Reddit reviews Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine.
We found 7 Reddit comments about Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine.. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
John Wiley Sons
Spend some time reading and asking questions before you spend any money.
This is a really good book:
Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine
Also, check out this website: (from the author of the book)
Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
You mentioned Project Arcade; is that the same Project Arcade that made this book? I used that while building my own cabinet and it was incredibly informative. I don't recall any part where I didn't know what I was supposed to do next, or where it required anything more than common power tools. (I had never built a thing in my life before this.
You need this, it answers all your questions.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/047089153X
Buy this book and read it - it is your arcade bible.
http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/047089153X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330997076&sr=8-1
Good luck on the build.
I'm surprised no one has said it yet:
To start with you should buy this book. I may buy the most recent version as I didn't realize he had updated it.
Buy this book, it was incredibly valuable in my project: http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/047089153X
It also comes with some plans. I personally went with Ultimate Arcade II.
For wood, I actually went with sanded finished birch. 60% of the weight of MDF and doesn't have toxic dust. Easier on blades as well. Ended up paying the same price as mdf and I went through 3 1/2 4x8 sheets.
Controls: never buy from happ. Overpriced and average at best. Groovygamegear.com has buttons for the same price and they're full leaf switches. Better performance and nearly silent. If you want to save some money their standard buttons are still great.
2 - solid plan
3-probably just need one. Joysticks are really subjective. I went with happ competition from GGG because they're cheap and passable. Not a huge fan. Zippy sticks are good and cheap and will probably look similar to the mag stick but there's better sticks out there. If you do get zippy sticks from GGG pay the extra few dollars for quiet switches.
5-ultimarcs trackball is great for a flush mount option. I love it.
Monitor: I have a 27" TV. It's great for 4p. I wouldn't go bigger (27 is pushing it for closeness) and I wouldn't go smaller than 25.
CRT TVs look almost as good arcade monitors. Biggest drawback is if you connect it with anything other than rgb Mame won't be able to adjust the refresh rate of games that are slightly off. Most are close enough and given the cost of the TV (free, I had it) and my video card already did s-video, I'm just fine with it.
Thanks! Yeah, the 8700 is an amazing projector. I went from a InFocus BigPlay72 which was 480p projector and I got to upgrade this year. Upgraded the screen too. Got in on the free lamp bonus too which makes this an even sweeter upgrade.
Anyway, I am intrigued with XBMC. I have known about if for some time about it but have never had a reason to make the switch. But since XBMC is so customizable, I could use a few pointers if you have any on getting it configured properly or some of your best tips to get the most out of XBMC (similar to the IceFilms.info plug-in you mentioned.) So any advice you can give me, I would greatly appreciate it.
As for the arcade, I would say that all told, it probably cost me about $500-$600 worth of materials (does not include spare PC to run MAME software). This cost also depends on the tools you have. I had to purchase some to get things going. It took me about a month and a month and half to get it built with the occasional help from friends. It was a really fun project and would love to build another one based on what I learned from the last one. I would recommend using the following things. I bought the first edition of this book to build my machine. This version was written this year so I am sure it is updated with all the latest technology upgrades. Then I recommend using this site and more specifically the forum. Lot's of great resources and helpful people there. I couldn't have done it without the help from the forum.
If you decide to take on the project, let me know. Like I said, it was fun and would love to offer up any advice if I can. Trade you for some XBMCtips :)