Taito Type X¶
Taito's PC-based arcade platform (2004). Not a custom PCB: x86 under Windows Embedded, with JVS I/O and USB-dongle protection. The Type X2 is the most common (BlazBlue, Street Fighter IV, KOF XIII…) and the target of many doujin/indie games.
Concept¶
"Type X" is not fixed hardware but a modular platform: Taito provides a PC base + an environment (Windows Embedded, JVS, security) and each game runs on it, often with its own hardware config.
Variants¶
| Variant | Year | Key hardware |
|---|---|---|
| Type X / X+ | 2004 | Celeron 2.5 GHz (→ P4), Radeon 9600 (AGP), i865G, WinXP Embedded |
| Type X2 | 2007 | LGA775 (up to Core 2 Duo E6400), PCIe GPU (Radeon X1600 / GeForce), Q965+ICH8, DDR2, WinXP Embedded |
| Type X Zero | 2011 | Atom 230, GeForce 9400M, compact, Win Embedded Standard 7 |
| Type X3 | 2012 | Core i5-2400 (i3/i7 optional), Radeon HD 6770 (→ GTX), Q67, WES7 64-bit / WinXP Emb |
| Type X4 | 2016 | Core i5-4590, GeForce GTX 960 (→ 1080 per game), Win Embedded 8 / WES7 |
Type X2 (the most common)¶
| Block | Detail |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel LGA 775 — Celeron D / Pentium 4 / Core 2 Duo E6400 |
| GPU | PCI Express ×16 — ATI Radeon X1600 Pro or GeForce |
| Chipset | Intel Q965 + ICH8 |
| RAM | DDR2 667/800 (512 MB → 4 GB) |
| OS | Windows XP Embedded |
| Video | VGA, 720p / 1080p |
| I/O | JVS, USB 2.0, SATA |
I/O — JVS¶
Controls via JVS (serial I/O) + an I/O board. It's the same standard as the NAOMI; it can be driven/emulated via JVS adapters. See also the NAOMI.
Security¶
Two models coexist depending on the era:
- USB dongle (hardware key): each game needs its dongle. This is the main preservation/porting barrier on Type X / X2.
- NESiCAxLive (from Type X3 on, ~2011): Taito's networked digital distribution service. The game is downloaded to the cabinet and licensed online (no physical cartridge/ROM); the cabinet talks to Taito's server. Several third-party publishers shipped on it (Arc System Works, French Bread…). The reliance on the server is the sensitive point for preserving those titles.
Storage & OS¶
Windows Embedded (XP / WES7 / Win8 per variant), game on HDD / CF / SSD. Being a PC, a Type X game is a Windows application — hence the active scene around launching, I/O, and doujin/indie games mostly targeting the Type X2.
Notable games¶
- Type X / X+: Battle Gear 4, Half-Life 2 Survivor (networked cabinet)…
- Type X2: Street Fighter IV (2008), the BlazBlue series (2008-2015), KOF XIII (2010), Melty Blood: Actress Again (French Bread/Type-Moon), Trouble Witches AC, eXceed 3rd, Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014), + many indie/doujin games.
- Type X3 / NESiCAxLive: Gunslinger Stratos, Lord of Vermilion, Guilty Gear Xrd (networked versions)…
- Type X4: 2016+ titles depending on the embedded GPU.
Faults & maintenance¶
Standard PC hardware → classic PC maintenance: ATX PSU, ventilation/thermal paste, HDD→SSD, RAM, motherboard CMOS battery. The dongle and JVS I/O are the specific points.
Modernisation & mods¶
The common ground for every JAMMA board
Video, power, control panel and upscalers depend on the cabinet rather than the board: everything is centralised in Modernising a cabinet. To run the board outside a cabinet (at home, on a display): supergun.
- Battery 🟢: a save battery is fitted (settings/counters/RTC). A leaking battery corrodes traces — check and replace it before it leaks → save batteries.
- Hard disk ⚠️: a perishable medium — image the drive before it fails, then consider an SSD/CF replacement → PCB preservation hub.
- Scan rate 📺: PC-based hardware — VGA output (31 kHz and above). ⚠️ A 15 kHz chassis is incompatible: you need a VGA/tri-sync monitor or a computer display. (Derived from the platform's PC nature documented above — not measured from MAME.)
- FPGA / emulation: see the Emulation & FPGA section below.
Repair (technician)¶
- x86 PC (LGA775, PCIe GPU): diagnose like a PC — ATX PSU, RAM, GPU (caps/fan), overheating, BIOS CMOS battery.
- Per-game USB dongle: without the right dongle it won't launch — not a hardware fault.
- HDD / CF / SSD (Windows Embedded): storage wear → imaging/cloning (if security allows).
- Capacitors: recap PSU / motherboard.
→ Methods: PCB fault-finding · Recap · Traces & vias
Emulation & FPGA¶
- No FPGA / MiSTer: the Type X is an x86 PC — there's nothing to "rebuild" in logic. Preservation goes through the game's disk image + its dongle (or its emulation), run on the original PC or an equivalent one.
- Some titles also run on PC via community solutions; MAME doesn't cover these PC games.
Photos / assets¶
(To add: Type X2 case, motherboard, USB dongle, JVS I/O.)
Sources & attribution¶
- Wikipedia — Taito Type X (variants, hardware, OS, JVS, security, games) — CC-BY-SA — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taito_Type_X
Review & corrections
How this space is used
Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.
Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.