ZOMG MAJOR LEAGUE UPDATE

It's in da building!!!

It's 96% done. Just... just watch the video. I'm too busy playing games to post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svdZj9kVZSY

awesome job man

that is sooo sick. good job. makes me want to go build something now!

For some reason the youtube video didn't upload properly. Here's the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HXPlQ5k-SI

It's a computer that's computing up.

totally awesome man!

Sweet cabinet.

Someone asked for an approximate cost rundown, so here's my best effort.

Cabinet: $35 off craigslist, but renting a truck to move it brought the cost to more like $100.

Lumber for building the inside supports/shelving: $0 Acquired free from wood being thrown out at home construction site down the street. At least I think it was being thrown out. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Controls: $200 Xarcade Tankstick http://www.xgaming.com/ Worth every penny. Can't say enough good things about this. Yay trackball!

Marquee Light: $10 florescent work light from Home Depot. Simple and works.

Marquee: Haven't bought this yet, but it will be somewhere around 30 bucks for good quality stuff.

Speakers: $20 Logitech speakers from Fry's Electronics

TV monitor: $80 25 inch TV off Craigslist - most important thing was having a TV with a S-Video output. I did not decase the TV screen.

Computer system: I probably spent about $300 dollars on this not including a video card (which I already had laying around - again, S-Video input is key) which is more than you have to. I have way more power in the computer than I need, but maybe someday I'll consider putting some PC games on it and playing them through the arcade as well.

Surge Protector: $30 Smartstrip off of Amazon.com Very key component, as it allowed me to power up everything by just the push of one button. Incidentally, if I had Windows Vista I could have set everything to turn on with a button press on the controller deck. I don't, and the TV remote is fine for me.

Paint: Probably somewhere around $150 total for all the cosmetic work, including Primer, Latex Paint, brushes, rollers, spraypaint, clear coat, plastic drop to protect the back porch, painters tape, wood putty to repair damage, an electric palm sander, and sandpaper. Again, we spent more on this than is necessary, but we wanted it to look great, and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

Hardware: Maybe around $30. A wide assortment of nuts, bolts, and screws. The casters where the most expensive hardware - maybe 20 bucks for the set of 4. I was able to reuse some of the inner components when stripping down the inside of the cabinet. I have leftovers here for other projects.

So everything I listed is a little over 900 and I tried to estimate high. I'm sure there's probably little stuff I'm forgetting. And then there's the cost of gas. So figure maybe 1000 bucks tops. You can definitely do it for less if you find deals on stuff (reuse and old computer, find someone giving away a cabinet) or if you're happy with just a quick spraypaint job for the exterior you can save money there.

Hardest part: Definitely trying to get the shelf for the TV in exactly the right spot. That thing is VERY heavy, and just prior to that part of the construction, girlfriend injured her knee making her unable to help with lifting/holding in place, etc. I'm very pleased we were able to get it as well as can be got.

Most fun part: The day I set the controller deck in place prior to all the main construction and seeing it fit so well made me realize "Hot damn! This is actually going to work!"

Now I'm off to go play some fighting games. I'll decide which one on a whim.

Quadstriker, I asked for the breakdown, thanks so much for taking the time to write that out.

You really did a bang up job, it looks amazing! Your girlfriend's design and work also looks amazing!

1 grand huh? That's really a respectable number, especially for the wow factor and playtime youll get out of a box like this.


Great work, thanks for sharing all this!

Job well done, Quad.

And I can't thank you enough for directing me to BYOAC. Found a vintage Phoenix Arcade cab at a Thrift Store for a C-note. Didn't power on. Looked like it was completely dead and going to be a trying and expensive project. But with their help, I was able to get the machine running (almost, might need a new PCB board. No animation or hit detection on the fire button) without having to buy any parts save for a cap kit.

This is really a job well done, I hope to someday use this thread as motivation to do the same sort of thing for myself. As soon as I get a house, this is on... --sidenote I hope my girl is as helpful as it sounds like yours was throughout the whole process!--

Nice job!

That is so awesome, Michael Jackson would be proud.

Ha ha yeah I saw his arcade. It's sick.


Highlight of my day yesterday:
Do you guys remember an arcade game called "Tapper" sponsored by Budwiser? You play a bartender, and instead of a fire button, the cabinet has a cool tap you pull down to pour beverages. Well I rigged it up so that when you play Tapper on my machine, you use Player 1's joystick to control your bartender, and Player 2's joystick works as the tap. It's so much fun slamming down on the stick to pour beers as fast as you can!

We also got a really nice comfortable stool yesterday from Ikea. As soon as GF gets the marquee, I'll post some final super-nice pictures. And... maybe a video of playing Tapper.

Tapper is awesome. So simple, yet so nerve wracking. I used to play it a lot on my Apple IIc+.

Time to build one of these!

http://www.destructoid.com/give-me-o...s-143580.phtml

GOGOGOooooooooooal

Awesome job OP. I have been planning to do this for a while now. This thread has inspired me to get off my ass and finally do it.

Question to those who may know: Do you need the pinball buttons on the sides of the control panel? What games would these be used for?

I would say no, they are a luxury and not a necessity. There are some video pinball games that would be nice to play with them. I use them as the right and left mouse click buttons, and for a couple other functions (exit game, etc.)

Visual PinMAME

Thanks for the repsonses guys. I'm ordering the cabinet and controller today. So it begins.......

Keep us posted. Don't get frustrated. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

What do you guys recommend for the cpu as far as specs?

I'd like to know this too, as well as video card recommendations. Does MAME even benefit from a good card?

I've heard that it doesn't require a high end card. Mostly runs on the cpu.