system

[LoyalistRevolt]

I'm trying to build an system arcade starting from scratch any advice? and its cheaper right?

[pincky]

whats your budget?

[BASS!]

Hello There!
I've built a lot of computers and am an avid bargain hunter. If you want to build something you have a lot of options to consider. Due to the nature of emulation there are many options to consider.

What are your favorite games?
If you were to say Street fighter 2 and Mortal combat, you could get any computer out of craigslist for $200. Now if you were to say, house of the dead 2 or tekken 3, or any number of different 3d games, that is when it gets more complicated. Because of the fact that as the games get more complicated pcs have to be exponentially more powerful you have to take into consideration: If you want to play them all you will have to spend a lot of money.

What is your budget?
If you said under 200-300 you could get a full used machine running a athlon 64 3800 with a low level graphics card and 1gb of ddr400. This system will most likely run (just about) any rom based game and even a couple chd based games. Now a more versatile system will most likely run you about $600-$800. One thing to also think about when you are specing out your system is, you don't need to spend a lot on your graphics card a geforce 8400 is more then fine and are only about $40, compared to gamer cards like the geforce 8800gt (around $400) or the respective radeon series cards.

Now before I try to answer any variable, I just threw together a machine so that I can run most of the games in mame, some dreamcast games, zinc and various other emulators. This whole build minus a case cost me $600 (minus a case and optical drives (which I have left over).

Item numbers and pricing direct from Newegg.com

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
89.99

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
$239.99

Ram
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
$44.99

Video Card
MSI NX8400GS-TD256EH GeForce 8400GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card
$37.99

Power supply
COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RP-550-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 550W Power Supply
$59.99

Cpu Cooler A must for any custom machine, seriously why not?
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
42.99

Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320820A 320GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
74.99


And all for a grand total of ..................... $590.93 + shipping


Hope I answered your question, also anyone else chime in, its fun bouncing specs around 

[LoyalistRevolt]

Well I have a job so I'm in the 500 range...For some reason I can't post in the sell place though...anyway uprightbass360 I have a computer I want to use for it right now I may need replacement parts thought..

[ark_ader]

Just want to play the classics?

Cheap laptop = $30

Wood = $50

Controls = $50

An afternoon.

Better than $500

[surface tension]

My advice is to have a browse around the forum so you can get a little more specific. It seems like you have stumbled upon the forum and just said "What shall I do?"

Have a look around. Do you want an upright or cocktail. 2-player or 4-player. LCD, PC-monitor or arcade monitor... These are just the broad decisions... later you'll have to decide which joysticks you want to use!

You'll get some excellent advice around here, but you have to be prepared to do some of the work, especially the ground work.

[BASS!]

True true, a good mame rig is more then just the money for parts, and in the end should be one of the sub areas of your build. But as far as building a full machine from scratch, with all new components, to really run great is another area that people overlook. On the other hand, the great thing about mame, is it doesn't take much to do most of the games. If you would want a $500 system I would go with these substitutions:


Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6550
$169.99(-$70)

Cpu Cooler

None(-$42.99)

[severdhed]

i agree, the stock heatsink/fan that comes with the core2 duo is more than sufficient for normal use.  unless you plan on overclocking it, or have it in a tiny box with no ventilation, it would be fine and save you some money

[LoyalistRevolt]

So your saying it would be cheaper to make a CPU cabniet
Really I just want to know where to start!

[TelcoLou]

So your saying it would be cheaper to make a CPU cabniet
Really I just want to know where to start!

Here's how I started:

• I installed MAME command-line version with MAMEwah as a front-end on an old laptop.
• Hooked up an old 17" CRT monitor.
• Got a cheap ($10) set of speakers.
• Got 2 Logitech Precision USB joypads.
• Set everything up on a small, wheeled TV cart.
• Set up Windows to boot into MAMEwah.

After playing for a few dozen hours, I got the urge to put it all in a real cabinet, then scoured around and with my lovely Wife's help, found a local guy who was selling old, gutted cabinets in need of some TLC; picked up one for $50 and got busy.

It all depends on your level of woodworking skill, how handy with wiring you are, and your dedication to "Building Your Own"

I also recommend getting the "Project Arcade" book; it's got a wealth of info that helped me out with making my decision

[ark_ader]

So your saying it would be cheaper to make a CPU cabinet
Really I just want to know where to start!

Start small.  I believe if you have a good design you can make it small.

Big cabinets are OK if you are going to play on them daily or have a big house to put it in.

Small cabinets like bartops are great as you can put it away if the wife objects or you had enough of it or you want to use the smallest space.

Its never easy figuring on a design as there are so many examples on this site all with different sets of skills. 

I might be offending some on this site and go so far as to say: read Saint's book on the subject, but don't take it as verbatim with building a cabinet from scratch. 

I found the book informative but only as a casual read.  I learnt more reading the threads on this site.

The best examples are found in Project Announcements.  An old arcade shell is cheap but can get daunting quick if you are new at using tools.  I did the same thing and bought a old cab from a distributor, fixed it up and it just sat there. 

I made my own and I still play on it now.   

What ever you choose as your design, I look forward to seeing your project take shape.   

[BASS!]

So your saying it would be cheaper to make a CPU cabniet
Really I just want to know where to start!

Here's how I started:

• I installed MAME command-line version with MAMEwah as a front-end on an old laptop.
• Hooked up an old 17" CRT monitor.
• Got a cheap ($10) set of speakers.
• Got 2 Logitech Precision USB joypads.
• Set everything up on a small, wheeled TV cart.
• Set up Windows to boot into MAMEwah.

After playing for a few dozen hours, I got the urge to put it all in a real cabinet, then scoured around and with my lovely Wife's help, found a local guy who was selling old, gutted cabinets in need of some TLC; picked up one for $50 and got busy.

It all depends on your level of woodworking skill, how handy with wiring you are, and your dedication to "Building Your Own"

I also recommend getting the "Project Arcade" book; it's got a wealth of info that helped me out with making my decision

Similar to how I started. I installed mame on my desktop and went out and bought a x-arcade dual. After getting comfortable, and getting all the roms I got serious and started googling arcades. I found this site and just read hundreds of posts, read users pages and soured everything I could find out about roms, emulaton and arcades in general.

When I made the plunge I just lurked on craigslist and ended up putting a post in that I wanted to build my first mame and that I needed a cool cabinet in ok shape for under $100. I ended up getting a gutted, old beat up Xenophobe cabinet. The next few months I took figuring out how to build my controls, how to restore the cabinet, how to configure the computer, how to mount the screen and how to get it all done for a small amount of money.  When it was all said and done my first machine cost me only around $500.

When I first read your post I thought you were saying: What is a kick butt mame machine cost and what should I use. I didn't realize that you were asking where to start. Start with looking through the project examples and reading up on this site. Ask questions if you can't find the info.

And last but not least. Good luck and welcome to the hobby

[LoyalistRevolt]

Should I use a laptop or a desktop computer..?

[yalborap]

Should I use a laptop or a desktop computer..?

Depends on what you're doing and what you can get your hands on. In a big cab, desktop all the way. They're cheaper, more powerful, and upgradable.

Bartops and other miniature rigs, though, you're looking at either a mini-ITX board or a laptop for sheer size concerns.