X-Arcade opinions wanted

[Chris Goodwin]

I'm looking for opinions on X-Arcade.  I hear some bad things about it, and I hear people who say it's the best thing since sliced cliche.  Alternate recommendations are also welcome (HotRod?)  

I asked for opinions on another board and basically was told "It sucks, build your own".  Doing research on just that has gotten me information overload, and I've gotta say I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything that's available out there.  Cost is a bit of an issue; if I'm going to roll my own, I don't want to end up spending more than a premade solution would cost.  

Anything that would help me distill some of the massive amounts of information would be greatly appreciated!

[Damocles]

The general consensus seems to be that if you have the time and resources available, building your own is the better option.  I recently purchased a dual X-arcade, since I lack both those things, and it has served me extremely well, except for an infrequent sticking issue that i'm still working out.

[gndprx]

Well, I started with an X-Arcade and have since gutted it and put all the controls into my own CP.

I like the encoder board and the fact that it's both programmable and switchable on the fly and is able to run any console system (bonus for me with an Xbox and PS in my game cabinet)

The only problem is that the sticks get rather sloppy in a short amount of time.  If you are into fighter games, you will find shortcomings very quickly.  

And after adding a few buttons to the cab with cherry switches, I can't imagine how I ever thought the X-Arcade was adaquate.

I would highly recomend buying your own parts and building from scratch if you ever anticipate playing serious games for any length of time.

[Chris Goodwin]

Thanks for the responses.  

Anyone have any opinions on Hanaho's HotRod?  It's definitely cheaper, and I've heard the same people who are saying bad things about X-Arcade saying good things about HotRod.  

[Grasshopper]

If you decide to build your own panel then you're almost certain to spend far more than you would on a new X-Arcade or Hotrod.

No doubt There are people here who will claim to have built a panel for less (insert improbable figure here) but they're probably not factoring in all the hidden costs of this hobby:

* shipping costs and customs charges(many key items are only obtainable by mail order, and sometimes only from abroad)

* power tools (unless you're lucky enough to already own them)

* cost of frequent visits to local DIY store

* cost of the little items such as nuts and bolts, wire, solder etc  which always seem to add up to more than you anticipated.

* Cost of wasted material due to the inevitable mistakes

* cost of buying unnecessary items to make up minimum orders

There are probably a few other things that I haven't thought of. I don't want to put you off what is a very rewarding hobby. However, the reason most people here build their own control panels is not to save money but for the satisfaction of building something unique that can actually be better than the ready made solutions out there.

There are also economies of scale with this hobby. The more panels you build the cheaper it gets because you make less mistakes and you only need to buy the power tools once.

If it's a choice between the X-Arcade and the Hotrod then I'd definitely go for the Hotrod at its new ridiculously low price. It may not have a programmable encoder however it is made of thicker better quality wood that the X-Arcade, is fitted with better quality Happ/Industrias Lorenzo joysticks and buttons, and looks far nicer than the X-Arcade (IMHO).

[Lilwolf]

X-Arcades use their own arcade parts..  They don't use happs.  Some like the joysticks... Others don't.  

They seem like a good deal to me.  They have a better encoder then hotrods (you can configure the keys).  They have console support.  Look better (imho).

But building your own is better.  Better parts... You feel like you made something great... But don't think it will be cheap...

its not...

its just down right the best hobby... (better then actually playing the games for many)

[BobA]

The Hotrod uses happ 8 ways and happ buttons so it is just like ordering your own parts.  The encoder cannot be reprogrammed but works well and you can get around it by remapping keys if you need to.   You cannot beat it at the $99 price.  I would guess that a USB unit is comming but it will probably cost 150 like the original price.    

Some old MB had a problem with the Hotrod but I have not heard of a newer MB having a problem with the interface.   There are some other keys on the interface that are not brought out to the buttons such as ESC if you want to add some keys for control.

BobA

[Chris Goodwin]

Does anyone know if X-Arcade uses an off-the-shelf keyboard encoder?  Or if not, what would be something comparable?  

[BobA]

Xarcade make their own encoder.   They used to sell their encoder separately. There are many other encoders available.  Go to the main page of this web site and pick interfaces from the left side menu.  Then pick keyboard encoders.


BobA

[JoyMonkey]

I really don't like the feel of X-Gaming's buttons.

I don't know if it's just down to the cheaper springs or micro-switches they use or what, but if you're used to the solid feel of Happ buttons and you try out some X-Gaming buttons, you can really notice the difference. They even sound cheap, not like the satisfying click you get from Happ's- you can hear and feel how weak the spring is.

I bought 20 of them on eBay thinking it was a great deal until I tried them out beside some Happ buttons.  

I'm going to try out some Wico buttons and see how they measure up, but for right now I think Happ Ultimate push-buttons rule the roost.