Author Topic: Build or buy? (Read 5399 times)

kk99 · « **on:** February 07, 2015, 09:41:00 pm »

First post... hope I don't break any rules...

Been looking around at pre-built multi-game cabinets. Admittedly, I haven't spent huge amounts of time looking at them, so I'm not sure yet what I gotta be careful about.

In any case, I've been debating between building it myself or just buy the thing. Seems like when I do the quick math... It doesn't look like I'd be saving a whole lot for all the trouble.... The one I'm looking at is the X-Arcade one. Seems pretty decent and a Lifetime Warranty (for all that's worth).

How significant would the savings be, considering all the trouble? Don't get me wrong, it'd be kinda cool to build it and I'm quite confident I could... but it seems silly to do it if the savings are going to be marginal.

Any inputs on that?

BorgDog · « **Reply #1 on:** February 07, 2015, 09:51:23 pm »

Considering where you are the correct answer is BUILD! That and I'm pretty darn sure you can build it for a heck of a lot less than they are selling theirs for.

Oh, and welcome!

berger · « **Reply #2 on:** February 07, 2015, 09:59:51 pm »

Build one yourself

Generic Eric · « **Reply #3 on:** February 07, 2015, 10:03:50 pm »

I can tell you of 5 websites to buy parts from. A sixth that sells primarily encoders; kadevice.com.

therealbobroberts.com
groovygamegear.com
ultimarc.com
paradisearcadeshop.com
arcadeemulator.net

Consider building a fight stick. 8 way joy that you can have from 1 to 6 buttons for play, plus player 1, coin 1, shift and enter. Pick you favorite games and config your stick and PC for your chosen emulator. Once you've done that, you can build a pedestal or upright.

If you want an xarcade, get one. But no one here is going to tell you that is the best choice.

Good luck. Have fun.

kk99 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2015, 06:21:09 pm »

Hello again,

Thanks for your replies!

I'm somewhat surprised about the answers (although, as BorgDog said... I should have expected it from this site)...

It just seems that by the time I factor in the CRT monitor at 500+... a base PC at another 500+... cabinet... paint... controllers.. wires and whatever else I'm not thinking about right now... I can't imagine I'll save much more than $500. If it were less $500, I personally don't think it'd be worth all the effort... I just took forever to build my entire HT... months of work. So for me to do this, I'd really have to be saving quite a lot... or, at least, get quite a bit more for the same price.

Now.. I sound like I've made up my mind already... but I haven't. I'm not ignoring any of your comments... but guess I was hoping to hear from someone whose gone through the same decision process and hear what his(or her) pros/cons were... It's also possible that the people that HAVE gone through this same process and opted to buy one might just not be hanging around a site like this.

So Eric (the Generic)... when you say "But no one here is going to tell you that is the best choice."... Are you referring to the model itself, or just a purchased model in general?

Thanks again...

horizon · « **Reply #5 on:** February 09, 2015, 06:36:00 pm »

Being a newbie myself, where are you getting your figures for pricing? What are you trying to emulate?

As far as XArcade goes, from my limited research, the biggest gripe is the lack of playability for fighting game of the tank stick.

Good luck!

mgb · « **Reply #6 on:** February 09, 2015, 06:42:01 pm »

Hello and welcome go the forum.

Around here, its not really about what's the most practical for the money. Its more about the adventure.
After building your own, its something to be proud of.
And when a problem does arise, you know how to fix it.

Keep doing your homework and think hard about which route you wanna take.

A couple of questions to ask yourself:

1) what do I really hope to get out if this? Do I prefer old school early 80s games with vertical screens or did I primarily play in the 90s

2) do I have the work space and tools available.
Some may also ask "do i have the skills?" But I think the better question is "do I want to learn the skills?"

You can always build a bartop or use a gutted upright.

You don't need to drop $500 on a pc and its getting harder and harder to find crts so you may wanna consider an lcd.

Hope you find your answer.

I suppose there are some good prebuilts out there but I'm sure there's a lot of crap

Dawgz Rule · « **Reply #7 on:** February 09, 2015, 06:49:07 pm »

Is it a matter of savings, effort required, or other things that are driving your decision? Figure out what is important to you and go from there. I chose to build because I wanted to create something unique....do something I have never done before. I am slowly working on my second build and this is more of a hybrid build and restore.

Typefighter01 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 09, 2015, 06:50:09 pm »

Look at it this way. Is part of the fun for you going to be the building of the cab itself (other than an argument to support a cost savings), or, will you see it as just another job? If you see the potential for cab building as a possible hobby, then the effort/the tools and experience will pay off down the road. If you are looking to throw something in the family games room to play the odd game of Pac-Man, then maybe the effort and cost for you are too high.

Only suggestion I would have is, if you don't want to fool around with the woodworking portion of a cab (which I think is the most daunting task of a build IMO), then look at getting a pre-cut cab kit from one of the vendors on here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130522.0.html sold by HaRuMaN in the US and,
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,133905.0.html sold by Rick in Canada, (sometime in the near future).

This way you are still saving some bucks and this gives you the ability to build the rest on your own

...good luck.

harveybirdman · « **Reply #9 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:01:12 pm »

Most of the prefab kits I've seen are absolute rubbish. ( not talking about kits sourced from community more like the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- x arcade sells to hold tanksticks)

In my neck of the woods some ---uvula--- is always throwing a 60 in one board into an Ikea reject looking case and posting it on Craig's list for 1800 plus..... complete with non period authentic LED sticks

You won't be able to build a two player CP with a trackball for less thank you can buy a tankstick, but would you really want too?

Not everyone will agree with me, and the two player 6ish button cp with trackball is very prevalent but if you spend 99% of your time playing one player two button games why go to all the trouble.

Always start with the question "what do I want to play the most with this?" Then make design choices.

Slippyblade · « **Reply #10 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:11:43 pm »

Not to mention you price estimates are waaaaaay off base. If you insist on using an actual arcade monitor, I see 25" monitors on Craigslist routinely in the $100-150 range. Or just use an LCD. Unless you are wanting to run PC games as well as MAME and retro stuff, a PC from Goodwill will most likely do the job - $10-20. Art will usually cost more than you anticipate though, printing is surprisingly expensive.

kk99 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:21:13 pm »

Ahh... these answers are more inline with what I was hoping for. I guess it helped that I clarified a few things.

@horizon
Well, the CRT I was looking for was for a 29"... just like the one on the X-Arcade (for comparison). As for the PC... That's usually what based PC's go for, as far as I can remember. Of course, I could probably build a base one for less and slap my old XP copy on it... Or I might be able to get away with installing my Win7 since it's been a while since I've installed it on my current machine. In any case, I'm not sure I'd get it much cheaper than $500.

I don't know if we can post other links here (I suspect not).... but I just read an article on the X-arcade tankstick (X-Arcade Tankstick Review) and they say pretty good things about it.

P.S. Your limited research is still better than mine

@Dawgz & Typefighter... your points do partially answer my questions. Like I said in my previous message... I just took about 6 months to build my HT room (large room)... did everything myself... the carpet... ceiling LED strips.. all the wiring... acoustic panels.... that was a lot of effort. So I have the tools. I'm also quite confident I could handle the technical part. I saw the series of videos here and the one on how to wire the buttons to that controller seem like pretty basic stuff... as the video said, visually overwhelming, but really not all that hard when you get down to it. That WOULD be the fun part, however...

The part that LEAST appeals to me is precisely the cabinet! Especially the paint job. That's one thing I'm not equipped for and not usually all that good at... that is, to create a cabinet that looks and feels smooth and professional looking.

So I guess I've had my share of projects recently... I also have other programming projects on standby... So I'm not necessarily looking for a new "challenge". I also don't like to get screwed by overpaying for something. I'll look into these cabinet links Typefighter sent... that might be an option...

Thanks again...

kk99 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:22:03 pm »

I'm too slow to type... every time I start replying to others... by the time I'm done, there are a few more on the stack...

gildahl · « **Reply #13 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:44:42 pm »

I fully intended to buy a kit when I started, but the more I did my research the more I realized that there were literally no kits or pre-built cabs that gave me what I wanted. So I ended up building. Note that saving money was not an objective. Getting exactly what I wanted was my objective. If your goals are modest and you want acceptable quality at the cheapest price, you may actually be better off buying a pre-built kit. On the other hand, if you want the best quality build and parts, building yourself may be your only option. What I ended up building met all of my expectations, is unique, and has a value to me than any cab I believe I could have purchased pre-built.

Generic Eric · « **Reply #14 on:** February 09, 2015, 07:46:59 pm »

Quote from: kk99 on February 09, 2015, 06:21:09 pm

So Eric (the Generic)... when you say "But no one here is going to tell you that is the best choice."... Are you referring to the model itself, or just a purchased model in general?

Thanks again...

There are so many sticks. Enough that everyone could have favorite. I forgot to add focusattack.com. Not to mention, you've got leaf sticks

As far as xarcade goes. There are enough reviews for a person to make an informed decision. It's not a build your own solution to me.

Build a fight stick to test. Bafuska has a link in his signature for some plans.

While I still have your attention, you can build a killer PC for $500. I have a link in my sig.

Make some choices you can afford and hit your milestones as consistently as possible, so that you don't suffer from analysis paralysis^{raises hand} You are going to change something. Thats my opinion FWIW.

DietCoke · « **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2015, 08:04:43 pm »

I initially planned on buying one as well, but after going back and forth in email with a couple of vendors I realized I wasn't going to be getting what I wanted as much as I was getting something that the vendors really wanted to sell. I am pretty sure I've spent more than I ever would have if I had bought one, but the learning has been the fun part - tinkering, trying different parts, redesigning and figuring out how to do things exactly as I want them done.

I also bought the Tankstick, and while it isn't as bad as some folks here imply, it isn't the same as a full-blown cabinet. I considered the X-arcade cabinet that you could get for it, but I just couldn't justify it. It doesn't "look" like an arcade cabinet in my view unless that control panel is smooth and built-in.

If you do go with building it, use this site as a resource. The folks here can be really helpful and enjoy the challenges!

Generic Eric · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2015, 08:08:48 pm »

Out of curiosity, do have Project Arcade?

mgb · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2015, 08:10:47 pm »

As far as the cab goes, you can find an empty 90s cab like they used for Mortal Kombats, etc. Then you can build a control panel to go with it.

The paint part is super easy.......... don't paint it, laminate it

harveybirdman · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2015, 08:16:51 pm »

Quote from: mgb on February 09, 2015, 08:10:47 pm

As far as the cab goes, you can find an empty 90s cab like they used for Mortal Kombats, etc. Then you can build a control panel to go with it.

The paint part is super easy.......... don't paint it, laminate it

+1 on this I did it an couldn't be happier.

Plus if you source one with issues from Craig's list from someone that has no desire to fix it you can get lots of value. I got a cab in decent shape with a fully functional monitor and happ over under coin door for a hundred even. The board was dead but you're going to use a pc anyway.

kk99 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 09, 2015, 08:48:44 pm »

Lots of helpful info!

@Eric (the Generic)... no, I don't have the book (didn't even know about it)... just looking at it now... I'm really just starting this whole process... I didn't want to "invest" too much time reading about all sorts of things before I knew which direction I was going to go. I don't even know if I want to go CRT for sure... a vertical CRT would be pretty cool and give the retro look. Can you do a vertical setup with an LCD with classic games looking good?? I'm thinking not, but I don't know for sure at this point...

The reality is that this machine would be for the HT room, in the back. I plan on adding a pinball machine at some point and maybe 1 or 2 more things. I don't expect spending my entire evenings playing games. Just kind of a fun area for my son and I to go chillax every now and then. It'd probably be for older classic games since I can play the newer, more demanding games on my HTPC (although I haven't done much of it yet).

@mgb & harveybirdman
I actually did think about doing that a while ago with some local guy who was selling old machines... maybe I should check if he still has them...

Once again... thanks for all the feedback... I'll have to start "investing" that aforementioned time now.

Generic Eric · « **Reply #20 on:** February 09, 2015, 09:07:55 pm »

If you can find a Dell 1908 or similar 4:3 you can get a fair approximation for the price. You can't convince a purist it's a suitable substitute, but for mame it should be sufficient.

kk99 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 09, 2015, 10:16:24 pm »

Just ordered the book... a structured approach looked appealing.

kk99 · « **Reply #22 on:** February 12, 2015, 06:40:49 pm »

Hello again,

So today, I went back and looked at all these machines a guy has here. They've been sitting in a warehouse for a while and he doesn't seem to be doing much about it. Attaches are all the machines he has.

In a previous post, someone had mentioned taking an old machine and converting it... Well, I'm thinking that Simpsons one would be great! It's got the real state for plenty of controllers.... The screen is still fine (CRT, of course). And I don't think I'd be offending anybody if I I stripped this machine away (I read the ethic code on stripping out old machines to create new ones).

But I'm also thinking about the pinball and the terminator ones. Finally, don't know what those 2 racing ones look like but the Rush one could be pretty cool to have. So maybe I'll make an offer of a lot. I'm not too sure what to offer though, because of my limited experience...

Anybody cares to throw some numbers? That'd be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance... (and I'm not telling you where they are, so don't even try

)

kk99 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 12, 2015, 06:42:03 pm »

I should mention that I would not know what I'd be getting into... as you can see from the pics... they are in a pretty humid area with lots of dust...

mgb · « **Reply #24 on:** February 12, 2015, 07:10:02 pm »

Id say either the simpsons or golden tee would be perfect for modding.
The only thing about the golden tee is what monitor it may have because golden tee can be set to either standard res or medium res. So its possible it could have a medium res monitor that may prove to be a pain for your purposes.

As far as buying the other machines, I'd be careful.
I mean! I don't know you or your situatiin but if you're just trying to get off the ground with your first build, fiddling around with a few dedicated machines may overwelm you.
Or maybe not. Do you have the space?

kk99 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 12, 2015, 07:25:29 pm »

Hi mgb,

I was mostly going to mess around with the Simpsons one. The pinball, Terminator, the Golden Tee and the Simpsons all were in working condition. The res on both the Simpsons and the Golden Tee looked... well, medium... now keep in mind that I've never seen a high res vs a medium res monitor side-by-side for comparison. But I DID notice their average resolution when they were on. You could clearly see the "mesh". I was thinking about cleaning up the Terminator and Pinball ones and pretty much keep them as is for now. I might do some periodic maintenance on them as I'd go along, but for now... nada.

This would be for the back of my HT... I've got an opened area of about 18' x 11'. I could easily fit the pinball and 2 machines in there.

So knowing that these machines work... how much should I offer? I've seen a Terminator one on ebay for ~$600. That's a clean machine for sale. So I was thinking about $200 each for the Simpsons and Terminator.... then $400 for the pinball... something like that...

What do you think? Way off??

Thanks for your time.

Generic Eric · « **Reply #26 on:** February 12, 2015, 09:31:55 pm »

Shazzle

From the pics you shared they look in good shape. Those would be OK prices in my area. Hard to know about your area though. Location³

kk99 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 12, 2015, 09:47:26 pm »

This is a small town... everything is cheaper... So when you say "OK", that wouldn't be a great deal? Maybe I should offer to take the 3 for $650. Don't want to reach a point where he'd be insulted. On the other hand, if I'm clueless... chances are, he's pretty clueless as well.

Generic Eric · « **Reply #28 on:** February 12, 2015, 10:03:28 pm »

Well there was a Donkey kong cocktail that didn't sell at $250, but finally went a $180 I think.

Its hard to say. I think with those offers, you should get them. Does the seller seem to be holding out for a good deal? Or does he want them out?

kk99 · « **Reply #29 on:** February 12, 2015, 10:14:53 pm »

It does seem like he wants them out. I went there months ago and nothing has changed. If fact, his place is even more loaded with crap. The guy owns the building and there used to be some other guy there that had some sort of a play area, with bouncy houses for kids and arcades. That guy went down and he just left everything as his "last payment". So the stars do seem the be aligned for a good deal... But I'm a horrible negotiator...

mgb · « **Reply #30 on:** February 12, 2015, 10:37:19 pm »

$200 for the simpsons seems right about right to me. I've seen them sell from $150-$350

$200 may be a little low for the Terminator (if totally working) but I'd say go for it.

pinball machines are funny because they tend to go much higher. I've seen machines such as Adams Family go for $1500 with problems.
off the top of my head, I'd say $600-$800 would be more realistic for the pin but if he's just holding these games there because a tenant left them, he may really want to move them so stay low.

kk99 · « **Reply #31 on:** February 12, 2015, 11:23:51 pm »

The other thing about the pinball is that I couldn't care less about its theme. Street Fighter II ain't quite my cut of tea. If only he had an Indiana Jones one

Still, the game was fun enough to play. I've seen them for sale (refurbished) at $1600. I've seen a T2 on ebay for $630.

Anyway... I think I'll send him a text tomorrow... might start $600 for the 3 and see what he says. I'll write back for the results.

kk99 · « **Reply #32 on:** February 13, 2015, 07:59:38 pm »

So I sent my text message today.... I decided I was going to reformat my offer... I said that there were 4 machines I thought would be interesting. Then I asked him to tell me what he was willing to give me for $the 500 I was willing to spend total. No news since...

I forgot to mention that he doesn't seem to have the keys for any of those coin locks. I hope I can purchase keys online...

Generic Eric · « **Reply #33 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:06:41 pm »

Quote from: kk99 on February 13, 2015, 07:59:38 pm

So I sent my text message today.... I decided I was going to reformat my offer... I said that there were 4 machines I thought would be interesting. Then I asked him to tell me what he was willing to give me for $the 500 I was willing to spend total. No news since...

I forgot to mention that he doesn't seem to have the keys for any of those coin locks. I hope I can purchase keys online...

Good luck!

just drill those out.

yotsuya · « **Reply #34 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:08:24 pm »

Eric's right. You can get a new lock at Home Depot.

kk99 · « **Reply #35 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:16:22 pm »

Good! Wasn't sure if this would damage the mechanisms.

More good info...

I could keep saying thanks for your help... but at this point, just in case I forget... remember that it's always implied...

Generic Eric · « **Reply #36 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:19:34 pm »

Quote from: kk99 on February 13, 2015, 08:16:22 pm

Good! Wasn't sure if this would damage the mechanisms.

Get a metal bit and some sort of oil. 3in1?

. Olive would probably work in a pinch.

bfauska · « **Reply #37 on:** February 13, 2015, 11:31:07 pm »

Lock picking is also a fun thing to learn and easier than most people would think.

kk99 · « **Reply #38 on:** February 14, 2015, 03:10:50 pm »

hmmm... I succeeded years ago on a small lock. Might be worth trying on the big locks (the ones people usually put on the bar that goes across the coin slots - sorry, I don't know the proper terms). But on the coin slots themselves... the circular ones?

Got an answer for the pinball... apparently, he's got another guy willing to pay more than $500 for it!! I felt like saying; just sell it before he changes his mind! No way I'd pay that kinda of money for that one, under those conditions... and with no keys...

He's supposed to get back to me on the other ones. Might not have a deal after all if he thinks he can have that sort of money for each machine. Well, not from me anyway...

bfauska · « **Reply #39 on:** February 14, 2015, 03:43:47 pm »

Quote from: kk99 on February 14, 2015, 03:10:50 pm

hmmm... I succeeded years ago on a small lock. Might be worth trying on the big locks (the ones people usually put on the bar that goes across the coin slots - sorry, I don't know the proper terms). But on the coin slots themselves... the circular ones?

Got an answer for the pinball... apparently, he's got another guy willing to pay more than $500 for it!! I felt like saying; just sell it before he changes his mind! No way I'd pay that kinda of money for that one, under those conditions... and with no keys...

He's supposed to get back to me on the other ones. Might not have a deal after all if he thinks he can have that sort of money for each machine. Well, not from me anyway...

If they're the one with a round key then I retract my suggestion, my coin door locks use normal flat keys so I think they'd be easy to pick.


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