Possibly two cabs what should i do

[SithMaster]

I have a p266, 64mb, 4gb hard drive, and going to add a 9250 card to use with a 19" composite only tv.  Its a sony trinitron if that matters and i want to turn it on its side but its curve is incredibly apparent.  this will be my vertical shooter cab.  Im thinking about using two matching joysticks that have triggers and a second button then having 2 player starts an escape button and eventually getting a coin mech .25 for two players.

My other cab will have the same pc parts but will be for older stuff like pac man and space invaders.

And last will maybe be a ps2 with time crisis, maybe.

Im definitely making one soon and the others after i convert my garage into a gameroom for my displays and my eventual big screen tv.

[Jess--]

I think you will run into problems with the p266 trying to get it to run the games at full speed, personal experience with mame I have found that cpu's under 500 mhz struggle to run most games, cpus under 1ghz will not manage games like streetfighter / mortal kombat or newer,  and for the latest games you will find that even 3ghz cpu's struggle

[SithMaster]

Ive already tried playing donpachi and 194kiii and it runs but it does struggle.  my other pc runs them fine and it is a 900mhz.  so i guess with what i have i should make a pac man and 80s type cab.  so my question is how big is the screen for one and has anyone posted the dimensions yet for the cab?  I searched but couldnt find it on this site.

also what about using joysticks from a pc?  I have several but none match each other.  i tried playing with a f-15e hawk stick but it takes too much effort to move.  my pc mission is easier but the top button feels awkward.  the pc stick would be easier just plug it in, already has button.

thanks.

[daywane]

you can do it.
I have a 200 meghrtz PC with 64 meg memory running old school games just fine.

trick: getting you hands on older versions of Mame and the Roms for that version. I would go with nothing above Mame 56

vertical arcade with a TV . not a good idea
your TV will need degaussing every time you turn it on.

PC 19" monitors are going fairly cheep on eBay.

[daywane]

Ive already tried playing donpachi and 194kiii and it runs but it does struggle.

[SithMaster]

Thanks for the link.  I was refering to joysticks like the sidewinder and using them in place of arcade sticks.

Thats a shame about the tv though.  It works just no sound but i was going to use my pc speakers anyway.  I only suggested vertical cause whenever i play on the computer theres a lot of black space on the sides.  Any idea on how to combat this.

[daywane]

32 in Tv or
strechmame no longer worked on but it will strech it horizontal.
or
video card that will flip your PC monitor vert.
or
pivot pro software will do this also

arcade joystick. No Pc stick I found works very well.
Blaze ( playstation arcade stick , 2 player works great)
adaptor for PC is $10.00  arcade stick is found for $30 to 45.00

[SithMaster]

I considered a tv around that size when i was at cicuitcity and laughed at how expensive some tvs are for the size.

When i was thinking about my design for the shooter cab i thought of the candy cabs.  They look okay but arent my taste.  however i like the cup holder idea in the cp.  But any way the joystick from the pc idea was just a way for me to make things cheaper and easier.  I usually play with my keyboard using the arrows keys to move and a and s to fire which i think is the opposite of what everyone does.  But playing with one hand was differently odd feeling.  I try out a cardboard cp before deciding i suppose.  thanks for the monitor info.

[Flinkly]

i wouldn't go with a trigger stick if your worried about price.  i'd get a good 8-way arcade stick and a couple of buttons.  that's how most of those games worked in the arcade anyways, and it should end up being cheaper and easier to work with than a controller/pc joystick.

look over ponyboy's thread in the buy/sell/trade forum, he's got awesome prices and fantastic service.  look over at retroblast for reviews of joysticks.

as for monitors, i think your gonna have to bite the bullet and get a monitor from somewhere, either an arcade monitor or an old pc monitor.

good luck, and realize early that this hobby is expensive.

[SithMaster]

well i found quite a few monitors on ebay.  thing is some sound to good.  a lot are less than a dollar before shipping.  has anyone bought monitors from ebay and can someone point to a repuable seller.  thanks.