UK Lowboy Project Build x2. (Vertical & Horizontal)

[lettuce]

Im am starting work on my 4th arcade cab project, as space is a premium i wanted to build a compact smaller than standard cab. After seeing some members refer to something called a 'Lowboy' cab, i decided to look them up to see what the fuss was about, upon seeing one i instantly knew this is what i was after. My design is based on apfelanni's mod cut down conversion he did on a standard size Lowboy cab i believe.

The Lowboy will stand approx 4' 2" (127cm) tall so alot shorter than your average cab. I started by using Google Sketchup to draw up my plans, and this is the shape i came up with.....



I have a friend who's family business has their own CNC machine, so she has kindly put my plans into CAD and cut a prototype out on the CNC machine for me to make sure everything fits before the final revision is to be cut....



I shall be using an Intel i3 based PC components to go inside this cab as i dont think mame or any other emulators take advantage of more than a dual core cpu do they?...or is AMD CPU's regarded to be better for Mame? I shall also be using GroovyMAME for this build as in my opinion is probably thee best build of MAME to use atm.

I have got 2 brand new 25" CGA 15khz monitors that i am going to be using for this project, i am looking at have one vertical and one horizontal cab so hopefully will have the perfect set up...best of both worlds.



In the coming days i shall be putting this prototype together so will post more pics of this coming stage.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Lowboys rock. Design looks good. Will be watching this with interest 

[lettuce]

Thanks man! 

Does anyone know what the correct angle of the monitor should be for a Lowboy??.....thats if there is a regulated angle?

[emphatic]

This looks great!

[Typefighter01]

I wondered why you answered my monitor question like you did. You will surely have your cab running before I start my next cab (not until Christmas), so I will be following this build closely....

[bluemini17]

Great to see another UK arcade nut. may I ask where you obtained the new monitors? I like the dimensions you have, cant wait to see this progress.

David

[404]

love the size! been thinking of making a 4 foot single player lowboy for some time now.

[dextercf]

Me wants to follow this build.
+1 on the monitor angle!

[lettuce]

Finally got around to starting work on putting the cab together today, so ill let the pictures do the talking...







Have also ordered a pair of Ultimarc ServoStik sticks, i wanted to make this a 2P cab but looking at the cab in person now not sure if i can fit 2 sets of controls on the control panel given the width of the cab.

On a side note i stumbled across a website a while back that had loads of control panel layout diagrams, that you could print out. Does anyone know what the url of this website is?

[jmike]

Nice work so far. I'm hoping to build a similar setup so I'll be watching closely.
I believe the site you're looking for is:

http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html

[lettuce]

Thats the one, cheers mate!! 

[lettuce]

A slight update to this project. Mounting for the 25" CRT monitor in place.....



And then the CRT placed inside the cab with the bezel on, its a nice very tight fit but the corners of the bezel will need to be adjused.......







Does anyone know the actual radius of the corners of a CRT screen??...if there is a universal measurement?

And then with the Control panel in place....



I dont think im entirely happy with the placement of the monitor i feel it needs to be an inch or so lower!!??

[Termin8tor]

Watching this one with interest.

[emphatic]

I dont think im entirely happy with the placement of the monitor i feel it needs to be an inch or so lower!!??

If you place your hands on the panel and look at the monitor, does it feel uncomfortable, or is it just the fact that it's off center vertically? You have a nice space under the monitor to add an instruction card holder for example, would probably look closer to a factory build that way.

Looking good!

[Eldritch1969]

Nice design. Must feel really comfortable sitting in front of it. Very interesting to see it coming along
Cheers !

[Acids]

Nice design. Must feel really comfortable sitting in front of it. Very interesting to see it coming along
Cheers !

My experience with Low Boys are more about standing then sitting.   I never liked the angle sitting.  ( Low Boy cabs in NZ anyways )

[DaOld Man]

I hate you people with your access to CNC's.

Seriously, nice job so far.

[lettuce]

Nice design. Must feel really comfortable sitting in front of it. Very interesting to see it coming along
Cheers !

My experience with Low Boys are more about standing then sitting.   I never liked the angle sitting.  ( Low Boy cabs in NZ anyways )

This will be sat at...its lower than your average lowboy cab after all

[matt4949]

very cool. I think my next project will be a bartop with a CRT. Really liking the look of this one.

[TGov]

Where did you get your monitors?

[bluemini17]

Where did you get your monitors?

+1 

[krick]

I shall be using an Intel i3 based PC components to go inside this cab as i dont think mame or any other emulators take advantage of more than a dual core cpu do they?...or is AMD CPU's regarded to be better for Mame? I shall also be using GroovyMAME for this build as in my opinion is probably thee best build of MAME to use atm.

I don't think anyone ever answered this.

Intel CPUs are hands-down the best choice for MAME.  Don't even consider an AMD CPU even if it is significantly cheaper.  You'll regret it.  This isn't an Intel fan-boy thing.  This is fact.

As for multiple cores, I believe that baseline MAME only takes advantage of 2 cores.  It can push some of the rendering code into a different thread which results in a performance boost in certain drivers.   As I understand it, the latest version of GroovyMAME uses yet another thread for the video page flipping code.  So I guess the optimal CPU for GroovyMAME would have at least 3 cores.  However, I don't know if anyone has actually benchmarked and compared performance in GroovyMAME with 2 vs 4 cores, so don't take my word for it.

You can get Intel i5 quad-core CPUs for under $200 on Newegg.