Raspberry Pi vs a 60 in 1 for a Cocktail Cabinet

[jdbailey1206]

Maximus where did you pick up your video adapter from?

[Maximus]

Maximus where did you pick up your video adapter from?

found it on ebay $10

[Unstupid]

what that artifacts on the bottom of the screen when you playing games?

I think you are seeing the on-screen overlay for touchscreens, you can turn it off.

@ 2:00 right when you move Mario there is some yellow things right where he is at the bottom of the screen... Is that the touchscreen text?

[Maximus]

That's the emulator registering the input controller

[degenatrons]

Finally the video uploaded

Cheers for the video

I made some progress with launching into MAME directly by building a modded RetroArch .APK . I posted info here.  Potential for this as a viable alternative to those ?-in-1 boards. 

[Maximus]

Yup just responded, very exciting!

[TheShaner]

How are you breaking the audio out of your stick Griff?  Is yours an hdmi out?

[DeLuSioNal29]

Looks like he has a stereo 1/8" jack coming out of the HDMI adapter (not connected to anything at the moment as Griff states in the video).

D

[jdbailey1206]

Maximus bought one of these bad boys.  http://www.amazon.com/Conversion-Converter-Adapter-Laptop-Projector/dp/B00DNT2JJA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372848682&sr=8-2&keywords=JMT+Mini+HDMI+To+VGA+with+Audio

[degenatrons]

Wow!  Those mini HDMI to VGA converters looky nice, and no external power needed!  I just ordered one for £6.50 on ebay    Had paid £35 a few months back for a powered one 

[TheShaner]

Awesome, I was having a hard time finding one of these, thanks!

[Maximus]

Yep that's the one. Haven't tested audio yet but vga works just fine

[Unstupid]

Does the Pi have a HDMI or MiniHDMI connector?

[DHTech]

Full size HDMI

[Unstupid]

I have these ones that I have used to connect a intel nuc to a VGA and audio amplifier... and both work fine... not sure if they will work with the Pi though since I don't own one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158349

http://www.kanexlive.com/atvpro

[lettuce]

What about using a Ouya?

[Unstupid]

What about using a Ouya?

As a doorstop?   

[paigeoliver]

What about using a Ouya?

As a doorstop?   

Does this assume that the pi isn't also a doorstop? I have yet to see how it outperforms dollar for dollar anything from a used PC wholesaler (and don't forget those video adapters that every pi build is buying).

[shponglefan]

I have yet to see how it outperforms dollar for dollar anything from a used PC wholesaler

Power consumption.

[Maximus]

I have yet to see how it outperforms dollar for dollar anything from a used PC wholesaler

I've yet to see a 8 year old full size truck that doesn't outperform a Prius I mean it tows more, hauls more, you can put a snow plow on it and drive over large obstacles. I know you said you wanted something small, cheap, efficient and reliable but hey trucks are awesome!

Waaaaah?

[EightBySix]

I have yet to see how it outperforms dollar for dollar anything from a used PC wholesaler

Power consumption.

Size
Noise levels

[TheShaner]

You sure are a PC pusher Page.  We all know the PC wins the power debate ... but size, need for components like hard drives and power supplies, noise levels, etc ... different ball game.

[jdbailey1206]

I am a big proponent of PC's myself.  But we are building arcade machines and space seems to be scarce for those who are building arcade systems with a smaller footprint.  Putting full PC's into these "weecade" cabinets seems to be working backwards in some if not most cases.  If we were to look at the inner workings of the original arcade cabinets we just have 2-3 PCB boards wire's monitors etc.  We have enough room to cram six full working arcade games into the space we have instead of cramming one PC into a much smaller space.  With these Mini PC's we are liking more to the idea of the original arcades.

I know the argument could be said that if something goes wrong with a regular PC we could just change out the component that was giving us the trouble but by the time we did that we could have already payed for one of these Mini PC's that seem to be going for next to nothing.  We already have to worry about the many workings of the control boards.  Let's not complicate things.

And it's not like we need a complete workhorse that is going to be rendering full 3D landscapes and animations.  We are just playing arcade games with minimal graphics and sounds.  We are trying to recapture a better time.  Build what you need people.  Not what you want.

I like the idea of the mini PC and hope that I can put one in my next build.  I know my hands will be more appreciative when I have more room to work on things.

Just my thoughts.

[mcseforsale]

I'm liking this for bartops, too.  Eliminates a lot of heat issues, too.

AJ

[Rigby]

The emulation on an RPi is sketchy at best, and the performance is sketchy at best, but move beyond the RPi and there are some very valid choices available for emulation.  They're not as cheap as they RPi, but they are cheap, and they're certainly less expensive than a full-blown x86/x64 PC.

For some, though, a Raspberry Pi will suit nicely, and those people should use them.  I just wish there were a way to get RGB video out of them suitable for an arcade monitor.

[TheShaner]

I have been jacking with the BeagleBoard, but the Angstrom load that comes on it is giving me a bit of hassle with the Monitor I am trying to use.  Gonna get Ubuntu loaded on it today probably and try moving forward from there.  Other than this driver issue though, this little board is pretty sweet.

[Slippyblade]

Necro bump!  Any more info or developments on this front?  How'd the Beaglebone Black work out?

[twistedsymphony]

I think of one thing which is missing in this conversation is that there are different solutions for different situations.  There is no one single perfect be-all-and-end-all MAME solution.

For example, people have tossed out the idea of older pentiums.  But those have drawbacks such as increased power consumption, heat, size, incompatibility with newer storage devices, larger footprint, and so on.

On the other hand the Pi, while not the most advanced kid on the block is tiny, no moving parts, no heat issues, low power consumption.

It really comes down to what is more important to the person in question doing the build.  In the case of the OP, he specifically mentioned no moving parts.  So that mostly rules out an old P4.

They make giant fan-less heat-sync modules for traditional PCs, they even make them specifically for the P4: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article118-page1.html

as for the hard dive if the older mobo doesn't have STA ports you can get an PCI adapter card to run SSDs... or run an IDE based Disc on Module or CF adapter.

These options are obviously a bit more expensive but they exist non-the-less.

[sharpfork]

I think something being missed in this conversation is the simplicity of dropping a fully configured Linux build on an SD card compared to dealing with a full OS and hardware specific drivers and such.  If you like tinkering with Windows, the choice is clearer.  If you don't, the value of something like the piplay kickstarter (raspi + bbb) making an emulatuon appliance outweighs the flexibility you get with a pc.

[2084]

I think something being missed in this conversation is the simplicity of dropping a fully configured Linux build on an SD card compared to dealing with a full OS and hardware specific drivers and such.  If you like tinkering with Windows, the choice is clearer.  If you don't, the value of something like the piplay kickstarter (raspi + bbb) making an emulatuon appliance outweighs the flexibility you get with a pc.

I agree.  This threat started talking about using a Raspberry Pi and almost everyone jumped on the using a Windows PC.  I have now built 6 MAME cabinets.  In 4 of those I have used the raspberry PI.  Those machines are mostly dedicated to a single game (Rampage, Robotron, Startgate, and Tempest) which for those games they do as well as a PC.  The Raspberry Pi clearly isn't the right choice for every situation but it is a great option.

[macattack]

I am also in the process of out fitting 4 dedicated cabs with raspberries, for the simple stuff it works a treat.


Www.xtremepinball.com

[elvis]

Making my fifth cabinet currently, and this one will be a gift for a non-technical friend.

All of my previous cabinets have suffered some sort of hardware failure in their life.  Getting in there and troubleshooting a whole PC that is intermittently failing is a pain in the butt.  Dealing with trying to get adequate cooling and fans working, mounting video cards properly if they're not onboard, and other dramas has been annoying.

I'm going with a Raspberry Pi for this current project, as it's going to reduce a lot of problems.  All of my previous cabinets ran Linux (I'm a Linux sysadmin by trade, so there's zero learning curve for me).  The cabinet itself will only need to run 80s games (the recipient is a guy in his 40s who has no care for 1990 and newer games), and the ~5 games he really cares about are all supported by MAME4ALL.

I'm liking the idea of something that will power up easily when the cabinet comes on, but small and power friendly, and have no real need for massive ventilation requirements to work.  Mounting it will be easy enough.  I can take an image of the SD card with the games and config, and replace the RPi easily if it fails.

For this particular cabinet, it's a win.  I wouldn't put it in a cabinet where I wanted to run more modern games (CPS1/CPS2 fighters are my thing, so I'd avoid RPi for them).

[jaharr01]

Yeah I'm late to the party too but I Thought i would put my 2 cents in. Rasberry pis are really more of a gadget for most people. However I have one with xbmc that plays 1080p video from a non ssd harddrive  without a hitch. Now I don't know if a P4 will do that without stuttering. The biggest difference in a pi vs windows PC is bloat. There is no bloat with a pi. Even leaned out xp has bloat. I haven't tried mame on my pi but  it would probably play anything on a 60 in one board. Rasberry pis have come a long way there is a lot of community support for them. They are still only built for tasks.  Would a PC be better probably. How much energy does a p4 use 60 watts per hour. A rasberry pi uses usb voltage.
     I have ran mame and Nes emulators on my droid tablet and they run without a hitch. I don't believe there can be a clear winner here.
1.For durability the 60 in one would have to win. You fart on a rasberry pi and they would break.
2. For power usage the pi would win because those cards I believe are 12 volts. But that's not much of a victory
3. For adaptability the pi would win hands down. you could run the same pi to run xbmc just swap a card out.
4 price a pi is 40+ dollars. A 60 in 1 is what 40 to 60 plus you have to buy a jamma harness. So the pi is a slim winner.
5 for speed I would say it is relatively even..
6 ease of setup I imagine would go to the 60 in one. Even though now pis are relatively easy but not that easy.

Given  these standards I would say it is still dead even. Myself having a pi the durability factor would sway me. Those little pis don't like it when they aren't shut down properly. If I was setting up a cocktail cab I would use the 60 in 1. . But that's just my opinion.

[kahlid74]

Making my fifth cabinet currently, and this one will be a gift for a non-technical friend.

All of my previous cabinets have suffered some sort of hardware failure in their life.  Getting in there and troubleshooting a whole PC that is intermittently failing is a pain in the butt.  Dealing with trying to get adequate cooling and fans working, mounting video cards properly if they're not onboard, and other dramas has been annoying.

I'm going with a Raspberry Pi for this current project, as it's going to reduce a lot of problems.  All of my previous cabinets ran Linux (I'm a Linux sysadmin by trade, so there's zero learning curve for me).  The cabinet itself will only need to run 80s games (the recipient is a guy in his 40s who has no care for 1990 and newer games), and the ~5 games he really cares about are all supported by MAME4ALL.

I'm liking the idea of something that will power up easily when the cabinet comes on, but small and power friendly, and have no real need for massive ventilation requirements to work.  Mounting it will be easy enough.  I can take an image of the SD card with the games and config, and replace the RPi easily if it fails.

For this particular cabinet, it's a win.  I wouldn't put it in a cabinet where I wanted to run more modern games (CPS1/CPS2 fighters are my thing, so I'd avoid RPi for them).

I've built 8 cabs now, all Running some form of Windows and none have failed hardware wise or experienced software failure.  The cab I built in 2003 is running Windows XP with a Pentium III 800Mhz and works like a beast.  The CMOS battery finally died but it in no way affects the computer.  It's UDMA HDD still runs without issue or weird sounds.  We can say I'm lucky, or we could say I take time to read reviews and choose components with longer MTF/MBF or better components.

If you're building a 60 in 1 the Raspberry Pi is fine.  If you're building a MAME machine the Pi IMO isn't the way to go.  Go the route of Beagle or another faster slim System but the Pi just isn't meant for that.