Raspberry Pi

[screamingtiger]

I noticed there are people building arcades with  a raspberry pi.  In watching you tube, it seems to run lots of games pretty well, such as the capcom and neo geo.

A new version called banan pi even adds Sata so you can have a lot of space.

What is a disadvantage to using this setup?  I am putting a pretty decent computer in it and was told get 8 gb of ram, but this seems to be contradicting what I am seeing going on.  It looks like several emulators can be compiled anddaphne is also going to run on it soon.

Does it seems odd I need a 700 watt computer when something that can run on 7.5 watts can do it all?

What am I missing here?  Thanks!

[yotsuya]

To be honest, I don't seem to recall any RPi builds done HERE. People have mentioned trying it, but have there been any full-cab RPi builds completed? Scott, can I get some links?

And unless I was building a super-tiny barstick, I wouldn't use a Pi. But that's me.

[screamingtiger]

My thoughts are given the challenges with heat, and not to mention power consumption, what inside the arcade cab doesnt matter so long as it works.  I am just not convinced it does work.  I am talking about emulators:
Mame,
Nes
SNES
Atari

etc..
I assume there is a line somewhere such maybe PSX I am not sure.  Just when I think it cant do it, someone has a you tube vid doing it

Would be crazy to open up a full size cab to see it empty 

To be honest, I don't seem to recall any RPi builds done HERE. People have mentioned trying it, but have there been any full-cab RPi builds completed? Scott, can I get some links?

And unless I was building a super-tiny barstick, I wouldn't use a Pi. But that's me.

[benarcade]

My limited experience with the Pi is that you could do it, but it would significantly harder to do than using a fairly underpowered PC. Most of us have old PCs lying around that are more powerful - and unless you're proficient in Linux - proficient and not merely familiar - it will take you some effort to get it running right. The only reason to use a Pi would be if you're building a micro cab.

[dkersten]

From what I have read, which isn't a whole lot, the rpi will work for a lot of the mame games, but there are a lot of games that even a fully loaded gaming computer will struggle with.  This might seem counterintuitive given that the original hardware most of these games ran on had less processing power than your watch does today, but it is what it is, some games will not run at 100% even with a decent computer.

If you ONLY want to run the classics with mame, then an rpi should work just fine, as long as you are OK with the Linux front ends.  But if you want to run other emulators, it gets trickier and in many cases impossible.  There is a long list of games that won't run on Mame that will run (or run better) on other emulators.  Then there is the supporting files for the front end, plugins, and all sorts of other things you can do with a PC that you can't do with a rpi.. Some people have over 2 terabytes of files for their cab...

Heck, you can't even run the current version of mame in d3d mode without a halfway decent GPU any more..

[IAmDotorg]

I noticed there are people building arcades with  a raspberry pi.  In watching you tube, it seems to run lots of games pretty well, such as the capcom and neo geo.

A new version called banan pi even adds Sata so you can have a lot of space.

What is a disadvantage to using this setup?  I am putting a pretty decent computer in it and was told get 8 gb of ram, but this seems to be contradicting what I am seeing going on.  It looks like several emulators can be compiled anddaphne is also going to run on it soon.

Does it seems odd I need a 700 watt computer when something that can run on 7.5 watts can do it all?

What am I missing here?  Thanks!

The computer doesn't draw 700 watts most of the time. Get a cheap atom-based system for $150 and run an SSD, USB stick or SD for a drive and you'll draw not a ton more than a Pi, for WAY more power.

I've done both. You can't compare what a Pi will do with anything PC-based -- even a very old PC. Does it work? Yeah, for most games. Performance seems to be inconsistent -- I hear a lot of audio glitches and slowdowns with my little Pi system.

I think the reason you don't see anything but little mini arcades done with it is simply that those are the only form factors where tiny size matters. At even a single player barcade level, an old laptop is a vastly better option.

And for most builds, the difference between spending $35 on a Pi versus $150-$200 on even a brand new low-end PC isn't much of a savings when you have $200 in controls, a $100 iPac or something, a $150 LCD and even a beater $100 cabinet. Why spend $400-$500 on even a cheap MAME cabinet and limit it so severely to save another $100?

[PL1]

Scott, can I get some links?

Sure.   


Scott

[screamingtiger]

It sounds like PI running emulators is a bit of an illusion and mainly used for novelty value. 
The main reason it peaked my interest is because of the power and heat it would save. 

It WILL get there though, and we can have empty full size arce cabinets in the future.  Though they will still weigh 300 lbs.

[yotsuya]

Scott, can I get some links?

Sure.   


Scott

[yotsuya]

It sounds like PI running emulators is a bit of an illusion and mainly used for novelty value. 
The main reason it peaked my interest is because of the power and heat it would save. 

It WILL get there though, and we can have empty full size arce cabinets in the future.  Though they will still weigh 300 lbs.

You can use it to hide all your stuff in it, then.

[pbj]

No better place to hide whiskey and cigars.  They'll never look in there.  Just saying.

[nitrogen_widget]

I just set up a minimal console only ditro on my RPI that autolaunches advmenu & runs advmame using .106 roms.
I have preview video's working in the menu.
sound in advmenu however for preview videos is foobar'd so I have that turned off.

This will be a dedicated vertical cab for mostly the classics.
I have a 19" 1280x1024 LCD 4:3 hooked up via hdmi to dvi adaptor.
the RPI is forced to 640x480 output.
I'm letting advmame do it's fancy scaling stuff & using it to generate some scanlines.
the scanlines make it look nice.
it looks too good without them.

right now I have <1990 games on it, about 480.
some of the late 80's games run slow so i'll probably drop them.

I also have the sparkfun trackball attached using a ps2 to usb adaptor & that works great in games like centipede.

I'm now at the point where I need to build a control panel, figure out buttons & decide if i'll use the GPIO inputs on the PI or a hacked up gamepad.

I use putty to SSH into the pi so I can administer it via the command prompt (no x) and filezilla to upload files.
The reason i'm using an RPI is because i plan to keep the cab on my covered back porch in the summer for my parties & decided on the pi because no moving parts.

[Skinnysloth]

I used a Rpi (overclocked to 1000mhz) running retropie.  Retropie includes many emulators and a front end.  Mame games run fine if you use (I think default) mame4all pi emulator with the 0.37b romset.  Fighting games, such as street fighter alpha 3 runs at 60fps using PiFBA.  Other systems such as SNES, NES, GBA, and Genesis ran fine.  N64 games are laggy.

The reason I used the Rpi was space limitations (icade) and it fit my budget.  I have since ditched the Rpi because I found a used i3 laptop that would fit in the icade for under $100.

I have another icade power by an Atom based laptop and mame 0.153 is sluggish with certain games.

[retrogamedude]

I used a Rpi (overclocked to 1000mhz) running retropie.  Retropie includes many emulators and a front end.  Mame games run fine if you use (I think default) mame4all pi emulator with the 0.37b romset.  Fighting games, such as street fighter alpha 3 runs at 60fps using PiFBA.  Other systems such as SNES, NES, GBA, and Genesis ran fine.  N64 games are laggy.

The reason I used the Rpi was space limitations (icade) and it fit my budget.  I have since ditched the Rpi because I found a used i3 laptop that would fit in the icade for under $100.

I have another icade power by an Atom based laptop and mame 0.153 is sluggish with certain games.

I am building an iCade now got any pics of your current or past setups?  what screen do you use?

[Skinnysloth]

I am building an iCade now got any pics of your current or past setups?  what screen do you use?

It's nothing special.  I went with the icade because it was cheap ($24) and small.  I used the screen that came with dell latitude 2100 laptop (10" screen).  Had to decase it and found out it was a little to wide to fit in the icade.  I had to dremel a slot (1/8" deep) on each side of the icade so it would fit.  It worked out since it holds the screen perfectly in place without use of any fasteners.

In the back you can see I used the hinge bracket that previously held the screen to secure the laptop to the icade.

I added three 24mm admin buttons and changed out the microswitches on the buttons to groovygamergear soft-touch microswitches.  The buttons were easier to press, but still a little too stiff for my tastes.  I tried the buttons without the springs, but that didn't feel good to me, so I went with the lesser of two evils.  Short of replacing the buttons, it was the best choice for me.  The bluetooth encoder board was replaced with one of the $10 ebay zero delay arcade usb encoder and works just fine.  The wires were a little to short which limited my mounting option for the board.  I had to get a little creative to get it fit.

The screen for the next icade was an idea I got from another member here.  He used an ipad2 replacement screen with a vga board controller.  The ipad2 screen is so much better than the lcd in the laptop.  It is brighter, has better viewing angle, better color, and with an aspect ratio of 4:3, better suited for arcade games.


I hope I didn't derail this thread too much.

[SavannahLion]

And for most builds, the difference between spending $35 on a Pi versus $150-$200 on even a brand new low-end PC isn't much of a savings when you have $200 in controls, a $100 iPac or something, a $150 LCD and even a beater $100 cabinet. Why spend $400-$500 on even a cheap MAME cabinet and limit it so severely to save another $100?

I think you're in the ballpark with the primary problem with the RasPi.

I looked hard at the RasPi for my project and I'm usually delighted when I actually see the RasPi in action in a cabinet. However...

The RasPi has a lot of hidden costs that most people really tend to overlook when looking at the $35 price tag (for B). In fact, while I like the RasPi foundation's intention, I really don't think it's fair to the schools to give them such a massive white elephant.

To understand what I mean. To get a RasPi up and running you need the basics. A power source, a USB cable, a keyboard (and maybe a mouse), SD card, Hard drive if you want to do anything interesting, some sort of monitor. This is not even remotely including any of the modules you can buy. You still have to bootstrap the thing with the appropriate OS image on the SD card. The RasPi looks less and less of a good deal unless you treat it like a headless computer, then you have interesting low-cost possibilities.

But I digress. IAmDotorg is right. Why spend all that cash for your monitor, wood, controls and whatever and try to skimp on the brains? Spend the extra couple of quid and even the most anemic of Windows computers will be easier to deal with than the RasPi. Leave the RasPi where it belongs, on the shelf.

[Haze]

Keep in mind that to get speed on any kind of multi-cpu game or 16-bit CPU based game people are running a MAME in the 0.36b5 type range.

That version was released 14 years ago.

Even for classics it isn't very good.  Looking at two of my favourite, and IMHO iconic classic games shows the following:

0.59 (in 2002) fixed Rainbow Islands for example after heavy tests were done on the hardware to simulate the protection (the protection MCU still isn't actually dumped to this day, but before that it was relying on guesses from a bootleg)

0.107u3 (2006) is the first time Bubble Bobble *really* worked properly, again before that what we thought was the original was actually a bootleg, and had subtle bugs in the game logic / AI etc.  At that point the original MCU was dumped and emulated.

In the latter case even if you stick with 0.106 (which is the other version some Pi builds use) you're still missing out on proper emulation.

Those are hand-picked examples because they're games I personally like, but you're going to find the same across the range, people forget about all the little fixes that go in.  Maybe you won't notice a difference, maybe you will, in the above cases you might not realise it unless you know the games well, but if you do start to get into them, and become interested in the secrets, and understanding the scoring logic then the poor emulation the Pi provides you with isn't going to be up to scratch.

That's the real reason using a more powerful system and modern versions tends to happen, weak hardware only runs old versions with old bugs.

There are of course exceptions where the current versions aren't as good, some drivers do have long standing bugs where you are better using an old version for those specific cases, but if you're running on a machine capable of running the new builds you at least have a choice in the matter.

[2084]

I'd have to disagree with the sentiment that many have shared here that the Raspberry Pi is not an appropriate platform for arcade emulation.  I have now built several MAME cabs using the PI.  All of these have full sized controls but hang on the wall: One that runs Robotron 2084, one Rampage, Stargate, and a Tempest.  Some of them run multiple games (e.g. the Stargate will also run Defender, Tempest will do multiple Tempest versions as well as Arkanoid and a few others).  I am currently almost completed with a Q*Bert that also has a knocker controlled by the PI.  All of these games run full speed.  Advantages over the PC are lower cost, no cooling fan, no need to download frequent 'critical updates' to the windows software, faster startup.  Although it can be used with a USB interface, it is also possible to use the GPIO interface with arcade controls, an option not available on the PC.  The PC has its place and I have one cabinet that uses a Windows PC (It runs Fix it Felix which is not available for the PI or MAME).

[nitrogen_widget]

I'd have to disagree with the sentiment that many have shared here that the Raspberry Pi is not an appropriate platform for arcade emulation.  I have now built several MAME cabs using the PI.  All of these have full sized controls but hang on the wall: One that runs Robotron 2084, one Rampage, Stargate, and a Tempest.  Some of them run multiple games (e.g. the Stargate will also run Defender, Tempest will do multiple Tempest versions as well as Arkanoid and a few others).  I am currently almost completed with a Q*Bert that also has a knocker controlled by the PI.  All of these games run full speed.  Advantages over the PC are lower cost, no cooling fan, no need to download frequent 'critical updates' to the windows software, faster startup.  Although it can be used with a USB interface, it is also possible to use the GPIO interface with arcade controls, an option not available on the PC.  The PC has its place and I have one cabinet that uses a Windows PC (It runs Fix it Felix which is not available for the PI or MAME).

I agree.

people on these boards just discount the rpi way too easily and seem to be stuck on how old the version of mame on it is.

I can promise you that 99% of the people who touch my cab won't know what mame is or notice anything wrong with the games they haven't played in 20yrs & of the 1% who have heard of mame is they won't have clue one about the versions.

as long as it plays the games you want it shouldn't matter what version of mame you are on.

i'm using a rpi because my vertical classics cab will be on my backporch is made of scrap pressure treated wood and using a thrift store LCD.
seems like the perfect job for a RPI.

there is a mega drive rom someone homebrew'd for the emulator if you want to try & run fix it felix on the rpi using that emulator.
but it's horizontal.

would like to see some of your circuits for controls.
are you using the adafruit app to map out the GPIO or something else?

[screamingtiger]

It sounds like for my use a PC is the way to go.  I want have thousands games installed, and over the next couple years I want to find games I never thought about and jump on my PC based arcade and just play them.

Just by looking throught here I seen several games I forgot about I am going to have to play.  You kow the ones, you were at the donut shop with dad and you waited by the arcades, watching the demos.  But mean old dad would not give you a quarter.   I completely forget about stuff like that until I see it, and my drive to play it becomes  very strong!

Now I get to play it 

However using RPI I may not be able to since  it may not be supported on the older version of mame, or maybe I dont have the game installed due to space limitations.  So having a arcade with all the games just to have them will be difficult with RPI, which is my goal for now.

I DO plan to build an RPI version for novelty value, maybe give it to my brother as a gift.

Does anyone know, what about RPI for a dedicated pinball setup?

As you can tell I have much research to do in the software area.  Back in the day, Nesticle was was the best emulator for NES but a lot of it was hand coded in assembly.  Lots of research to do and I also must figure out what the rom versions mean.  I downloaded a 42GB file for mame roms and now I think it may be the wrong version! 

BTW, in terms of RPI.  I have a 300 GB drive and it is already 75% full and I have barely gotten started.  I have a 500 GB drive on warrantly replacement on the way so I will have to swap it out.

For anyone usein RPI, check out Banana Pi. 

[screamingtiger]

When you use the GPIO pins, how do you get the information to the game?  Is there some sort of driver already built that allows you to do that?  oitherwise you would have to build a driver.  I originally wanted to use an arduino for my control setup instead of a XIN MO.  But I realized either I will have to overwrite the USB header on the arduino to be be recognized as a HID, or write a driver that can use the seral communications from the arduino and translate those into joystick messages for the game.

I went with a XIN MO.  Wihle it would be a cool project, it would double my project time.  I am one week into this and plan to be done this weekend.  If I had used Linux or any other nerdy things I would be 2-3 weeks away from completion still!

I'd have to disagree with the sentiment that many have shared here that the Raspberry Pi is not an appropriate platform for arcade emulation.  I have now built several MAME cabs using the PI.  All of these have full sized controls but hang on the wall: One that runs Robotron 2084, one Rampage, Stargate, and a Tempest.  Some of them run multiple games (e.g. the Stargate will also run Defender, Tempest will do multiple Tempest versions as well as Arkanoid and a few others).  I am currently almost completed with a Q*Bert that also has a knocker controlled by the PI.  All of these games run full speed.  Advantages over the PC are lower cost, no cooling fan, no need to download frequent 'critical updates' to the windows software, faster startup.  Although it can be used with a USB interface, it is also possible to use the GPIO interface with arcade controls, an option not available on the PC.  The PC has its place and I have one cabinet that uses a Windows PC (It runs Fix it Felix which is not available for the PI or MAME).

[dkersten]

It all comes down to application.  If you have a very specific set of games in mind, then the rpi is probably a viable solution.  If you already have a computer lying around and aren't hurting for space, then using an rpi is not only costing you more money but also limiting your choices of games to play.  And if your goal is to have a flexible system that can run alternate emulators and be able to evolve as time goes on, then a PC is probably your better choice. 

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is that not all people have the luxury of building a cab for every dedicated game or set of games they have an interest in playing.  If you have one shot at it, either due to financial restrictions, wife approval, or just room to put it in your house/apartment, why would you ever limit that ONE shot to a smaller subset of games and flexibility when you don't have to? 

Personally I would only use an rpi because it would be fun to try it out, experiment with it, see what it could do, etc.  Plus I already have a mame cab that is PC based, so I have the luxury of making something more limited in capability.

[SavannahLion]

You already bought a XIN-MO so it doesn't matter much but for future reference. Stop thinking of the Arduino as the platform and treat it like a RAD. Then you can get away from the stupid close-coupling between hardware and software that people run into.

The Arduino is just a development tool. If you look under the hood, you'll find either an AVR or an ARM controller. If you strip the Arduino tools away from the AVR, for example, there is an entire thriving community built around that microcontroller that actually don't use the Arduino tools at all. That being said, you can find a bare bones board from Mattairtech or from PJRC without all the Arduino cruft. I use Mattairtech's 32U4 board combined with the LUFA USB library inside the Atmel Studio alot. The LUFA library includes the basics for a joystick or keyboard HID without too much work involved.

If you opt for the ARM side of things, PJRC has that covered as well and the tools and options become a little dizzying. I'm not 100% certain if there is a ready made USB library like LUFA on the ARM because, I confess, I haven't looked into that as much. I'm using the ARM with a "higher language" because the configuration alone at the microcontroller level is crazy.

[nitrogen_widget]

It all comes down to application.  If you have a very specific set of games in mind, then the rpi is probably a viable solution.  If you already have a computer lying around and aren't hurting for space, then using an rpi is not only costing you more money but also limiting your choices of games to play.  And if your goal is to have a flexible system that can run alternate emulators and be able to evolve as time goes on, then a PC is probably your better choice. 

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is that not all people have the luxury of building a cab for every dedicated game or set of games they have an interest in playing.  If you have one shot at it, either due to financial restrictions, wife approval, or just room to put it in your house/apartment, why would you ever limit that ONE shot to a smaller subset of games and flexibility when you don't have to? 

Personally I would only use an rpi because it would be fun to try it out, experiment with it, see what it could do, etc.  Plus I already have a mame cab that is PC based, so I have the luxury of making something more limited in capability.

It is about application.

I believe in using what you got or recycling older equipment.

I already had the RPI & don't need a PC to play dig dug, galaxian, ect.
When I fix up my old berzerk cab i'll use an old PC because I already have it.
even though an RPI would fit the bill it's spending money I don't need to.

If I ever get around to building a 4 player pedestal i'll use a newer PC with a more up to date romset to get more games & to be able to play a few PC games on it.

right now the RPI suits my purpose.

[SavannahLion]

There's nothing wrong with thinking like that. I need to think more like that, but I have horror stories about my Dad who did think like that and it's kind of a struggle sometimes.

What I was trying to get at is that it's a little silly to look at the Pi as a "cheaper" alternative than an old PC when you're already dumping $500 or more into such a build. It's that whole penny wise, pound foolish thing.

If you have specific needs that only the Pi can fill, fine. By all means, I encourage using it. But if those needs can be filled by a different combination of hardware, and you're starting from scratch, the Pi isn't always the best choice out there.

[dkersten]

But Lion, that is how feature creep starts and costs spiral out of control.  "I already have $500 in this, what is another $100?"  Soon you have $2500 in it because you "might as well"..   

But I agree nevertheless.. Why skimp when you go all out on everything else?  Like I said, if your application is specific to one game or one group of games and you don't have any need whatsoever now or in the future for more, AND you don't have a PC to use already, then a rpi makes perfect sense.  But most people don't build mame cabs to not have flexibility..

[SavannahLion]

But Lion, that is how feature creep starts and costs spiral out of control.  "I already have $500 in this, what is another $100?"  Soon you have $2500 in it because you "might as well"..   

Sigh... Let me explain.

A Pi costs $25 & $35

Let's look at the $35 model and toss in some ball park figures for the accessories

$9 for an 8GB SD card
$5 for a power supply of some sort

Bare minimum. B+ gives you extra GPIO and 2 extra USB ports.

Keyboard and mouse adds another $25 or so. Monitor adds another $100 perhaps. $50 for a 500GB HDD.

An Android tablet can be had for about $50, comes with touch screen, WiFi, Bluetooth. DUAL CPU's. You loose those extra USB ports and the HDMI out though.

That's my point. There is more capable  hardware is the same price range.

Pi is long in the tooth and the price hasn't dropped one iota. The modules are also insanely expensive.

If you already have a Pi, have fun But if you're starting from scratch, consider your options carefully.

  Oops... Fixed bad edit

[DietCoke]

I've got one, though not in a cabinet.  I'd planned on using it in one until I tried playing a number of MAME games on it (NBA Jam, MK, etc) and found that it was iffy at best.  Dumped that idea after a couple days.  Works for NES games without issue, though!

[yotsuya]

But Lion, that is how feature creep starts and costs spiral out of control.  "I already have $500 in this, what is another $100?"  Soon you have $2500 in it because you "might as well"..   

That's where you REALLY have to practice self-control and tell yourself to stick to the plan. Feature Creep can be a ---smurfette---.

[nitrogen_widget]

I've got one, though not in a cabinet.  I'd planned on using it in one until I tried playing a number of MAME games on it (NBA Jam, MK, etc) and found that it was iffy at best.  Dumped that idea after a couple days.  Works for NES games without issue, though!

It plays most games from the 80's pretty good.
it's still only 1ghz overclocked though so you'll need real PC for those games.

[2084]

I personally don't use my pi cabinets play arcade games using a keyboard and mouse nor have I ever had the need for a 500 gig hard disk as most of the games I am interested in are <100K.  The last several monitors I bought (19" 4:3 LCD) were $50 shipped on eBay.  I would agree it is possible to get a nice android tablet for $50 + a 2 year monthly service contract, but it would difficult to add your own arcade controls with no USB port.  The Pi doesn't do everything a PC or modern tablet can do but if you want to play early 80s games it is all that is needed.  For playing games like Robotron, Defender, Tempest, etc with the appropriate arcade controls I think it would be difficult to find new capable hardware in the same price range.

Sigh... Let me explain.

A Pi costs $25 & $35

Let's look at the $35 model and toss in some ball park figures for the accessories

$9 for an 8GB SD card
$5 for a power supply of some sort

Bare minimum. B+ gives you extra GPIO and 2 extra USB ports.

Keyboard and mouse adds another $25 or so. Monitor adds another $100 perhaps. $50 for a 500GB HDD.

An Android tablet can be had for about $50, comes with touch screen, WiFi, Bluetooth. DUAL CPU's. You loose those extra USB ports and the HDMI out though.

That's my point. There is more capable  hardware is the same price range.

Pi is long in the tooth and the price hasn't dropped one iota. The modules are also insanely expensive.

If you already have a Pi, have fun But if you're starting from scratch, consider your options carefully.

  Oops... Fixed bad edit

[2084]

There is a version of MAME for the pi that has been modified to use the GPIO.  I would agree that if you have a lot of controls the USB based options are more practical.  For the machines I have build I use the GPIO for buttons that help select the game, and provide output (e.g. for the knocker in Q*bert).  The output required me to make some changes to the MAME code and recompile it and I realize not everyone is up to that.

When you use the GPIO pins, how do you get the information to the game?  Is there some sort of driver already built that allows you to do that?  oitherwise you would have to build a driver.  I originally wanted to use an arduino for my control setup instead of a XIN MO.  But I realized either I will have to overwrite the USB header on the arduino to be be recognized as a HID, or write a driver that can use the seral communications from the arduino and translate those into joystick messages for the game.

I went with a XIN MO.  Wihle it would be a cool project, it would double my project time.  I am one week into this and plan to be done this weekend.  If I had used Linux or any other nerdy things I would be 2-3 weeks away from completion still!

I'd have to disagree with the sentiment that many have shared here that the Raspberry Pi is not an appropriate platform for arcade emulation.  I have now built several MAME cabs using the PI.  All of these have full sized controls but hang on the wall: One that runs Robotron 2084, one Rampage, Stargate, and a Tempest.  Some of them run multiple games (e.g. the Stargate will also run Defender, Tempest will do multiple Tempest versions as well as Arkanoid and a few others).  I am currently almost completed with a Q*Bert that also has a knocker controlled by the PI.  All of these games run full speed.  Advantages over the PC are lower cost, no cooling fan, no need to download frequent 'critical updates' to the windows software, faster startup.  Although it can be used with a USB interface, it is also possible to use the GPIO interface with arcade controls, an option not available on the PC.  The PC has its place and I have one cabinet that uses a Windows PC (It runs Fix it Felix which is not available for the PI or MAME).

[SavannahLion]

I would agree it is possible to get a nice android tablet for $50 + a 2 year monthly service contract, but it would difficult to add your own arcade controls with no USB port.

Errr..? Hmm...  I'm not looking at an Android that requires a 2 year contract. No 3G. If you want a Nexus then yeah, you'll have to do that I guess.

Having a USB port is central to the Android. I don't know of any that doesn't have at least one. There isn't too many with more than one though. In this sense, it would be like the Pi A model.

[Cynicaster]

I agree that the Pi seems like a poor choice, UNLESS there is a very specific need filled by the Pi (such as size for a very small project). 

My local classifieds are filled with dual-core 64-bit PC's for about $50-$60.  Sounds more expensive than a $35 Pi, but is it really, when you consider the sheer horsepower advantage? 

As for power consumption, let's say the figure somebody provided earlier of 700W for a PC is correct (sounds high to me).  Let's further assume one plays their cabinet an hour a night, 5 nights a week... call it 20 hours per month. 

700W = 0.7kW
x 20hours = 14kWh

national average price of electricty = $0.12 per kWh (source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/10/27/141766341/the-price-of-electricity-in-your-state)

monthly MAME cab electrical bill = 14kWh x $0.12 per kWh = $1.68

Or, less than a Starbucks coffee. 
 
If you're the least bit curious/adventurous in discovering new games to play from the pool of thousands available in MAME, don't box yourself in with a low-powered solution targeted at a strict list of well-known titles--the extra few bucks for an old PC is so worth it. 

[dkersten]

My psu in my gaming rig is 600 watt, and even on a 3d intensive game I would be surprised if it is using more than 450 watts.  Assuming 80% efficiency you still aren't hitting a half kilowatt, and even adding speakers and LCD maybe, MAYBE 1000 watts total while playing a resource intensive game.  The rest of the time it sleeps, and uses maybe 30 watts total while sleeping, if even that (and half that is the monitor and speakers which the Pi would still need).

I would be surprised if my mame cabinet costs me more than $.50 per month in electricity.  I couldn't drive down the street to an arcade let alone play much on $.50.  Well worth it to me.

The only things about power draw that come into consideration as far as I am concerned would be if heat were an issue, if portability (and hence battery drain) were a concern, or if I was talking about density (ie running 50 processors in one rack).  The $.10-.15 per month I would save with a Pi would be the very least of the reasons to use one. 

And if you can get a decent PC for $50, that IS cheaper than a Pi once you factor in all the xtras you will need to get the Pi to work, like hdmi cables and adapters, sd card, etc. 

[2084]

Although I would agree it is absurd to choose a platform based on electricity bills, I do think there is a major advantage to the low power requirement of the Pi.  More power means more heat and every PC I've seen needs a fan and often multiple fans which means noise.  Of the two PC based builds I have done on is made for shooting games so the computer is far enough away it doesn't matter.  For the other (a wall mount Fix-it-Felix Jr), even though it is a "ultra small form factor" PC it still has a fan that runs constantly.  I'm sure most would get used to it if that was the only cabinet they had, but it is very noticeable after playing on the Pi based builds where the only noise is the sound effects from the game.

--

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=141265

[fwiler]

Just buy a used laptop with 4:3 screen.  You can disconnect the screen and there's usually enough cable so you can put the laptop behind the screen.

If money isn't a problem and you want really small, a 10" tablet PC with full windows (not rt) is $300 new with quad core baytrail.  You can find these used for $220-$240.  Get one with 16:10 aspect ratio, put a small bezel around it and change resolution to 1024x768 so you have a pixel perfect screen.  These new screens look so much nicer than old lcd's.

Yes that may seem like a lot, but if you consider the cost of a really good 10" screen (try finding one with pc input), a Windows license, memory, power supply, etc all under 1 lb. then it doesn't seem so bad.  It has USB and you can add a USB hub if needed.  There's no noise, barely any heat, it's quick because no mechanical drive, and graphics capability is actually better than an old laptop.

The time spend using pi is just not worth it imho.  It's just too limited

[dkersten]

Bigger, lower rpm fans are virtually silent.  Perhaps not silent enough for an ideal HTPC, but nevertheless, I have yet to hear a fan running in any of my cabs.  Granted though, if you don't maintain them and replace them after a couple years of running non-stop (more often for homes with smokers), they will start to get unbalanced and make noise.  The fan in my cable box is far louder than any in the PC's in my home, and the mini fridge next to my mame cab is all I ever hear in my game room (except of course for the music and the video game sounds). 

I do get what you are saying though.  Going 100% silent (aka passively cooled) is certainly possible with a PC, but seldom the cheapest option because it requires using parts with lower thermal characteristics.  It brings me back to my original comment: it just depends completely on application.  There is nothing wrong in my mind with using a Pi, as long as you understand that it is not going to give you the same flexibility as a PC.  I have considered using a 19" 4:3 monitor I have lying around to make a super small bar top, and a Pi would work for that because I would ONLY be running vertical games, and most vertical games are the older ones that you can run with a Pi.  Then again I have 4 used laptops sitting on a shelf 3 feet from my desk at work that I will never sell because batteries are dead and the laptops aren't worth enough to replace batteries, so any one of them could be used to make a small form factor cab..

[screamingtiger]

Raspberry pi is cool but after some research there are numerous SBC that can be used.  They may not have GPIO but not really needed for an arcade unless you want to do something unique.

One thing I think would be neat is a volume normalizer.  Its seems some games are much much louder than others than can barely be heard at the saem volume settting.  Having a mic or something similar to detect the average DB of the game the last 5 seconds or so and adjust the volume would be nice.

This may be able to be done completely in software on a PC not sure.  But there are ideas for GPIO or sure!!

[Jamesbeat]

I am building a Raspberry Pi based full size cabinet.

It's all a matter of perspective.

Instead of thinking of the Pi as an inferior PC, try looking at it as a superior xxx-in-1 board.
The only xxx-in-1 board that uses memory cards is the ArcadeSD, which costs $325 and does less than the Raspberry Pi.

If someone started selling a 2270-in-1 board with customizable software, usb ports and HDMI out for $35, people would be snapping them up.

I have mine set up to boot directly into advancemenu, and uses Mame4all with the 0.37b5 rom set.
Navigation is by joystick and buttons, and no keyboard or mouse is necessary.
Shutdown is accomplished by pressing the single (hidden) admin button when in the main menu. Pressing the same button when in a game brings up the options menu.

I'm using a modified version of the PiPlay operating system.
This is distributed as an SD card image, so no knowledge of Linux is needed.
You simply write the image to the SD card, plug it into the Pi, and it will boot into a nice friendly menu of emulators.

http://pimame.org/

The reason I modified mine was to remove everything except Mame, as I simply do not understand the desire to play console games with a joystick while standing up.

If there are problems with the emulation in this older version of Mame, they are too subtle for me to notice.