new idea! home arcade system build

[Mikeosoft]

Found this up in the attic:




I think it would make a perfect portable mame setup. 

Ideas:

New buttons
Small itx/nettop mobo inside
VGA/DVI port on the back
RCA Jacks out
Headphone jack
Usb ports on back

Plug into TV/LCD/HDTV to play some mame
have it boot straight to hyperspin

I'm going to get to work on this tonight

[HaRuMaN]

What systems did that connect to?  PS2, Xbox, and DC?

I want the guts! 

[Donkbaca]

Some things to consider...

1) is there enough clearance in there for a netbook? Looks pretty tight.

2) can you give it enough airflow

3) how are you going to power it? or turn it on?

Keep us posted

[Mikeosoft]

so just popped it open and seems it's gunna be a tight fit:



But i think it will work!!

First, can anyone recommend a really small itx factor mobo that can handle basic mame and a very slim tinyxp build? I'm assuming they have these types of mobos that cater to the htpc croud? something small form factor like say the apple tv or something, i'm kind of out of the loop with the atom/netbook croud..

Also here's some more pics of the controller pcb.  Notice how ---smurfy--- pelican just soldered right to the posts, placed thick goops of glue to hold the shotty joysticks in place...



notice soldering directly to switches, lol. i guess i should expect it when dealing with crappy parts.



Second, I need to use some really short buttons, something like a candy cab with low profile underneath, but that wont work since the cp is not a thin sheet of metal, its 1/2 inch mdf.  I'll need to find some buttons with short profiles

Also i need to get the correct clip leads to solder to the wires for quick disconnects.  I have a bunch downstairs just don't know where i put them when i finished with my street fighter II restore. 

[LeedsFan]

I've used a mini-ITX board which was an Intel Atom 330 based system. It has on board graphics and the CPU runs at 1.6 GHz. Runs all the classics great but will struggle with some of the more modern stuff. I just used it in my Defender/Stargate bartop and it's great. It also handles scanlines fine and the game still runs at 100%. You won't get Hyperspin working at full potential with this board however. Might be better with Mala or you maybe could still use Hyperspin but with lots of graphical features turned off.

What size are those buttons? 24mm or 30mm?  Sanwa do a screw in version of the 24mm and they have a thread depth of 14mm. Not sure if that would be enough. Do you have access to a router? If so you could pop off the top panel and route out some more wood to get access to the threads. Or better still cut out the section where the buttons are and drop in a 2-3mm thick aluminium panel just to put in buttons. Then the snap-ins will fit great. You'd need to recess the plate to get it to be smooth and then could put new art over the top. Not sure if that's too much work you didn't want to do though.

[BobA]

I just picked up an Intel D525MW ITX motherboard.  It is fairly new and runs a dual core atom at 1.8 Ghz.  My biggest interest was that it is a fanless board with very low power consumption. It is a bit odd as it runs laptop sodimm memory but the 2 GB DDR3 that I picked up was only $24 so it is not much more expensive then regular memory. It also says that it runs a more advanced onboard video proc.  It was cheap so I got one to test how mame and other emulators run on it.   Just hooked it up yesterday so will be a few days before I can say how things go.

[yotsuya]

Funny, I just picked up a D510 itx for jukebox purposes. They are pretty cheap.

[Necro]

Wait - 'found in the attic'.  Where do you live and who do you live with that you just find stuff like that in your attic and aren't aware it's up there? 

[Mikeosoft]

1) is there enough clearance in there for a netbook? Looks pretty tight.

i believe there is enough clearance for a mini itx, definitley enough for my msi netbook bottom without the lcd connected. that's assuming i leave the same butons in there which i am not going to do.

2) can you give it enough airflow

i believe a fanless system wouldn't need cooling beyond open space, for example my atom netbook runs cool with osx hackintosh 10.6.2 overclocked with just a stock crappy heatsink and the fan removed.  I believe even in the most powerful scenario, an i3 intel processor with a stock heatsink, which is overkill in my mind, i'd probably get away with just removing the plastic case on the unit where the controller cords were meant to fit, or i could just cut a circle in the side and put a ball bearing coolermaster fan on the side blowing air in at low rpm towards the processor heatsink.  

3) how are you going to power it? or turn it on?

standard mobo's have a pin junction for connectors to fit and a diagram. it's just a matter of connecting momentary switch to the PWR on/off to get the mobo to turn on and off.  I plan on using a happ button to make the connection here, placing it on the side of the unit hidden from view.  worst case i'll wire it to a small led lit 24mm button i have lying around from a candy cab cyberlead i finished off and didn't use.

I've used a mini-ITX board which was an Intel Atom 330 based system. It has on board graphics and the CPU runs at 1.6 GHz. Runs all the classics great but will struggle with some of the more modern stuff. I just used it in my Defender/Stargate bartop and it's great. It also handles scanlines fine and the game still runs at 100%. You won't get Hyperspin working at full potential with this board however. Might be better with Mala or you maybe could still use Hyperspin but with lots of graphical features turned off.

sounds just a tad more powerful than my msi wind (atom n270) netbook running hackintosh'd osx.  This little bastid got me through east africa and kilimanjaro in one piece.  Saved my life more than once... best investment I ever made    

i read some specs requirements on the hyperspin homepage and you're spot on. I think since hyperspin is coded to primarily work with flash ( a very poorly optimized code from adobe) I'm going to have to turn off most effects and intro video.  No problem though, if the heat requirement means i need to go atom based than so be it.  But i think the newer ION system not to mention AMD offerings are capable of displaying 1080p flash content without hiccup.  If this is so i should see improvement.   I need to do more research on newegg and anandtech.com i'm very out of the loop with sff and low voltage offerings these days, crazy market out there.

I just picked up an Intel D525MW ITX motherboard.  It is fairly new and runs a dual core atom at 1.8 Ghz.  My biggest interest was that it is a fanless board with very low power consumption. It is a bit odd as it runs laptop sodimm memory but the 2 GB DDR3 that I picked up was only $24 so it is not much more expensive then regular memory. It also says that it runs a more advanced onboard video proc.  It was cheap so I got one to test how mame and other emulators run on it.   Just hooked it up yesterday so will be a few days before I can say how things go.

I have a microcenter about 20 minute drive from me in patterson nj, and i can go grab equipment pretty quickly.  I will look into this mobo, and as far as i know they do price match newegg which is always a plus.  They always have good deals on laptop ram i've noticed.  Awesome store btw.

Please let me know how this mobo/processor/ram combo works out for you, what front end are you running and what emulation are you going for?  I'm thinking my most played mame catalog is going to be Neo-geo and cps2 era hardware.  This seems like something a 1.6ghz atom processor can handle, however, the more recent builds of mame are resource hogs I've noticed and I'd like to maybe try some newer shooters if possible, maybe even SFIV if i go with an i3 and a decent onbord graphics i might be able to pull it off.

Funny, I just picked up a D510 itx for jukebox purposes. They are pretty cheap.

after i post this i will checkout slickdeals.net and newegg to see the price on this mobo and ram options
I noticed that many pico itx mobos have external psu units with a plug.  This would be cool i need to look into this.

Wait - 'found in the attic'.  Where do you live and who do you live with that you just find stuff like that in your attic and aren't aware it's up there?

Well I was an avid video game collector back in my youth and sometime in 2003 or 2002 I went to an eb games that was closing (due to gamestop buyout) and picked up this pelican unit for dirt cheap.  At the time i remember the news just broke like two days before that mame was ported to xbox 1 once the system was hacked by bunny. Ah the classic good old days of utilizing one's purchased goods in ways for which the manufacturer never intended. Ah what a time!
I went off to college in 2005 and my parents moved to a new house in 2007 while I was living in Boston.  I came back to a new house and all my video games and rare systems were missing.  I cried in my sleep for weeks, drank a ton, and never forgave my parents to this day. Just kidding, I still need to find all my stuff they moved, but no hard feelings because I wasn't there to help them move (horrible son... stuck with finals in boston).  

[Donkbaca]

Probably better to have a small fan blowing out instead of in, you want to blow all the heat out of the box.  When I asked about power. I meant is a power supply going to be in the box? Or are you using an external power supply? 

[Mikeosoft]

Probably better to have a small fan blowing out instead of in, you want to blow all the heat out of the box.  When I asked about power. I meant is a power supply going to be in the box? Or are you using an external power supply? 

i was thinking something along a pico itx ps:


since there will be minimal power draw.  we'll see though, i'm kinda budget tight right now.  I just sold an atari jaguar CD tonight though so i have some funds to throw into this project

[Vigo]

Hey, I like the way you think!  

I was thinking of doing something like this, but ended up making my Super NES machine. I just thought you might want to take a peek since it has a few similarities with using fanless, external powered itx, plug and play video, and working in a tight spots.

I was wondering about what you were planning with the USB ports, are you planning on allowing other players to chain on to your machine using usb joysticks?

Anyway, I can't wait to see what you put together!

[BobA]

If you want all the diff video outs and alot more horsepower you could look at this new offering.  I have not been able to find a price on it yet and zotacs are usually a bit on the expensive side.

Zotac Fusion Itx WiFi A

[BobA]

Set up my itx with mame 132.   Plays about 90% of the regular titles did not try any CHDs.  Neogeo and CPS2 worked fine.   Will try some emulators next.

[BobA]

Probably better to have a small fan blowing out instead of in, you want to blow all the heat out of the box.  When I asked about power. I meant is a power supply going to be in the box? Or are you using an external power supply? 

i was thinking something along a pico itx ps:


since there will be minimal power draw.  we'll see though, i'm kinda budget tight right now.  I just sold an atari jaguar CD tonight though so i have some funds to throw into this project

Just noticed that your choice of power supply is a 20 pin connector.   Alot of the newer boards use 24 pin plus the 4 pin 12 V.

[Mikeosoft]

Probably better to have a small fan blowing out instead of in, you want to blow all the heat out of the box.  When I asked about power. I meant is a power supply going to be in the box? Or are you using an external power supply? 

i was thinking something along a pico itx ps:

since there will be minimal power draw.  we'll see though, i'm kinda budget tight right now.  I just sold an atari jaguar CD tonight though so i have some funds to throw into this project

Just noticed that your choice of power supply is a 20 pin connector.   Alot of the newer boards use 24 pin plus the 4 pin 12 V.

If i recall whenever I use a 20 pin psu into a 24 pin acceptable mobo, it runs just fine, if i recall all those extra 4 connections are for more voltage to the graphics pci expansion slot for more power hungry graphics cards. am i mistaken, i thought the 24 pin connector was an optional and a later add-on to the existing standard.. if what your saying is correct i'm not going to use a pico itx powersupply. 

Yea the new amd offerings sound like just he thing im looking for granted there availible under 250.  I will find one and try to buy it asap

[BobA]

Some boards can use the 20 pin in the 24 pin connector but the 4 pin 12V for the MB not video was required for the itx that I have.  The doc says that if the 12V 4pin is not supplied damage to the MB will result.   You could probably rig a 4 pin 12 v from another connector but the pico supply looks a little weak.  I think there are more capable plug ins if you up the cost.

Added the quote from my manual "1x 24-pin ATX Power Connector (either 20pin or 24pin ATX will work); 1x 12v P4 connector (needs to be connected); "

Edit: added manual info re 4 pin 12V

[yotsuya]

Just hooked up the ITX board. It's quiet and awesome. Since I don't have a SATA DVD drive for it, I'm going to do a bootable flash drive. Can't wait to get the OS on and run some tests!

[BobA]

Tried emulators for Future Pinball, NDS, NES, SEGA Master System, TurboGrafx, and Nintendo64.     All ran fine except Nintendo64 which has sound issures.   Future Pinball must be brought down to its lowest graphics level for smooth play and some very complex games do not play well.

Edit:  Tried Playstation and KWAKS and both seemed to run well.

Used Maximus Arcade front end and it also ran well. 

[Mikeosoft]

Tried emulators for Future Pinball, NDS, NES, SEGA Master System, TurboGrafx, and Nintendo64.     All ran fine except Nintendo64 which has sound issures.   Future Pinball must be brought down to its lowest graphics level for smooth play and some very complex games do not play well.

Edit:  Tried Playstation and KWAKS and both seemed to run well.

Used Maximus Arcade front end and it also ran well. 

ok cool, if you have the time and don't mind, can you do me a huge favor and run hyperspinFe exe and see if the intro video plays smoothly?  I'm assuming it will run fine, but i'm really nervous with anything adobe flash oriented and these sff offerings, adobe code is so horribly optimized i'm amazed there's not more outcry on the internet...

[BobA]

Already tried it.  No go needs alot more HP.  That is why I am using Maximus arcade.  It would probably need one of the newer itx with dual core AMD and graphics.

[Mikeosoft]

damn it hyperspin!!! ARRRGGGGHHHH!

I've been checking out this board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128468&Tpk=GA-E350N-USB3

apparently the benchmarks are good!

"StreetFighter IV Benchmark
1280 X 720 => 30.07 FPS"

crazy, if this cant run hyperspinfe intro vid I give up lol

150 dollars doesnt seem bad.  Granted it's got a fan, and supposedly its high pitched, and I'm assuming i'd need to definitely run another fan with a hole on the side of the case... What do you guys think?  Should i hold out or bite the bullet and try this fusion offering?

[BobA]

The difference between an intel mini itx and one with a bit more zip is usually only about 50 dollars so if you have hyperspin in you wish list go for it but it will mean more cooling and a more powerful power supply.   It may start to get hard to stuff it all into your CP.