Custom Powerstrip.ini

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This page deals with the Powerstrip software, a tool to create custom display modes in Windows. The information is taken from BYOAC thread here, submitted by BYOACer wpcmame.

Here are the values for the AVGA resolutions (with doubled horizontal resolution)

NB Doubled horizontal resolutions main reason for being used is that a lot of graphics cards struggle to create the low pixel clocks required for these resolutions. If your card can create the native resolutions correctly with powerstrip, then you may be best of creating exact original resolutions - such as 256x240 instead of 512x240...

How to use them:

1. Close powerstrip
2. Open the file powerstrip.ini
3. Add the following lines under the [Custom Resolutions] heading (If the heading doesn't exist, just create it at the end of the file).

[Custom Resolutions]

480x240=480,16,48,32,240,4,3,15,9072,7
512x240=512,16,48,40,240,4,3,15,9702,7
512x256=512,16,48,40,256,4,3,17,9702,7
512x264=512,16,48,40,264,5,3,17,9702,7
576x240=576,8,56,48,240,4,3,15,10836,7
592x240=592,16,56,48,240,4,3,15,11214,7
608x240=608,16,64,40,240,4,3,15,11466,7
768x240=768,16,80,56,240,4,3,15,14490,7
640x240=640,16,64,48,240,4,3,15,12096,7
640x256=640,16,64,48,256,4,3,17,12096,7
672x240=672,16,64,56,240,4,3,15,12726,7
704x256=704,24,72,48,256,4,3,17,13356,7
704x264=704,24,72,48,264,5,3,17,13356,7
704x288=704,24,72,48,288,5,3,19,13356,7
736x240=736,16,72,56,240,4,3,15,13860,7
784x240=784,24,80,56,240,4,3,15,14868,7
768x288=768,16,80,56,288,5,3,19,14490,7
424x272=424,16,40,32,272,4,3,18,8064,7
448x240=448,8,48,32,240,4,3,15,8442,7
512x240=512,16,48,40,240,4,3,15,9702,7
512x288=512,16,48,40,288,5,3,19,9702,7
632x264=632,16,64,48,264,5,3,17,11970,7
640x288=640,16,64,48,288,5,3,19,12096,7
800x288=800,24,80,56,288,5,3,19,15120,7

4. Save the file and start powerstrip
5. Go to to the "Custom resolutions" window.
6. Select "user defined" resolutions.
7. Mark all resolutions in the window
8. Click "add resolution" and restart windows if necessary.

All resolutions should now be available. To test them:

mame gauntlet -resolution 672x240

To change the windows desktop to one of these resolutions use the right slider in powerstrip (the resolution will not be available in Windows' display properties).

The .ini file is known to work with both a Radeon9200SE and a GeForce2 and possibly other videocards.

Reference

Here is the definition of what each figure does from the Powerstrip FAQ:

Timing string parameter definition: (from left to right, after the '=')

1 = horizontal active pixels
2 = horizontal front porch
3 = horizontal sync width
4 = horizontal back porch
5 = vertical active pixels
6 = vertical front porch
7 = vertical sync width
8 = vertical back porch
9 = pixel clock in hertz
10 = timing flags, where bit:
1 = negative horizontal porlarity, 2 = negative vertical polarity, 3 = interlaced, 5 = composite sync, 7 = sync-on-green, all other bits reserved

Note that pixel clock is expressed in Khz not hertz.