Mini PC / PC Stick in a bartop

[councilface]

Has anybody successfully used a mini PC or PC Stick in a bartop? I really don't get along with the Raspberry Pi software.

[javeryh]

I'm also wondering about this - I've seen really tiny PCs for $100 that can supposedly run Windows 10 and emulate games up to Wii/PSX/DC generation but no one ever talks about MAME... although I would assume it would work.  The only issue is how would you power on your cabinet with a button on the exterior?  There's probably 2 pins on the motherboard like any other PC but I honestly don't know.

[Schnookums]

The PC Stick I'm using has a bios setting to power on when you plug it in. (It's an ASUS)

[meyer980]

I don't have any experience with PC sticks, but do have some experience with single-board Windows 10 machines. I've used both the Latte Panda and a Zotac picos. In my experience using MAME on them, they can run the 80s stuff fine, decent amount from the 90s. I'd be shocked if they could properly handle the PS1 (but I never tried).

It is getting better all the time though. And there are more and more competitors in that area.

I researched a few pc sticks from intel and others when I was doing my miniature builds. What ended up holding me back was the number of USB ports and the power (electrical) they provided. I wanted to use the pc itself to power the speaker, screen, and controls. I wouldn't have room to add a USB hub or separate power supply. Just something to think about for whatever you're building.

[javeryh]

I don't have any experience with PC sticks, but do have some experience with single-board Windows 10 machines. I've used both the Latte Panda and a Zotac picos. In my experience using MAME on them, they can run the 80s stuff fine, decent amount from the 90s. I'd be shocked if they could properly handle the PS1 (but I never tried).

It is getting better all the time though. And there are more and more competitors in that area.

I researched a few pc sticks from intel and others when I was doing my miniature builds. What ended up holding me back was the number of USB ports and the power (electrical) they provided. I wanted to use the pc itself to power the speaker, screen, and controls. I wouldn't have room to add a USB hub or separate power supply. Just something to think about for whatever you're building.

I was thinking about something like this for MAME only: https://www.amazon.com/Fanless-Desktop-Computer-Windows-Mounting/dp/B07QY8LDGX/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=mini+pc&qid=1594411313&s=electronics&sr=1-18

It seems like it should be able to run most 80s/90s emulators but not sure about front ends like BigBox or anything like that.  Not sure I want to take a $150 flyer on it to find out though haha

[leapinlew]

I would assume it would be just as bad as the Ataom based mobo I took out of my Galaga cabinet. It took like 2 minutes to boot into Mala. Once there, it was ok, but after a while I really got tired of waiting for it to boot up.

During the boot process, every now and then a properly timed button or joystick hit seemed to dork things up.