Before I buy a 21" PC monitor...

[Ninten-doh]

...is there anything else I should be considering?  A 19" arcade monitor seems too small, and a 27" is way too big for my cab (an old Frogger cabinet with a 23 7/8 cab width).  I was hoping for a 24" TV, but I can't for the life of me track one down.  Plus, I'm a bit concerned about eye fatigue with a TV so close.  Any suggestions before I spend the $200 on the PC monitor? 

[Frosty]

A 19" arcade monitor seems too small...

You'd be surprized...

I've got an old Konami cabinet which measures 24.5" across, and a 19" arcade monitor looks great in there.  In fact, I'd have to say that anything bigger than 21" is going to look strange.  But, that said, I would rather spend the money on an arcade monitor and Arcade VGA setup before buying a PC monitor.

[Ninten-doh]

I know MAME obviously works fine on an arcade monitor, but what about Daphne and Visual Pinball?  And if I want to make my wife happy, Intellivision games better work too!   

[elvis]

I'd have to say that anything bigger than 21" is going to look strange.

I love my 29" candy cabs. 

[Popcorrin]

A 21" pc monitor actually measures 20" so it is hardly bigger than a 19" arcade monitor.   If you have access to a 19" arcade monitor I think it would work pretty well for you.  It should bolt right in and if you are going to use a plastic bezel it will most likely fit the arcade monitor better.

[Frosty]

I love my 29" candy cabs. 

Ha ha...well, I should have said anything bigger than 21" in MY cabinet is going to look strange.  Trust me, Elvis---I'd love to have a dedicated vertical candy for shmups...

Nintendoh: here's a shot of a 19" arcade monitor in the cabinet.  I'm not sure about VP--I think it likes a resolution higher than 912x764 from what I've read.  So, you might be better off with a PC monitor...

[Ninten-doh]

Thanks for the feedback.  I didn't realize that a 19" arcade monitor means ~ 19" viewable.  Compared to the ~20" viewable from the 21" PC monitor, that's negligible.  Okay, so let's see if I've got this right...

- Buy a Dell Outlet PC on the cheap (making sure it has an AGP slot!)
- Buy a 19" arcade monitor (Happs Pro Vision horizontal okay?)
- Buy an ArcadeVGA card from Ultimarc (do I need to buy the amp and cable?)

There are two main issues I have...
- The cabinet is an old Frogger cab where the monitor was designed to sit practically on it's back.  I'm modifying it to be a more traditional mame cab with it tilted back about 45 degrees but more head on.  So unfortunately Popcorrin, no simple bolt in.   

- Here's my bigger issue.  I'm frightened to death of all this discharging monitor stuff.  It would be a no brainer if I could just follow the steps above, mount the monitor and voila!  But all this discharge/high voltage/transformer stuff has me scared to death.  I'm a big baby, I know, but I'm just being honest.

[Popcorrin]

You don't have to worry about discharging the monitor unless you plan on working on the monitor itself. 
Adjusting the angle of your monitor shouldn't be too tough depending on how the monitor mounts in the cab.  Do you by chance have a picture of the inside of your cab?

You won't need the video amp if using the arcadevga.  You will need a breakout cable to hook up your monitor unless you are using a jamma harness and a jpac.
The happs vision pro from what I heard is a decent monitor so it should work fine.