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I've already got a pre-configured version of Windows that will install with none of the 'extra' services. The Windows folder takes less than 350MB of space and the OS only uses 42Mb of RAM. I'm going to be using this initially, and if I find any serious problems with it I'll switch to a more complete version. As for a virus scanner, I won't be using one at all. The PC will be connected to my router, but only so I can access my other computer with my music on it. I'm not worried about any viruses, because I won't be using the internet at all.

The MK cabinet posted above is not actually the one I have. If you read the post, it says I have an Altered Beast cabinet, which looks almost identical to the MK one. We're either going to gut and refinish the one we have, or build our own from scratch. The parts inside will be removable. It's easier to remove and work on a PC while it's completely in a case, rather than in an arcade cabinet. As far as the mobility is concerned, I don't want the cabinet to be collapsible, just enough so I can remove the hardware and be left with a much lighter wooden frame. And with regard to Nologic's last post, we won't be disassembling the X-Arcade controls, we will simply use it as it comes, and decide whether or not to build our own later on.

I really appreciate the input here. I will certainly look into a better mobo, the only reason i picked that one is because it's cheap and it comes with a GeForce 6100 The X-Arcade control panel comes with USB or PS2 hookups, so I'll certainly be going with USB. As far as assembling my own controls, it seems like a lot of extra work to me. One of the guys I'm building this with (the electrical engineer of course) wants to make his own controls for it. We negotiated and decided to get it all set up and working with the USB controls, and we'll decide later whether or not to change the control panel. As far as the computer case goes, I think I'd rather have it. I'm still in college, and will be moving around a lot over the next few years. If would be nice to be able to dis-assemble the cabinet to make it easier to move, and it would make it a lot easier if all the PC components were in one place. It's not like cases are expensive, Newegg regularly has cases that turn out to be free after a mail-in rebate. I've got a bit of good news as well. My little brother just found me an extremely cheap 23'' monitor, so I'll be able to start designing the cabinet around that and stop worrying about where I'll find a monitor.

I've asked around elsewhere and managed to put together this setup. I still haven't bought it, but it's pretty much what I'm looking for. AMD Athlon 64 3800+ ($90) BIOSTAR NF61VM2 ($55) KVR533D2N4K2/1G ($80) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3160215A 160GB ($55) FSP Group (Fortron Source) FSP300-60GLS-R 300W ($40) X-Arcade Two Player Joystick ($130) Brand new, this will cost me around $500 with all the extras (keyboard, mouse, case, etc.). I've already got a monitor, and I'll get a bunch of it used, so it will be even cheaper. What do you guys think of this setup as it is? I know some of you may feel like you need a top of the line PC for emulation, but I don't plan on emulating anything newer than N64. Keep in mind that this is just a hobby, and I don't care about "future proofing" it.

The cabinet we have right now is running. I don't know anything about the specific, specs, etc. It's running Altered Beast, with a monitor salvaged from an old Pacman cabinet (you can see the first pacman level 'burned' into the background). I don't have a digital camera, but it looks almost identical to this cabinet: As for the PC specs, 64 bit or dual core processors are a waste. We won't be using this for anything other than emulators, a jukebox, and maybe to hook a projector up to. I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of: AMD Athlon... 2Ghz+ 512 RAM Cheapest DX9 Video Card 5.1 Sound card.. no more than $50 I hadn't thought about getting hardware specific for arcade machines. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of buying a couple joysticks like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16826102203 and just rewiring the buttons on the base to my own buttons, arranged on the cabinet. Would it affect anything if I had my controls connected over USB instead of connected directly? I haven't done any custom jobs like this before, so USB is all I'm really familiar with.

A friend of mine recently bought an old arcade machine cabinet, and we're going to gut it and refinish it. We're going to use a cheap, custom build PC (with GameEx of course) and probably a used CRT monitor. Since we're never done this before, we're looking for suggestions on a couple of things. What version of Windows (or an alternate OS?) would you suggest using? I want that fastest possible boot time, but also to be compatible with any hardware I might want to add. I'm thinking of using a custom XP Pro SP2 with most of the default services removed. As far as joysticks go, is there any particular brand/model you would recommend? We've got an Electrical Engineering major who's going to be taking apart and rewiring the buttons and joystick onto the cabinet. As far as the hardware we'll be getting: Custom build PC.. still unsure on exact specs Debating between old CRT and a TV with S-Video in.. any suggestions? TV Tuner + Audio/Video HUB (PS2 and XBox will be connected through this) Joysticks and Gamepads (2 of each) Trackball mouse 5.1 Speakers mounted on side and top, sub woofer inside. We plan on using it as a sort of Jukebox as well, so a decent sound card is a must We're not yet sure of this.. but possibly a projector mounted on top to project movies onto opposite wall. We've got the combined knowledge to put this together, just looking for suggestions from somebody with a little experience. My friend knows a woodworking major who's going to modify the cabinet. An electrical engineering major to rewire the joysticks and trackball. Me, a software engineer who's going to be handling the PC and hardware/software for the PC. And of course my friend, who will be funding the entire project.