PC5-38400 32GB-DDR5-4800MHz for a MAME/Multi-Monitor Shmup Rig?

[rojop64664]

Hey everyone,

I'm in the planning stages of building a new, dedicated rig for my shmup cave. The goal is to run a massive array of stuff simultaneously: primary MAME/Mister output to a CRT, a secondary modern display for Tate-mode Steam shmups like the recent CAVE ports, a third monitor for streaming/chat, and a host of background tasks (browser with strategy guides, Discord, music, etc.).

I'm looking at some used server/workstation hardware to get the most parallel processing power for my budget and found a deal on a motherboard that supports PC5-38400 32GB-DDR5-4800MHz https://serverorbit.com/pc-and-server-m ... r5-4800mhz Registered ECC memory.

I know the conventional wisdom is that high-speed, low-latency consumer RAM is king for pure gaming performance. However, I'm curious if anyone has experience or thoughts on using high-capacity, high-bandwidth server-grade memory for a highly multitasking-heavy setup like this.

My specific questions are:

Multitasking Overhead: Would the massive bandwidth (38.4 GB/s) of this DDR5 kit help keep everything buttery smooth when the system is under load from multiple emulators, modern games, and streaming? Or would the potential latency of Registered ECC RAM be a detriment to game performance itself?

MAME/Mister Specifics: For MAME, especially with the more demanding late-90s/2000s 3D boards (e.g., ST-V, Model 2/3), does the sheer bandwidth provide any benefit, or is it still entirely about single-core CPU speed?

Platform Drawbacks: I'm aware the real catch is the platform itself. This RAM would require a server/workstation motherboard (likely AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon W). Are the BIOSes and chipsets on these platforms generally a nightmare for low-latency audio/video tasks crucial for a smooth shmup experience?

Basically, is this a potential path to a monster multitasking rig, or would I be building a power-hungry beast that's worse for gaming than a standard consumer i7/Ryzen 7 setup? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[ebelgarlic]

Hey everyone,

I'm in the planning stages of building a new, dedicated rig for my shmup cave. The goal is to run a massive array of stuff simultaneously: primary MAME/Mister output to a CRT, a secondary modern display for Tate-mode Steam shmups like the recent CAVE ports, a third monitor for streaming/chat, and a host of background tasks (browser with strategy guides, Discord, music, etc.).

I'm looking at some used server/workstation hardware to get the most parallel processing power for my budget and found a deal on a motherboard that supports PC5-38400 32GB-DDR5-4800MHz https://serverorbit.com/pc-and-server-m ... r5-4800mhzgeometry dash lite Registered ECC memory.

I know the conventional wisdom is that high-speed, low-latency consumer RAM is king for pure gaming performance. However, I'm curious if anyone has experience or thoughts on using high-capacity, high-bandwidth server-grade memory for a highly multitasking-heavy setup like this.

My specific questions are:

Multitasking Overhead: Would the massive bandwidth (38.4 GB/s) of this DDR5 kit help keep everything buttery smooth when the system is under load from multiple emulators, modern games, and streaming? Or would the potential latency of Registered ECC RAM be a detriment to game performance itself?

MAME/Mister Specifics: For MAME, especially with the more demanding late-90s/2000s 3D boards (e.g., ST-V, Model 2/3), does the sheer bandwidth provide any benefit, or is it still entirely about single-core CPU speed?

Platform Drawbacks: I'm aware the real catch is the platform itself. This RAM would require a server/workstation motherboard (likely AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon W). Are the BIOSes and chipsets on these platforms generally a nightmare for low-latency audio/video tasks crucial for a smooth shmup experience?

Basically, is this a potential path to a monster multitasking rig, or would I be building a power-hungry beast that's worse for gaming than a standard consumer i7/Ryzen 7 setup? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Registered ECC adds stability, which is great for servers, but it often comes at the cost of latency that actually hurts gaming performance. On platforms like EPYC or Xeon W, you also deal with chipsets and BIOSes that aren’t really optimized for low-latency AV, so things like controller input timing or audio sync can feel “off.”
If your rig is primarily for shmups and emulation, I’d lean toward a consumer-grade Ryzen 7 or i7 with high-clock DDR5 rather than ECC. Server boards are overkill