lifespan of an arcade machine

[Vigo]

I had made a mame cab for my brother, but he doesn't know much about upkeep of a machine, however, He does know how to treat it properly...I want this machine to last for him, but I am worried about how long some of the components will last...Does anyone have a clue about how many years my brother can get out of it without replacing/repairing anything?

I know this question is hard to answer accurately, I just want to be to know what to expect to be going out on it first...

Thanks

[Luckydevil]

I have a 1994 Capcom Alien vs Predator that was 11 years old when I got it. Everything was original and it appeared to have never had any type of service done. This game had 39,932 credits on the ticker, $9,983 worth of quarters. 

A day after I got it the power supply died on me. The monitor was working fine, but I could tell it needed a cap kit. Other than that and replacing a few microswitches, the thing was still playing like a champ after 11 years of heavy use.

[j123vt_99]

My missile command still has the original tax stickers from 1981 to 1984 and it works prefectly.. One thing I would keep an eye on a Mame machine would be is ventalation... As long as it doesn't over heat you should be good

[Jeff AMN]

My missile command still has the original tax stickers from 1981 to 1984 and it works prefectly.. One thing I would keep an eye on a Mame machine would be is ventalation... As long as it doesn't over heat you should be good

Exactly.

Ventilation, dust control, and avoiding excessive humidity are the key elements for making a cabinet last for many years. You can still find original Donkey Kong machines that haven't needed repair because their owners have been responsible...

[Vigo]

Thanks, thats good to know!

If my brother can get a good 10 years out of it will little to fix, That would be wonderful. I'll check over the ventelation, and make sure he doesn't let it get too dusty. The place he has it kept is pretty good humidity-wise....

[RayB]

The question could easily be: How long does a PC last if it is only used X times a week?

[davieboynj]

RayB's on it.  arcade boards are extremely durable and most true arcade components are extremely overspec'd.  I've seen a full millimeter coating of dried coke on a running PCB on more than one occasion. 

With a computer, you have very little durability.  Definitely spend a fair amount of money on the power supply and get some good internal surge supression.  I wouldn't reccomend pouring in a can of coke to test your motherboard, though...  If you can vent your cabinet near the computer's air intake you'll find things last a lot longer as well. 

[ArcadeNerd]

Yeah, I have to agree with the computer thoughts.  I have a couple old games that are still kicking like champs with very little work put into them but I have had computers crap out on me in short amounts of time.

Old PCBs can be found/bought quite easily that run great.  Computers sometimes don't have quite the same longevity in my experience.  Don't get me wrong though, with a little luck and proper care a computer can last a long time as well.  Is it going to run all the time, does he know his way around a computer when the little things go wrong.  These are just some things that can hinder a MAME machine in the long run.

The way I look at it is that I just have to cross my fingers when I come across either an old game or an old computer.  Also hard drives now a days seem to crap out more from what I hear...

[Vigo]

yeah, I'm a bit worried about the hard drive, since it is already five years old...I might just replace it to avoid future problems.

Most all the other components are brand new via newegg...The dvd drive is old and on its last legs, but I don't consider that as necissary right now...

I guess to answer a few questions....no it will not run all the time, maybe about 10-15 hours a week. Only when it is used is it on...

My brother knows his way around a computer, but not around a frontend. I doubt he knows how to access the computer outside of the frontend...but if something, say ram goes bad...and the bios beeps at him on bootup, he would know to replace it. I have been trying to teach him what is going on as far as the arcade controls and the jpac and that sort of hook up...

The hard drive is rarely altered though....I do have plans to add some of his music on it with a jukebox this summer...

[jelwell]

I had made a mame cab for my brother, but he doesn't know much about upkeep of a machine

Upkeep can include dealing with Windows. So a few suggestions to minimize trouble there:
1) Don't put it on a network - you're begging for trojans/viruses issues.
2) Don't expose Windows to your brother. If you leave a backdoor to exit the frontend don't tell him. Just let him restart the machine when there is a problem - A hidden reset button will do, you can even wire it to a button if you like.

I'd almost suggest a read only location for nearly everything (except nvram, hi, possibly a few others). I wonder has anyone tried setting up their cabinet with a read only setup?
Joseph Elwell.

[ArcadeNerd]

You could hide windows from him but if he knows his way around a computer I'm sure he could figure out the front end.  My machine doesn't boot into the front end and I just double click the icon that I see on the desktop (I have a TV in my machine) and I am ready to roll.  Also I guess it depends on how authentic he wants it to look.  I don;t mind seeing windows when it boots as long as I get my gaming!!  PLus I know I can work around in windows if I need to mess with a .ini or something in an emulator.

You seem to know about computers so the longevity can be extended with the new parts, hard drive, etc.  Then your brother just has to basically know what he is doing (explain things to him properly) and you should be fine for quite a while I'd imagine barring and unfortunate mishaps.  Good luck and you're a good brother to be willing to help hook him up with a sweet machine!!

[lovespicyfood]

I see a lot of comments here regarding "ventilation" of their Mame cabinets, however, I rarely hear it mentioned in the build out of cabs.  Any thoughts/pics on the best way to do it?  I'll be building my Project Arcade cab soon... 

Thanks for your advice!

[davieboynj]

#1 rule for heat in a cabinet: Heat Rises. 

your best bet is to put a bilge fan somewhere in the top in as much of an obscure location as posssible.  a good ball-bearing fan like those in a power supply seem to do the trick.  if this is done properly, air should pour in from any available openings in the cabinet.  then you can locate the computer where it will get fresh air through existing openings, or add some for it.  if the cabinet has too many openings, you may want to consider covering some up so it pulls in cool air near the computer in the bottom. 

if you are only using a motherboard in the cabinet, by all means screw the board into the side of the cabinet so that the fins on the processor go up and down.  locate it as closely as possible to an air inlet.   

[RayB]

Davie made a great point. Cheap PC power supplies are usually the first thing to go, and when they do, they usually damage something else with them. So invest in a good one.

Other than that, I see no reason to fear parts failure. Even the harddrive. Keep a backup of the drive on DVD so you can easily replace it.

[ShinAce]

Environment and construction are everything.

My place is clean and there's never any dust inside my joysticks. I lent one to a friend for a single month, there was a dustball inside of it. Held together with hair, obviously. I've also repaired a stick for a friend, 'down' worked intermittently. Replaced the switch and opened the old one after my friend had left. Sure enough, the microswitch was full of light dust. I blew out the dust, and tried the switch, still worked fine. It was extremely soft, but still worked.

[Q*Bert_OP]

I have a MAME(tm) cab running and booting directly off a CD...The files aren't alterable...

[Havok]

I have a MAME(tm) cab running and booting directly off a CD...The files aren't alterable...

But you can't have chd games AND Daphne games AND a jukebox with a buch of mp3s!

I just did a Ghost image of my hard drive. If it dies, I put a new one in there, and within 20 minutes I am playing again...

[Q*Bert_OP]

I have a MAME(tm) cab running and booting directly off a CD...The files aren't alterable...

But you can't have chd games AND Daphne games AND a jukebox with a buch of mp3s!

I just did a Ghost image of my hard drive. If it dies, I put a new one in there, and within 20 minutes I am playing again...

True, but I'm only running a handful of vertical classics on an old 633

[motorfish]

Heat will be one of the biggest enemies of your MAME machine, especialy if you keep it running on "arrtact mode" for extended periods of time.

In four years, I have already melted nearly all of the capacitors on one motherboard due to insufficent coolong procedures.

[ShinAce]

Very true....

I'm an electrical engineer so I'm a cooling nazi. Sometimes I think everyone considers ventilation.