Mame Arcade Machine Cabinet

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I am moving to a new house shortly that has a massive garage and I would like to kit it out as a games room - mame arcade machine, pool table etc, etc

I was wondering whether I should:

1) Build a mame arcade machine from scratch?
2) Buy a pre-built mame arcade machine?
3) Buy an arcade machine cabinet shell and install all the bits?

There's a lot of info on the net about building your own, but from what I've read your looking at least £500 for all the components plus effort in putting it together if starting from scratch.

Whereas I have seen some pre-built machines for about £300 on ebay.

Shells are also pretty cheap, but again I would need to buy a great deal of components and install them myself

If anyone has any experience of building mame machines, I'd be grateful for your thoughts on this.

Is there any pitfuls or things to look out for if buying a cabinet from ebay?

I'd be interested to know if anybody knows good places to get parts from etc?

Thx
 
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I dont believe this! just today i helped my friend break up a half-finished mame cabinet because its been sitting there half-done for 2 years and his wife wanted shot of it!!
It is in storage now, well the sides, front, back and top are, saves space breaking it down like that. if you had posted this yesterday you probably could have come and picked it up for nothing!.

On the other hand it is nice to get your hands dirty and soldering iron out :)
I have built a couple now (one from scratch and one using an existing arcade machine i had) it is a fairly easy process if you buy an existing arcade machine, you just need to replace the monitor with a pc monitor, wire up the controlls with an i-pac http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html
stick in a pc and wire up a power button and speakers. you can even wire up the coin mech to an i-pac for that true arcade feel!

The one i built from scratch even has a light gun for the shooting games. plus if it is going in a games room you can put in some decent speakers and use it as a jukebox, among other things.

let me know if i can be of any more help with suggestions/ideas.
 
I dont believe this! just today i helped my friend break up a half-finished mame cabinet because its been sitting there half-done for 2 years and his wife wanted shot of it!!
It is in storage now, well the sides, front, back and top are, saves space breaking it down like that. if you had posted this yesterday you probably could have come and picked it up for nothing!.

On the other hand it is nice to get your hands dirty and soldering iron out :)
I have built a couple now (one from scratch and one using an existing arcade machine i had) it is a fairly easy process if you buy an existing arcade machine, you just need to replace the monitor with a pc monitor, wire up the controlls with an i-pac http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html
stick in a pc and wire up a power button and speakers. you can even wire up the coin mech to an i-pac for that true arcade feel!

The one i built from scratch even has a light gun for the shooting games. plus if it is going in a games room you can put in some decent speakers and use it as a jukebox, among other things.

let me know if i can be of any more help with suggestions/ideas.

Ok, so it sounds like your recommending getting hold of an empty cabinet and kitting it out. What kind of monitor would you recommend? I've seen some people use TFTs, CRTs and even televisions. What PC spec would be suitable?

Does anyone have any ideas of where I can get a cabinet from, near Manchester?

Is it best to try and get a cabinet with an existing control board, or build a custom one from scratch?
 
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i would recommend a crt, an older one with a bit of a curve for that arcade feel, flat screens and crt work just as well but they just dont 'feel' right. for the computer itself i would say at least 1.5 ghz, 512mb ram and and 128mb graphics card, geforce 4 series or above is ideal really.
for controls i would try to get an existing control board, with 6 buttons per player and some space to add your own buttons for things like 'escape', 'credit insert', etc. also a trackball is a good idea, for navigating through windows, just screw/stick it to the side in a position that feels comfortable.
 
i would recommend a crt, an older one with a bit of a curve for that arcade feel, flat screens and crt work just as well but they just dont 'feel' right. for the computer itself i would say at least 1.5 ghz, 512mb ram and and 128mb graphics card, geforce 4 series or above is ideal really.
for controls i would try to get an existing control board, with 6 buttons per player and some space to add your own buttons for things like 'escape', 'credit insert', etc. also a trackball is a good idea, for navigating through windows, just screw/stick it to the side in a position that feels comfortable.

Got an old Dell 17" CRT monitor that is slightly curved so that should do the trick?

http://w**.dooyoo.co.uk/crt-monitor/dell-e772p/

I noticed that a lot of people are buying an ArcadeVGA. Is it worth getting one of these or is a standard gfx card up to the task??

http://w**.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html

So I need:

1) Cabinet with built in control board (6buttons each - enough space for trackball)
2) PC
3) CRT Monitor
4) IPAC- to wire PC to control board
5) Speakers - any you can suggest?

Anything else?
 
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a 17 will do the trick, obviously the bigger the better :)
i wouldnt bother with the arcade vga card (which is just a flashed ati card i believe) it is expensive for what it is, plus if you keep the arcade monitor you have to use the original arcade power supply, which can cause problems due to heat and also age. you are better off fitting a power supply for the pc with a pass-through for the monitor, or install an extension lead inside the cabinet with at least 3 sockets on it (pc, monitor and speakers). as for speakers your best off looking at a sub and 2 sat combo such as http://www.micom.co.uk/pp/Speakers/Speakers/CREATIVE_INSPIRE_3100_2_1_SPEAKER_SYSTEM.html
obviously if you want to use it as a jukebox you can go with some with a bit more oomph!
you want to put the sub at the bottom of the cabinet and the speakers either underneath th monitor or in the overhang above the monitor (depending on the shape of cabinet you go for) an example of a flat faced cabinet is the original space invaders cabinet and one with an overhang is the most typical type, like this one: http://www.adinfo.qc.ca/alex/wp-content/arcade.png

do a google image search for "arcade cabinet" to find out what shape floats your boat.

the trackball doesnt have to be fitted on the top of the controls, unless you want to play trackball games, i've fitted mine to the side so its out of the way. i only suggest a trackball because you dont need space to move it around like a mouse, you can get software that lets you control the cursor with the joystick, but i find it cumbersome and clumsy.
 
i built a mame cabinet with oak veneer MDF its fooking lovely

was not to expensive, mini ipac, buttons.

time consuming would be more the theme here lol

but i would recommend anyone to build one they are great fun for all the family
 
i built a mame cabinet with oak veneer MDF its fooking lovely

was not to expensive, mini ipac, buttons.

time consuming would be more the theme here lol

but i would recommend anyone to build one they are great fun for all the family

yeah, as soon as I move I'm gonna start building one. Mickie what's the spec of the PC you've got inside it?
 
2.4ghz old p4 it was a spare machine i had lieing about, i use a 17" flat screen that was old, i did upload some pics before ill see if i can find them


i use gameEx as the front end its awsome with the tron graphics, and you can use gameEx for loads of emulation aswell
 
i should take some more pics its finished completely now ;)
 
Build one, I'm in the middle of a (currently stalled) cabinet build. It's great fun if you have the time and space.

I've gone a little ott on the parts used, 4 player, 6 buttons pre player and 2 trackballs with left or right handed button. I can supply piccies if anyone is interested.

The monitor I've purchased is a 29" crt from Happ Controls (think they have been taken over since I purchased it) it is a proper arcade monitor which, and this is the key, supports very low refresh rates for the older roms. That might be why the ArcadeVGA card could be worth while.

I have purchased a book on building one which I would be prepared to lend you for a starting point, or I could get off my arse and get you the isbn number :)

Got an old Dell 17" CRT monitor that is slightly curved so that should do the trick?

http://w**.dooyoo.co.uk/crt-monitor/dell-e772p/

I noticed that a lot of people are buying an ArcadeVGA. Is it worth getting one of these or is a standard gfx card up to the task??

http://w**.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html

So I need:

1) Cabinet with built in control board (6buttons each - enough space for trackball)
2) PC
3) CRT Monitor
4) IPAC- to wire PC to control board
5) Speakers - any you can suggest?

Anything else?
 
Build one, I'm in the middle of a (currently stalled) cabinet build. It's great fun if you have the time and space.

I've gone a little ott on the parts used, 4 player, 6 buttons pre player and 2 trackballs with left or right handed button. I can supply piccies if anyone is interested.

The monitor I've purchased is a 29" crt from Happ Controls (think they have been taken over since I purchased it) it is a proper arcade monitor which, and this is the key, supports very low refresh rates for the older roms. That might be why the ArcadeVGA card could be worth while.

I have purchased a book on building one which I would be prepared to lend you for a starting point, or I could get off my arse and get you the isbn number :)

Yeah i'd be interested in seeing the pictures and if you could get the reference of the book ill look it up.
 
Sorry to hijack the thread a bit but I'm interested in a mame setup as well. I was considering a dedicated cabinet but I was also keen to use an existing touch screen I have (mainly as this ould not wind the wife up as much as bringing a new box into the house!). It's in the conservatory being used as a touch screen jukebox and I was thinking about just buying an X-Arcade joystick to sit in front of it. This would be fine I think, the only problem is navigating without a mouse or keyboard as at the minute I don't have them and don't want them on the table top.
So what I'm asking is, has anyone any experience with a mame frontend that's not too CPU intensive that can be used with a touchscreen for game selection. I'm guessing that I can map required keys such as 'ESC' to the X-Arcade stick but I'd like all other navigation through the touch screen.

Cheers
 
2 Controllers and needed, the IPAC and the IPAC Trackball (can't remember the exact name)
 
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