Would this be do-able? This guy claims he can do one for under $100, but he's using the control pad method and apparently had a bunch of the PC parts already. Plus I don't have the counter space to do a bar top, so I would need more MDC for a stand alone. Is this doable for between $250-300?

http://www.hak5.org/episodes/hak5-episode-4-released (cabinet building starts at about 3 minute mark)
http://www.hak5.org/episodes/hak5-episode-5-released (starts at about 5 minute mark)
http://wiki.hak5.org/wiki/Episode_1x05 Materials, components, and plans
http://www.xgaming.com/arcade_bundle.shtml"] joystick and buttons
http://www.xgaming.com/arcade_trackball_part.shtml Trackball
http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html I-pak button interface

I've got the monitor, speakers, and hard drive. I would probably need to buy everything else. Plus I would rather do the I-Pak, which seems less complicated.

Not sure if I would do 2 stations and an I-Pac2 for $80 or 4 stations and an I-Pac4 for $150.

I think 2 player would almost always cut it, but sometimes you just get the craving to play some 4 player X-Men arcade (6 player would be even better, but you take what you can get).

And if I ever want to upgrade I figure I could ebay it for at least what it cost to build.

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 6:37 PM. Reason : ]

9/4/2008 6:36:03 PM

added to my topics. I've been wanting to build one for years and finally crossed enough stuff off my list to get to it. I wanna see what this guy did and I'll reply.

btw. there is a guy in Princeton that sells cabinets. He has ones that are just shells that need work all the way to working ones. If you want his email I'll PM it to you

9/4/2008 6:56:14 PM

http://www.snotmonkey.com/articles/pac-man-arcade-cabinet-restoration/
http://www.snotmonkey.com/articles/build-your-own-usb-control-panel/
http://www.snotmonkey.com/articles/how-to-build-a-metal-control-panel/

Forget building your own cabinet. Go to the Winston-Salem arcade auctions and buy a cabinet for 25-50 bucks.

http://www.auctiongamesales.com/
(here's a look at prices for previous auctions) http://www.davesclassicarcade.com/auction.html

I would give a few suggestions.

1) Use an LCD monitor instead of CRT. Weight, heat, mounting will all be hella easier. Use a wallmount to mount the monitor in the cabinet.

2) There is no way in hell you can build a decent Stand-Up arcade for 300 bucks, especially if you use an iPac. Just parts will run you ~500 dollars, or around 350 dollars if you do joystick based controllers. Realistically it will run you 6-700 bucks after everything is said and done, with software and finishing touches.

3) You won't make any money selling it on ebay. MAME cabinets are a dime a dozen, and while most are total pieces of crap, the average ebayer doesn't know or care about the differences.

9/4/2008 7:13:10 PM

Quote :

"2) There is no way in hell you can build a decent Stand-Up arcade for 300 bucks, especially if you use an iPac. Just parts will run you ~500 dollars, or around 350 dollars if you do joystick based controllers."

What other costs are there besides the $40 I-Pac?

9/4/2008 7:40:43 PM

You still have to buy all the actual components for the controllers from http://www.happcontrols.com/

Joysticks run 10-30 dollars EACH
http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/joysticks_amusement.htm

Pushbuttons are 2-3 bucks EACH
http://www.happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/pushbuttons.htm

So for a 2 player, 6 button config, you are looking at a minimum of 50 bucks + shipping.
4 players, 100 bucks minimum.

Then at a minimum you need basic tools, wood, vinyl stickers, paint, and hardware, which all adds up fast. A holesaw kit will run you 20-40 bucks, a good drill is another 40-100, a jigsaw or sabresaw is another 50-100, wood will run you 35 bucks for a sheet of MDF, paint + brushes or vinyl to cover everything will be another 20-150 bucks depending on what you go with.

9/4/2008 8:42:38 PM

http://www.xgaming.com/arcade_bundle.shtml

That set is $40 for 2 players.

I've got the tools and paint already (actually my dad does, but I have access)

I'll probably check out the auction before I buy anything though.

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 9:12 PM. Reason : y]

9/4/2008 8:49:38 PM

So what do ya'll think of this first blueprint?



Ball in the middle = trackball

[Edited on September 5, 2008 at 1:45 AM. Reason : ]

9/5/2008 1:42:24 AM

trackballs are expensive as hell too.

And the reason that pack is 40 bucks is because the joysticks suck and the buttons are all bargain basement. If you are just playing classic games, they will be fine, but any twitch games (Street Fighter, MK, anything newer) will make you want to gouge out your eyeballs

9/5/2008 11:43:10 AM

I think if I did an extremely basic 2 players I could do it for just over $300, but with 4 players plus a trackball, plus basic 3d acceleration for the ability to play PC games, plus the drawer, mouse, and keyboard, plus a wireless network card to update the system without running a cable all over the house, it's gonna run me about $550 or a little more.

PC parts:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12922307&WishListTitle=MAME

Antec 350w PSU
BIOSTAR Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
ASUS Radeon HD 3450
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
Already have the 80GB HD
Already have the 19" LCD
Already have the dvd drive
Cyber Acoustics 14 watts 2.1 Speaker
2 fans to keep the case cool
TRENDnet Wireless network Adapter
Linkworld PS/2 Slim Keyboard
A cheap mouse from Wal-Mart (newegg's all have like $6 shipping)

Here's a basic sketch of how it will function



[Edited on September 5, 2008 at 12:04 PM. Reason : ]

9/5/2008 11:59:31 AM

2 suggestions

1) Buy a Dell desktop or Poweredge server. Then plop a decent video card on it. You will get better machine, for less. Biostar is complete garbage.

2) Don't use a keyboard/mouse. If you REALLY need a mouse, get a gyro mouse that you dont need to put on a surface. Either use Vista media center, or any of the dozens of great front-ends for using the machine. PC Gaming on a standup arcade is terrible, stick to joystickable games.

9/5/2008 5:18:11 PM

http://carolinamoneymakers.com/carmel/

his idea from:
http://www.knievelkustoms.com/neonmame.htm

his gear from:
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/

his links:
http://carolinamoneymakers.com/carmel/?page_id=12

his credits:
http://carolinamoneymakers.com/carmel/?page_id=10

[Edited on September 5, 2008 at 5:47 PM. Reason : .]

9/5/2008 5:43:58 PM

Quote :

"1) Buy a Dell desktop or Poweredge server. Then plop a decent video card on it. You will get better machine, for less. Biostar is complete garbage."

I already have a HD and a copy of windows 98 I'm not using, and I don't need a case, so I don't need all the extra stuff that comes in a desktop. all that hardware I need is just over $200, which is less than I have found a dell desktop for.

I might buy a barebones system and just toss the case (or cut it up and use it to mount the parts) if I see one for a good price.

What's a reliable brand of cheap motherboard?

Quote :

"2) Don't use a keyboard/mouse. If you REALLY need a mouse, get a gyro mouse that you dont need to put on a surface. Either use Vista media center, or any of the dozens of great front-ends for using the machine. PC Gaming on a standup arcade is terrible, stick to joystickable games."

Oh no I'm not going to use the keyboard and mouse for that kind of gaming, and it will be hidden most of the time. But I figured it might be handy to update it, or if for some reason I wanted to use it as a normal PC (no PC in the basement). Plus the mouse and keyboard will only be about $12 total, then the drawer slide and door hinges will be a few bucks, so I'm not out much more than $20 on the whole deal.



Another thing, should I get a 2 speaker set, or a 2.1 and put the sub somewhere in the case?

9/5/2008 6:21:56 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121010

MUCH MUCH better speakers, and for $5 more shipped (b/c the X-240's have free shipping) than those Cyber Acoustics that are out of stock.

[Edited on September 5, 2008 at 6:29 PM. Reason : ,]

9/5/2008 6:28:06 PM

Quote :

"I already have a HD and a copy of windows 98 I'm not using, and I don't need a case, so I don't need all the extra stuff that comes in a desktop. all that hardware I need is just over $200, which is less than I have found a dell desktop for."

a) You do not want to run Windows 98.
b) Sell the HDD, and get a Dell.

What extra stuff? Basic desktops come with exactly what you need, and you can ditch the case.

HP Athlon X2 dual core 2.2ghz desktop with keyboard, mouse, 250gb drive, 1gb ram, use coupon code X2DEAL



$210 bucks shipped. Sell the HDD, sell the DVD drive, buy the Radeon. Better computer, less money. Or just wait another week on a 300 dollar Dell+LCD deal and do that instead.

I spent a year and a half on my cabinet, and it started almost exactly with the plans you have. I ended up redoing it 3 times because the first one sucked and the second one had a ton of quirks.

9/5/2008 6:58:00 PM

What's a good looking front-end to use?

Quote :

"http://carolinamoneymakers.com/carmel/"

I'm definitely doing one of these when I get some $$$

I'll leave out the lights though, and make it 4 player. I could go for some big screen X-men, and get some Dreamcast emulation in there for some 4 player Powerstone.

[Edited on September 6, 2008 at 3:24 PM. Reason : ]

9/6/2008 3:20:33 PM

that thing is so fucking cool.. i'm building one sooner or later

9/6/2008 3:28:32 PM

Quote :

"a) You do not want to run Windows 98."

Would Linux be better?

I think I'm gonna scale back on the design a bit, and do a 2 player, no trackball system now. I've only got a 19" screen anyway, which wouldn't really be suitable for 4 players.

I'll try to build a big screen 4 player system next year sometime.

I ordered this book used, I'll probably read it before I try to build anything.
http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/0764556169/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220739885&sr=8-1

9/6/2008 6:29:23 PM

I'd say run windows 2000

9/6/2008 6:31:20 PM

Found some Happ buttons on ebay for $1.50 each, $6 flat shipping

http://tinyurl.com/569dgd

And 2 Happ joysticks for $20 + $7shipping

http://tinyurl.com/63x9qz

This is more expensive than those x-arcade, but apparently better. Plus I can do an NC State theme for the cabinet.

It's gonna be one of these color schemes, with a vinyl sticker in the middle

9/6/2008 9:39:01 PM

here's the colored cabinet sketch

9/7/2008 12:45:35 AM

i am using the x-arcade dual tankstick and I like it, I have yet to build my cabinet but the xarcade products are built like a rock

9/7/2008 1:38:23 AM

that's almost exactly the button layout I went with, and it worked REALLY well.

4 players is very overkill unless you have a 32+ inch screen. Also keep in mind that even with a two player configuration, space is going to be tight in a regular standup cabinet.

This may just be a matter of personal taste, but I always liked the stealth cabinets the best. The ones that look like a completely legit arcade cabinet game (insert real game title here), but actually run everything. Versus the "MAME" logo and whatever custom vinyl/layouts people use. Somehow those always come out looking hokey to me (Like the garvinator you posted a link to, it looks sooooooo gaudy)

9/7/2008 5:01:25 AM

wut?

9/7/2008 5:10:18 AM

Quote :

"Would Linux be better?"

winxp is best for emulation pc.

Quote :

"What's a good looking front-end to use?"

GameEx !!! hands down - for emulation frontend

[Edited on September 8, 2008 at 12:43 PM. Reason : ]

9/8/2008 12:42:53 PM

So I got in most of my electronics today, and I went to lowes and got most of the materials.

I'm trying to put this switch on the side of the case to easily turn the marquee light on and off:



So I'm going to wire this switch to a 24" fluorescent ceiling light. The only problem is that it has to be powered by the power strip I'm going to have inside of the case.

Would it be dangerous to just cut the end off of an extension cord and connect it to the switch and light?

9/10/2008 5:54:24 PM

no

9/10/2008 5:57:52 PM

I built a sample control station to make sure I was knew what I was doing and liked the control scheme. Used some of the MDF I'm not going to need and some scrap plexiglass I found lying around.





I'm pretty happy with the results, but I think I'm going to use latex paint and a roller rather than spray cans, taping stuff off is just too much trouble, plus it would take me a ton of spray paint to do the whole cabinet if this section is any indication.

9/11/2008 7:26:05 PM

Definitely use a latex. I used oil based because I was doing a restoration on mine.

Make sure you use an exterior grade latex, otherwise it can exhibit peeling on MDF.

Also, I would highly recommend painting the cabinet a solid color, and then using adhesive vinyl for all the graphics. You can get vinyl printed CHEAP, and there are several online places who do it just for cabinets. Great way to get perfect crisp edges and nice detail graphics.

9/11/2008 8:27:18 PM

I'm starting to rethink what kind of computer I put in this thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_IV

Quote :

"and is a planned home release for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows-based personal computers"

I could have Street Fighter 4 on this thing, not even needing to be emulated. But I would probably need a much more powerful computer than what I'm currently planning to put in.

On the other hand, I would be spending a lot more money just for one more game, which I could play on my xbox anyway.

[Edited on September 17, 2008 at 1:15 AM. Reason : [][]

9/17/2008 1:14:43 AM

but it wouldn't be on an arcade cabinet.

do NOT skimp on the video card in this thing. you can get an 8800gts (or gto?) for like $60 after rebate on slickdeals ... i play call of duty 4 on 100% ultra high w/ that card.

9/17/2008 10:39:14 AM

this looks sweet as shit

9/17/2008 2:25:42 PM