PC Operating System Comparison

Introduction

TODO: Add Linux, DOS and Windows are not the only two operating systems

Back in the day, MAME was developed to run from DOS and users had to use a Windows frontend or Mame32 to get it running in Windows. From MAME v0.37b15 onwards, Windows became the MAMEdev's platform of choice. Still, running a MAME build from pure DOS will give you best bang for your buck; allowing you to take that 8 year old PC out of the dumpster and turn it into the heart of your home arcade machine.

These days DOS is a mystery to most people, and a DOS system can take a lot of work to set up correctly; so it's understandable that most people choose to go the Windows route.

From a development perspective, it makes sence that the MAMEdevs left msDOS for a more modern work environment. However, if you're got a PC based home arcade machine, DOS can have many advantages over a Windows based PC.

Advantages

DOS	Windows
Boots to your Front-End faster	Is a current OS that more people are familiar with
Is solid as a rock	Hardware and software makers develop for Windows
Can display on an Arcade monitor without special hardware.
Using batch files (.bat) a high degree of customization is available (including menu creation).

Dis-Advantages

DOS	Windows
Nobody seems to understand DOS anymore	Is difficult to display on arcade monitor without special hardware
Newer hardware may not work under DOS (such as TV - Out)	Takes some time to boot to your Front-End

Relevant Links

Purple MAME - a good (but outdated) site on getting DOS Mame running on a cab.

Dos Mame Support - another good site on getting DOS Mame running on a DOS cab, including getting sound cards working and memory management.

[1] - a site showing how you can create menus in DOS (great for boot menus).