

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You may find 640x480 runs better. Although windows may not by default be able to use this resolution but GameEx and emulators certainly can.

With a monitor such as yours and these days GroovyMAME is more about getting the exact refresh rate for silky smooth gameplay rather than the resolution itself.

What you need to do is setup remote access to the cabinet with something such as teamviewer then play around as you will always have access to the desktop even if the resolution is out of sync.

The out of range stuff is pretty normal for arcade monitors. If the display is otherwise working well, trust me its like gold dust.

EDIT: With a real arcade monitor (Which you cant even buy anymore) there is a little work involved. You will need to do a bit of research yourself. I recommend build your own arcade forums.

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Thanks Tom. Great and welcomed advice. I'll look into it all tomorrow evening. Until then life has gotten into the way. 

I have been doing some research today on my monitor and this problem. It may just be a simple refresh rate problem. Windows did have it set to 75hz. I dropped it down to 47mz. It worked there but looked bad as I described above. Getting it set properly and sizing the desktop properly may be the key. I read about a few programs I can download that will help me do that. I can't wait to give this all a try tomorrow. 

Thanks again for the help and support!!!

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The main issue is with a real arcade monitor when using different resolutions the positioning needs adjusting for every resolution. Its hard to get a sweet spot. If the goal is just to run MAME only then yes 15khz is a good goal . These days too you are better using GroovyMAME than an ArcadeVGA. Things have moved along a bit with GroovyMAME and its associated drivers and utilities.

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Sorry,  was too vague about what I was attempting to get across.  If you look at GroovyMAME, every GPU is ATI based, so the one thing GroovyMAME and Arcade VGA (HD5000 series) have in common is ATI GPU's. 

 

Edited by tthurman
Really just an observation more than anything. Move aloing, nothing to see here....
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Well, I've got an update.

All is going well with resetting up everything and am excited to try some of the stuff available you all have suggesteg. However I'm having a problem with shutdown and restart that's connected with the refresh rate and the monitor scrambling with a Out of Range message like above. It's getting frustrating.

Here's where I'm at: I haven't yet set up Win 10 to automatically start Gamex. I'm now able to run windows 10 and Gamex in both 640x480 and 600x800 but the refresh rate needs to be set at 60hz (not above or below) or I will get the scrambled screen and the Range message. In Gamex Setup Display section I tell it to "Not Change the Resolution". However the problem doesn't change even if I do tell it to change and set the resolution in the below boxes to match my windows resolution.  

The Problem: When I shutdown the rig with the Gamex's "Shut Down System" option, I've got it built so everything including the monitor goes dead, Now, the next time I boot up into Windows 10, I'm right back into the Monitor being scrambled with the Over Range message. I need to hook up to a different monitor, set the resolution and refresh rate again (although everything shows that it hasn't change) and reboot. Then everything is normal until I shut down the rig again using Gamex's system shutdown option. Then  this happens again. :wacko:

I can use the "Exit Gamex" option and go back to the desktop and also go in and out of Gamex as many times as I want without a problem. I can also turn off the computer and reboot into windows as many times as I want with no problems. Only when I shutdown the system with Gamex will the screen scramble when I reboot the computer into Windows. 

Any thoughts? I guess my next step would be to get my old video card I was using in my old computer and use it to replace this new GForce card. Would it help to attach my INI file?

Thanks, Dave

 

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Thanks Tom, I'll attach them. 

Another odd thing is that if I start a game from Gamex while the screen is scrambled the game being launched will look fine. The monitor unscrambles and I can play a game. When I exit the game back into Gamex the screen will again scramble. 

 

log.txt

GameEx.ini

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I've been working on this most of today and have been making progress. Maybe. I was not able to get my new GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Low Profile GPU to run without scrambling the screen and see an Over Range message after using Gamex's Shut Down System option. Then I again tried the embedded GPU on my motherboard. No luck at all and I couldn't even to get the Wells-Gardner D9400 monitor to show windows 10 without scrambling the screen even after setting it to 600X800 or 640x480. 

Then I installed my old video card I had been running in the old computer that run Gamex, the emulators and Windows Xp on. It's a 8 year old GeForce 8500 GT. Windows found the right drivers and installed them and I set the resolution to 600X800 with a 60hz refresh rate . After a reboot I was overjoyed to find that everything was working now properly, even using Gamex's System Shutdown command.

I'm disappointed and at a loss as to why I couldn't get these other newer graphics card to work properly with my Wells-Gardner D9400. Even if I set the resolutions and refresh rats to within it's specs. I sure would like to have a newer card in the system and options incase this old one gives up its ghost. 

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You may not ever hit that perfect desired state with the newer OSs, GPUs and older arcade monitors.  The tech has moved on. So much in fact that not even Goodwill will take perfectly good working CRT televisions as donations.

If you have a working GPU, you may want to search for a working twin and put it away somewhere safe.

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Thanks for the good advice everyone. I've read it all, followed the links provided and have learned and relearned from it all. I remember reading most of this back in 2008 but lots has happened and changed since then. I'm like a newbie with my own rig I spent a year building back then. I want to especially thank tthurman for pointing me towards the places I needed to look to get a handle on all this. 

I'm tempted to reintall my new GPU and give it one more try to get it to work. That may be dumb and time wasting though based on the new OS and tech I'm trying to thread into the old monitor.  Draco1962 makes a good point. Maybe I should find a twin to my old card and squirrel it away. After all this time I see my old card is still available on Amazon for about $45 USD.

EVGA GeForce 8400 GS Passive 1024 MB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card DVI/HDMI/VGA, 01G-P3-1303-KR

The other option is to update the monitor but as mentioned by Tom the one I'm using is nice for displaying the old game right. Time may make that choice for me as this monitor grows old.

I really want to give GroovyMame a try but my GPU is NVIDA and they recommend ATI/AMD cards. However the site does say that it will work with other brands but they may not support all resolutions needed.  Is anyone seeing problems running GoovyMame on other cards then the ATI/AMD?

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I'm glad I looked at my card again and checked it against the one I linked to above. My actual is completely different. What I actually have is an NVDIA e-GeForce 8500GT Graphics Card, 1GB DDR2, PCI E, Dual Display, DVI-I - VGA. I found only one for sale on Ebay and snagged it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/253239418514

After trying again for hours this morning to get my new GeForce GTX 1050 Ti  to work I have given up and decided to keep the old and reliable e-GeForce 8500GT. It's worked well over the years and having a second one as backup gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. LOL. 

After studying GroovyMame and with it recommending a ATI GPU I've decided to put off trying it for a while and get my rig fully up and running like before. I still need to get a bunch of emulators back launching. I'm a bit gun shy about messing with other GPU's right now. It's working so I dont want to spend the time right now to start over again. 

Thanks for all the help. 

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