I just found out today that Greater Southern has jamma cabinets (everything except controls and board) with 27" monitor for $1700. Since I drive past them everyday going to work, this would be *REAL* easy to pickup and use. I went and looked at the cabinet today at lunch and they do look very nice ... they appear to be the "real thing" built by an actual arcade company.
This definitely sound a lot easier than building my own cabinet (hey, I can build the heck out of a PC and am a wiz with a slobbering iron, but haven't done woodworking since High School!)
Is $1700 a good price? Any suggestion of things to look for before moving forward? Is a JAMMA cab with J-PAC the way to go for your first MAME build?
Thanks in advance for your advice!