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.

I mounted my motherboard and components to a 1/4" piece of MDF which was then mounted on the bottom of my cab. I attached the motherboard to the 1/4" piece of MDF with nylon spacers and pan head sheet metal screws. This allowed for air to get underneath the motherboard. I didn't bother with fiber washers or anything.

Depending on how much space you have in your cab, you might need less fans than you think.

As far as speakers go, you are better off buying cheap car speakers and wiring them to an amp. This allows you more flexibility with mounting. If you do want to use the 2.1 speaker system you have, you can use a smart power strip to power everything on, like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Strip-4941-Autoswitching-Technology/dp/B000P1QJXQ/

And yes ipac2 is good for 2 player setup. You can just wire up an arcade button to turn on/off your computer.

It is obviously a HUGE risk, but the alternative is getting rid of it and having nothing. So, really what do you have to lose? Be creative, and do your best to weather-proof and critter proof it. They even sell mini dehumidifiers (https://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva-dry-333-Renewable-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0XFCS/) you could stick in the cabinet to keep it dry internally. Odds are you'll be shit out of luck in a year or so, but you are already shit out of luck with no space in the house so... good luck!

You want the highest clock speed INTEL CPU you can afford. That's really the most important computer stat. Some games in MAME use multiple cores, so a quad-core or dual-core with hyperthreading is worth getting. A good current CPU choice is the Intel Core i3-7350K Dual-Core 4.2 GHz which sells for around $150. If you want to use any of the MAME HLSL shader effects, pick up a discrete video card. I think as long as it supports DirectX 10, it should be fine.

Don't buy a piece of crap computer from 10 years ago off of craigslist and expect it to perform well.

I'd recommend picking up used arcade cabinet with a large control panel rather than building one. Look for something with a 4-player control setup for lots of room. Search for an "amusement auction" in your area and you'll probably get a good deal on an empty cabinet or a broken machine.

Also, I highly recommend this book: Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine. It came out in 2011, so it's not totally up-to-date anymore, but there's still lots of good info. The author of the book runs the Build Your Own Arcade Controls (BYOAC) website. Spend some time browsing their forums and asking questions:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com

I would recommend Sanwa buttons over anything else except maybe gamerfinger. Those are new and use Cherry MX switches. Industry best stick is the Sanwa JLF but if you want the traditional bat top feel of a street fighter cab go with Happ IL competition joysticks. I would recommend the Zero Delay USB Encoder just search for them on ebay there 10 bucks a pop. Less lag then a ipac and dirt cheap plus they will work with a PS3 so you can do a dual cab. You need a special powerstrip like http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Strip-LCG5-Auto-Switching-Technology/dp/B000L9635G you can probably get one cheaper with some googling. If you go with 2 zero delay usb encoders you have a maximum 19 inputs not including joystick thats enough controller space for 8 buttons plus 3 mode buttons which are start select home on a ps3. But you can map them to Player 1 coin and Escape. You should be able to get by with 20 buttons . Most front ends emulators and software let you map whatever buttons you want you only have to use specific buttons if you dont want to have a specific button tied to something. I would recommend Hypserspin for your cabinet front end.

Yes, it has both s-video and component

Something like this cable?
http://www.amazon.com/pin-mini-Component-YPbPr-Adapter/dp/B0042LHBJ6/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1346587551&sr=1-4&keywords=s-video+to+component

Will I really see an improvement using component over the s-video? The TV is 27" if it matters

While that can happen, it's not always an issue. Case in point the Xbox One default controllers are wireless WITH audio and mic even... No lag. All the high quality wireless controllers going back to original Xbox and PS2.

Also, what about the tons of wireless USB keyboard and mice? A mouse has to be accurate and fast, and you would notice bad lag. Not as intensive as a game, but still the technology is flawless for that. Controllers CAN lag but don't HAVE to. The new Retrons use BT and are pretty slick example of BT option.


OP: look up "wireless USB transmitter" (not wireless USB adapter; that'll get you all the wireless internet dongles). You'll find ones like this:

www.amazon.com/Cables-Unlimited-Wireless-Transmitter-Receiver/dp/B0036VNZHA#

Check reviews about lag, pick one of those with your favorite stick!

Understand why you like the model you posed since it's external use, but like many here said to MAME it's a mouse. So why not consider an actual trackball mouse like this: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002Q42S4E/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_yJDSDbNDBWZ8J ?

My cp fits perfectly snug with these clips. Holds it in place nicely.

Rope lights and light strips are great options. For my bartop cab, I got something like this at Home Depot for $10. The light hasn't burned out in 5 years. I even wired a power switch to the outside of the cabinet to turn it on and off.

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.

This is the mount I used . I mounted the "wall" bracket to the shelf where people keep the CRT/LCD. By giving it some distance, I was able to adjust the tilt of the monitor and the position (I moved it higher when I gave up on the idea of playing with bar stools)

VideoSecu Articulating Arm TV LCD Monitor Wall Mount, Full Motion Tilt Swivel and Rotate for Most 15" 17" 19" 20" 22" 23" 24" 26" 27" LED TV Flat Panel Screen with VESA 100, 75 ML12B CB5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003O1UYHG/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_UlR2tb1ZCGZRR27S

EDIT: here is what the back of the dell monitor should look like when you take off desktop stand.

http://phillihp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/40.-mount-dell-4-300x225.jpg

I've heard that if you link to too many free items on Amazon using your affiliate ID, they take away your commission.

So, here's a link to a free Kindle edition of Charles Dickens' classic "A Tale Of Two Cities", using OP's Affiliate ID.

If you think OP should stop taking other people's hard work and trying to make a buck off it, then I invite you to claim your free eBook, using that link. No Amazon commission, no reason to spam.

Don’t have a cab... but this is how I do my computer.

Power Strip

It has always on ports and a port that controls power for the others. When the computer shuts down the other ones turn off after a min or so. The always on port is my usb power hub and the computer goes into the control port.

I was gonna do this on a cab. The switch turns off the computer and the switch takes care of the rest.

Amazon preorder : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Namco-Museum-Mini-Arcade-Electronic/dp/B07L3YYPZN/ref=pd_sim_63_3/261-9002661-5608764?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07L3YYPZN&pd_rd_r=f6079dd6-714f-11e9-9c07-456f1e30d3e2&pd_rd_w=4iGWQ&pd_rd_wg=ygdVC&pf_rd_p=1b8636ae-4f21-4403-a813-e8849dd46de4&pf_rd_r=9H0VN72NZ3PP3333ZHM3&psc=1&refRID=9H0VN72NZ3PP3333ZHM3

My Arcade Namco Museum Collection - Hong Kong Electronics Fair - 2019, April 15

Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvUJHyZ9g7s

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so would something like this work in your opinion.
http://www.amazon.com/APC-P8GT-Power-Saving-SurgeArrest-Protection/dp/B002K8S2J6

I used to have a cab set up that way. Then I got this. http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Strip-4941-Autoswitching-Technology/dp/B000P1QJXQ

It made it much easier, since getting to the regular power strip/outlet/computer power button was a pain. Now I just need to turn on the switch for the cabinet, and go. :)

Sure. Camco Adjustable Drink Holder-... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EDQR4G?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Pricey, but I used this Belkin remote power bar. I simply mounted its remote to the top of my cab, flip the switch, and everything turns on.

I made my own "smart" power strip with this, powered on/off with the PSU, and a short 3 outlet power strip.

https://i.imgur.com/NV0YMQw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SZW0riY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/WlpRZFW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EhrGYh6.jpg?1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002ZZWXI/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1375387790&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

This guy.

I'm in the process of building my own at the moment, and I've decided on using a plumbing/electrical access panel in the bottom of the cab: The one I'm using. There are different sizes depending on your needs.

EDIT: I just realized it might not be immediately apparent to some people what this is. You cut a hole in the wall (or in this case, the bottom of the cabinet) and mount the panel inside. The flanges cover the cut, so it's not a big deal if your cuts aren't that straight. Secure with some construction adhesive. The middle part pops out so that you have access to what's behind.