I've been planning to build a custom MAME machine for years and I think I'm finally about ready to start.
I'm planning for this to be a little more than your usual multicade machine. This is going to be positioned in a sort of Rec. Room / Home Theater, adjacent to the big screen. The idea is that it will act as an accessory screen to the theater (So often I want two football games on at once) while also being the "brains" of a gaming PC running new and retro games and possible a VR setup.
Here's what I have drawn up so far.
Cabinet: To be CNC machined out of black melamine particleboard. I have a homebrew CNC router that can cut about 30x100 pieces so it should be perfect for this.
Main Display: I plan to use a 39.5" TV for the main display. I haven't picked out the exact model yet as it needs to tie in to the bezel and power setup properly. I plan to use a power strip controlled by the PC to turn on the display, so I need to make sure the TV will power on when power is applied.
Bezel: I'm really torn on this at the moment. Lots of these machines do a full glass over the display but I'm really concerned about glare, as this display will be used from across the room as well as close up. I'm leaning toward leaving the display uncovered and just cutting a bezel out of some black acrylic to match up right over a low-profile TV bezel. I could also remove the TV from its case and make the bezel work that way, but I'd prefer not to.
Marquee Display: Seeing someone's build with a live marquee is what sparked me to get going and start this build again. I have a custom 1/2 of a 40" display to use as the marquee. It's in a black metal case and I plan to just mount it out front as is.
Controls: Here's a picture of my unfinished layout:
I know, I know, it's a big one and a little busy but I don't think it's too bad. I want it to be 4 players for The Simpsons, NBA Jam, etc. There's 3 admin buttons and 3 mouse buttons as well as coin/start for 4 players and then one pause button on each side. What I don't have planned yet is two spinners. I can't decide where to put them. Any suggestions? I'm also pretty undecided on specific controls. Leaning toward Ultimarc J-pac joysticks with translucent colored buttons that light up depending on the game.
Audio: I plan to use a small amp with car speakers, a subwoofer, and an external volume control.
PC: I picked this Dell up a few weeks ago when it was on sale:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-1700-16gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-580-1tb-hard-drive-recon-blue/5948598.p?skuId=5948598I have a hyperspin setup all ready to go with MAME, the standard NES/SNES/Genesis, etc., as well as a MS-DOS and Apple II library.
Others: I plan on somehow integrating a blissbox to handle all my old console controllers. I'd love to have ports right on the outside of the cabinet to plug controllers in to but since it needs easy access not sure how that will work.
I think that's about all I've got so far. Let me know what you think and I'll post updates as I move along with the project.