Planning
My planning began with searching the internet for sites which dealt with creating Mame cabinets.
After a bit of searching I finally found the Holy Grail here. If you plan to build your own Mame
machine read this site thoroughly. Regardless of which path you will take plan on spending more than
you anticipate.
After a bit of searching I finally found the Holy Grail here. If you plan to build your own Mame
machine read this site thoroughly. Regardless of which path you will take plan on spending more than
you anticipate.
Cabinet
The first thing that you must decide is whether you will convert an existing cabinet or build your
own. I chose to convert since I already had a cabinet. If you want to look into building your own
cabinet check out Lusid's excellent site. Actually you should check out his site even if you are going
to convert an existing cabinet. It is one of the best sites out there. He has plans that you can
download. His word templates for joysticks and buttons were excellent.
own. I chose to convert since I already had a cabinet. If you want to look into building your own
cabinet check out Lusid's excellent site. Actually you should check out his site even if you are going
to convert an existing cabinet. It is one of the best sites out there. He has plans that you can
download. His word templates for joysticks and buttons were excellent.
Computer
Next, you must decide on the specs of your computer. You don't need the fastest video card and
sound card for Mame. But CPU is important though. Determine what types of games you want to play
and then determine your CPU. If you only want to play the classics (Pac-Man, Frogger, Dig-Dug
etc...) almost anything half decent will do . I would go with at least a 200Mhz CPU. If you want to
play the more recent games (Mortal Kombat III, NBA Hangtime, Street Fighter 3 etc...) plan on
getting at least a 900Mhz CPU. I wanted to be able to play almost everything so I compromised on a
700Mhz Pentium III. I went with a PIII because I had a Soyo 6BA+ III motherboard (I have 2 of
these MB's and they are incredibly reliable and stable even overclocked). If I were doing it from
scratch I would go with an AMD Athlon. Probably a 1.2 Ghz. AMD's offer much better bang for the
buck. I also decided to go with a TV rather than an arcade monitor or a computer monitor. I decided
on the TV for a more authentic feel. Mame games on computer monitors look "too good". TV's look
more like the original. Also, a 27" TV costs as much as a 19" monitor. For video card I went with a
Radeon VE. They are considered to have the best S-Video out. For sound card I went with the
SoundBlaster Live! 5.1. This too was overkill but I wanted to use the Mame machine as an MP3
jukebox as well. Here is a summary of my computer:
sound card for Mame. But CPU is important though. Determine what types of games you want to play
and then determine your CPU. If you only want to play the classics (Pac-Man, Frogger, Dig-Dug
etc...) almost anything half decent will do . I would go with at least a 200Mhz CPU. If you want to
play the more recent games (Mortal Kombat III, NBA Hangtime, Street Fighter 3 etc...) plan on
getting at least a 900Mhz CPU. I wanted to be able to play almost everything so I compromised on a
700Mhz Pentium III. I went with a PIII because I had a Soyo 6BA+ III motherboard (I have 2 of
these MB's and they are incredibly reliable and stable even overclocked). If I were doing it from
scratch I would go with an AMD Athlon. Probably a 1.2 Ghz. AMD's offer much better bang for the
buck. I also decided to go with a TV rather than an arcade monitor or a computer monitor. I decided
on the TV for a more authentic feel. Mame games on computer monitors look "too good". TV's look
more like the original. Also, a 27" TV costs as much as a 19" monitor. For video card I went with a
Radeon VE. They are considered to have the best S-Video out. For sound card I went with the
SoundBlaster Live! 5.1. This too was overkill but I wanted to use the Mame machine as an MP3
jukebox as well. Here is a summary of my computer:
| Motherboard |
| Soyo 6BA+III BX chipset |
| CPU |
| Intel PIII-700 Mhz |
| Power Supply |
| Enermax 350 Watt |
| Video Card |
| ATI Radeon VE |
| Soundcard |
| Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 |
| Display |
| Toshiba 27A41 |
| Keyboard |
| Logitech Wireless iTouch |
| Network Card |
| Linksys NC100 |
| Mouse |
| Trackball connected to serial port |
Control Panel
In my opinion the control panel can make or break your Mame cabinet. It is the centerpiece of your
system. Here too you must make some preliminary decisions. First you must decide on whether you
want to use a metal or wood control panel. Wood is obviously easier to work with. I wouldn't
recommend using metal unless you either have one already or you have experience working with metal.
Other decisions that you need to make are types of controls. Do you want just joysticks? Do you
want a 4-way joystick (useful for Pac-Man and other games)? How about trackballs and/or spinners?
system. Here too you must make some preliminary decisions. First you must decide on whether you
want to use a metal or wood control panel. Wood is obviously easier to work with. I wouldn't
recommend using metal unless you either have one already or you have experience working with metal.
Other decisions that you need to make are types of controls. Do you want just joysticks? Do you
want a 4-way joystick (useful for Pac-Man and other games)? How about trackballs and/or spinners?
Questions or comments? Email me dinotheo@yahoo.com
| This computer has since been upgraded |