Building new emulator pc / crt questions

[deezdrama]

In 2015 i built a 4 player hyperspin cabinet with atari 2600 all the way up to ps1. It uses a 32" led panel and the machine is great but over the years ive found things i want to change and definatelly want to move away from hyperspin and use a front end thats easier to setup.

So here was my plans... Buy used i5 2500k, a used z77 mobo and overclock to 4.5ghz. 16gb ddr3.
Gtx 1060 6gb. 500w psu. Micro case.

I wanted it all setup to use from boot with a wireless controller. I wanted streaming tv apps, youtube, steam for newer games, wanted nes all the way up to ps2 (allready have most roms)

So it was all pretty straight forward untill i stumbled across some vids of guys running retro emulation through high end consumer grade crt tv sets with component inputs.
240p looks good, scanlines,black blacks, zero lag, and great color depth made me want to try this out.

Then I remembered the higher end crt my mom still had. After a phone call im soon killing myself carrying the 27" to the car.
Its a panasonic CT-27SX11E with component

Now im super confused which way to go with the build and what connections i need.

I would love to keep the original emulator box build idea and use my lcd monitor for newer games and systems but be able to play the older systems on the crt as a secondary monitor.
Im not sure if this is possible, even if i ran a second video card with analog output - i dont even know if windows would be able to handle the multi display setup being that id have to run the crt at 15hz.

So then i thought....maybe i would just sacrifice the tv streaming, steam games and just build a retro console emulator with everything running on the crt.

If thats the case i probably need an ati/amd video card as ive read crt emu-driver wont run with nvidia.

I have an old gtx 7700 2gb with analog but being nvidia i dont think ill be able to use it.
I dont want to use my main rig (7700k gtx1080) for this system so need to build a new (used parts) pc.

I havnt followed the emulation scene in years so not sure where to start.

What vid card should i be looking for? I was going to use a gtx 1060 but if i run the crt it complicates things.

Is it possible to have a run all system and send older games to the crt? Or do i just need to make a crt retro specific system?

Theres so many cabling options im not sure exactly what i need. I know i dont want digital conversions going on so probably need passive vga to component or dvi to vga to component......
Is this the best option for best image?

Whats the preferred frontend if i dont want to spend months configuring like i had to with hyperspin on my arcade cab?

Any other options, opinions, or suggestions?
Thanks

[deezdrama]

ok, i bought a 2500k setup, 16gb ddr3, 1tb ssd, amd r9 380 ..... this will be my CRT emulation box, nes up to wii/dreamcast/psx

Then I bought a asus p8z77 micro motherboard and a i5 3570k. Ill eventually end up getting ram and a gtx 1060 6gb for this and overclock it, it will eventually replace my aged x5460/775 overclocked quadcore thats in my arcade cabinet.



So..... All I need now is a high quality db15 to component transcoder. Ive been looking for all the ones I hear recommended but hitting dead ends. Anyone have any suggestion for a transcoder?

[Taiyaki]

For a good vga to component I recommend the Audio Authority model. They're reliable and give a really solid picture. I had used another made by someone on ebay, I think it was Retrotek or something with a name like that, and it had a purple push (rendering colors wrong) and noise in the picture, also had no knobs for adjustments. Therefor I recommend sticking to something of high quality if they're still obtainable.

[fernan1234]

Does the Audio Authority transcoder accept 15khz on the D-sub input?

It's unfortunate that good transcoders like the RGB2COMP use a SCART connector for the input.

[deezdrama]

The retrotek is one ive looked for, and looked at the rgb2comp. Couldnt find either one anywhere. rgb2comp is sold out and dont know if hes making more. Then there was a guy on one of these forums who made and sold good ones but his ebay link brings up an error now.
Just searched for the Audio Authority 9A60A-b VGA to Component Converter and there is none on ebay and discontinued/sold out on their website.

This is only thing I can find and from the reviews all the pots need adjusted
https://www.amazon.com/SPECIALTY-AV-SCA ... 662&sr=8-2

and then use one of these...
https://www.amazon.com/PRO-SIGNAL-SCART ... 737&sr=8-7

with this connected to the gpu...

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Converter ... 797&sr=8-6


Its looking like this is my only option, unless anyone knows of any online supplier who still has the audio authority transcoder

[Taiyaki]

I would definitely have said get the Audio Authority 9A60, but taking a look at ended auctions it does look like none have been up for sale over the last 3 months on ebay.

I still have my Retrotek one and it was barely used, if you need one due to not being able to find any other transcoder for this purpose, I can sell it to you half price of what I paid + shipping if that helps you out.

This is the one I have:
https://www.retrotekshop.com/products?pn=VGACTV2

[deezdrama]

Someone here has offered to sell me an audio authority 9A60, will this work for my setup for sure? Someone on another thread mentioned the sync not being correct?

[Taiyaki]

Given the choice I'd go with the Audio Authority without hesitation. It's a high quality product.

[FinalBaton]

You just have to feed the audio authority H + V sync. Which requires a bit of work for consoles(whom output RGBS), but for PC setup it's no hassle at all.

[deezdrama]

You just have to feed the audio authority H + V sync. Which requires a bit of work for consoles(whom output RGBS), but for PC setup it's no hassle at all.

Sorry ....Im an analog noob. Been building pc's for 25 years but never delved into all the analog signal terminology. I know what vertical and horizontal sync is but is this something the gpu/vga doesnt carry to the transcoder?

Is it something I will have to set in the gpu driver/software or Ill have to add pinouts or need a special vga cable?
Again- Im a noob- go easy on me, Im trying to learn....hehe

[deezdrama]

So using a vga to dvi-i adapter on the r9 380 would give the vga seperate H and V sync signals... Wont the audio authority 9a60 put the sync on the components luma Y like it should be?


I got all the pc components ordered. Actually - components for 2 builds, im replacing the aging 775 quadcore system in my arcade cab as well.
For this crt pc build, once i get emudriver setup and signal to the crt- is it going to be possible to setup all the emulators/frontend using the crt display only? Or is that going to be a pain and i need to setup on lcd before installing emudriver?

Could i leave a second lcd monitor hooked up feeding it 1920x1080 while feeding the crt 480i/240p or is this not possible off a single gpu?

[Taiyaki]

Yes you can setup all the emulators and front end from the pc on the crt directly but be warned the 480i image fed to the crt is going to be shaky as heck, and you'll probably get a headache if you spend too long on it. The second you open the frontend it goes back to normal, so it's only an issue when on the desktop.

As for the plug in it's pretty simple, just go pc via vga into the audio authority transcoder, and then back out into component to your tv. Be sure to only do that once you've patched the video card and it's sending 15khz.

Setting up Groovymame dedicated pc "can" be a real ordeal. It's actually one of the more complicated things I remember doing, took me weeks, I encountered issue after issue, just be sure not to give up and go to the groovymame dedicated forums to inquire about any issue you might have (they're more specialized at it). Once you get it running exactly as you want it's complete gaming pleasure.

[orange808]

For 480i, you might also consider chaining an Extron VSC scan converter after your PC. The Extron's robust features absolutely mop the floor with native 480i from a video card.

480i output on the PC is poorly implemented and I doubt there will ever be any solutions.

If you weigh your options and make a personal choice to use 480i for something, it's worth investing in a scan converter.

[deezdrama]

For 480i, you might also consider chaining an Extron VSC scan converter after your PC. The Extron's robust features absolutely mop the floor with native 480i from a video card.

480i output on the PC is poorly implemented and I doubt there will ever be any solutions.

If you weigh your options and make a personal choice to use 480i for something, it's worth investing in a scan converter.

Good to know....ill look into it

[Taiyaki]

To be clear though you could also just pre prepare everything from your main pc and just send it up to the groovymame pc, set it up once, and almost never have to see the the 480i desktop again.

480i in emulators is going to work solid.

[orange808]

For clarity, no PC software (including emulators), that I know of, will let you adjust "flicker versus sharpness" to meet your needs.

If you find yourself unhappy with too much 480i flicker on a sharp display, you can soften the image and battle flicker using a scan converter.

[Taiyaki]

For clarity, no PC software (including emulators), that I know of, will let you adjust "flicker versus sharpness" to meet your needs.

If you find yourself unhappy with too much 480i flicker on a sharp display, you can soften the image and battle flicker using a scan converter.

The issue has more to do with Windows itself. 480i flicker shouldn't be an issue on any decent crt. On my groovymame (or any other console for that matter) when I run arcade games in 480i they look fine, but when I exit the frontend and go to desktop the flicker is out of this world, a total mess.

I certainly wouldn't see any point in using a scan converter to improve Windows desktop performance on a machine expected to run a frontend as a dedicated arcade machine, but if a more stable 480i windows desktop matters to him why not.