New builder need PC advice

[Jackolas]

Hi there I'm Jack. I'm new to this whole scene but have spent a fair amount of time lurking these forums and have decided I'm going to go ahead and build a bartop arcade (probably bubble bobble themed).

Anyway the bit that I'm mainly stuck at is what computer parts to get so I could really use some advice. I'd like the system to run Hyperspin and be able to play most games (nintendo 64 era and older). I had in my mind a budget of £50 but I'm not sure if I'm being totally unreasonable with that, if I need to I can stretch for better gear.

Thanks see you around 

[Generic Eric]

There is a story of a person who traded a paperclip for a house.  Of course, he didn't directly trade it, but he traded up from a paperclip to a house.  Something of higher value each time.

Its a neat story, and maybe somewhat repeatable here, though, I am reluctant to spec a £50 PC. Instead you could get a raspberry pi, I'm told it will run many emulators.  The spec bump on version 2 should improve it.

My current cobble is from a tax prepares office.  They had a whole basement area of outmoded PCs and old furniture they were looking to get rid of.  The only catch was that I had to take out the hard drives.  Easy peasy.  I call it my curbside, you may find a nice PC on the curb too.

[Jackolas]

I have a 5 year old dell pc at my parents. I've got absolutey no idea what its specs are but I might just use that.

Next question I have is what's a reasonable sized hdd? I have no idea how big ROM files are for old games

[Generic Eric]

I have a 5 year old dell pc at my parents. I've got absolutey no idea what its specs are but I might just use that.

Good, start with that.  Depending on your end goals, you may not have to upgrade anything.  My computers are well over 5 years old and you can have a sufficent experience with that.

Next question I have is what's a reasonable sized hdd? I have no idea how big ROM files are for old games

But....:looks for words:  How do you expect to do any of this if you don't know the answer to that!   

[Jackolas]

But....:looks for words:  How do you expect to do any of this if you don't know the answer to that!

I think you make a good point here. Perhaps I should learn to walk before I learn to run...

[mgb]

I'd say if you have an old pc at your parents, start with that and see where you top out.
Just start diving in and you will decide in time, the things that you feel you must have and then you can upgrade from there. And you may find some things that you think you must have are not that important.

I prefer having all my emus and roms on a HDD seperate from the OS so I can simply swap pcs if needed.

Depending on what you can live with, P4s and DuoCores do quite nicely.

Don't be fooled by the novelty of being able to play every single game made, there's alot of crap too

[Jackolas]

I prefer having all my emus and roms on a HDD seperate from the OS so I can simply swap pcs if needed.

That's a nice idea but since I'm making a Bartop I'm concerned about the space inside the cabinet. Thanks mate

[lilshawn]

check out pawn shops, you would be surprised what you can get these days for 50.

also, see if you can locate your local government surplus. The government updates their computer hardware all the time, you should be able to possibly pick one up there that is decent and cheap as well.

I just purchased 2 Dell optiplex 745 computers (Core 2 duo processor, 1gb ram, no harddrive though for security reasons) from the government surplus for 20 each. slap in a new hd and you are golden.

[Generic Eric]

Don't be fooled by the novelty of being able to play every single game made, there's alot of crap too

QFT

In fact, you should play as many games before you build this thing as possible.  Find out if they hold up to your memory and if they are worth build a cabinet around.  Less is more.  Play eyes and flicky.  Play vertical games on vertically orientated monitor.  Horizontal on horizontal.

[yotsuya]

Look for PCs on Craigslist that are missing a hard drive. I got a Core2Duo 3.0Ghz with 4 GB RAM sans hard drive for TWENTY bucks.

[mgb]

I prefer having all my emus and roms on a HDD seperate from the OS so I can simply swap pcs if needed.

That's a nice idea but since I'm making a Bartop I'm concerned about the space inside the cabinet. Thanks mate

True but if you do find you have the room, it's worth it. Laptop HDDs are small

[Darkfall]

I'd say a Raspberry Pi B+, which is about $50 with the power supply and an 8GB MicroSD card, then stick RetroPi on it. That's what I have, and it works pretty well - you just have to make sure you get the right ROM versions for MAME, or it refuses to use them. It'll do N64, Nintendo, MAME, PS2, etc - pretty much anything you want. The new Raspberry Pi 2 might be even better, if you can wait a few days for them to become generally available. Space should be no issue with a Pi.

Edit: Definitely the Raspberry Pi 2. I just saw a video comparing speed between the B+ and the 2 for N64 games, and the difference in performance was dramatic.

[keilmillerjr]

You want a computer that can emulate n64 for less than 50euro? Buy a new raspberry pi 2. Want a tiny ass computer that can fit in a bar top? Buy a new raspberry pi 2. Want to play n64 on a bar top? Check out crapmame because that's what your control panel will look like. N64 just has way to many ---smurfing--- buttons on that 3 way dildo looking controller.

http://www.wickedretarded.com/~crapmame/

[Jackolas]

Looks like I'll be ordering a raspberry Pi then, if its not enough I'll always be able to find other uses for it anyway.

You want a computer that can emulate n64 for less than 50euro? Buy a new raspberry pi 2. Want a tiny ass computer that can fit in a bar top? Buy a new raspberry pi 2. Want to play n64 on a bar top? Check out crapmame because that's what your control panel will look like. N64 just has way to many ---smurfing--- buttons on that 3 way dildo looking controller.

http://www.wickedretarded.com/~crapmame/

I only really want the N64 to play Super smash bros and pokemon stadium on multiplayer modes. I'm hopingI could play these games with a joystick for the main stick in the controller and a few buttons for the rest, dont think I will need tho whole set of buttons per controller.

[mgb]

Another alternative is to have the basic arcade layout for controls and add a usb port. You can then use a separate controller for certain games because a lot of console games are not as enjoyable on arcade controls.

[thomas_surles]

Another alternative is to have the basic arcade layout for controls and add a usb port. You can then use a separate controller for certain games because a lot of console games are not as enjoyable on arcade controls.

I agree. I have a pair of knock off Usb n64 controllers from ebay. They work fine. Kinda sucks playing the games on a bar stool though. But with a Barton cab you could set it on a coffee table in front of the couch and kick back and play through some longer games.

I just removed n64 Pac ps2 and gamecube from my cab because in the end it sucks. But there are many lists out there of cab friendly console games out there.

[keilmillerjr]

Another alternative is to have the basic arcade layout for controls and add a usb port. You can then use a separate controller for certain games because a lot of console games are not as enjoyable on arcade controls.

I agree. I have a pair of knock off Usb n64 controllers from ebay. They work fine. Kinda sucks playing the games on a bar stool though. But with a Barton cab you could set it on a coffee table in front of the couch and kick back and play through some longer games.

I just removed n64 Pac ps2 and gamecube from my cab because in the end it sucks. But there are many lists out there of cab friendly console games out there.

You can use genuine controllers and a USB adapter.

http://www.mayflash.com/Products/PCUSB/PC043.html

[dislecksea]

To answer one of the questions posed, most of the Mame roms are quite small. However, there are a lot of them, that doesn't account for CHDs that are needed for some (relatively) newer games (e.g. Street Fighter), and doesn't account for the vids and art you need for each game to look nice in Hyperspin. My suggestion would be to not do what I did on my multi terabyte desktop and go for a complete set with all the trimmings. Instead focus on a limited list of games first and then add more if you have room.