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Arcade Cabinet DIY - Suggestions and Input


KeeperofLindblum

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Sounds awesome ClassicGMR! 

I've got most of the pieces I need. I really only need the "structure" to sit what I have on it. 

I figure the final build will just be more like a dedicated entertainment center with the arcade stick (I opted for a Dualstick over the Tankstick). I have both a Windows box with frontend software and a Linux built for retro gaming. I'll go with one or the other to make it work. 

 

That site actually has the exact item I'm interested in, but they don't seem to make it right now...

 

Xtension_Arcade_Pedestal_Dual.thumb.png.3065d31eddf3cccc5fa4fa3a5d936def.png

https://www.recroommasters.com/Xtension-Arcade-Pedestal-Arcade-Cabinet-p/rm-xt-ped-d.htm

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I'd do that. The design above is pretty good, and is a relatively simple carpentry job. Looks like RecRoomMasters stuff is really $499 and up with $150 shipping. That's a lot for just a cabinet. I see that model offered on ebay at that price, so I bet the web link is old.  A number of folks sell the flat kits you can assemble and paint yourself.  Ask your guy, they're just a pattern cut out of 4x8 plywood or MDF. You can stain plywood or go with black paint on either. I bet the design can be done with one piece of plywood.

 

A more recent post of the same unit on their site is $449.  Still too much $$$

https://www.recroommasters.com/Xtension-Arcade-Pedestal-Arcade-Cabinet-p/rm-xt-ped.htm

 

 

Here's a plan for a simple and inexpensive stand/cabinet

https://www.instructables.com/id/A-Super-Easy-Arcade-Machine-from-1-Sheet-of-Plywoo/

 

 

Edited by JBerel
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I can also stand behind the DualStick, currently own 2 for cabinets each run by a Playstation 2. Never had a bit of trouble with either. I had a TankStick for a project but XGaming informed me the trakball only works INTERMITTENTLY with a PS2 & they don't know why. & it DID only work about 1/3 of the time. I sent it back.

 

 

Also, my .02 on the 1Up mini cabinets- they suck. No self-respecting arcade game fan should own one. They're an affront to the hobby. Might as well have an inflatable girlfriend.

Edited by RJ
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So a delayed but minor update! This is my current setup to test and make sure I'll be happy with what I have...

 

1226190047.thumb.jpg.eca7ec5878d8001372a537586186c774.jpg

 

I do like having a more legit arcade stick. After the holidays settle down, I'll try to figure out some measurements and ideas to see what I want and then approach the cabinet guy I know to see what can be done!

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59 minutes ago, ClassicGMR said:

After you get the hardware and setup settled on you might wish to consider a front end software. I use GameEx and Launchbox (BigBox) myself but there are quite a few of them out there. :)

 

Oh yeah I already have Launchbox all set up. I even got the license and all~

 

I just wasn't using it here yet because I wanted to make sure it was working normally with the standalone emulator.

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  • 4 weeks later...
5 minutes ago, ClassicGMR said:

So how are you doing with your build? :)

Well life kinda struck me, and I don't have the time or money to do the actual cabinet yet. >_<

I still need to get with my cabinet guy and see if he could throw something together. I'm hoping it'll be relatively cheap if made form Plywood and I paint it myself. 

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  • 9 months later...

Random update on this! 

I have disassembled a old office PC with hopes of just mounting the MOBO inside of an enclosure. I'm most likely going to do the "budget" arcade cabinet that @JBerel linked previously 
(https://www.instructables.com/id/A-Super-Easy-Arcade-Machine-from-1-Sheet-of-Plywoo/)

 

I'm working with the person who constructed the cabinets in my house... It'll probably cost a bit more than I originally wanted to spend, but I can't seem to bring the overall cost down. 

 

I figure that the worst case at this point is I just buy a "countercade" style one that uses a Raspberry Pi. It's not the ideal situation I wanted, but I'm trying to be more real on multiple levels here. 

 

Any suggestions on a countertop type arcade? (Something like this ---> https://www.adafruit.com/product/4334 )

 

I've seen multiple types/styles that look like the one below / linked above, but they all just feel overpriced... 

 

4334-09.thumb.jpg.4c4ca7cedd9a901105f76f0a6ea7fdb5.jpg

Edited by KeeperofLindblum
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  • 2 years later...
On 11/18/2020 at 4:52 PM, KeeperofLindblum said:

Random update on this! 

Just doing the "Can't sleep because I have COVID" dance tonight and was revisiting some old forum threads I was involved in. Then I ran across this one. Just wondering if you ever did do the project and how it turned out? It looked like you were nailing down some decisions back then. Just curious. :)

 

BTW - I have a PiCade. It is, to this day, ridiculously overpriced ESPECIALLY since it doesn't include a Pi. I only got it because I *think* it was the annual tax refund splurge that year. I believe I even tried selling it to try and recoup the cost but in the end I went with setting it up. I do love it though! It's portable and runs for ~8 hours on a 30,000 mAh battery pack. I'd never recommend buying it but I do love it.

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7 hours ago, ClassicGMR said:

Just doing the "Can't sleep because I have COVID" dance tonight and was revisiting some old forum threads I was involved in. Then I ran across this one. Just wondering if you ever did do the project and how it turned out? It looked like you were nailing down some decisions back then. Just curious. :)

 

BTW - I have a PiCade. It is, to this day, ridiculously overpriced ESPECIALLY since it doesn't include a Pi. I only got it because I *think* it was the annual tax refund splurge that year. I believe I even tried selling it to try and recoup the cost but in the end I went with setting it up. I do love it though! It's portable and runs for ~8 hours on a 30,000 mAh battery pack. I'd never recommend buying it but I do love it.

This project ended up taking a drastic turn. The cost to have this cabinet person craft the cabinet for me ended up being like $300-400, and I felt like that was a lot for a single plywood board cabinet setup. 

I ended up choosing the SNK MVSX (link!) as it matched a good price, good look, and a large variety. It came down to either spending like $800+ on a multicade setup, spending $250-300 for a 5-10 game 1UpArcade, or the around $600ish for the MVSX, riser, and a chair that came with it. I decided the MVSX had both a large variety as well as a really nice quality build to even out what I was getting compared to cost. The 1UpArcades are okay for the price, but the overall build quality seems kind of cheap. And nothing against the RaspPi, but I wanted a better setup than the generic RetroPi build (which is perfectly fine).

 

I am happy with the SNK MVSX. I wish it had a bigger variety sometimes, but it's a nice cabinet overall. I'd still consider a 1UpArcade if they were cheap, but overall I'm happy with what I have for the moment. 

 

Granted, I also have a MiSTer now, and that easily fills in the gap of anything missed by the MVSX. In the future, I would consider building a cabinet to house the MiSTer in the future, but it's currently attached to my living room TV so no rush there.

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Excellent choices. I am surprised that - even then - you were going to be charged $400 for that cabinet build? Geez. The MVSX is impressive with all the matching accessories and a good games line-up! The fact that you have a MISTer setup as well means you're really not missing anything. I also want one of these pinball cabs (maybe come bonus time) but that's another thread for another day. :)

 

Personally I hope that http://www.recroommasters.com comes back soon. I still use my 22" cabinet from them 11 years later. Decent price and was made specifically for the X-Arcade stick.

Edited by ClassicGMR
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4 hours ago, ClassicGMR said:

I am surprised that - even then - you were going to be charged $400 for that cabinet build? Geez.

In their defense (and to clarify), the $400 was covering the build and the materials to make it. 

 

I think they were uncertain as they normally do cabinets, so they were uncertain about this in general. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/5/2019 at 4:08 PM, KeeperofLindblum said:

Also realizing that my hopes were way too high that I could do this on a budget.... XD

I'll just have to slowly build up towards what I want. Ideally, I'd like to start with a nice arcade stick setup and then find a cabinet build I can buy that'll fit the X-Arcade stick (normal not the tank).

Sometimes building an arcade cab can be a years-long work-in-progress project. So many new things. So many options. Can be overwhelming. And don't forget as time goes on your tastes will change. And that means re-doing something again.

 

On 12/20/2019 at 6:01 PM, JBerel said:

Nickel's worth or free advice, I've built custom cocktail and uprights using furniture grade oak so they looked good in the house. There's always some hidden caveat that you learn once you have the things done and sitting in your house. Usually you find the comfort level is not there for extended play and they just collect dust. The full size upright built, I ended up shortening to a sit down upright, and that's pretty nice now. I can always make a riser for it to go back to standing play.

That's very important. It's easy to get blinded by "Arcade" at home and all that. Those cabs were meant to install a circuitboard, display, speakers, and controls in an artful way into a commercial money-making environment. A full-size arcade cab isn't the most comfortable platform to spend long nights of cozy reading-room gaming in front of. Nor is it conducive to exploratory play like finding easter eggs or bugs or discovering special tricks and tips.

 

I also like to play just about everything from Pong through PS1/PS2. And that includes computer games on Atari 400/800 via Altirra, Atari VCS via Stella, C64 via Vice, Apple II through AppleWin.. And that just doesn't go with an arcade cab.

 

To that end I just use a monitor and mini-PC with whatever controls work well with whatever game I'm jamming. Sometimes it might be a vintage joystick, or tankstick, or a gamepad, mouse & keyboard. My goal is to have as many of my favorites and classics ready to play in a small All-In-One package that fits anywhere. Like a reading den, which has a styling completely opposite of commercial-arcade-anything. 80's arcade ambiance because "80's", "Pac-Man", "Galaxian", "Mario", neon lights, and all that be damned.

 

On 12/20/2019 at 6:01 PM, JBerel said:

You'll find your controller panel will be the most important thing, and you'll be tempted to tweak or redo that. You can use a raspberry Pi or a refurb Core I7 from eBay for the brains at about $100-150. I recommend the I7 so you can setup a nice front end and any kind of emulation you could possibly want. 

Excellent! That's very much what I'm doing, for the very same reasons. A mini-PC built around an i5/i7 is my preferred choice - the familiarity of Windows is a huge plus, so I'm using that as a "front-end". Since my AIO gamestation is always a work in progress I like the convenience of playing on the same computer that I use to curate and collect with.

 

On 12/20/2019 at 6:01 PM, JBerel said:

That can all be updated as you like over time.

..that's right. Emulators are always being improved and worked on. And there is no set schedule. Over the years, decades, it's been a fun adventure watching and experiencing the development of emulation. Getting in on the latest features firsthand, as one does.

 

On 12/20/2019 at 6:01 PM, JBerel said:

I'd recommend just doing something like below first for either a seated or standing mode play. You can us a monitor on a wall, in an entertainment center or on shelf. Point is, that gives you the full playability experience without a big ol cabinet you'll wish you had done differently pretty soon.

I had played around with MAMEcabs in the dotcom era. The premise being "hide the PC!" and make it look authentic. Recreate the 80's. It never really went anywhere. It was all overrated. And even more so today because you can get those tiny mini PCs. Those little brainboxes are juuuussstt enuf to lend a sense magic and physicality to games and whatever else it is you're doing.

 

By going with separate components in an entertainment center setup, you can repair/replace/upgrade/expand stuff as you see fit. Without hassle of dealing with specialty parts. An entertainment center is a good argument. And fitting a mini PC into one is as simple as connecting two cables!

 

At present the wife is wanting a Beelink GTR6 for this year's gaming. And I see no reason not to get it. It's way overpowered for emulation but she also does other stuff.

 

On 12/20/2019 at 6:09 PM, KeeperofLindblum said:

Excellent advice and pictures! 

Yeah that's what I'm afraid of... is I'd get it and would just sit there a lot.

Yes. My early MAMEcab experiments sat around after the novelty wore off. It never came back. It never bought nostalgia back. It wasn't for me.

 

On 12/20/2019 at 6:09 PM, KeeperofLindblum said:

I think the most likely scenario I'll go for is more of a dedicated "arcade area" with a stand for the arcade stick, a hidden PC (got a nice i5 box), and then either a wall mounted or stand mounted monitor.

Remember what cabs were made for, commercial entertainment establishments. Something different is needed at home. A gaming/arcade area is perfect and superior to an upright cab. It's unobtrusive as long as you don't have a big beige PC from the 90's. It's modular. It's comfy. It'll blend into any existing decor.

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