Help building the jewel to my man cave

Calhoun

Hi Guys,

I need some advice please, in the next year or so I'll be building my own house and I plan to build my man cave. I have a healthy supply of consoles and pc from this generation to stock it but I want something that stand out and a gaming cab comes to mind.

I wish there was a form like in the pc building and upgrade forums that I could fill in so as there isn't bear with me . I would like to build something using computer components, I plan to buy new as I don't have anything I can harvest. My questions are :

1. What kind of cab could I build with computer components;
2. I would like to play a mix between mame, old Nintendo games ect;
3. Is there a legal resource for downloading emulators/roms;
4. I don't mind using an LCD screen either but what's the best size;
5. If you had 2-3 grand to spend on a project like this what would you recommend.

I'm sorry I'm not that specific I am in a position where I am not 100% on what I want and can see experts in this forum who might point me in the right direction.

Thanks for reading appreciate any advice .

Myrddin

Calhoun wrote: »

1. What kind of cab could I build with computer components;
2. I would like to play a mix between mame, old Nintendo games ect;
3. Is there a legal resource for downloading emulators/roms;
4. I don't mind using an LCD screen either but what's the best size;
5. If you had 2-3 grand to spend on a project like this what would you recommend.

1. With a budget of 2-3 grand, don't build your own cab. No matter how good it looks, it'll never be a 'real' cab. Buy yourself a Candy Cab {€800-€1200}. Maybe an E3, an E2, or an AWSD. It'll be a real cab, something with history behind it. The diy builds, with all due respect to builders, are just not the same.

2. That's no problem, you can play everything from Ms Pacman to SFIV.

3. Only roms that are in the public domain can be downloaded legally. It doesn't stop the rest of the world enjoying the copyright protected ones though

4. Don't do this. If you buy a cab it will come with its own crt screen. This, by far & away, blows lcd's out of the water for arcade games.

5. Out of your remaining €1800-€2200, you'd assemble a very, very capable gaming rig. Overkill I'd say, as a custom build that comes in around €500 would easily handle anything you throw at it on a cab.

Calhoun

EnterNow wrote: »

1. With a budget of 2-3 grand, don't build your own cab. No matter how good it looks, it'll never be a 'real' cab. Buy yourself a Candy Cab {€800-€1200}. Maybe an E3, an E2, or an AWSD. It'll be a real cab, something with history behind it. The diy builds, with all due respect to builders, are just not the same.

2. That's no problem, you can play everything from Ms Pacman to SFIV.

3. Only roms that are in the public domain can be downloaded legally. It doesn't stop the rest of the world enjoying the copyright protected ones though

4. Don't do this. If you buy a cab it will come with its own crt screen. This, by far & away, blows lcd's out of the water for arcade games.

5. Out of your remaining €1800-€2200, you'd assemble a very, very capable gaming rig. Overkill I'd say, as a custom build that comes in around €500 would easily handle anything you throw at it on a cab.

After doing some research last night building a cab is definitely not for me (id only make a mess) , so I would hav to buy one, what kinda games would you get with the likes of a candy cab ? Where is best to buy ?

Thanks for the advice on e roms I had hoped since I used to acquire them someone wold have put up a legal resource.

When you say gaming rig you mean for rom emulation ? Don't worry about the price tag I plan to pick up some old consoles as well. If you meant a emulation rig what solution do you guys use for controllers ?

Thanks for your feedback, excuse the additional questions I will use google ect it's just good to get an idea from others with experience .

Myrddin

You won't get any games with a cab usually, just a big pallet & the cab at your door

Sorry yeah I assumed you were going the emulation route as you mentioned roms etc, you can of course by the actual pcb's themselves. This is a dangerously addicting & expensive hobby, some pcb's are really cheap like the Street Fighter games...others are hugely expensive like some of the Cave shmups. You can usually use both pcb's, & switch to a mame pc without much hassle & enjoy both though

Assuming you buy a cab with its own screen & controls, you use a product called a JPAC to connect a pc to the cab, this lets your pc output to the cabs monitor & use the existing control sticks * buttons. Have a look into it, it's the best solution

o1s1n

Yeah I'll echo what Enternow has said, your budget really is huge for something like this.

For 3K you could import two Japanese candy cabs and kit them both out with mame PCs. And that ain't doing things cheaply, you'd be talking cream of the crop stuff here.

Cheaper end of the scale you could buy a standard 'woody' stand up arcade machine (the types you got in arcades here) for about €200 with no work required other than putting a PC in there.

Good luck either way you want to go. There are several contacts to get you sorted whether you choose to go with a Japanese candy cab or a standard JAMMA woody cab.

Just some pros and cons of each cab type -

Candy cab pros: Smaller footprint in your house/generally much larger monitors (the more modern ones have a 29 inch CRT)/they're sit down so nice and comfortable to play at/very high level of build quality (metals and plastics)

Candy cab cons: Far more expensive than woodies. Cheapest will be a Sega Astro City for about €500 or so. They can go up well over €1000 if you want a rarer one. Atomiswaves are lovely and you can get them in the region of €600-€800.

You'd need to import one - easy process (there's a guy in the Netherlands who ships them to your front door for about €200) and actually for me, without transport, this is easier than trying to get one locally in Ireland.

Woody pros: cheap as chips in comparison to candies. You can get them for as cheap as €100. More 'authentic' Irish arcade feel if that's what you're after. Easy to source in Ireland. Can take a battering

Woody cons: Cheaper build quality (MDF wood rather than metal), smaller monitors (usually 25 inches and under as standard), very large footprint.

Calhoun

EnterNow wrote: »

You won't get any games with a cab usually, just a big pallet & the cab at your door

Sorry yeah I assumed you were going the emulation route as you mentioned roms etc, you can of course by the actual pcb's themselves. This is a dangerously addicting & expensive hobby, some pcb's are really cheap like the Street Fighter games...others are hugely expensive like some of the Cave shmups. You can usually use both pcb's, & switch to a mame pc without much hassle & enjoy both though

Assuming you buy a cab with its own screen & controls, you use a product called a JPAC to connect a pc to the cab, this lets your pc output to the cabs monitor & use the existing control sticks * buttons. Have a look into it, it's the best solution

Your right i am looking at the emulation route but i was wondering what you get with the cab, i get now why you were saying buying the candy cab and then plug in a mame pc. I was asking as i have had a look at some of the other threads on here and was unsure what you could stick in the stock cabs.

I dont know if i should go down the route of PCB, i might be killed by my wife if i go down a really expensive route but saying that i would like to play the likes of street fighter on PCB. How does emulation compare to the likes of PCB?

Myrddin

Calhoun wrote: »

How does emulation compare to the likes of PCB?

Depending on the games you're emulating, it can be 99.9% or it can be crap. The likes of Street Fighter games are emulated so well, that I sold off my Street Fighter pcb's some time ago. Thats assuming you're emulating on a cabs crt screen, & not an lcd too.

I'd get a cab first, assemble a mame pc if its primarily going to be emulation based...get it all up & running, & then maybe buy the pcb's you really want

Calhoun

o1s1n wrote: »

Yeah I'll echo what Enternow has said, your budget really is huge for something like this.

For 3K you could import two Japanese candy cabs and kit them both out with mame PCs. And that ain't doing things cheaply, you'd be talking cream of the crop stuff here.

Cheaper end of the scale you could buy a standard 'woody' stand up arcade machine (the types you got in arcades here) for about €200 with no work required other than putting a PC in there.

Good luck either way you want to go. There are several contacts to get you sorted whether you choose to go with a Japanese candy cab or a standard JAMMA woody cab.

Just some pros and cons of each cab type -

Candy cab pros: Smaller footprint in your house/generally much larger monitors (the more modern ones have a 29 inch CRT)/they're sit down so nice and comfortable to play at/very high level of build quality (metals and plastics)

Candy cab cons: Far more expensive than woodies. Cheapest will be a Sega Astro City for about €500 or so. They can go up well over €1000 if you want a rarer one. Atomiswaves are lovely and you can get them in the region of €600-€800.

You'd need to import one - easy process (there's a guy in the Netherlands who ships them to your front door for about €200) and actually for me, without transport, this is easier than trying to get one locally in Ireland.

I believe its yourself that has the two candies? Maybe not but i was looking at some pictures on the forum lastnight and someone here has two candies side by side i love the look of them all lit up.

I wouldnt be a traditionalist when it comes to cabs i grew up in Bray so was surrounded by the older woodies for most of my teens (Dawson's amusements, Bray Bowl, Palace) as such i love the sleeker look of the candies.

If your going to go with a candy and you want to connect it to a PC ect, how long in general terms would a build take?

I've two side by side,
room for 1 more too.I've sold the woody since.

Calhoun

I love that setup, i think ill go for one to start with though. The wife doesnt really know im planning on taking over part of our new house and turning it into a games den, well she does but she thinks im joking or crazy. The way i look at it though if im building a house might as well have a place that is mine in it.

I love the 2 player cab, id definitely want 2 players so i myself and a few mates can have some fun.

o1s1n

Calhoun wrote: »

I believe its yourself that has the two candies? Maybe not but i was looking at some pictures on the forum lastnight and someone here has two candies side by side i love the look of them all lit up.

I wouldnt be a traditionalist when it comes to cabs i grew up in Bray so was surrounded by the older woodies for most of my teens (Dawson's amusements, Bray Bowl, Palace) as such i love the sleeker look of the candies.

If your going to go with a candy and you want to connect it to a PC ect, how long in general terms would a build take?

Ah, I'm a Bray man myself. When I started the oul arcade cab journey I went with a woody for that very reason - Dawsons/Fun Palace etc.

Eventually got a bit sick of it though and decided to go for the slicker looking candies.

I've two but they aren't side by side at the moment unfortunately. still, first world problems, still actually have two cabs in the sitting room!

Super classy like



Length of time to connect to a PC? However long it takes you up wire the up the JPAC. It's not the most difficult thing in the world from what I believe so shouldn't be too difficult for ya - just do a bit of reading up and you'll be grand.

Calhoun

Ha then you know what im talking about, its such a pity the state its got i used to spend my summers on the beach and you might get a few bits of change to go into the amusements.

How did you get away with having them in the sitting room if you dont mind, i know where my wife would put mine if i asked her that.

The PC/JPAC setup seem to be the way to go, are the candy machines built with the space for a PC to be put in the back of them or do you re-assembled that parts inside them?

o1s1n

Ah tell me about it, I'd nearly get teary eyed walking along Bray seafront seeing all the places which used to have arcades in them gone.

Seeing Dawsons torn down (as ugly as it was) was not a nice experience!

Regarding PCs, it really depends what cab you go with. I think most folks disassemble them and mount the components on a wooden board. You might fit a small PC inside an Atomiswave - however I'd say you'd probably run the risk of it overheating if it wasn't removed from the case.

Los Lobos

Hey oisin, i thought you weren't a fan of mariokart?! Seen the error of your ways i take it!

o1s1n

Los Lobos wrote: »

Hey oisin, i thought you weren't a fan of mariokart?! Seen the error of your ways i take it!

Hahahaha!

Believe it or not, I actually gave that cart away to my girlfriend's brother for free recently. He's just started collecting Snes games.

It's no longer tainting my living room

Calhoun

o1s1n wrote: »

Ah tell me about it, I'd nearly get teary eyed walking along Bray seafront seeing all the places which used to have arcades in them gone.

Seeing Dawsons torn down (as ugly as it was) was not a nice experience!

Regarding PCs, it really depends what cab you go with. I think most folks disassemble them and mount the components on a wooden board. You might fit a small PC inside an Atomiswave - however I'd say you'd probably run the risk of it overheating if it wasn't removed from the case.

I dont live in Bray anymore but i saw pictures on the "bray did you know" group on facebook, quite a shame the way its gone. Star amusements is nothing in comparison.

I will more than likely order the parts without a case and go with the wooden board components, i asked as i was looking at imagines online where people just stick a desktop under it.

Would you happen to have a link to the candy cab seller in the NL?

o1s1n

Ah yeah I've seen that facebook page. Some of the really old photos are amazing. It was a great town one upon a time ago. Now it's just full of discount shops and cash 4 gold places!

Here's the lad I got my cabs from and many other guys here have too. Best person to source them from in Europe.

Unfortunately he doesn't keep the website updated, so he'll have a lot more cabs than listed on it.

http://www.rklok.nl/

Sure let us know what he says he has available. Postage was about €195 when I got mine. I think Ciderman said he was asking recently and it had gone up (although that might just have been because he was being offered a cab under €500)

Casey120

As you see when going for a single Candy cab somehow you always end up with at least two :pac:

o1s1n

They just look lonely on their own!

Calhoun

Not to mention, the other half is more open to another cab if you already have one.

For sale off ronnie right now!
760 delivered with stepdown traffo

CiDeRmAn

Nearly bought that myself....
Very nice indeed.

safetyboy

urbanledge wrote: »

For sale off ronnie right now!
760 delivered with stepdown traffo

whats he got for sale, AO blocked here.

Mitchomagic

For 2/3 grand i could fill you games room with cabs.....
Twin drivers
gun cabs
mame cabs
pokers
fruits
anything i missed??

cheers

Astro city.
looks ok.paints a bit rough and doors are yellowed but still
does mention some screen burn too

RedXIV

Mitchomagic wrote: »

For 2/3 grand i could fill you games room with cabs.....
Twin drivers
gun cabs
mame cabs
pokers
fruits
anything i missed??

cheers

When I win the lotto, I'm gonna make you a very rich man

Calhoun

urbanledge wrote: »

For sale off ronnie right now!
760 delivered with stepdown traffo

Was looking at this myself last night , out of curiosity how might one clean up a cab ? Or is the yellowing ect part and parcel of the purchase ?

Another question for folks on the forum is like to pick up some older consoles from my generation , sega/snes with some games is eBay the place to buy ?

o1s1n

Depends what parts you need to clean up really. Discoloration like that could be resprayed, but you'd really want to look into the process a good bit. Nothing worse than a shoddy respray.

Personally I'd leave it as is. Just refresh the buttons/sticks and put a new bulb in the marquee.

Just be warned - Astro City control panels don't remove without taking a lot of the rest of the front of the cab off too. So if you can't do that, you'd want to make sure you have really wide doors.

The Atomiswave on the other hand, the control panel screws off. So you can screw it off, turn the cab sideways and it becomes pretty thin.

Myrddin

I have to say, the AWSD is an absolute cracking looking cab in the flesh

CiDeRmAn

I kinda like my cabs structural imperfections,
1- Makes it look well used, which = loved.
2- I have no money to respray it, so I better come up with some way to philosophise my situation, see point 1!

Calhoun

Next question, I won't be building for a year at least this will be an on going project if I get it before the house how did you guys explain to your partners why you needed it ?