MAME Cabinet Cooling

[thingol]

I'm giving an old Mortal Kombat cabinet a new lease on life as a MAME cabinet.  I have the control panel rebuilt using a Xgaming BYO kit, and am hunting for a cheap PC to be the guts of the operation, and an old CRT TV that will fit.  This has brought me to a question of cooling.  Is there enough empty space in the cabinet that exterior venting isn't an issue?  My worry is if I just plunk a PC case in there there won't be sufficient air flow.  Also, the cabinet has a nice convenient slide out board for the original jamma board.  Would it be viable to simply mount the PC motherboard, etc to that?

[MaxAsh]

Interesting, the original MK Midway cabinet I had did not have the slide out. Only game I've had that did so far is the Berzerk I'm working on.

Of the 3 MAME cabinets I'm currently working on, I can tell you that so far the cooling need depends (mostly) on the computer placed inside the cabinet. One PC, still in its case with side panel still on, had overheating trouble. The PC was higher end than the other two I've been using, and its video card was nicer, etc. Just like any PC setup, the better the components are and the harder you work them can dictate how much hotter things will get. Keep in mind that a properly designed computer case is usually built to cool best with the side of the case on and air flowing through as designed. But that's the "ideal" situation. They don't expect you to throw it in a big box with a nice warm CRT, etc. I've used lower-end PCs like the classic Dell Optiplex 745 setup, and those things never seem to overheat.

Fans are cheap, and wiring them up around a cabinet is pretty simple given all the space in there. I advise tossing in at least one intake (down low) and one exhaust (up high). Depending on your cabinet, you may even be able to use the existing vents and mount fans to them for flow. Maybe post a couple of pics so we can see what you're working with.

As for in the PC case vs. out of the case, there have been countless discussions on that topic on the forums. Opinions vary. I've done it both ways, and haven't had problems with either. I kind of like the "classic" arcade look of a board mounted to the wall, mounted power supply, etc. But I also have to admit that just putting a PC case right in the cabinet is a lot simpler, and easy to yank out if needed. It really seems to be personal preference. With the slide-out board there, it might be nice looking to mount everything to the board for fun.

[dkersten]

If you have a motherboard outside of a case, I would at least mount one 120mm fan next to it blowing air across it (and the hard drive).  Usually the PC case provides cooling for these components.  Typically only the CPU and maybe the vid card have their own fans to direct air flow over the heat sink fins.  As for the rest of the cabinet, I could only speculate that the vents will allow enough convection air flow to cool the components.  It might be prudent to add an extra 120mm fan at the top of the cabinet to help exhaust the hot air.  I wouldn't do any kind of fan for an intake or you risk getting dust trails anywhere there is an air leak (ie around the monitor) that will be a nuisance over time.  Running a 120mm fan at 5v is usually enough to keep it silent, but spend the extra few dollars for a good fan with ball bearings so you aren't replacing fans every year. 

[thingol]

Some photos, as requested.  I've left the original power supply on the board at the moment, since I'll still use it for powering the coin slot lights.

Of course, it would be rude to not also post a pic of the controls  .  By the time I thought of taking WIP pics of the controls, I was too far along.  Not the fanciest, but I think not too bad for my first attempt.

[Generic Eric]

I haven't seen a Mortal Kombat cab in person in 20 years.  That was MK3.  How does the front open?  Is there a cam lock? 

No, it looks like that door comes off.


Here is what think about cooling:
I have a PC, in its case, in the base of my lowboy.  The air in that space is warm.  I don't have the back in place, but its just a large frame of screening material.  The monitor mounting brace is a 23"x5" piece of plywood.  There is no bezel.

It still gets warm in there.  I don't measure the heat, which I think is the next step. 

[keilmillerjr]

Depends on how effecient your components are. Get an infra red thermometer and test things out for yourself. They are ten bucks and often used for cooking.

My moms MacBook stays cool sitting in her lap for an hour. 5 minutes with her hp latop sitting in her lap and she might end up with a burn. Catch my drift?

[nitrogen_widget]

Interesting, the original MK Midway cabinet I had did not have the slide out. Only game I've had that did so far is the Berzerk I'm working on.

Of the 3 MAME cabinets I'm currently working on, I can tell you that so far the cooling need depends (mostly) on the computer placed inside the cabinet. One PC, still in its case with side panel still on, had overheating trouble. The PC was higher end than the other two I've been using, and its video card was nicer, etc. Just like any PC setup, the better the components are and the harder you work them can dictate how much hotter things will get. Keep in mind that a properly designed computer case is usually built to cool best with the side of the case on and air flowing through as designed. But that's the "ideal" situation. They don't expect you to throw it in a big box with a nice warm CRT, etc. I've used lower-end PCs like the classic Dell Optiplex 745 setup, and those things never seem to overheat.

Fans are cheap, and wiring them up around a cabinet is pretty simple given all the space in there. I advise tossing in at least one intake (down low) and one exhaust (up high). Depending on your cabinet, you may even be able to use the existing vents and mount fans to them for flow. Maybe post a couple of pics so we can see what you're working with.

As for in the PC case vs. out of the case, there have been countless discussions on that topic on the forums. Opinions vary. I've done it both ways, and haven't had problems with either. I kind of like the "classic" arcade look of a board mounted to the wall, mounted power supply, etc. But I also have to admit that just putting a PC case right in the cabinet is a lot simpler, and easy to yank out if needed. It really seems to be personal preference. With the slide-out board there, it might be nice looking to mount everything to the board for fun.

I have a Berzerk cab also & Plan to mount the motherboard on the slide out.
don't see a reason to bother with a case.

[IAmDotorg]

I'm giving an old Mortal Kombat cabinet a new lease on life as a MAME cabinet.  I have the control panel rebuilt using a Xgaming BYO kit, and am hunting for a cheap PC to be the guts of the operation, and an old CRT TV that will fit.  This has brought me to a question of cooling.  Is there enough empty space in the cabinet that exterior venting isn't an issue?  My worry is if I just plunk a PC case in there there won't be sufficient air flow.  Also, the cabinet has a nice convenient slide out board for the original jamma board.  Would it be viable to simply mount the PC motherboard, etc to that?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009CO543S/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_dp_1

That's what I ended up using. Its quiet, runs off USB (so you can just plug it into the PC), and looks nice. Its a bit pricier than a pair of fans alone, but looks better, IMO.

[eds1275]

All the ones I have built have no back on them. There is an upper back behind the screen, but the lower is totally open. I don't have children to worry about and my pets are good about learning where they aren't allowed. Never had any problems!