12 replies to this topic

[rickh]

Folks,

 

On a lark, I purchased an R5 6600H mini PC for use for VPX cabinet.  I run my playfield at 1080p (32" display) , my backbox display at 1920x1080 (21.5"), and my DMD at 1024x600 (10.1").  From my research the APU is slightly slower than a GFX1050.  Any thoughts, regrets, or comments?

 

Thanks,

 

Rick

[htamas]

I would expect that some more demanding tables may cause a performance problem (like stutter), but as long as it works for you, it should be fine for a 1080p playfield.

[rickh]

I would expect that some more demanding tables may cause a performance problem (like stutter), but as long as it works for you, it should be fine for a 1080p playfield.

I don't know what performance issues I'll encounter.  I have a laptop with a Ryzen 5 7520u CPU and Radeon graphics. VPX chokes on almost every table.  However,  the 6600H is supposed to be 25% faster.   I don't know if this makes a significant difference or not.  Perhaps, they intentionally throttle back the GPU on the laptop?  I don't know.  I am hoping that someone with a similar setup could share me their experiences.  In the meantime, if it chokes on VPX, I'll relegate it to VP9.X.  Regardless, I'll keep everyone apprised.   

 

Regards,

 

Rick

[rickh]

Update 2/15/25

 

Folks,

 

I have had quite an adventure that I would love to share with you.  I found a super deal on a mini-pc on Aliexpress.  The cost was $127 for a 8G, 256G SSD and of course a R5 6600H.  The deal was too good to be true.  Long story short, it was never delivered and I got a refund.  I purchased a similar product on Amazon for $270.  This PC had 16G of memory and a 512G SSD.  Here is the description:

 

Beelink EQR6 Mini PC AMD Ryzen 5 6600H(Up to 4.5GHz), 16GB DDR5 RAM 500GB PCIE4.0 SSD Dual LAN Mini PC, AMD Radeon 660M, Dual HDMI/ WiFi6/ BT5.2/ Home/Office/Build-in Power Supply

 

I loaded VPX and tested a couple tables. No stuttering so far.  This tiny PC (126x126x 50mm) produces a bit of heat and I suspect that providing some extra air flow would increase the reliability some.  So far I am impressed, the only gripes I have is that it has only a single audio jack, so 5.1 or 7.1 ain't going to happen unless I purchase a USB sound module.  Also, this PC does not support DP Alt Mode, although it claims it should. 

 

In the meantime, could someone recommend a VPX table that can put push this system system passed its limit?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Rickey 

Edited by rickh, 15 February 2025 - 10:34 PM.

[robertms]

 

In the meantime, could someone recommend a VPX table that can put push this system system passed its limit?

 

What resolution/refresh rate are you testing at? Single or multiple screens? Try Fish Tales from VPW, it's known to be a bit of a torture test https://vpuniverse.c...s#comment-63872 Note: you can adjust some of the performance settings in the game F12 menu.

[rickh]

 

 

In the meantime, could someone recommend a VPX table that can put push this system system passed its limit?

 

What resolution/refresh rate are you testing at? Single or multiple screens? Try Fish Tales from VPW, it's known to be a bit of a torture test https://vpuniverse.c...s#comment-63872 Note: you can adjust some of the performance settings in the game F12 menu.

 

I use a 1080p playfield and back box.  My DMD is a 10.1" @1024x600 LCD display attached to my USB C port. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

Rickey

[luvepinball]

````How did it go with the fish tales?  About to build my 1st pin and want to make sure i use something decent.

[rickh]

````How did it go with the fish tales?  About to build my 1st pin and want to make sure i use something decent.

No.  After loading on my system, I ran into an error with the script and was not able to evaluate the PC with that table.  All other tables ran good with no lag or stuttering.  Unless you are building a white box PC, a standard Lenovo, Dell, or HP desktop PC will all have an underpowered PSU limiting your choice of graphics cards.  Upgrading the PSU requires adapter cables (for Dell and Lenovo).  The only other option is specifying your own white box PC or upgrading to a gaming PC (with all the needless teenybopper bling).  These are both expensive options compared to a mini PC running a Ryzen 5 6600H.   I'll keep everyone apprised on further testing.

 

 

Regards, 

[wiesshund]

Update 2/15/25

 

 

In the meantime, could someone recommend a VPX table that can put push this system system passed its limit?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Rickey 

 

Most any VPW table probably, as far as what may not run well.

 

All my tables will be fine
JP's tables will be fine etc

 

through careful choice of content, you should be able to run a huge amount of things on that, with doing 1080p.
Probably any table from our downloads.

[rickh]

 

Update 2/15/25

 

 

In the meantime, could someone recommend a VPX table that can put push this system system passed its limit?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Rickey 

 

Most any VPW table probably, as far as what may not run well.

 

 

Excuse my ignorance, what is a VPW?  Is it Vpin Workshop?

 

Regards,

 

Rick

Edited by rickh, 30 March 2025 - 12:59 PM.

[digitalarts]

Yes, tables by the VPW-Team (known as made with very well physics, sounds, graphics... But also with high requirements at Hardware)

[rickh]

I was entertaining the idea of supporting FX3 pinball tables with this mini PC.  Although it exceeds the minimum requirements for this software, the performance of the GPU falls short of the recommended requirements.  Can someone chime in about the GPU requirements for this software?  

 

Thanks,

 

Rick

[rickh]

````How did it go with the fish tales?  About to build my 1st pin and want to make sure i use something decent.

Well better late than never.  I finally got this huge table (FishTales) to run on my R5 6600 mini PC.  This table is huge in size (at 440 Mbytes) and requiring 64-bit VPX and VPMAME.   I used a static back-glass (1280x1024) with an external DMD and a 1080p playfield that supports up to 120 FPS.  I am running Windows 11 Pro with 16 gigs of RAM and 512 gig SSD.  I have not optimized the video settings and they stand at nominal.

 

At maximum graphic detail 35 FPS

At nominal graphics detail  38 FPS

At low-end graphics detail  45 FPS

 

Does anyone have a table they want me to try?  Let me know.   I purchased this mini PC new for $290 USD.  I revisited Amazon for availability and this has now been replaced by a Ryzen 7 6800U which is 10% faster than the 6600H and cost $340 USD.  The GPU performance is within spitting distance of a GTX1050. 

 

Last, I have been experimenting with a couple of Ryzen 5 Pro 2400 mini PCs (from HP and Lenovo), the performance is beyond my expectations.  I can run most tables at 60 FPS at average graphics detail.  Of course there are a few tables such as JunkYard and Funhouse where I have to reduce the graphics detail to low end to achieve 50 FPS, but not too shabby for a mini PC that you can purchase as a refurb for about $100 USD which includes 8 gigs of RAM and 256 gigs of SSD.

 

 

Regards,

 

Rick 

Edited by rickh, 06 September 2025 - 03:58 PM.