Idea for a new cab. Comments welcome

[Centipeed]

After talking with some of the very helpful people on the forum, I have mainly gone against everything they have said ( ) and come up with this idea:

A portable cab that is basically a monitor (Small, 13-15") in a box, but angled upwards. You basically place whatever computer tower you want on the back, where a kind of tray is, and then you plug it in to the extending wires... The front is customizable to have whatever control panel you want, as you just place it on and fix it on some how, and put the wire through the hole. I am personally going to use one gamecube arcade stick connected through a usb adapter to the computer, and have a space for an extra one...

I guess it's basically a bartop, and I like it because of the versatility and small size...

Check out the diagram below...

Centipeed

[SideShow Rob]

I'd be more inclined to take the PC out of the tower case.

Increase the height slightly of the monitor housing, and mount the PC motherboard, PSU, HDD etc. in the space beneath the monitor.

That would have the benefit of making the whole rig "portable", and not having an ugly PC tower looming in the background. You would probably have to have a couple of fans installed...2 120mm case fans (so they spin slower, and be quieter than standard 80mm case fans) - one taking in cool air over your PC components, the other expelling it

Check out all the BarTop examples...and see which ones have installed the PC components inside the cabinet...and how they have done it. There is also an example here, but I haven't looked at it in too much detail:

http://pacfan69.tripod.com/cabinets/id8.html

[Centipeed]

I CANNAE DO IT CAPAIN!

Actually, the reason I want to use the whole "Place your tower here" idea is that I can't afford a new computer, and the computer I am going to place there is my normal one, hence the not-wanting-to-take-it-apart-and-place-inside-a-box-thing going on... I still want to use the tower for normal computer stuff... If I am ever able to afford another computer I will have a special Just mame one, but I can't do that right now... And this way anyone can put their PC into the space and then play the games arcade style...

Thanks for the suggestion though

[pointdablame]

If you're going for portability, why even bother putting the tray in the back of the monitor.  It will just make the bartop longer and more awkward to handle.

You already know there is going to be a computer right behind the screen.... you might as well just put it on the table behind it and make the bartop easier to move.

[Centipeed]

Hey, great suggestion... I never thought of that

Thanks!

[Sylentwulf]

OK, I'm just not sure what the purpose of putting the monitor in a box? With the idea you've shown and described above, you're talking about a computer desk, with the monitor in a box.

I would have to suggest just waiting until you have more time, money, and/or space to build at the LEAST a dedicated bartop, mini, or full size cabinet. I'm just not sure I understand the point of what you described.

[Centipeed]

Well, I guess I am doing it because I like projects, and I want to make it look pretty and everything...

Also, I don't want to have to keep a couple of GC arcade sticks attached to my main computer all the time, but I still want arcade style controls... So I am doing it mainly because I want to...

I agree with you though, it will have no real function other than holding a monitor and keeping the control pads in place...

[paigeoliver]

Buddy , $30 will get you a computer capable of handling 90+ percent of the Mame games. If you can afford the minimum of the $100 for the rest of the project, then I am pretty sure you can afford $30 for an old 400 mhz comp to put inside it. Egad people, you don't HAVE to put a new Dell Athlon XP 2600 inside your Mame cabinet.

[Centipeed]

Hmm... Good point... Most likely I will build it as I want it now, without the holding tray, and then probably add on an enclosed tower later, or the computer parts without the tower...

The games I mainly play are things like Marvel vs capcom, all the metal slug games, some of the oldies (tempest etc) and probably a lot of other fighting and platform games...

But knowing me at least one of the games I really want to play will need a faster PC than the one I buy for the machine...

[RayB]

Are you using a PC monitor or an arcade monitor? If it's a PC monitor, why bother with any of this? Just build yourself a control panel you can hook up when you want it, and when you're not playing, you put it away.

[Apollo]

I agree just start with a control panel.

[Lilwolf]

Why not get rid of the case... and combine the monitor area and the case?  

There is a lot of wasted space in a case..

Also, look at the bartops.. there are some nice designs around.  It is basically what your looking for.