MiSTer FPGA System

[GamePnoy74]

Yeah I've only ever used the power supply it came with.

There were some voltage drop issues when certain splitters and switches were added into the mix a while back but if you have a digital i/o board that shouldn't be a problem.

Click to shrink...

Thanks! I should have asked here before placing an order for one on eBay lol...I was reading the setup notes on the MiSTer wiki and it got me kinda concerned with the 'upgraded power supply':

Home

Main MiSTer binary and Wiki. Contribute to MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

So yeah, at most I'll be connecting a small simple keyboard along with either a wired joystick/controller or a wireless dongle.

 

[Jockel]

I wondered if it was just due to Capcom games as i know they had a oddball type widescreen resolution.

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Sorry to "well actually" you, but the resolution is 4:3 and was always intended for 4:3. It appears widescreen on PC emulators because they use square pixels, which analog video doesn't do. Cramming in more horizontal resolution was a neat way to improve sprite detail while still staying within 15khz limitations.

 

[TeenageFBI]

I'd like to connect to a 1440p monitor that only has a single input. Problem is, it's DisplayPort.

I know that an active adapter like this would convert an HDMI signal from, say, a destop computer, but I have no idea if it will work with the MiSTer FPGA. Does anyone know if it'll work? And if so, could I get it running at 1440p or would I be stuck with 1080p?

 

[Astral Lovelace]

I'd like to connect to a 1440p monitor that only has a single input. Problem is, it's DisplayPort.

I know that an active adapter like this would convert an HDMI signal from, say, a destop computer, but I have no idea if it will work with the MiSTer FPGA. Does anyone know if it'll work? And if so, could I get it running at 1440p or would I be stuck with 1080p?

Click to shrink...

Video signals are video signals. It'll work.

 

[TeenageFBI]

Video signals are video signals. It'll work.

Click to shrink...

Thanks. The description mentions that some game consoles which support 4K will only go up to 1080p with this adapter. Wasn't sure how it would work with a MiSTer.

Guess we're going to find out. It'll be here soon.

 

[Deleted member 12867]

I wonder how much ps1 and saturn cores will improve the experience over software emulation? I thought a while back they said input lag was less of an issue with these systems.

 

[Astral Lovelace]

Thanks. The description mentions that some game consoles which support 4K will only go up to 1080p with this adapter. Wasn't sure how it would work with a MiSTer.

Guess we're going to find out. It'll be here soon.

Click to shrink...

4k60 is a lot of bandwidth, but DP 1.2 supports 1440p at higher than 60hz refresh rates, so even though it can't pump out 4k60 doesn't mean it won't handle 1440.

 

[soniko_]

I just bought my de-10 nano board, will probably get the ram adapter and the usb hub from mister addons, i have no analog way to play with it and it would be something i might need in the future.

I'll update you guys on how it goes. Planning on doing a wooden case.

 

[Deleted member 18106]

After messing with my options for a while, I'm gonna say that playing this on "the poor man's PVM" (a $20 Dell CRT monitor I got off Facebook Marketplace) has been the most enjoyable/cheapest way of using the analog out.

I wish I lived in one of these magical places where PVMs/BVMs are often on sale for $15, but this is still a pretty decent alternative.

(I did finally get one of the nice composite out adapters, and while I might need to tweak a few more ini settings, hooking it up to my 9 inch CRT TV is...kinda rough! Incredible amount of dot crawl going on, which is hard to ignore when you gotta sit so close.)

 

[Vespa]

After messing with my options for a while, I'm gonna say that playing this on "the poor man's PVM" (a $20 Dell CRT monitor I got off Facebook Marketplace) has been the most enjoyable/cheapest way of using the analog out.

I wish I lived in one of these magical places where PVMs/BVMs are often on sale for $15, but this is still a pretty decent alternative.

(I did finally get one of the nice composite out adapters, and while I might need to tweak a few more ini settings, hooking it up to my 9 inch CRT TV is...kinda rough! Incredible amount of dot crawl going on, which is hard to ignore when you gotta sit so close.)

Click to shrink...

You're not missing out with high TVL PVM/BVMs (other than those that support both 15khz and 31khz+) I much prefer my consumer sets for 240p games, far better blending vs super high TVL CRTs which end up approaching the 'raw emulator' look.

I wish every core had a composite blend option, composite but without the artifcating and with the colour separation of RGB is too good. Is your 9" CRT a PVM/BVM? a lot of them have no comb filters as they're usually expected to be paired with an external box, consumer sets typically have one though.

 

[Vespa]

Got my misteraddons kit. All set up and loving how good these games feel.

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Welcome to the party, pal

 

[Jegriva]

After messing with my options for a while, I'm gonna say that playing this on "the poor man's PVM" (a $20 Dell CRT monitor I got off Facebook Marketplace) has been the most enjoyable/cheapest way of using the analog out.

I wish I lived in one of these magical places where PVMs/BVMs are often on sale for $15, but this is still a pretty decent alternative.

(I did finally get one of the nice composite out adapters, and while I might need to tweak a few more ini settings, hooking it up to my 9 inch CRT TV is...kinda rough! Incredible amount of dot crawl going on, which is hard to ignore when you gotta sit so close.)

Click to shrink...

The PVM obsession is kinda pointless in Europe, where you can find extremely good consumer tv with RGB over 20'. And which usually have a lot less work hours than those poor PVM.

 

[Roge_NES]

After messing with my options for a while, I'm gonna say that playing this on "the poor man's PVM" (a $20 Dell CRT monitor I got off Facebook Marketplace) has been the most enjoyable/cheapest way of using the analog out.

I wish I lived in one of these magical places where PVMs/BVMs are often on sale for $15, but this is still a pretty decent alternative.

(I did finally get one of the nice composite out adapters, and while I might need to tweak a few more ini settings, hooking it up to my 9 inch CRT TV is...kinda rough! Incredible amount of dot crawl going on, which is hard to ignore when you gotta sit so close.)

Click to shrink...

Just wondering, do you use interget scaling with your PC CRT? I recently got one as well and now I just need a good pair of speakers.

 

[Astral Lovelace]

Just wondering, do you use interget scaling with your PC CRT? I recently got one as well and now I just need a good pair of speakers.

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All of the benefits of integer scaling still apply to PC CRTs (That is, non-integer scaling will still cause uneven pixels and shimmering), with the added bonus that you don't have to worry about getting the final image to match a "native res", since that's fluid on CRTs.

My MiSTer is set for integer scaling to 640x480, though if there was a 960x720 option I would use that.

 

[Beer Monkey]

My MiSTer is set for integer scaling to 640x480, though if there was a 960x720 option I would use that.

Click to shrink...

You can make custom modelines for 960x720, 1280x960 etc

 

[Deleted member 18106]

Glad to hear that PVMs/BVMs aren't necessarily, uh, necessary!

I'm bad at quote answering stuff but: I usually have two main ini files for when I use my VGA monitor, both with forced scandoubler enabled, and the second one set to match the HDMI scaler (for whatever reason, that tends to work better for GB/C and GBA games).

My CRT TV is a little Sansui TV/DVD combo. Has some kinda wonky picture geometry, and I guess I have been out of the CRT TV game for so long that I just kinda forgot how things normally look on them?

I dunno, even if it's "faked," playing stuff on the PC CRT with scanlines looks fantastic, so, y'know. Good enough!

What I oughta try doing is using an ini setup I found for the Dell UltraSharp 2007fpb, which is supposed to look pretty dang nice (for an LCD, anyway) once it's configured.

 

[Glimlocker]

After messing with my options for a while, I'm gonna say that playing this on "the poor man's PVM" (a $20 Dell CRT monitor I got off Facebook Marketplace) has been the most enjoyable/cheapest way of using the analog out.

I wish I lived in one of these magical places where PVMs/BVMs are often on sale for $15, but this is still a pretty decent alternative.

(I did finally get one of the nice composite out adapters, and while I might need to tweak a few more ini settings, hooking it up to my 9 inch CRT TV is...kinda rough! Incredible amount of dot crawl going on, which is hard to ignore when you gotta sit so close.)

Click to shrink...

Other folks have already responded similarly, but the PVM obsession is far overblown, especially due the prices they go for.

I say this as the owner of a PVM who would trade for a JVC Dseries in a heartbeat.

That computer monitor is probably more than sufficient for all applications. I wouldn't upgrade, unless it's for a nice consumer set.

 

[Why would you do that?]

I dunno, even if it's "faked," playing stuff on the PC CRT with scanlines looks fantastic, so, y'know. Good enough!

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I may have said this in the thread a while ago, but I agree, playing MiSTer games on a CRT computer monitor with fake scanlines looks surprisingly good. Playing a Neo-Geo game like, say, Metal Slug on it just feels "right"... Something about it looks exactly like it does in the arcade. I've always avoided fake scanlines over the years, so I didn't expect to get that feeling from them.

 

[KC-Slater]

I can't get any of the CPS2 stuff Post-AVP release working, and it's driving me nuts! Just black screens. I don't know if I lit the candles in the wrong order or messed up the reciting the ritual, but something went sideways. Any thoughts?

 

[mute]

I can't get any of the CPS2 stuff Post-AVP release working, and it's driving me nuts! Just black screens. I don't know if I lit the candles in the wrong order or messed up the reciting the ritual, but something went sideways. Any thoughts?

Click to shrink...

Only thing I can think of is there were a couple weeks there where the files included in the email were initially incorrect but right on the patreon page. So if you have been updating straight from email, that might be it. I don't think that was an issue last Friday though. Otherwise I've been following the same procedure every week and everything has worked like a champ.

 

[KC-Slater]

Only thing I can think of is there were a couple weeks there where the files included in the email were initially incorrect but right on the patreon page. So if you have been updating straight from email, that might be it. I don't think that was an issue last Friday though. Otherwise I've been following the same procedure every week and everything has worked like a champ.

Click to shrink...

I think I made the mistake of not removing all of the old files before attempting to run it, and now I've caused some sort of irreparable feedback loop. I think just enough time passed between my updates that I had to re-teach myself everything, and I still managed to beef it. I might have to take the nuclear option and start again from a clean card.

If I go this route, I might delete a bunch of those old-timey arcade games I'll never play in a million years—will they just re-download when I update? Is there a straightforward method to turning this "off" in the .ini?

 

[mute]

I think I made the mistake of not removing all of the old files before attempting to run it, and now I've caused some sort of irreparable feedback loop. I think just enough time passed between my updates that I had to re-teach myself everything, and I still managed to beef it. I might have to take the nuclear option and start again from a clean card.

If I go this route, I might delete a bunch of those old-timey arcade games I'll never play in a million years—will they just re-download when I update? Is there a straightforward method to turning this "off" in the .ini?

Click to shrink...

Some scripts have a cache that keeps track of what it has previously downloaded, I'm not sure what update_all does. RetroDriven had a separate cache clearing script or you could go in there manually and delete the cache file.

 

[Roge_NES]

I can't get any of the CPS2 stuff Post-AVP release working, and it's driving me nuts! Just black screens. I don't know if I lit the candles in the wrong order or messed up the reciting the ritual, but something went sideways. Any thoughts?

Click to shrink...

I never delete the old files and just overwrite using Filezilla followed by running the Update_all script.

Do you add the files using filezilla or by manually taking out the micro sd and putting in your pc? When using the latter you have to delete "update_all.last_successful_run" otherwise the newest files will not be seen.

 

[truncated_pachyderm]

I can't get any of the CPS2 stuff Post-AVP release working, and it's driving me nuts! Just black screens. I don't know if I lit the candles in the wrong order or messed up the reciting the ritual, but something went sideways. Any thoughts?

Click to shrink...

Black screens indicate an issue with the ROMs, as in perhaps they are missing.

Start by making sure your Jotego files for CPS2 are in the "right" place. The Patreon files include MRAs and Core files. I put my MRA files in my /fat/_Arcade folder (and I put alt files in the /fat/_Arcade/_Alternatives folder). Core files go in /fat/_Arcade/cores. Be sure you only have 1 jtcps2 file - whichever the latest is. Remove old CPS2 files from Cores.

If you done this, then all you need are valid ROMs. I don't trust big unwieldy scripts like update_all, so I use the update_mame-getter and update_hbmame-getter scripts. These are what update_all is using to get ROMs. They look at which MRAs you have in _Arcade, and download the ROMs for them from Archive.org.

I prefer the mame-getter script because I keep ROMs in _Arcade/mame, rather than /fat/games/mame. Check to see if you have ROMs in multiple places. You should not.

You also need a qsound.zip file in the same folder as your ROMs for CPS2 stuff and most CPS1.5 stuff to have sound. If you have a black screen that's probably not the issue - it's that the core can't find the right ROM.

MRAs are just text files you can open with Notepad++, BBEdit, etc. They will list the names of the ROMs they are looking for. If you don't have those ROMs in whichever folder you keep arcade ROMs in, then that is your issue. Time to troubleshoot whatever script you're running.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

 

[BlockABoots]

So have any of the CPS2 games surpassed the 32MB memory threshold yet?

 

[Deleted member 442]

So have any of the CPS2 games surpassed the 32MB memory threshold yet?

Click to shrink...

Yes. Darkstalkers, Night Warriors / Vampire Hunter, Alpha 2 and X-Men.

Full list is here:

GitHub - jotego/jtcps: Capcom System 1/1.5/2 compatible verilog core for FPGA

Capcom System 1/1.5/2 compatible verilog core for FPGA - GitHub - jotego/jtcps: Capcom System 1/1.5/2 compatible verilog core for FPGA

github.com

 

[BlockABoots]

Yes. Darkstalkers, Night Warriors / Vampire Hunter, Alpha 2 and X-Men.

Full list is here:

GitHub - jotego/jtcps: Capcom System 1/1.5/2 compatible verilog core for FPGA

Capcom System 1/1.5/2 compatible verilog core for FPGA - GitHub - jotego/jtcps: Capcom System 1/1.5/2 compatible verilog core for FPGA

github.com

Click to shrink...

So is it the, CPU, Z80, GFX and Q-Sound memory all added together to give you the amount of SD RAM you need in your MiSTer to run the game?.

So for example Vampire Savior requires

CPU: 4 MB
Z80: 256 KB
GFX: 32 MB
Q-Sound: 8 MB

so you'd need a 44.256 MB SDRAM module for the MiSTer to run that game??

 

[Deleted member 442]

So is it the, CPU, Z80, GFX and Q-Sound memory all added together to give you the amount of SD RAM you need in your MiSTer to run the game?.

So for example Vampire Savior requires

CPU: 4 MB
Z80: 256 KB
GFX: 32 MB
Q-Sound: 8 MB

so you'd need a 44.256 MB SDRAM module for the MiSTer to run that game??

Click to shrink...

Once they are supported all CPS2 games should run with a 64MB or a 128MB module. 32MB and 128MB are the most commonly sold modules, 64MB is no longer available to my understanding.

 

[BlockABoots]

Once they are supported all CPS2 games should run with a 64MB or a 128MB module. 32MB and 128MB are the most commonly sold modules, 64MB is no longer available to my understanding.

Click to shrink...

Yeah i understand that, but i only have a 32MB ram module for my MiSTer atm, so im wondering which games i wont be able to play from the CPS2 collection until i upgrade

 

[Sectorseven]

So is it the, CPU, Z80, GFX and Q-Sound memory all added together to give you the amount of SD RAM you need in your MiSTer to run the game?.

So for example Vampire Savior requires

CPU: 4 MB
Z80: 256 KB
GFX: 32 MB
Q-Sound: 8 MB

so you'd need a 44.256 MB SDRAM module for the MiSTer to run that game??

Click to shrink...

There's 5 MB of BRAM on the FPGA that can probably be used and potentially some of the DDR3.

It depends on how optimized things can be made.

 

[Shaneus]

Click to shrink...

I only just noticed this, and it's absolutely astonishing. I do kind of wish Ash could polish up the Jag core though while srg320 is doing his Saturn thing. Just want to play T2K :(

I have the weird Chinese one from Taobao that combines both boards:

淘宝网 - 淘！我喜欢

淘宝网(Taobao.com)作为专业的购物网站拥有全球时尚前沿的消费者购物集市,100%认证网上商城及超值二手商品区，同时购物安全，产品丰富，应有尽有,任你选购,让你尽享网上在线购物乐趣！

item.taobao.com

It works pretty well!

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How is this holding up for you? Still don't have a case for mine, so thinking this might still be a decent option.
Edit: Looks like it's out of stock. Hopefully it gets remade!

 

[Deleted member 442]

Yeah i understand that, but i only have a 32MB ram module for my MiSTer atm, so im wondering which games i wont be able to play from the CPS2 collection until i upgrade

Click to shrink...

Games that have more than 16MB of GFX rom to load in would appear to be above the limit of what can be done on the 32MB module.

Old tweet below. The details might have changed since then, it seems like a fair approach to set your expectations against.

There's 5 MB of BRAM on the FPGA that can probably be used and potentially some of the DDR3.

It depends on how optimized things can be made.

Click to shrink...

That seems unlikely at this time. For what is needed on the CPS and similar cores the DDR3 is slow and access times are unpredictable compared to the SDRAM modules. The CPS cores have been designed with the SDRAM modules in mind so it's more a question of completely redoing a large amount of the work rather than optimising, and it doesn't seem possible at this time.

At some point in the future there may be an FPGA platform that doesn't require additional memory modules like MiSTer for all of its supported cores but we're not at that point yet.

 

[F34R]

Buying the 128MB module was a good decision.

 

[stan423321]

Pretty sure most 32 buyers went for it before 128s were sold.

 

[F34R]

Pretty sure most 32 buyers went for it before 128s were sold.

Click to shrink...

I bought mine Dec. 23, 2019.

 

[TSM]

Once they are supported all CPS2 games should run with a 64MB or a 128MB module. 32MB and 128MB are the most commonly sold modules, 64MB is no longer available to my understanding.

Click to shrink...

The 64MB module isn't supported by a lot of the cores. It's not recommended to try and buy one if someone doesn't already have one. For universal support on mister people are going to want either a 32MB or a 128MB.

 

[Guybrarian]

I am having a heck of a time getting Bluetooth to work on my MiSTer. I have tried two different adapters, a cheap one off of eBay and a wavlink. They are both Bluetooth 4.0.
Whenever I run the Bluetooth script I get "no device found"
What am I missing? I have the official usb hub and no light comes on the port when I plug either adapter in. Does that mean anything? Is there a setup process I missed somewhere? Trying to connect a sn30 pro and I put it in "pair mode" and I get nothing. Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[OtakuCoder]

So is there any point getting the Analogue I/O board if I don't plan on using a CRT to play?

I know there's stuff like the OSSC for doing a good AtD conversion, but would using HDMI on a MiSTer get me the benefits of that anyway?

 

[mute]

So is there any point getting the Analogue I/O board if I don't plan on using a CRT to play?

I know there's stuff like the OSSC for doing a good AtD conversion, but would using HDMI on a MiSTer get me the benefits of that anyway?

Click to shrink...

I'd get the digital IO board for the integrated power switch and future expansion pins.

 

[Deleted member 442]

The 64MB module isn't supported by a lot of the cores. It's not recommended to try and buy one if someone doesn't already have one. For universal support on mister people are going to want either a 32MB or a 128MB.

Click to shrink...

Yup I would definitely agree with that.

So is there any point getting the Analogue I/O board if I don't plan on using a CRT to play?

I know there's stuff like the OSSC for doing a good AtD conversion, but would using HDMI on a MiSTer get me the benefits of that anyway?

Click to shrink...

The MiSTer has a really good scaler for HDMI output. If you're using a modern TV or monitor you should definitely plug it straight in rather than via an OSSC or similar device.

I previously used an analog IO board as it offered a line out but having used it for most of last year I found out that the sound levels on it were not great on my headphones.

Both of the digital and analog IO boards offer optical out though a mini toslink connector. I now use a cheap little optical DAC and a USB battery with the same IO board. The DAC is surprisingly good!

As mentioned above the digital board offers a power switch and there's the possibility of future expansion options that will open up other stuff since the digital board keeps some GPIO pins free that are currently being used on the analog board for AV output.

There isn't that much info on what that could be. When the digital board was first made available there was a suggestion that a second SDRAM modules could be used, but none of the currently available cores have any use for it outside of maybe the Amiga core.

You can currently use things like SNAC for native controller support via the user port on either of the IO boards (with some caveats for early analog boards) but again that's something that is appealing to some but might not be for everyone.

 

[GamePnoy74]

I received my MiSTer FPGA system from MiSTer Addons earlier this week and been having a blast.

That said, how do I use save files in games, such as in SNES RPGs? I tried saving a couple of times but I'm not able to reload them. I'd rather use a game's original save system than rely on save states. Thanks for any help!

 

[filkry]

I received my MiSTer FPGA system from MiSTer Addons earlier this week and been having a blast.

That said, how do I use save files in games, such as in SNES RPGs? I tried saving a couple of times but I'm not able to reload them. I'd rather use a game's original save system than rely on save states. Thanks for any help!

Click to shrink...

You have to save the backup RAM in the core menu. Most (all?) cores have the option for the backup RAM to autosave when you close the core, so I recommend setting that up. I noticed recently the Gameboy core started autosaving backup RAM just when I opened the menu, so it might work differently depending on the core.

 

[Deleted member 2620]

I received my MiSTer FPGA system from MiSTer Addons earlier this week and been having a blast.

That said, how do I use save files in games, such as in SNES RPGs? I tried saving a couple of times but I'm not able to reload them. I'd rather use a game's original save system than rely on save states. Thanks for any help!

Click to shrink...

Make sure "Autosave" is set to ON in the core's menu (you might need to load a game first, and after you turn this on you'll want to press right to go to the System menu and hit "Save Settings").

Autosave will make it commit the cart's saved data to storage each time you open the MiSTer menu. You'll still want to make sure to pull up the menu before shutting down.

 

[OtakuCoder]

I'd get the digital IO board for the integrated power switch and future expansion pins.

Click to shrink...

The MiSTer has a really good scaler for HDMI output. If you're using a modern TV or monitor you should definitely plug it straight in rather than via an OSSC or similar device.

I previously used an analog IO board as it offered a line out but having used it for most of last year I found out that the sound levels on it were not great on my headphones.

Both of the digital and analog IO boards offer optical out though a mini toslink connector. I now use a cheap little optical DAC and a USB battery with the same IO board. The DAC is surprisingly good!

As mentioned above the digital board offers a power switch and there's the possibility of future expansion options that will open up other stuff since the digital board keeps some GPIO pins free that are currently being used on the analog board for AV output.

There isn't that much info on what that could be. When the digital board was first made available there was a suggestion that a second SDRAM modules could be used, but none of the currently available cores have any use for it outside of maybe the Amiga core.

You can currently use things like SNAC for native controller support via the user port on either of the IO boards (with some caveats for early analog boards) but again that's something that is appealing to some but might not be for everyone.

Click to shrink...

Cool, thanks. MisterAddOns only has the analogue board available for the pre-built right now, but I'm not in any great rush. I'm not good with building machines and I don't know of another reliable source for the UK so I guess I'll wait.

 

[GamePnoy74]

You have to save the backup RAM in the core menu. Most (all?) cores have the option for the backup RAM to autosave when you close the core, so I recommend setting that up. I noticed recently the Gameboy core started autosaving backup RAM just when I opened the menu, so it might work differently depending on the core.

Click to shrink...

Make sure "Autosave" is set to ON in the core's menu (you might need to load a game first, and after you turn this on you'll want to press right to go to the System menu and hit "Save Settings").

Autosave will make it commit the cart's saved data to storage each time you open the MiSTer menu. You'll still want to make sure to pull up the menu before shutting down.

Click to shrink...

I just gave the Autosave feature a try on Super Metroid, got save files working...thanks y'all!

 

[KC-Slater]

Thanks for all the help—my issue was indeed bad ROMs coupled with not clearing the cache/logs after manually updating/swapping files. (I didn't know those files were hidden in the first place!) I appreciate thorough and patient responses. This thread is one of the best on Era!

 

[truncated_pachyderm]

So is there any point getting the Analogue I/O board if I don't plan on using a CRT to play?

I know there's stuff like the OSSC for doing a good AtD conversion, but would using HDMI on a MiSTer get me the benefits of that anyway?

Click to shrink...

If you don't need it, save yourself some money and skip the I/O board! You can always add one later. Just make sure you at least put a heat sink on your DE10 Nano, and don't enclose it without something to circulate the air. I had a cardboard box around my MiSTer before it had a fan, and it actually overheated as a result and caused some issues.

 

[Beer Monkey]

If you don't need it, save yourself some money and skip the I/O board! You can always add one later. Just make sure you at least put a heat sink on your DE10 Nano, and don't enclose it without something to circulate the air. I had a cardboard box around my MiSTer before it had a fan, and it actually overheated as a result and caused some issues.

Click to shrink...

Very true, I ran for a LONG time with just the Nano and a memory board. No I/O board and I used a USB OTG hub instead of buying the USB board.

 

[Deleted member 442]

Cool, thanks. MisterAddOns only has the analogue board available for the pre-built right now, but I'm not in any great rush. I'm not good with building machines and I don't know of another reliable source for the UK so I guess I'll wait.

Click to shrink...

Ah fair enough. If you haven't already it might be a good idea to have a look at some of the MiSTer build videos on YouTube to get a sense of what is involved.

I would say I'm at the level of someone who can put stuff together like swapping out parts on an arcade stick or replacing ram or a peripheral in a PC or a laptop but I haven't done something approaching a full PC build in many years, so somewhere between beginner and intermediate.

Putting the boards together on their own was ok for the most part, the main thing with the IO board and the ram board is to make sure you're lining everything up properly and following the instructions to make sure you're not putting the ram in the wrong way round.

My main issue was getting the USB bridge properly seated and connected. As part of my set I bought a USB hub from misterfpga.co.uk (pictured here). I found that it didn't sit correctly with the bridge (bottom left of image) and failed to connect when I first put it together so I had to take it apart and put it back together a few times. It was ok in the end but it is worthwhile to bear in mind that the USB connector on the main board is reported to quite delicate so you have to be careful with it.

I bought my case a few months later from a different supplier on eBay. After getting it fitted I've had no issues with it but of course I had to take everything apart to install the case, and during that time the USB hub did the same thing but eventually was sorted. The case was a bit fiddly as you have to get everything threaded and seated properly whilst putting it together, and of course screws or plastic threads will misalign as soon as you move them. It wasn't a big hassle but just took a little bit of trial and error. It's been great ever since getting it fitted.

During all of that the main issues I had were making sure the brass standoffs weren't too tight or too loose as they can put pressure on the boards, the issues that I mentioned with the USB hub above and then going through everything again with the case.

The U.K. supplier now offers their own case alongside a set of protective plates that might be a good alternative to a full case, so you might have a better time than I did with the case I got from eBay.

 

[Roge_NES]