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New Cabinet Questions - UK


badadd

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Hello Everyone,

 

I am based in the UK, Kent. So the time has come! I am moving home in a few weeks and I have the space for a floor standing x2 player cabinet - cannot wait!

 

I am fairly comfortable with PC hardware, building PC's, software usage. I haven't used Hyperspin, but have been reading various guides and watching videos in prep! I don't have any experience with wiring however, i.e. lights, speakers, joysticks etc.

 

I am hoping to buy a cabinet with, lights etc, but no PC as I am happy to do this myself. I would like to play a range of systems and emulators, up to the latest PC games.

 

I havent bought anything yet, and I have a budget of around £1000

 

I have a few questions:

1. Does anyone know of a supplier in the UK I could buy a cabinet from, ideally with lights, speakers and joystick wired in? I do not have a preference on monitor size at this stage.

2. In terms of PC spec, I am working looking at a spec of: 64 bit, intel dual core, 8GB ram, SSD for OS + hyperspin, decent size HD (min 7200 RPM) for games. Am I on the right track?

 

Thanks everyone.

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A quick google search resulted in finding http://www.arcadeworlduk.com/categories/arcade-machines/arcade-cabinets.html

 

It seems like their stuff is priced similarly to what you would expect here in the states.  If you use coupon code AWUK10 you can save 10% on your order.

 

 

In terms of pc specs, you would need to decide what you wanted to play on the arcade.  Everything up till Sony Playstation/N64/Dreamcast SHOULD be able to be played on a P2 or comparable.  Anything newer than that will struggle in my experience. Emulation usually depends on the processor more than anything.  SimplyAustin has a video up that shows him using a 50 pound machine running most everything.

 

 

Now for opinions:  There are two ways to go about this and I have decided that both fit my needs.  Set top box for playing on a tv and an arcade machine to play arcade games.I find myself playing the set top box more than the arcade by orders of magnitude.  That is something to think about before you put so much money into something.

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Thank you for the reply.

 

I will do some research on this company, thank you.

 

In terms of what I want to play, everything up to some of the more modern PC games.

 

In terms of set top boxes, are there ones that are can play everything up to some of the more modern PC games but also have Hyperspin and run older emulators? I had never been keen on hooking up a PC to the current entertainment system.

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Thank you for the reply.

 

I will do some research on this company, thank you.

 

In terms of what I want to play, everything up to some of the more modern PC games.

 

In terms of set top boxes, are there ones that are can play everything up to some of the more modern PC games but also have Hyperspin and run older emulators? I had never been keen on hooking up a PC to the current entertainment system.

 

That is the route that I went, hooked up a pc to the television.  Try playing a round robin tournament of Mario Kart and you will soon understand what I mean.  Some games are fun for arcades, usually arcade games, but Mario, Sonic, and Crash Bandicoot lose their allure quickly.  That is opinion of course but standing to play mario on less than ideal controls is tedious at best.

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I see your logic there, hmmmm something I hadn't really thought about.

 

What kind of controllers do you use for this kind of setup? How do you manager starup and shutdown of the PC? Do you leave on for prolonged periods of time?

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For the arcade, I use a 2 player setup with Xbox controllers for players 3 and 4. For the set top pc I use 3 wireless Xbox one controllers and 1 wired. I hate wireless so mine is always wired. I use a wireless all in one keyboard to manage everything when needed but have it setup to run Hyperspin on boot using the Hyperspin startup script and manually shut it down when I am done. The arcade is usually in stand by mode so it I ready to be played at any time.

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The difference in cost is what I would look at here my friend. A pc and some controllers is a heck of a lot cheaper than a cabinet. A cabinet though, if done correctly looks awesome.

 

Thank you, you have definitely made me think about this now. I would need a clever way to house the pc in my front room, the models I have been looking at haven't been the prettiest looking devices!

 

 

If i was to build another upright cab i would do a mario or dk clone with original artwork. You can always buy an actual ex arcade cab and convert it like a old street fighter one that should b within your budget.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Hey! This would be my dream. Have been looking a older cabs, its the wiring and TV angle / positioning (would want a new TV inside it) that really puts me off :(

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In a bizarre twist, I have been given access to 4 older computers not needed at work! They are:

 

Dell Optiplex 745 - with an Intel E6400 processor 2.13Ghz Dual Core, exact spec from Dell's website: "PROCESSOR, 6400, 2.13, 2M, CORE DUO-CONROE, BURN 2"

Dell Inspiron 530 - with a Intel E2180 processor , 2.00Ghz Dual Core, exact spec from Dell's website: "PROCESSOR, E2180, 2.0, 1MB, PCO, M0"

 

Anyone know what the better of the 2 machines above, would be a good base for this project? Both appear to be able to be overclocked.

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The E6400, but I wouldn't expect miraculous things out of them.

Thank you.

 

It has a 32bit windows OS on at present, thinking of upgrading to 64bit windows and upgrading RAM. Crucial say the maximum is 8GB. Could I go to 16GB? It has x2 banks.

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I have been given another machine, which I think may have better specs. It is a "homemade" computer rather than branded, as I learned, the Dell's above cannot be OC'd.

 

CPU on this one is: AMD Athlon II X2 250 64-bit processor - dual core 3.00Ghz

 

Guessing this would be more favourable than thje above x2 machines. Apparently it can be OC'd.

 

In terms of graphic cards, CPU-Z is telling me it has a "GeForce 8100 nForce 720a". Is this any good??

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That video card is not good.  

 

Most non-modern emulators do not require much from a video card anyway.  What you need is a processor.  The processor listed is rather weak as well.  Better than the others but not by much.  Either way you are not going to get anything past n64 running well on any of these machines I would not think.

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Thank you again HyperNewbie.

 

Well, I am hoping to run "new-ish" emulators, but I am not expecting miracles. Could you point me in the direction of a reasonably graphics card that can play some of the more modern games i.e. super street fighter (PC)? Austin (in the video above) seems to be running a nVidia 8800GT 1GB. What do you think of this?

 

Whilst the rest of the hardware may not hold up, at least I could take the graphics card with me onto the next machine?

 

At this stage I am just trying to make use of equipment around me.

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