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[Matlock]

In the far (about a year or two from now) future, I'd like to build a MAME-based arcade cabinet. So far, I know I'm going to inherit a semi-old Dell with a 1 GHZ P3 processor, 256 MB of RAM, and a Geforce 2 MX 64MB vidcard...which should run most of the MAME library. Or at least I'd hope.

And the monitor would be a 19" Sony Trinitron.

So I've got the computer and monitor out of the way for this project.

Now to get to the good stuff.

1. Are there any places to get patterns for an arcade cabinet?
2. What's the best arcade stick for such a project? I've heard good things about both MAS and X-Arcade. I'm currently leaning more towards the X-Arcade for looks and form factor.
3. How much HDD space would I need for such an endeavour, or if I'd want to add in another goodset or two? Would 20GB tide me over, or should I go for a 40GB HDD?
4. Anyone else done this? If so, how long and how much did it set you back?

Thanks beforehand, chums!

 

[LinesInTheSand]

www.arcadecontrols.com

 

[DCharlie]

I converted my old desktop pc into a dedicated mame box for one of the arcade machines.

The main issues were the control mapping and getting a good signal to the monitor. Got a ArcadeVGA graphics card and a JPAC control mapper.

I'd go for at least a 40 gig drive - if you want to dl all the roms/samples/marquese etc then it's a lot of stuff.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

As far as the controls go, if you had the dough, the slikstik are sweet. However, they do tend to cater more to the Space Invaders crowd. They do have a fighter unit though, it loks good, check it out.

I would not recommed the X-Arcade for a cabinet. It is too small. You'll all that time and money building the damn thing, and the first person you play with is going to complain that your shoulders are rubbing together.

If you don't want to spend for a Slikstik (which are much wider) than make your own.

This will help you.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

Bump the RAM up to 512 to. It'll cost you some pocket change.

 

[ravingloon]

www.arcadecontrols.com

The only source you'll ever need.

With that computer, I really can't see how you'd need over 20 Gigs. The CHD games are the one that are gonna eat the space, and at 1.2Ghz you're gonna be limited in the number you can actually run.

SlikStik is a ripoff. If you have the tools to build a cabinet, building the actual panel will be the easy part (and fun). If you're not good with wiring, just get the mini-pac from ultimarc.com (What I have) and everything is very simple. You can get Ultimarc T-Stick Plus joysticks (Which is a Slikstic upgrade I believe), a 3 inch Happs trackball, Oscars Vortex spinner (A tempest replica that most people prefer of the gimmicky Slikstic spinner), Happs buttons, a mini-pac and arrange everything in an order that's custom designed to your tastes for half the price (And these are all the best of the best parts. What Slikstic uses, except for the spinner).

I'm planning on finially taking a picture of the CP I built this February and posting. Should be within the next week or so (It'll let you know how you can be creative with layouts when you do it yourself.)

 

[Matlock]

Bump the RAM up to 512 to. It'll cost you some pocket change.

No dice, the mobo suppofts up to 256 MB.

 

[Matlock]

I converted my old desktop pc into a dedicated mame box for one of the arcade machines.

The main issues were the control mapping and getting a good signal to the monitor. Got a ArcadeVGA graphics card and a JPAC control mapper.

I'd go for at least a 40 gig drive - if you want to dl all the roms/samples/marquese etc then it's a lot of stuff.

ArcadeVGA graphics card? How much do they run?

With that computer, I really can't see how you'd need over 20 Gigs. The CHD games are the one that are gonna eat the space, and at 1.2Ghz you're gonna be limited in the number you can actually run.

SlikStik is a ripoff. If you have the tools to build a cabinet, building the actual panel will be the easy part (and fun). If you're not good with wiring, just get the mini-pac from ultimarc.com (What I have) and everything is very simple. You can get Ultimarc T-Stick Plus joysticks (Which is a Slikstic upgrade I believe), a 3 inch Happs trackball, Oscars Vortex spinner (A tempest replica that most people prefer of the gimmicky Slikstic spinner), Happs buttons, a mini-pac and arrange everything in an order that's custom designed to your tastes for half the price (And these are all the best of the best parts. What Slikstic uses, except for the spinner).

I'm planning on finially taking a picture of the CP I built this February and posting. Should be within the next week or so (It'll let you know how you can be creative with layouts when you do it yourself.)

Not sure what a CHD game is, probably a bit more than what I was really looking to run (mostly early 80's to late third-quarter 90's arcade games)....heh. And as for that setup, I was considering just tossing a dual-control X-arcade up there. What you have listed sounds cool, though, so I'll keep that in mind. ;D

 

[neptunes]

I love these custom creations. It almost makes me want to build one, so that I could play garou all day

more custom pics here.

http://www.thesoulcaptives.com/mamecab/index.html

 

[DCharlie]

www.ultimarc.com

the arcade vga was fairly cheap

 

[seismologist]

http://www.hanaho.com/products/HotRodJoystick/index.html

For the controls This may be better than X-arcade. It's pretty cheap too.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

http://www.hanaho.com/products/HotRodJoystick/index.html

For the controls This may be better than X-arcade. It's pretty cheap too.

Yes and no.

Yes it has Happ. No it isn't any wider.

 

[seismologist]

That minipac kit is looking pretty good.

 

[ravingloon]

CHD are hard drive based games. You can pretty much put all the ROMS on there for about 5 Gigs. It's been a while, I stripped all the junk out and only have 523 ROMS on mine, so can't remember if it's less or slightly more. CHDs are where they start eating real space (Some games over 1 GIG a piece). But these CHD games also tend to be very demanding on even the highest processors. 1.2GHZ is gonna eliminate most to all.

Edit: Andy still hasn't integrated the mini-pac into the main site (That I can see). If anyone's interested in the URL, it's:

http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html