Community Forums => General Chat => Topic started by: BranDonk Kong on February 02, 2019, 05:50:02 PM
Title: So I built an arcade cabinet (cross pots from General Gaming, sue me)...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 02, 2019, 05:50:02 PM
...this is actually my second time doing this. The first time was about 20 years ago but I wasn't nearly as patient and just rushed it with plywood and a big CRT, didn't realize it wouldn't fit through my doorway, got angry and demolished it. This time, I used a template (original Mortal Kombat cabinet - though it is 5" wider to accommodate for the LCD), took my time, made sure it would fit through the front door, etc. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Not counting the laptop that's inside it (I've had it for a little over 6 years), I spent about $140 on wood (though some of that was due to doing some trial and error - only needed to spend about $85 really) and other hardware. The buttons and joysticks cost about $90 with shipping, but that's because I was impatient and miscounted at first - should have been about $70 - $75. The 32" 1080 LCD (this makes 4:3 games display at just slightly larger than they did on their original 25" CRTs) was $160, and I already had the sound bar too, but I think I paid about $60 for that a few years ago. T-molding was $20, acrylic (for the yet not-completed marquee) was about $18 I think, same for the glass overlay/bezel. Probably spent about $50 on paint and supplies - would have been much easier and cheaper if I had a power sprayer. This was definitely the most time-consuming part. MAME is free obviously and so are the ROMs (of course these are for...historical and archival purpose). GLSL settings in MAME make the games *almost* look like their running on an original LCD ("pincushion" effect, scanlines, etc.). For now I've gone with a Mortal Kombat 3/4 control layout, though the top of the control panel is removable and I plan on making a 4-player/3-button panel for TMNT, X-Men, The Simpsons, Blitz, NBA Jam, etc. as well, in the next month or so. Anyway, here are some pics. When I actually make a marquee (or order one, I have enough acrylic to make/order 3 different ones) or make the new control panel I'll post updates. It was definitely a labor of love, and I learned a few things that would help should I ever decide to do this again. I could easily knock out another one in a single day knowing what I know now.
(https://i.imgur.com/Ls4QQ6A.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/J6QJMQ5.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4jKnXQQ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ScXAO45.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/WO6OE1S.jpg) Just showing off how awesome GLSL can make your games look.
(https://i.imgur.com/i6Spbnr.jpg) The soundbar just happened to be the *exact* same width as the 32" LCD's frame.
(https://i.imgur.com/t9yMXqy.jpg) Here's what I'm using until tomorrow...it runs *nearly* everything at full speed, but a Core i5 9600K and all the components are coming from Amazon tomorrow, then it will be perfect.
(https://i.imgur.com/t6Jm3mQ.jpg) Custom bezels make the games look even more authentic, or at least eliminate the extra blackness from using a 16:9 screen...
(https://i.imgur.com/F6pJz65.jpg) ...especially when using a "monitor bezel" - from a foot or so away you'd think it was an original arcade CRT.
I'll also be running Dolphin emulator (GameCube/Wii), CEMU (Wii U), PCSX2 (PS2), etc. My son and I played Super Smash Bros. Melee on it, that was pretty awesome. Yes I cross-posted. That forum doesn't get enough love.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet (cross pots from General Gaming, sue me)...
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on February 02, 2019, 06:56:22 PM
Nice. I always wanted an Arcade Cabinet. an original would be too much upkeep though, I'm sure, trying to replace those motherboard parts. A modern emulator running off a laptop makes so much more sense.
Such a shame to see so much wasted space on the inside though. Plenty of room to store other stuff in in there with some shelving. LOL
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet (cross pots from General Gaming, sue me)...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 02, 2019, 07:27:42 PM
Yeah, it's a monumental waste of space. At least the desktop I'm going to replace the laptop with will take up some of it lol. When I build extra control panels I'm also going to store them in there when not in use, so it will be less wasteful. I really wanted to go for authenticity, but looking back, if I make another one and don't put the actual side art on it, I could easily make it like 10" less deep.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet (cross pots from General Gaming, sue me)...
Post by: ThePerm on February 03, 2019, 12:32:18 AM
Are you putting a Polybius logo in?
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet (cross pots from General Gaming, sue me)...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 03, 2019, 07:21:28 AM
Lol maybe.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet (cross pots from General Gaming, sue me)...
Post by: ThePerm on February 03, 2019, 01:39:08 PM
The color scheme is really good for it.
Title: Re: So I built an arcade cabinet (cross pots from General Gaming, sue me)...
Post by: BranDonk Kong on February 03, 2019, 02:53:16 PM
So I just got all the new PC parts except for the CPU cooler...aaaaand I screwed up and got a motherboard that doesn't fit the case. I searched for Z390 on Amazon *after* filtering by Micro ATX, but apparently that removes your filter. However, their customer service is amazing: they're doing the return and they're paying the difference (about $15) for the new motherboard I ordered. New motherboard will be here Tuesday...CPU cooler should be here tomorrow probably.
For the color scheme: it wasn't really planned this way, but getting everything all blue was the cheapest way to do it, so I just went for it. I was going to do the matching MK color scheme (red T-molding and joysticks, 2 blue buttons, 1 white, 2 red, 1 yellow), but on the all black body it looks a little too much like the Wonder Bread logo in my opinion. It would look good with just a generic MAME logo for the marquee. I may end up ordering the MK2 side art one day though, since it would fit just about perfectly. The paint job looks a lot better in pictures and under indoor lighting than it does in natural light.
