Anyone tried this? PC case with built in CP.

[JoyMonkey]

I've been working this idea through my head for a while now and I'm wondering if it hasn't been done before.

Right now I don't have much space in my apartment, but I feel the need for a cab with a two player horizontal format to compliment the vertical cocktails I've had, and I could also do with a second PC around the place.  It occured to me that I could probably fit a control panel onto a custom built PC case and sit a monitor right on top of it; thus killing two birds with one stone.

I put together an okay PC; AlthlonXP2200+, 256mbDDR, 60Gb HD, MSI KM2M motherboard with onboard sound, graphics and lan. I've networked it and tried out running WinXP with MameWah using a Golden Tee trackball as a mouse and all seems fine. It'll all fit into a 20"x20"x5" case too.

Now all I've to do is build the case. I thought before i go any further I might as well see if anyone else has done anything like this.

I've a 15" monitor that would sit neatly on top of the case. I've never been an advocate of onboard sound or graphics, but I tried out the PC with a bunch of NeoGeo games and the classics I play the most and they all played perfectly.

Anyway, I'm posting to find out if anyone has built anything like this before?

[Cisco Kid]

thats definitely a cool idea ... a desktop pc case ... use some plastic filler to fill the keyboard area ... then mount joysticks and buttons in its place  

I think you got something there ... definitely a good all-in-one alternative to a cabinet

[Edgedamage]

Cool idea but make shure you shock proof the hard drive. Banging the control panel playing a good game of street fighter might damage the hard drive.

[Chris Goodwin]

I had been mulling over the idea of something similar, except that instead of having a PC inside, it would just be a monitor stand with a keyboard drawer.  Making it into a case would be an interesting idea.  

[JoyMonkey]

Cool idea but make shure you shock proof the hard drive. Banging the control panel playing a good game of street fighter might damage the hard drive.

Good point. Shock proof it how though? Would mounting it onto a piece of hard rubber do it? Or whould that make things worse?

[paigeoliver]

In the past I have seriously considered just installing a joystick and buttons directly into the surface of my desk. The only thing stopping me is the fact that my monitor is too deep for me to have enough room to do it.

[tmasman]

Cool idea but make shure you shock proof the hard drive. Banging the control panel playing a good game of street fighter might damage the hard drive.

Good point. Shock proof it how though? Would mounting it onto a piece of hard rubber do it? Or whould that make things worse?

I used to be real into case modding... The most common type of "shock-proofing" I saw was to some how suspend the drive from any solid parts... Some people used small bungee cords, some used rubberbands (bad idea... small rubber parts in all that heat wouldn't last too long), others used egg crate stuff under the drive & kept it just sitting there (Don't completely surround the drive, it'll overheat & die a nasty horrible death).

With any custom case, just make sure you account for adequate air flow through the case.. You need a good intake, and open path for the air to flow over all major components, and an equal outlet... Some people try & swear by increasing or decreasing the air pressure in the case they have better performance, but all of them end up complaining that their fans don't last very long! (They'll have stroner fans blowing air out of the case than blow air into it... The fans blowing out would burn up try to pull out air that just isn't there!)

This is just what I have seen & suggest you at least think about before actually building. YMMV.

This ought to be a cool little project, make sure to take lots of pics!

~tmasman

[Lilwolf]

Sure, this is what arcade-in-a-box is.  He sells them.

Make sure it's down right solid.  It also might be good to find some rubber feet to attach the harddrive to for a little shock absorbtion action.

All in all... I think its a GREAT idea... especially if you put a monitor in there also... And make it a little bigger so you can sit infront of it...  Hey wait... I have one of those!

[rampy]

I'll dig up (later) the link where they modded a self contained sega control panel (like on the sit down astro, etc machines) to contain a mini-atx board  , etc etc...

note: now that we have 12cm² mobos thanks to nano-itx

slashdot article on nano-itx what else can we mod *evil grin*

Rampy

[JackTucky]

Good point. Shock proof it how though? Would mounting it onto a piece of hard rubber do it? Or whould that make things worse?

9thtee.com sells tivo hard drive rails.  They included rubber grommets to keep the noise of the drive down.  You might want to buy one of his mounting rails and use the whole thing.

I haven't been there in 2 years since I upgraded my Tivo, but I see he sells arcade stuff too now.

Art

[rampy]

aha! here's the link I was thinking about...

spacedinvader posted this neat arcade cp case mod all in one thing...  direct link to site for the impatient

Another novel idea is putting a micro atx board in an atari/NES/DC shell

*shrug*

rampy

[Smittydc]

I'm in the midst of doing something like this.  I built a portable case that I could swap my control panel (which is a small 2-player+trackball) onto when I wanted to bring it camping/to a party, etc.

I now have a spare mini-itx motherboard, so this weekend I'm going to mount it inside the box and add a small amplifer and flat panal speakers (check out si-5.com).  

Now when I want to go portable all I have to do is plug the box into the projector and I'm good to go.

[jcoleman]

I built a portable case that I could swap my control panel (which is a small 2-player+trackball) onto when I wanted to bring it camping/to a party, etc.

Camping?!?  Seriously?!?

John

[CthulhuLuke]

Aaaaaa.  mame and camping, the true essence of mother nature.  Btw, there was a guy who used to sell mame-in-a-box, but having a small control panel thats closer to the desk will definitely be good on your hands.  And here's a dude who did what you're talking about but with a different control panel layout.  Also remember not to place the joysticks and buttons too close together or you'll be bumpin elbows with whoever your going against:
http://www.jjward.com/mame/

[Smittydc]

Camping?!?  Seriously?!?

We take our camping seriously around here:  generators, massive sound systems, living room furniture, etc

There's something wonderful about playing Robotron on a 10 foot screen outside under the stars.  Sometimes I run the mame audio through the DJ's mixer -- makes for a very bizarre mix.

[hyiu]

next time you go camping... ( you know... your style...)
with generators... projector... computer... sound system... living room furniture... frig... washing machine... drying machine...

well... can you take some pics ??...
(I'm interested to see how a 100" screen under the stars playing a game will feel like.... can't imagine....)

I guess then you're staying at camp grounds... right ??...

when my friends go camping... they backpack like 80lbs of stuffs... park the car somehere... and hike 20 miles a day into the wood to camp.....

I don't think thats a good idea to bring too much stuffs along....
 

[grafixmonkey]

Cool idea but make shure you shock proof the hard drive. Banging the control panel playing a good game of street fighter might damage the hard drive.

Good point. Shock proof it how though? Would mounting it onto a piece of hard rubber do it? Or whould that make things worse?

You could do what this guy did on his pc!
Might solve the shock problem.



you can check his web page for the whole project.
http://www.g-news.ch/articles/nhp200nc

[tmasman]

Cool idea but make shure you shock proof the hard drive. Banging the control panel playing a good game of street fighter might damage the hard drive.

Good point. Shock proof it how though? Would mounting it onto a piece of hard rubber do it? Or whould that make things worse?

You could do what this guy did on his pc!
Might solve the shock problem.



you can check his web page for the whole project.
http://www.g-news.ch/articles/nhp200nc

Great idea, but he used an external hard drive...

[JoyMonkey]

aha! here's the link I was thinking about...
spacedinvader posted this neat arcade cp case mod all in one thing...  direct link to site for the impatient

Wow! That project is pretty much what I was thinking about, only mine will be a bit bigger to accomodate the trackball and leave a little room to work inside and to allow airflow.
He did a great job on it though.

As for shock-proofing the hard-drive, I think I'd best stay well away from that PU foam idea (I can't beleive that actually worked- ha!).
I'll probably mount it to four pieces of 1/4" rubber and attach those to the case.

I had originally intended to make the whole thing out of aluminium, the CP is 0.80" alu. I think I'll try out a couple of different designs in MDF first and then maybe redo it all in aluminium.

[Edgedamage]

I would think of using a laptop HDD they are more rugged.