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Author Topic: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less  (Read 5943 times)

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CoryBee

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Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« on: September 06, 2013, 11:56:35 am »
Thought I would share the expenses I got through when building a full size cabinet. Keep in mind this is the bare minimum for a cabinet.

Most of the time the costs are even lower seeing how I buy certain parts in bulk and have things on hand from time to time. By the way, this is not a pissing contest to show how I spend less than others but a way to answer question I get asked frequently and hopefully will help someone in the future.

I will try to provide links to products I use but sometimes is difficult as I get some things locally from Craigslist & Thrift stores, in this case I will try to find it online and provide that link (price may differ). Some links my be just for reference and prices will differ in store.

-------------------

Wood - $70

        ■ (Set of two) 4' x 8', 3\4" MDF Board from Home Depot - $30 each
        ■ Random length plywood or similar to make furring strips from with a circular saw - $10 (cheaper if you find some in the scrap pile at Home Depot)

Screws - $3

        ■ You can get them in a box in Home Depot but I always go to ACE Hardware and buy them by the pound

Computer - $25

        ■ I purchase the computers for my build from craigslist usually, sometimes the thrift store if I am feeling lucky or eBay. Either way it rarely costs me more than $20 for a cheap Pentium 4 computer like the very common office computer "Dell Optiplex XXX"

Audio - $5

        ■ Once again I go to the Thrift Store for these. They are always stocked with audio amplifiers that were donated. I test them before buying by plugging my phone into them. They are never more than $5 at any one of the 4 stores in my area. Here is an eBay link with similar pricing. I always make sure to get speakers with a potentiometer (knob) that controls the volume instead of buttons so I can extend it to the outside of the cabinet (usually with Cat5 cable)

LCD Screen - $100

        ■ Sometimes Craigslist but almost always eBay has the best deals. I use 24" LCD (most of the time LED ones) screens. I never pay more than $110 for one.

Paint - $7

        ■ This varies depending on where you get your paint, but I think it costs me about $7 for the amount of paint I use from a gallon bucket per cabinet. I use a black semi-gloss by the way. You can also buy it in less quantities of course.

Joystick\Buttons - $45

        ■ I order from my favorite seller "dirtcheaptrading" as he hooks me up with extremely good prices and usually only pay around $27 or so bucks per cabinet in buttons. Here is his listing for 14 buttons and two joysticks. This is considering you are using a 15 buttons setup, 6 gaming buttons per player, a single Start\Coin button per and only one admin button
Message him to add on an extra button for this layout, low cost.

Gamepad Encoder - $25

        ■ I started out using gamepad hacks but it takes way too long nowadays considering the amount of cabinets I have made and make at one time. This is much faster to install, comes with all that is needed and probably much more reliable and less prone to damage.

Art - $10

        ■ After sizing up the art in photoshop and popping it on a USB stick I head over to my local Office Depot. This is the cheapest route I found while still maintaining quality. I get the control panel printed on their regular stock color paper and the marquee printed on fancy gloss paper so it doesn't wash out when there is light behind it. Sometimes they have issues with getting the size perfect (old printer at the nearby one) and have since let me handle the printer settings in photoshop when I come in.

Marquee Light - $10

        ■ I started out using white LED strips but have moved onto something easier, this cold cathode PC kit. It is super easy to setup, does require extending the power wires to your computer if your marquee is separated from the PC by more than a foot or two (which most likely it is).

Acrylic - $20

        ■ Pure and simple, Home Depot has the best deals, Tap Plastics is a good alternative too. Two of their $12 sheets at my local Home Depot does the job beautifully (CP, Marquee and Bezel) and leaves enough left over for the next machine's Control panel.

Marquee Retainer - $6

        ■ Easiest and cheapest is using these "L" brackets\channels (not sure what they are called). One can be cut into 4 retainers, enough for two cabinets of an internal width of 24 inches.

T-Molding - $20

        ■ eBay of course. I usually don't need more than 15 feet per machine so I always buy in bulk, sometimes around 60-80 feet.

Power Strip - $5 + TIPS

        ■ I usually just buy them in bulk at any local store or if there is a sale or something but here is a pretty cheap one from eBay that would work well if you only need 3 plugs. I haven't used store bought smart strips, I have however built my own per this thread. Lately I have been trying to get TVs that run on DC voltage and wiring them to the PC power supply. As well as wiring up the Marquee light and the PC speakers allow for a no smart strip, smart power on.....

Rough Total - $351

-------------------

This list is for me as much as it is for anyone else as it gives me a reference in the future and lets me know how much I am really making from these cabinets.

If the list is incomplete or you have a better source please don't hesitate to help me improve it.

 :cheers:
« Last Edit: September 07, 2013, 10:37:05 am by CoryBee »

JDFan

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2013, 12:27:24 pm »
Nice breakdown !  I do see a couple of things missing from the list that you might use :

Smart Strip or other power strip.
 
Power connector for the back of the cabinet

cheap USB mouse\keyboard combo (if using a gamepad encoder you need some way to access the system for updates - though I guess you could borrow one from your PC is much easier to include on in the build)

Piano hinge or latches etc. for mounting of CP\coin door\back panel access

Tie down strapping\cable ties  - to hold components\wiring in place inside the cabinet

Wood Glue

 
« Last Edit: September 06, 2013, 12:41:00 pm by JDFan »

roknrol

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2013, 04:21:40 pm »
Cory,

Maybe it's there and I've just never seen it ... but what is this "scrap pile at Home Depot" of which you speak?

Would I be likely to find it near the loading dock/door at the very back of the lumber area? Are the pieces marked with spray paint or something so the checkout clerk will intuitively know not to charge me for it?

Just never stumbled across it before!

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2013, 04:32:23 pm »
The mark down section at my home depot is normally outside in front of the contractor exit. I bought the shingles for my shed's roof there for like 80 percent off.
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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2013, 04:33:13 pm »
I must be doing something wrong as I'm at £2.5k  :dizzy: and not finished yet  :cry:

Then again, fried 1 pololu board, scrapped 2 lots of carbon fibre vinyl and a few other mistakes here and there all add up lol
    

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2013, 04:33:54 pm »
Cory,

Maybe it's there and I've just never seen it ... but what is this "scrap pile at Home Depot" of which you speak?

Would I be likely to find it near the loading dock/door at the very back of the lumber area? Are the pieces marked with spray paint or something so the checkout clerk will intuitively know not to charge me for it?

Just never stumbled across it before!

At my HD, they spray the end of the scraps green. I got some good internal bracing boards that way once.
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #6 on: September 06, 2013, 04:53:35 pm »
@roknrol -- just ask anyone in the lumber dept. and they'll point you toward it - they usually put any mis-cuts while cutting for customers or scraps the customer doesn't want after cutting or any warped\damaged boards there - Lowes has a similar bin with most pieces running from $0.25 to $2.00 so definitely worth looking through.     

CoryBee

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #7 on: September 06, 2013, 05:28:23 pm »
Nice breakdown !  I do see a couple of things missing from the list that you might use :
Smart Strip or other power strip.
Power connector for the back of the cabinet
cheap USB mouse\keyboard combo (if using a gamepad encoder you need some way to access the system for updates - though I guess you could borrow one from your PC is much easier to include on in the build)
Piano hinge or latches etc. for mounting of CP\coin door\back panel access
Tie down strapping\cable ties  - to hold components\wiring in place inside the cabinet
Wood Glue

Thanks! I will make some corrections.

Maybe it's there and I've just never seen it ... but what is this "scrap pile at Home Depot" of which you speak?

At the two Home Depots in my vicinity they are in the back near where they cut the wood for you, also happens to be where they have the big loading door. So everyone was spot on with that, just ask is the best advice though. And yea they spray each piece, can't tell you how many times I have gotten nice slabs of MDF or shelving pieces for super cheap.

In fact when my brother wanted a cabinet for his son all we used was wood from this pile, link here. Notice the spray paint :D

I must be doing something wrong as I'm at £2.5k  :dizzy: and not finished yet  :cry:

Build link? And.....ouch.

Connorsdad

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #8 on: September 06, 2013, 06:03:29 pm »
No build thread atm, here's s couple of wip photos though. Sorry to detour the thread

http://db.tt/Wmoa9edd
http://db.tt/XLzzWKSj

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CoryBee

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #9 on: September 06, 2013, 06:09:31 pm »
No build thread atm, here's s couple of wip photos though. Sorry to detour the thread
http://db.tt/Wmoa9edd
http://db.tt/XLzzWKSj

Is it just me or is it kinda looking like the "Revolution" by Griffindodd?

Also, your price tag hurts my soul....but then again this hobby has claimed more from better men than us. And when I build an all for me cabinet I will go all out with better parts, computer and art. Just wanted to show some people that it doesn't have to be something that you need to pull out a second mortgage on.

yotsuya

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #10 on: September 06, 2013, 06:11:50 pm »
I must be doing something wrong as I'm at £2.5k  :dizzy: and not finished yet  :cry:

Then again, fried 1 pololu board, scrapped 2 lots of carbon fibre vinyl and a few other mistakes here and there all add up lol

You're copying one of Griff's builds. If CoryBee is the Wal-Mart of BYOAC, Griff is the Tiffany's.
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #11 on: September 06, 2013, 06:24:04 pm »
I'm hoping it turns out just like griffs :)

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Re: Re: Has anyone Wired up a knocker for Q*bert?
« Reply #12 on: September 06, 2013, 07:48:58 pm »

Looks good, but like others, thats a big chunk of cash.

Im not sure what I could spend £2.5k on to build a cab... are you gold plating it buddy?

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Re: Re: Has anyone Wired up a knocker for Q*bert?
« Reply #13 on: September 06, 2013, 07:52:52 pm »
Looks good, but like others, thats a big chunk of cash.
Im not sure what I could spend £2.5k on to build a cab... are you gold plating it buddy?

This ^^

Just curious too. Would be nice to see a breakdown of how you could spend over $2.5k on a cabinet. I know that isn't the most spent on a machine, I remember hearing about someone spending around $6k before.

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #14 on: September 06, 2013, 09:10:34 pm »
@roknrol -- just ask anyone in the lumber dept. and they'll point you toward it - they usually put any mis-cuts while cutting for customers or scraps the customer doesn't want after cutting or any warped\damaged boards there - Lowes has a similar bin with most pieces running from $0.25 to $2.00 so definitely worth looking through.   

Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely take a better look through next time I'm at the HD.  :cheers:

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #15 on: September 07, 2013, 01:36:45 am »
When I'm done I'll list everything, for now I'm just chucking the receipts into a pile. If I'd known it was going to cost this much I don't think I would have started lol. Only had a quick tot up because I don't want to know the exact figure until I'm done :/
I'm at the stage where if I think it needs it, I'll buy it, I've invested so much time and money into it now I'm not going to scrimp on anything. It'll all be worth it in the end, I keep telling myself lol.

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #16 on: September 07, 2013, 06:42:26 am »
Hahaha... That's less than I paid for the memory sticks for my new machine.... Wait...  :(

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #17 on: September 07, 2013, 06:47:25 am »
You can make a cab for much less than $350, but it would cost more to improve it as your gaming tastes develop.

Nope, $350 is pretty spot on there CB.   ;D
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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #18 on: September 07, 2013, 10:39:19 am »
Smart Strip or other power strip.

Wanted to touch on this.

------
Power Strip -

I usually just buy them in bulk at any local store or if there is a sale or something but here is a pretty cheap one from eBay that would work well if you only need 3 plugs. I haven't used store bought smart strips, I have however built my own per this thread. Lately I have been trying to get TVs that run on DC voltage and wiring them to the PC power supply. As well as wiring up the Marquee light and the PC speakers allow for a no smart strip, smart power on.....
------

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #19 on: September 07, 2013, 10:52:30 am »
Smart Strip or other power strip.

Wanted to touch on this.

------
Power Strip -

I usually just buy them in bulk at any local store or if there is a sale or something but here is a pretty cheap one from eBay that would work well if you only need 3 plugs. I haven't used store bought smart strips, I have however built my own per this thread. Lately I have been trying to get TVs that run on DC voltage and wiring them to the PC power supply. As well as wiring up the Marquee light and the PC speakers allow for a no smart strip, smart power on.....
------

There are a bunch of monitors that use a separate power brick.  Digimate is a brand that is infamous for these bricks with awesome displays.  If you can get your cab to be DC only, it would save a bunch of money.
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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #20 on: September 07, 2013, 11:02:28 am »
If I'd known it was going to cost this much I don't think I would have started lol.

Really? Griff had cost break down in the first post of his thread:
Current Cost List:

Raw Materials:
$45 - Framing Wood - Home Depot
$80 - MDF Panels (2x 5/8" 8x4) - Home Depot
$18 - 3 boxes of Kregg pocket screws - Home Depot
$45 - 5x tins of Loctite 300 Heavy duty spray contact Cement - Amazon
$35 - 5x tins of Rustoleum Textured matt black paint - Home Depot
$184 - 5x 8x4 sheets of Wilsonart 1/16th vertical matt black laminate (delivered) - eBay
$20 - Clear Acrylic 24" x 12" 3/8" - Amazon
$15 - Smoked 1/8" 48" x 12" acrylic - Amazon
$?? - Custom cut and fabricated diamond plate - ????
$60 - 250' Red 11/16" T-Molding - Tape Ease
$110 - 3x custom cut 3/16" smoked glass (Delivered) - www.OneDayGlass.com
$612

Controller Hardware
$150 - (Unused/second hand) 15 Ultralux RGB Buttons+harness, 2x Paradise LED top 8-way sticks, 2x Coin Buttons, 2 player buttons, PAC64, iPac V2 - Forum Member.
$15 - True4-way stick - GGG
$150 - Trackball with RGB lighting and controller board - Forum Member Ron310
$75 - Extra RGB buttons for pinball - Ultimarc
$210 - Lilliput 7" Touchscreen - Amazon
$20 - Wire & connector blocks - Home Depot
$60 - Second PAC64 - Ultimarc
$680

Screen Rotation Mechanism
$32 - 1 x Pololu Simple Motor Controller 18v7 - Pololu
$16 - 1 x Amico 12v 10rpm 15kg/cm 130mA motor - Amazon
$7 - 1 x Pololu 37D mm Metal Gearmotor Bracket Pair - Pololu
$7 - 1 x Pololu Universal Aluminum Mounting Hub for 6mm Shaft Pair, 4-40 Holes - Pololu
$13 - 1 x #1700 Premium Jumper Wire 50-Piece Rainbow Assortment F-F 6" - Pololu
$12 - 2x Microswitches for stop limits- Amazon
$87

Sound & Lighting
$100 - Eagle 140W 2.1 Computer Speakers - Frys
$49 - 16ft length of RGB ribbon lighting + Sound sensitive lighting controller - Amazon
$22 - 120w 12v DC power supply - Amazon
$171

CPU & Screens
$49 - ASROCK H61M/U3S3 H61 Motherboard - Newegg
$49 - INTEL CELERON G530 (Sandybridge) 2.4Ghz Dual Core - Newegg
$45 - MEMORY 2x 4GB DDR3 GSKILL F3-8500 - Newegg
$40 - 300w Power Supply - Newegg
$60 - 1TB 7200rpm Hard Drive - Newegg
$140 - LG 23" 16:10 LED IPS Ultra Slim Monitor - Frys
$90 - BenQ 15" 4:3 LCD monitor - Frys
$12 - Blue LED Hard Drive Cooler - Amazon
$35 - Griffin Powermate USB Volume dial - Amazon
$40 - 2x Custom messaging 120mm fans
$558

Artwork & Graphics
$230 - 2x Custom sides, 1 custom marquee - Game On Graphix
$60 - Full color large format bezels and marquee mock art - Staples
$20 - Control panel large format color - Staples
$50 - Template black and white line art - FedEx/Kinkos
$340

Misc
$50 - X-Gaming Coin Door & Mech - XGaming.com
$38 - 10 Outlet Smart Strip - Amazon
$300 - A bazzillion little bits and pieces from 400+ Home Depot trips
$388

Totals up to $2836 :dizzy:

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #21 on: September 07, 2013, 11:04:42 am »
Smart Strip or other power strip.

Wanted to touch on this.

------
Power Strip -

I usually just buy them in bulk at any local store or if there is a sale or something but here is a pretty cheap one from eBay that would work well if you only need 3 plugs. I haven't used store bought smart strips, I have however built my own per this thread. Lately I have been trying to get TVs that run on DC voltage and wiring them to the PC power supply. As well as wiring up the Marquee light and the PC speakers allow for a no smart strip, smart power on.....
------

There are a bunch of monitors that use a separate power brick.  Digimate is a brand that is infamous for these bricks with awesome displays.  If you can get your cab to be DC only, it would save a bunch of money.

Yea I thought it was a pretty nifty way of going about a "smart" power system. Can not only bypass the smart strip this way but also bypass a power strip at all.

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #22 on: September 07, 2013, 12:07:23 pm »
Yea I thought it was a pretty nifty way of going about a "smart" power system. Can not only bypass the smart strip this way but also bypass a power strip at all.

If you could "cleanly" gut a laptop and re-use all the parts, it would be the way to go.  But that's a lot easier said than done.

Maybe we should call Ben Heck?  :)

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Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #23 on: September 07, 2013, 12:09:51 pm »
Yea I thought it was a pretty nifty way of going about a "smart" power system. Can not only bypass the smart strip this way but also bypass a power strip at all.

If you could "cleanly" gut a laptop and re-use all the parts, it would be the way to go.  But that's a lot easier said than done.

Maybe we should call Ben Heck?  :)

What do you mean? Can you elaborate more?

All of my bartops were laptop conversions and everything was ran off of the original power brick.

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Re: Re: Building a Full-Size machine for $350 or less
« Reply #24 on: September 07, 2013, 12:37:18 pm »
If I'd known it was going to cost this much I don't think I would have started lol.

Really? Griff had cost break down in the first post of his thread:
Current Cost List:

Raw Materials:
$45 - Framing Wood - Home Depot
$80 - MDF Panels (2x 5/8" 8x4) - Home Depot
$18 - 3 boxes of Kregg pocket screws - Home Depot
$45 - 5x tins of Loctite 300 Heavy duty spray contact Cement - Amazon
$35 - 5x tins of Rustoleum Textured matt black paint - Home Depot
$184 - 5x 8x4 sheets of Wilsonart 1/16th vertical matt black laminate (delivered) - eBay
$20 - Clear Acrylic 24" x 12" 3/8" - Amazon
$15 - Smoked 1/8" 48" x 12" acrylic - Amazon
$?? - Custom cut and fabricated diamond plate - ????
$60 - 250' Red 11/16" T-Molding - Tape Ease
$110 - 3x custom cut 3/16" smoked glass (Delivered) - www.OneDayGlass.com
$612

Controller Hardware
$150 - (Unused/second hand) 15 Ultralux RGB Buttons+harness, 2x Paradise LED top 8-way sticks, 2x Coin Buttons, 2 player buttons, PAC64, iPac V2 - Forum Member.
$15 - True4-way stick - GGG
$150 - Trackball with RGB lighting and controller board - Forum Member Ron310
$75 - Extra RGB buttons for pinball - Ultimarc
$210 - Lilliput 7" Touchscreen - Amazon
$20 - Wire & connector blocks - Home Depot
$60 - Second PAC64 - Ultimarc
$680

Screen Rotation Mechanism
$32 - 1 x Pololu Simple Motor Controller 18v7 - Pololu
$16 - 1 x Amico 12v 10rpm 15kg/cm 130mA motor - Amazon
$7 - 1 x Pololu 37D mm Metal Gearmotor Bracket Pair - Pololu
$7 - 1 x Pololu Universal Aluminum Mounting Hub for 6mm Shaft Pair, 4-40 Holes - Pololu
$13 - 1 x #1700 Premium Jumper Wire 50-Piece Rainbow Assortment F-F 6" - Pololu
$12 - 2x Microswitches for stop limits- Amazon
$87

Sound & Lighting
$100 - Eagle 140W 2.1 Computer Speakers - Frys
$49 - 16ft length of RGB ribbon lighting + Sound sensitive lighting controller - Amazon
$22 - 120w 12v DC power supply - Amazon
$171

CPU & Screens
$49 - ASROCK H61M/U3S3 H61 Motherboard - Newegg
$49 - INTEL CELERON G530 (Sandybridge) 2.4Ghz Dual Core - Newegg
$45 - MEMORY 2x 4GB DDR3 GSKILL F3-8500 - Newegg
$40 - 300w Power Supply - Newegg
$60 - 1TB 7200rpm Hard Drive - Newegg
$140 - LG 23" 16:10 LED IPS Ultra Slim Monitor - Frys
$90 - BenQ 15" 4:3 LCD monitor - Frys
$12 - Blue LED Hard Drive Cooler - Amazon
$35 - Griffin Powermate USB Volume dial - Amazon
$40 - 2x Custom messaging 120mm fans
$558

Artwork & Graphics
$230 - 2x Custom sides, 1 custom marquee - Game On Graphix
$60 - Full color large format bezels and marquee mock art - Staples
$20 - Control panel large format color - Staples
$50 - Template black and white line art - FedEx/Kinkos
$340

Misc
$50 - X-Gaming Coin Door & Mech - XGaming.com
$38 - 10 Outlet Smart Strip - Amazon
$300 - A bazzillion little bits and pieces from 400+ Home Depot trips
$388

Totals up to $2836 :dizzy:

I had the blinkers on and didn't even see the total cost, I just saw the cab that I wanted and went for it lol.

Sent from Amstrad CPC464