First Time Build, 4-Player Cabinet

[Moe Szyslak]

Hey everyone,

Ive been looking through these forums for a couple weeks, this place is great.  I'm very interested in building my own four player cabinet.  I like a lot of the ideas in ChanceKJ's "Flynn's Arcade" model and could use that as the basis for my design. 

Current goals:
-Four, 8-way joysticks (six-button layout for players 1-2, four-button layout for players 3-4)
-Trackball
-External volume adjustment
-32" screen
-Arcade games ONLY
-Horizontal and vertical games
-MAME, Model 2+3, Atomiswave, Naomi and Taito Type X/X2 emulators
-Front-loaded PC

Considerations:
-Hidden tray for mouse and keyboard
-Light gun support

Currently, I have none of the items I need for this project.  If possible, I'd like to keep my budget around $2,000, but I'm willing to go beyond that to produce a superior product.  My games list will be built around BadMouth's wonderful "All Killer, No Filler" suggestions in the Main Forum.  I intend to include each of those games in addition to some other nostalgic favorites.  As a rough estimate I'll say about 1,000 games from everything between Frogger and Street Fighter IV.

I've decided my project will begin with buying (or building) the right PC.  I have no experience with building PCs, but my brother does and can probably help me if that becomes a better financial option.  I know very little about PC hardware and need to make sure my machine will meet the requirements for my goals.  I mentioned Street Fighter IV, and far as I can think that's among the most powerful game I intend to run.  Some other titles include:

-Ikaruga
-Raiden IV
-NFL Blitz
-Tekken 5
-Soul Caliber III
-Virtua Fighter 3
-Blazblue Continuum Shift
-Power Stone 2
-SVC Chaos
-Capcom Vs SNK 2
-Marvel vs Capcom 2
-Gauntlet Legends
-NBA Showtime
-Spica Adventure
-Zombie Revenge
-Dragon's Lair
-Space Ace
-Golden Tee Fore!

So I'm looking for a quality processor, a nice graphics card and plenty of hard drive space.  Any help with PC specs would be greatly appreciated.  I'm very excited for this project, and I will update this thread regularly with progress and pics.  Thanks in advance for your help!

[Token]

If possible, I'd like to keep my budget around $2,000,

If you do all the work yourself, buy an older PC, and avoid custom CNC, plate fabrication, etc., you should be able to build it for far less than $2,000.

As a rough estimate I'll say about 1,000 games

If you curate a list of "All Killer" + your own favorites, I think you will be hard-pressed to create a 1,000 game list. Still, I commend you on starting from the ground up. Too many of us made the mistake of starting with a full Rom set and then removing things we disliked.


Will the 32" be CRT or LCD? How do you plan on making this usable for both vert and horizontal games?

Advice:
Forget the keyboard/mouse drawer. Many of us have used this (or something similar) and are very happy with it.

Lightguns are often saved for a second project. If you aren't using a CRT, many recommend avoiding them altogether in MAME.

Read. Ask lots of questions. Build slow.

Good luck. 

[rablack97]

If your in the market for a PC, i have one custom-built decased PC still for sale.  All quality parts, did a lot of research on each component.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149690.0.html

This will run MKX at 60fps, Killer instinct is now on PC, and this will run SFV no problem, plus everything else you've listed above.