It has been said already, but arcade games look better on an arcade monitor. There is no comparison. I built a MAME rig for a buddy of mine using one of the best LCD monitors you can get and it pales in comparison to mine running on a 30 year old Sanyo EZ20. He is already regretting not going the CRT route. That said, using an arcade monitor is not for the feint of heart.

If you really want plug and play, find a JAMMA cabinet. Most games after say 1989 and later are Jamma. That way you can just buy a 60-in-1 card and plug it in.

The great thing about Jamma cabs and games is that usually they can be found cheap and working. Unless you like fighting games most jamma games kind of suck so the price usually reflects that. If you can find a Dynamo cabinet, that is ideal as a lot of them have easy front panel access, they also allow easy rotation of the monitor. I found a great condition Dynamo cab with a beautiful 25" monitor for $100. It worked great as a multicade. I have since restored a Donkey Kong cab and use Mame in that.

Yes, pretty much. Just do a search for Dynamo arcade cabinet and that should give you a good start. The seem to pop up on CL all of the time around here with some sort of Street Fighter in them. What is nice though if you go the iCade route, just rotate the monitor and boom, you are playing.

Just make sure you see the monitor working before you buy it and that it has a nice, bright and clear picture. Monitor repair work is pretty easy, but if you don't like soldering then make sure you get a working one

Those spinners are nice, but if you are just looking for a Tempest style, the Oscar Vortex is an awesome spinner. I just sold mine off not too long ago as I don't have need for it anymore.

Not really, I have only been into it for about 2 years I just did my research and found one for sale on BYOAC. I was going to use it for a MultiVector setup with my Space Duel, but I got tired of waiting and decided pinball was a better way to fill the space in my home office I still have the DK though

Vector games are one thing that loses a lot in translation to MAME. You just can't beat the look of a tuned in vector monitor. They are hypnotic. I play Tempest or Space Duel on MAME and even though the gameplay is the same, the visual experience was a big part of those games. That is why I really had high hopes for the Multi Vector card that Clay Cowgil is working on, but it looks like it is a year or two out still.

That Jamma adapter from mike doesn't work very well, and I speak from experience. Converting to Jamma is pretty easy. You just buy a new harness ($15) and then buy a switching power supply to power it. Now, if you buy a Nintendo cab and it has a Sanyo EZ-20 in it, you will have to have a color inverter installed as those monitors worked a different way. A lot of them have it installed already, but some do not.

I know that may be confusing, just something to look out for if you are buying a Nintendo cab (DK, Popeye, etc)

baltimore.craigslist.org link

I don't know where in Maryland Gaithersburg is, but just looking at the CL up in that area there are a ton of decent Jamma cabs for a good price. If the monitor is horizontal, it probably could be modified with a little work to go vertical.

I honestly don't know about the black bar thing on a 25" monitor. I don't know if the 60-in-1 cards have the option to display like that. Somebody else may be able to chime in.

Besides the Mortal Kombat (midway) cabinets, a lot of 90's jamma cabs were some sort of generic cab or some kind of conversion, so it is hard to tell what you can do without seeing them in person.

Ya, Dynamo's rock. I love the slide out board. The HS-9 is the one I have. I had it in a vertical orientation for a while and it was awesome playing the classics like Galaga and the like on a 25" monitor. It is now on location at a friends boardgame store as a Marvel Vs. Capcom

I agree that the ArcadeSD is a great product, it is just pricey. The 60 - in -1 emulation is spotty at best, but most game people actually play (DK, Galaga) are emulated fairly well. Others like Scramble, Rally -X, not so much.

Just if you don't mind, please don't murder a classic dedicated cab for a 60 - in - 1 unless you leave all of the changes reversible. Like I said before, there are few dedicated jamma cabs from the 90's but anything from the 80's is going to be dedicated for the most part. I know this is coming form a guy that has MAME in a DK, but I made sure everything I did was reversible back to original. I know some people don't care, but it is like taking a nice Funhouse and ripping out the guts and putting a virtual pin in it.

That is what I am using, and while it works great, there is A LOT of setup involved here.

Most 60 in 1's I build I first fully restore as dedicated games cosmetically, but I rip out all the guts and save them for other future restorations. I then install a new switching or ATX power supply in the cab, wire in a new jamma harness and install a compatible monitor, be it CRT (preferred) or LCD (adequate). Then just plug in your 48, 60 or whatever in 1 board and go. I've never built a MAME machine, and have no desire to. If you seek better emulation, as mentioned, the Arcade SD board is the way to go. But if close enough is good enough for you, the 60 in 1's work just fine. Here are a couple I've built:

Those are tastfully done, good job!

This is my DK below. Custom CP and CP graphics. Also a link to the project thread I made for it. As you can see it was in rough shape when I got it

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,122364.0.html

DK1.jpg

If it is a Dynamo, don't worry about the screen as you can rotate it easily in those. I think all of them aside from the shocase support monitor rotation.

You could also find a Japanese Candy Cab with a 29" monitor

That is an HS-9 which I have. It is a great cabinet. I think it is only 25" wide if I remember right. Yes the 25" monitor will work great. That is a plug and play system there. Just buy the 60-in-1 and plug it in and you are playing. You could probably recoup the money by selling the existing PCB and artwork.

....also if you just happen to get that particular machine I would be interested in buying the Varth PCB and art kit from you.

No worries. I feel pretty dumb when I am asking about pinball related stuff, it is a new world for me

Well that is a Jamma card so theoretically you can put any Jamma board in that cab and play it provided you have the right controls.

Technically yes. That kit is pretty much what we were talking about when converting a cab. That just gives you all of the pieces to do it.

*deleted because I can't read*