Computer together or apart

[MYX]

I have some cabs with the computer taken out of the case ad mounted inside the cab in much the same fassion as the real cabs. Others put the whole case inside. Is there reasons for either?

[brophog]

Either to save space, or to avoid paying for a case.

[pmc]

Mine is cased for protection purposes. I'd have broken something by now considering how much I tinker in there. Also, it's a "table" for my Dreamcast which is accesible through the coin door.

I think de-cased looks nicer and still consider de-casing for the hell of it.

Also consider heat flow.

-pmc

[mccoy178]

I decased mine because I like the look of it.  It was also neat because it was the first time I did anything like that.  For some reason, I really enjoy tweaking the smallest things on that cabinet.  So much so, it is about to be upgraded.  I often wonder if I should be helping the homeless or something......................................................

[MYX]

I often wonder if I should be helping the homeless or something......................................................

Or perhaps both.
Do you have any issues with the PCI Cards coming loose? I have a Arcade VGA I will be installing but worry about the weight of the cable plus vibration on the card if it is not cassed. I too like the look of it uncassed.

[mccoy178]

Nah, not yet, but it is on my todo list as far as securing it goes.  I am honestly about to build a new cabinet, so I'm waiting.

[RayB]

My cab is a small Frogger-style so there was no room for an entire tower in there.

[thesmit]

Hi guys,
Mines cased... Mainly due to keeping the dust out as i live in Townsville, Australia which is a dry and dusty place.

I also work in a PC shop and have seen what dust can do to componentry, so I'm not willing to take that chance with mine....

Smit

[MaximRecoil]

I think this thing would be awesome for a Mame machine:



http://www.happcontrols.com/gaming/gaming_parts/firefly700.htm

It is a PC running XP Embedded that is made to be in an arcade cabinet, would mount to the inner wall just like a lot of classic PCB shield cages do.

I'd imagine that it costs way more than what it is worth but I wonder if you can just buy the case and put your own PC innards inside it? Don't see any way to get expansion cards into it though, an ArcadeVGA for example. Seems to be designed for a motherboard with onboard everything.

[MYX]

Yeah it looks like it is all on board. This is food for thought for other projects though. I am not into the bar top thing but I bet that this would be perfect for it.

[babydickonboard]

im going to take my pc out of its case.  it seems more authentic and it looks way cooler then having a case strapped in.

[mahuti]

I had my PC out of its case and I loved it.

Now the new one is IN its case and it sucks. Cant' hack into it easy. : /

[MameJunkie]

I had mine in the case just because I was too lazy to take it out.
I'll probably plan take it out of the case next time.  To make it lighter and easier to mess with.

[markb]

McCoy178, whats wrong with this photo?

Empty memory slots on the mobo thats what! get yourself to ebay promptly and order the cheapest ram you can find to stop this heinous crime.


BTW I've 4 machines, the 2 cheapie setups are uncased while the 2 upper end machines are cased mainly to prevent accidental damage.

[pmc]

For some reason, I really enjoy tweaking the smallest things on that cabinet.

I do that too. Glad to hear I'm normal.

I really like the look of the wall-mounted mobo. But I feel like I'd snap one of those PCI cards right off while tinkering in there.

-pmc

[mahuti]

EXTRA ram for an arcade pc... now THAT is a heinous crime.

[markb]

EXTRA ram for an arcade pc... now THAT is a heinous crime.

You mean you don't need 1GB of ram and an 3ghz processor to play Mame?

[weaklink]

EXTRA ram for an arcade pc... now THAT is a heinous crime.

You mean you don't need 1GB of ram and an 3ghz processor to play Mame?

what about for the chd games like killer instinct or nfl blitz???

[markb]

what about for the chd games like killer instinct or nfl blitz???

It was meant as sarcasm as about every other week a topic appears titled something along the lines of 'Will this be okay to play mame?' and then quotes a range of PC's from 300mhz celerons to 4000+ A64's.

IMO Apart from the challenge of getting a PC to run the top-end CHD games I don't really see the point as there are better 'proper' PC games that could be played on such a set-up.

[Stobe]

Is there any trick to keeping your cards in thier slots?  I've got an arcadeVGA and I was wondering how everyone else was keeping their cards plugged in.

-Stobe

[RayB]

Is there any trick to keeping your cards in thier slots?

[clonestar]

Is there any trick to keeping your cards in thier slots?

[ArcadeMaze]

I like the motherboard showing for the "cool" factor, and it is easier to service if something goes wrong.

[MYX]

I checked at Home Depot 2 days ago and you can get a 8 x 10 piece of thin steel. You could bend it and dremmil it and make a card holder. I figured you could fassion an arrangement similar to the business end of the computer case. I love my dremmil.

[rugby1]

I am about to start my cab and I am not going to buy a

[mahuti]

How to keep graphics card and sound cards from falling out.

1. Install

2. Forget.

It's possible that they COULD fall out, but with the 3 open pcs that I've had in my arcade machines... none of the cards have ever accidentally fallen out. I've accidentally PULLED a few out, but I make sure the PC is off if I'm fooling around in the cabinet. Under rough use over years... the cards have stayed put on their own.

[Ghoward]

im going to take my pc out of its case.

[mccoy178]

When I show the inside of my cabinet to friends or anyone for that matter, they seem rather impressed to see the computer decased.  I've never had a card fall out, so I really don't think it's that big of a deal.  I again feel that it is all personal preference.  BTW, to the novice, a decased computer looks a lot like a pcb board inside an arcade game.  They don't know what the heck they're lookin' at.  It's like chroming under the hood of a car, only a few really get what it's about, but the rest think it sure is pretty.

[mahuti]

Yeah, it looks lame to have a case in there. Takes away the mystery.

[RayB]

There are two advantages,

1. You don't get the reaction "Oh it's a PC" (making your accomplishment seem less impressive

2. They think you're a genius for knowing how to put together all "that complicated electronihickery"

[SirPeale]

There is nothing authentic about having a pc de-cased in an arcade machine! real arcade machines don't have pcs in them, well not many of them anyway.

These days they do.  Custom hardware is still being made, but a lot of the times these days development is done on cheap, off-the-shelf hardware.  Makes spare parts easier to get as well.

[MYX]

There are two advantages,
1. You don't get the reaction "Oh it's a PC" (making your accomplishment seem less impressive
2. They think you're a genius for knowing how to put together all "that complicated electronihickery"

AMEN BROTHER!!!

[MaximRecoil]

There is nothing authentic about having a pc de-cased in an arcade machine! real arcade machines don't have pcs in them, well not many of them anyway.

These days they do.

[PetitMorte]

I have my pc de-cased inside my cab for heat dissipation reasons.  If I have it inside a case, I'd have to have fans in the case to move the hot air out, and that makes noise.  Outside of a case, the PC parts get to take advantage of the "chimney effect" the cab has for nice quiet fanless cooling.



This image taken from The Purple Mame Page.