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Repurpose furniture at right height for lightweight stand-up MAME machine?
severdhed:
here is my opinion...
don't buy a piece of furniture to set your stuff on, because you will probably not be happy with it for very long. If you already have something lying around that works, that is one thing, but to put any kind of money into it is a waste. when i first started out with mame, i had an x-arcade that i was using for console gaming, and some old PCs sitting around. i put a monitor on top of the bar in our basement, and put the pc and controller on an old tv stand that i had sitting in the basement. it worked fine for testing, but even though i was standing up playing these games with real controls, it just didn't have that same feel as having a cabinet.
i looked around, made a few phone calls, and picked up an empty cabinet for $20. and with only a drill, a jigsaw and a dremel, i managed to modify the cabinet to my liking. over the years, i ended up getting a router and reconfigured the cabinet several times since then.
if you are planning on moving before too long though, you may want to hold off on the fullsize cabinet idea, they are a pain to move.
if you are dead set on doing that, i would pick up a cheap LCD wall mount bracket (www.monoprice.com) and hang an LCD on the wall. attach a shelf to the wall below it to set your x-arcade on with your PC on the floor or something.
personally, i think the bartop idea is probably the best at this point though. you can get them in kits that are easy to assemble, (but a little pricey) or you should be able to build one yourself (or with a friend's help) for not too much money or effort.
just don't try to be too cheap about it...you will quickly find that you can plan out a project that doesn't seem to be too expensive, but the little things add up quickly.
CheffoJeffo:
+10 to stuff posted by the smart guys who said to use an existing cabinet.
That is much easier than anything except putting an XArcade on a desk and can be done on the cheap.
Donkbaca:
okay I would say in terms of difficulty and portability:
1 - buy x-arcade use on desk. A lot of people start out this way, had mine for 10 years before I built a cab. Most portable way to enjoy arcade games in terms of moving around.
2- buy bartop kit - easy to assemble, small, portable.
3- buy junk cab, mame it - Only reason this isn't number 2 is because of the whole transport issue with full size cabs
4- full size kit
5 - make own bartop
6 - make own full size cab
7 - convert furniture into something you can play mame on without it looking like ass.
newmanfamilyvlogs:
My cabinet is designed to look like furniture when not in use, and I can fully attest to it being a 7 as on the above list. I spent probably 6-7 months just planning in cad before we ever cut wood, and even with a fully equipped professional woodshop (and the staff helping with most of the construction) it still took another two months of off and on building to finish/stain/poly it. it's a beast to move, as well. check my sig if you're interested.
Anpanman:
This might suit your needs and is only $300. You'd pay that for a good computer desk anyway and it should be easier to assemble.
http://www.recroommasters.com/Xtension_Arcade_Pedestal_Arcade_Cabinet_p/rm-xt-ped.htm