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my cab

i just started building my cab yesterday. i have a few questions tho. as far as stick support should i get one that plugs directly into the computers usb or should i solder 2 old psx controllers. i'm trying to do this cheap but i want it to work well because i will be incorporating kaillera with it. also should is strictly be mk1 2 and 3? will overloading mame with roms slow the frame rate or the computer in general? so far i have only done the wood cutting. i havent bought the computer. ive heard that u can use windows 98 as the os. that seems odd to me. will 98 be to slow? also do i need an udgraded graphics card? i dont want the game to look to good because i want the old arcade feel..like lines in the screen. also will mame start on bootup? i dont know how to do this. i really dont want to use a keyboard and mouse or track ball. i honestly just want the bare essentials. no coin door. i'm just going to use marble paper instead of paint. i had no idea this could be done so cheaply or be made so expensive. i know theres alot of ways i could do this but i really just want a cheap system and be good enough for kaillera support. i'm not going wireless with my internet. the cab is going to be next to my router so i'm just running an ethernet cable into it. give me some tips guys.
 

iammud

Noob
Don't solder into psx controllers if you're using a PC... Most USB adapters will need to be reconnected every so often. If you do solder directly into the controllers, solder a switch to the +5v on the USB, so you can quickly turn it on and off to reconnect.

I suggest getting a keyboard encoder. I have a topic that covers these http://classicmk.com/index.php?topic=803.0

If you want MK, the latest and greatest is the only way to get it near perfect. If you don't mind sound glitches, anything that's 3000+/2ghz+ w/ 512-1024mb of ram should be enough for a good setup, just not perfect. You can tweak mk to run on a lot of different types of computers, but those are the minimum I'd go with for decent online.

You do not need a real fancy graphics card, unless you intend on running 3d emus that support 3d acceleration, like zinc. However, if you plan to use a real arcade monitor, you will need a video card that's modified for 15khz output. I suggest Ultimarc's arcade vga (once again, it's in the link above).

If you're not really a carpenter, and just trying to throw a cabinet together, look into purchasing one. Cabinets are a lot easier to get than most people think. Craigslist is a great place to score them, you just have to look everyday, and act fast. I'm a big fan of midway sports cabs, cause you can usually find them for cheap with no pcb, and 25" 15khz monitor. Plus they have a huge control panel that you can patch up (with wood filler) and build a nice 4 player control panel, or have plenty of space for a 2 player.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I'm obsessed with arcade shit, so...
 

iammud

Noob
The dashboard is the easy part, unless you want hypserspin, then you need uhm; I'll have to get back to you on that, I forget.

Though, I've never used maximus, mamewah is my preference. I'm going to guess that if you can run flash 8, you can run maximus...
 
the reason i want maximus is because i believe it comes preloaded with roms. i could be wrong tho. i kn o it has custom intros and skins which i really like
 

iammud

Noob
any front end can be found packaged with roms, likely none of them will be found packaged with roms by the developer.

if I were you, I'd go with hyperspin, as it's the snazziest of the bunch