how much have you spent on your cab?

[Mr Wilson]

just wondered how much people where spending on there cabinets?

so far for me

wood £70
t-molding,marquee and cpo overlay  £65
perspex £20
buttons,joysticks,minipac,trackball £100
marquee light £12
paint £20
21"dell crt £45
27" t.v £25
2.1 speakers £20
bits and pieces i needed £40
tinted glass £27
i had an old pc
loads of time £££££££
borrowing tools from friends =loads of favors owed
playing it with my mates .....priceless

Total=£424

[Games001]

$150 on the used cab
$16 wood for CP
$130 for CP controls (joysticks:2, buttons:20, spinner:1(home brew))
$20 on 20inch PC monitor
$35 2.2 GHz, 1 GB DDR RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive PC System
$20 2.1 Sound System (PC speakers & Subwoofer)
$15 Marquee & Bezel Plexi
$30 misc wires, clips, screws
$60 misc costs and extras (paint, t-molding, etc)

About $500 in total thus far

Sold off the parts from the used cab, so minus -$120 from the total

Makes it about $380 for a fully functional, though still not 100% cosmetically done, cab with MAME and 2200+ games.

[Avrus]

Oh I think I hold the record.   

[RikaKazak]

Once it's ALL done... ~$3K

[sfrascella]

Once it's ALL done... ~$3K

Is it ever really done...     

[Ginsu Victim]

I'm not keeping track.
That way my wife doesn't notice.

EDIT: Though if you scroll down, you'll see where I just added it all up. Jeeze....

[rackoon]

$1800 at least on my oak cocktail. Heck! I spent $50 just on router bits, then $400 for a 27" monitor, $100 for a computer, $50 on diamond plate, $200 on oak wood, $140 for two trackballs, $55 for a coin door, $80 on four metal control panels, $120 on speakers, equalizer and 300 watt power supply, $60 on speaker and fan grills, $120 on buttons and joysticks, $80 on spinner, $60 on hole saw bits for CPs, $50 for tons of metal braces to hold it all together, etc....

I wont even go into the 100 UV LEDs, wiring and soldering stuff, stain and sealer, glass top, custom art, plexi glass for around speakers and coin door, lost wages

Im about 75% done. Been at it two years. Its my hobby.  When its done it will blow some minds. I set out to make the best yet. 

[Havok]

This thread was obviously started by one of our wives - don't respond to it!

 

[MazzMn]

This is a good question, I was thinking of posting the same thing.

I aimed to make mine for less than a new PS3...spent $322 on a 2 player cocktail cab

[Paul Olson]

Are we counting tools in the total? I ended up with a pretty full woodshop; not sure how that happened, but it cost a lot of money.

The cab itself is probably between $2-3k. Buying authentic controls on ebay not only becomes an addiction, it is also very expensive. Hopefully this is the year that all those parts get installed so I can start using them. I am getting a little tired of having a closet full of parts that do not do anything.

New ideas cost the most money. Every trip to Home Depot costs more than I think it should, and those little trips add up over the life of the project.

I think the people who make multiple cabinets will get the most bang for their buck. The prototype is always the most expensive. If my modular panel is ever complete, I want to build a vertical cabinet that will use the same panels so my average cost will be lower. OK...that is my justification for the vert cab, I really just hate seeing the screen cropped in Donkey Kong. 

These cabs can be built cheap, but the cheap ones will not do everything. The more you want it to do, the more it will cost. When you already have 20 different joysticks and you still NEED more, it costs a lot more. Seriously, I have 5 shifters sitting on the shelf next to me, please help me.   

[TelcoLou]

Well:

• $50 for a gutted centipede cab
• $50 for a 19" CRT monitor
• $50 for tinted custom-cut, tempered tinted glass to cover the monitor/bezel
• $25 for a plastic bezel
• Just dropped $490 for a new PC
• Will get a custom-built CP for ~$610
• Figure $100 or so for extras (power strip, acrylic for the marquee, new light fixture)

... not too shabby; not even $1500 for everything .. well worth it for the privilege of playing several hundred classic arcade games in our basement 

[BobtheAddict]

So far I am up to $21.97 "4'x8' sheet of MDF. When it is complete, I am thinking under a grand.

[infamous360]

so far about 2k... i have to spend another 500 to get another dance pad

[somunny]

Several thousand between my first, second and current project.

[ids]

Also not keeping a close tally for obvious reasons...

I think $600-700 and just for controls and wiring, etc.  (4 U360's, piles of translucent buttons, LED's, led-wiz, micro-leafs, the afterburner, hi/lo spinner, trackballs & lighting kits, ...)

I'm not counting tools.  I either had them already, or would have bought them eventually anyway.  (Maybe not a slot cutting bit, but...)

No money spent on wood yet.  I've used some spare bits for prototyping so far.  And looking for a 27" tube....

[barrel_hopper]

I have $600 for my DK JR Cabinet and $160 for my DK PCB. When I start to build my Nintendo Style Replica (if I can ever frind 5/8th MDF for anything even close I should be able to do a cabinet for $600 or so

I may just buy a Popeye cabinet for $300 $400 and convert that.

[Eggroll]

hrmm... let's see...

since march 4th, i've gotten...
90$ in wood/mdf
25$ in hardware (drawer slide, screws, brackets)
120$ on a used 27" tv
112$ on a motherboard/cpu combo (i already had other items needed for pc)
23$ on logitech speakers
12$ on some new cooling fans for pc and cabinet
9$ for a marquee illuminator

that's close to 400 bucks and that's not including a few tools and things (sandpaper, jigsaw blades, router bits, drywall square, just things that I needed but hadn't bought yet).

I still need t-molding, primer/paint, pushbuttons, joysticks, trackball, spinner, encoder, etc... etc.. etc...

I still haven't purchased things

[MK3FAN]

I don't have the itemized list being that I built it over two years ago, but I spent just over $3000.

[Dustin Mustangs]

I figure it would be $1400 to reproduce.  Some things would be cheaper (no trial and error this time) and some would be more expensive (can't count on getting the same freebies) from what I paid originally.  I consider it worth every penny!

 

[Franco B]

My last project came to a little over £1000, I was thinking this project would come to around £500 but ive nearly doubled that already with plenty still to go.

As pcolson said its the new ideas that end up costing you as well as the overly expensive trips to the hardware store.

Its good job I dont need to add machining time at work to my build or that would easily be £5k 

[my58vw]

I have over 2500 in my 5 key Beatmania dedicated, including the 10 upgrade kits. 



Because everyone was posting pictures.

[esaelectrionics]

£170 for tatty moon cresta cocktail,
£15 for 14" multisync monitor( more like 15" now de-cased)
£3 for pc motherboardboard + proc (pentuim III 933)
£7 for akasa silent fan
£5 graphic card matrox g400
£10 hardrive (20 gig)
£50 for new glasstop.
 
found ISA soundcard.( its a advmame system)
found a new speaker in a broken ghetto blaster!

[esaelectrionics]

 

[protokatie]

£15 for 14" multisync monitor( more like 15" now de-cased)

FYI, most CRT's are diagonally measured based on the size of the case, not the tube. So your 14" screen (CRT) went down to a 12" screen when you decased it.

LCDs/plasmas OTOH are diagonal measures of the screen themselves.

Unless you have different rules about screen sizes in the UK, this is how it is. (Grab a ruler and check it out)

[paigeoliver]

Computer monitor measurements are almost universally the same, TV ones vary by location, and they ARE measured by the tube, however computer monitors generally advertise the whole tube size, while only viewable size is allowed to be advertised for TV sets in most countrys.

In general a standard CRT computer monitor is about 1.6" smaller than advertised size. However most 14" and 15" ones seem to be the same darn tube size (at least both come really, really close to fitting the mounting holes for a 13" arcade monitor.

Japan does the inflated measurement size for arcade monitors, so monitors in imported Japanese cabinets will be labeled as a bigger size than they actually are. Like the 29" monitors in all those candy cabs, which are really 27" monitors.


Also, about the actual topic.

I probably win the contest, as I have done multiple machines for negative amounts of money, one of them about negative $205 dollars. (In all those cases the innards of the crappy Jamma title I converted brought me more than I spent on the project and donor cab combine). Actually, the majority of machines I have done have had a negative cost.

£15 for 14" multisync monitor( more like 15" now de-cased)

FYI, most CRT's are diagonally measured based on the size of the case, not the tube. So your 14" screen (CRT) went down to a 12" screen when you decased it.

LCDs/plasmas OTOH are diagonal measures of the screen themselves.

Unless you have different rules about screen sizes in the UK, this is how it is. (Grab a ruler and check it out)

[Jack Burton]

Mortal Kombat cab was free from the Laundry Mat in my home town.  Monitor was dead, game board and controls still worked.

21" PC monitor was free from a computer repair shop near where I live.

Borrowed a bit of plywood off my Dad.

Used a spare low-range computer I had laying around for MAME.

Pad hacked a playstation controller for a control interface.

Plugged in some pc speakers on the sides of the cab for sound.


Total for my first MAME cab: $0!  Sort of, since I already had  a lot of the stuff.  If you added up the current valueof everything I added to the cab, it would be around $50.

Eventually I ended up spending about $125 for the whole project including new controls, I-pac,
wireless keyboard and mouse, stools, new wooden control panel, etc.  I may not be pretty or awesome, but it does exactly what I wanted it to do, and for a broke college student that's a lot.

[Kajoq]

Oh god.  Lets see... This is kind of scary:

300 for Street Fighter 3: New Generation cab with 25" Monitor
~200 for new custom control panel with brand new sanwa parts
125 for Super Street Fighter 2 X CPS2 cart
110 for MAME PC
~120 for JPAC/ArcadeVGA
40 for MAME PC Speakers
Almost a grand.. And that doesn't include other random hardware and such

[danny_galaga]

$1271 aus for me (762 euros  ) . that was for my cocktail cab. current project is a much lower budget affair, total should be less than $500...

(if i ever finish it)

[wbassett]

I just got started, but it is up, running, and fully functional without looking like an eyesore while I build the modular CP.


Cost-

• Ultimate Arcade II - $540
• XGaming TankStick and additional controller input board- $250
• T-Molding- $10
• Speakers (4" full range car speakers) - $15
• Misc screws, casters and other items- $30

So right now around $840, but I agree... is it ever really finished?

I'll be upgrading from a 21" Trinitron PC monitor to a 27" VGA monitor and then the custom modular CP is going to nickel and dime me I know it, but it's a lot of fun building and even more fun playing when it's done right![/list]

[wbassett]

$1800 at least on my oak cocktail. Heck! I spent $50 just on router bits...

Question...  will you use the router bits for any other projects?

Reason I ask is I run into this when helping people build Home Theater systems and DIY screens.  Many count the cost of tools such as sprayers, power saws, and whatnot as part of the total expense.  If it will be the only time the tool is used, then yes include it in the total cost, if it's something you know you'll use over and over, I'd leave it out.  It was just a great excuse to buy some more tool toys is how I look at it!

My frame of mind is if it is a one time usage, see if the tool can be rented or sometimes it's cheaper to have someone do the work rather than buy a lot of expensive gear.  Even better is if you have a friend or family member that has the tools and is willing to help out.

Still $50 for bits isn't bad and I'm sure you'll use them again on something. 

[Ginsu Victim]

cabinet itself - $50 (trashed Track and Field)

emdkay - $32 (Tron-style Mame marquee plus lexan)

mamemarquees - $36 (side art from bargain bin)

Divemaster - $103 (2 x Happ universals, 4 x wheels, 17 x buttons, 35ft black t-mold, pcb feet, button wrench, miniature momentary pushbutton)

Mike's Arcade - $36 (2 x coin mechs, coin door lock)

Ultimarc first order - $60 (Mini-pac with wiring harness and ground harness)

Ultimarc second order - $177 (2 x Ultrastik 360s w/balltops, 2 x medium spring, 2 x restrictors, 1 x encoder wiring)

Radio Shack, Lowes, Ace, Wal-mart - ~$100

Newegg.com - $80 (250 GB hard drive)

Total = ~$680 (my wife and I agreed on a budget of $300  )

The computer was given to me free from the local hospital. (733mhz w/ 384 MB ram)

[javeryh]

I would guess with the new computer and everything I average about $1,200 per build.

[telengard]

A lot, but worth every penny.

The original controls and metal panels (including having them professionally machined) have been the biggest cost and doesn't seem to be stopping.  Re-doing things hasn't helped either (re-doing artwork, re-doing monitor, etc).

~telengard

[Chris2]

I'm working on my first cabinet and I've currently spent about $1,500 or so. After I order some more controls and put together a new computer for the machine, I'll be looking at around 2k for the entire project. All in all, it'll totally be worth it.

[Jdurg]

Heh.  Does "More than anticipated" count as an answer?   

[Ginsu Victim]

Heh.  Does "More than anticipated" count as an answer?   

No, because that goes without saying in damn near every single case.

[Minwah]

I haven't added mine up but having come across a load of old receipts lately...more than I remember 

At a guess, somewhere around £1000, probably more.  New arcade monitor and PC parts make up well over half of the cost (PC was 'overkill' in 2003 ).  Mind you, that is spread over 6 or 7 years, and I have ended up selling some of the stuff I've bought.

It was these old receipts that made me realise I've had my trackball 6 years...and it's still not in a finished panel.  I need to get on with it...

[Ginsu Victim]

£1000?
Ouch.
Good thing that was spread out over time...

[Minwah]

£1000?
Ouch.
Good thing that was spread out over time...

Yes indeed! Not sure where you are from, but stuff seems to be much more expensive in the UK than for example the US tho. We get ripped off for everything   That said I bought some parts which I knew were expensive, such as a 'silent' PSU for £80...even still that would probably have cost more like $80 in the US.

Most of the controllers and stuff I have got cheap on ebay. With the exception of the PC and monitor, the only other very expensive things I can think of are various spares from Happ...who once again rip off UK customers by adding on some kind of mystical 'duty' (even tho they have a UK division). That plus their now £100 minimum order fee means I will never order from them again.

[CrazyKongFan]

I don't have a total written down or anything, but off the top of my head,
$13 for the cabinet (gutted Robotron that was converted to Final Fight, at an auction)
$200 or so for a motherboard,  21" monitor, 1 gig RAM, HD, other misc computer parts
$20 for 2 used Wico joysticks
$5 for a couple extra buttons,
probably another $30 for misc, power strip, wire, connectors, etc.