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General excitement and what size monitor for a cabinet? (Offical "I'm doing it")

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ragnar:

For a long while I have wanted to do a Mame cabinet.  Thing is, I am married with children and my wife stayed at home for the children's early years.  Move on to recent days.  I think my wife will be going back to work soon.  So long as she does, I am doing a Mame cabinet.  i should know in a few weeks if she landed her dream job.

Alot of stewing has allowed me to realize that I want 2 things out of my cabinet.  Light weight and thin profiled.  I'll use weights from weight lifting at the bottom to prevent tipping.  Anyways, it will be made mostly of luan with a 1x2 support structure.  It is going to be no frills (no decals).  The only unknown is how to handle seams but I am not overly concerned about that.

Monitor question
I have to keep things reasonably priced.  I will be doing a used PC for under $100.  But one of the big expenses seems to be an LCD which I want to buy new.  I want a 20"+ monitor but I really want a 24" LCD.  And these will be widescreen LCDs.  Is 20" to small?  Should I just spring for 24"?  Should I go bigger?  I really just do not know and at the same time I don't want to make a mistake.  Any advice on monitor sizing is appreciated.

Also, if anyone knows of a build whcih is no frills and looks good please link it.  I'd love to get color scheme ideas.

The Lumberjackass:

hi,

i have recently built a cab and documented it , http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=103919.0
check it out as its a slimline design and could give you idea's on how to build your own.

personally, i have found that a 24" lcd is far too big for the cab.
its hard to look at a screen that big up close to be honest . my eyes water at times . i really should have bought a 22" as thats the
perfect size in an lcd screen.

its all personal preference though , but if i was building again from scratch , i'd try and find a 4:3 aspect lcd thats big enough , or opt
for a real arcade monitor .

the only reason my build is playable is due to the nvidia software and being able to change the screen properties to make it better.


sstralkowski:

I recently picked up a sweet 21" CRT PC monitor off craigslist for $40.  They're not terribly common, but the interface, aspect ratio, and refresh rate should work perfectly. Thing is, I'm not sure if they are possible to fit into a "slim" design as they're bulky as crap.  

alfonzotan:

Here's a cheap refurbed 20" 4:3 LCD you might want to consider:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=L2046NV-R&cat=MON

UPDATE:  Oops--out of stock already. 

RyoriNoTetsujin:

Opinions: everybody's got one...  ;D

I wouldn't use luan, even with a support frame.  I'd suggest at least 1/2" plywood, especially for the Control Panel (I'm pretty sure trying to mount controls to luan would not be fun...)  That is, unless you just happen to already have a lot of luan laying around...

Regarding monitor size: I can't tell you how much to spend, but my personal guideline is "go one size larger than you think you need."  I dare say 24" lcds are pretty affordable nowadays, even on a modest budget.  I think 24" is great.  Having considered a 24" for some time, I finally bit the bullet and stepped up to a 27" Viewsonic, and am extremely happy with the choice, despite the disproportionate cost change.  A little extra screen real estate can go a long way... then again, my old cab had a 31" crt... I really like large format. Your mileage may vary.

If nothing else, decide on and get the monitor BEFORE YOU BUILD ANYTHING.  Then you can lay out your design with ergonomics in mind.  You are going to be standing/sitting at this thing for many hours -- make it comfortable.  You won't have Lumberjackass' problem (not to critique his build choices, he's got a nice cab) which could have been solved in the design phase by recessing and/or angling the monitor within the cab. 

And just for the record, 4:3 LCDs larger than 19-20" are a bit of a holy grail around here; everybody wants one, but nobody can ever seem to find one in stock... 

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