No idea, but I think you are wrong about building one cheaper at this point in time.

Old i5 computer - $100
GTX 1050/1060 graphics - $250
Cabinet - $100 (old EM or trashed SS)
2 HD TVs - $250 each for about 40 inchers - $500
Ipac / buttons - $150

Total ~ $1,100

Not included is of course your time and learning curve. I've been finding VPX to be pretty straight forward for the most part. Have quite a few tables running.
PinballX for front end is the next step.

I'd imagine the computer in question is on lockdown.

Good luck.

I’m going to guess that you haven’t built a virtual pin from scratch and have no idea the amount of effort that goes into building one of these machines. 2k for a virtual pin is a great price. This picture doesn’t look like an old thrashed EM cabinet. You didn’t include cabinet graphics, that’s another ~$200 or a sound system. If it’s a new cabinet then you’d need to include legs, lockdown bar, glass, backbox hinges, coindoor. I could go on.

Where are these for sale at that price?

You are correct, I have not built one yet. Merely stating it could probably be done for less.
I was including the legs, lockdown bar, glass, etc as it would come with a cab.

I didn't mean to upset anyone, just offering opinions; apparently, mine smells.

How’s that for a glowing endorsement

That does seem like a good price. I would go back and kick the tires and look under the hood. That should probably answer your questions.

You know what, you’ve got me thinking about it now. Where did you say they were at

I get bothered by the “how hard could it be?” Posts. Because these are pretty hard to get working well. If the PC can be updated then I wouldn’t worry too much about it being a little buggy. If your up to the challenge then this might have the possibility of being pretty great, depending on what the actual components are. Building the machine is 80% of the work. Software can a challenge depending on your computer skills.

I have built one from scratch. Sold it a couple years ago though. Here’s my build thread.
http://hyperspin-fe.com/forums/topic/2340-mortal-pinball-kombat-a-build-thread/

No, I get that. Many times people (myself included ) will expect miracles from barely basic skills and slap job tools. I think you make fair comments.

I took a look at your build from 5 years ago. That was pretty serious! I particularly like the rod face plate idea!

From my planning stage I've found that a standard cab will fit within 1/8 inch of a nice 40" tv running at $250. So looking back to you, you used a wide body, and tvs were a little more too. Not to mention that now the bezels can/mus stay on, so no decasing.

I by no means think building one is a walk in the park, but I think with VPX and tvs the job has become easier.

Of course I'm cool with a retro looking cabinet so I don't need decals, but I clearly see your point. Fit and finish levels vary from person to person.

Back to topic OP! Sorry for the derail.

I started with just the computer and graphics card to try out the program. I liked it enough to hook up an old tv for the playfield and used my monitor as the backglass.

Then I bought 2 more real pins so I'm stalled.

If you start slow the worst that happens is you've upgraded your computer or have another computer. Better than spending 2k in my opinion.

I like the virtual to play around with, but it's not pinball.

You're on the right track though, have the store demonstrate the machine for you, while others are in the store

I have a Virtual cab that I bought from VPCabs. It was my re-introduction to pinball. I had built a MAME cabinet, but at the time, visual pinball and future pinball were very difficult to install and not user friendly. Saw and played a VPCab at a show and bought one. Still love it. I don't have access to many public games so this allows me to play all the classic (over 400 in my cab). The software has gotten so much easier to work with. I now mod a lot of the games myself. I like to add music to the EM's and early SS games. My kids love to play Fast Draw with Will Smith and Kool Mo Dee versions of Wild Wild West. Yeah, its not the real thing, but they are getting closer and closer. Plus, I can play Kingpin, King Kong, and BBB without mortgaging my home. My cab has the full force feedback, lights, shaker, and nudging. Not a fan of th FX2 games, personally, but now there is software to add force feedback to those too. Anyhow, it's a good thing to have if you don't have location pinball like me. Also, my kids really love it.

You’d think they’d install WiFi in the store to demonstrate the machines. Just a big paperweight to look at without games working.

When I sold my machine I said to myself that the software wasn’t quite where I’d hoped it to be and I’d want my next virtual pin to have a 4K screen for the playfield.

If The Pinball Arcade software worked well in a cabinet it would be much more desirable. VP9 wasn’t as user friendly as I’d liked. But honestly I haven’t used the software in years, so it could be much better now.

I like it...

3 things I noticed about virtual pins.

1) I became a bit of a pinball snob. My machine had over 125 real pin games and eventually I settled into a handful that I enjoyed. AFM, LOTR, TSPP, BBB, most of the usual top rated games and some unique oddball lesser rated ones like D&D, No Fear, GnR, ect. Some games like Big Ban Bar I will (probably) never see or own in real life so that’s cool. BUT there’s A LOT of games that I’ll just walk past if I see them in the wild. I’ve played them a bunch and I don’t enjoy them that much. I don’t care to own them ever. Now I know what I really like in a pinball machine, and I don’t have much time for the rest. I’ll still play games that are new to me (there’s still lots of old games that I haven’t tried) but most of the “Top 300” have no appeal to me. Currently I own GoT pre and Bally Beat the clock. I almost never play beat the clock anymore, but GoT checks a lot of boxes with features that I like in a game.

2) virtual pins are The Best for games like FX pinball. Some of the “computer world” games are really fun and it wold be impossible to recreate them in the real world. I had a lot of fun with Epic Quest by Zen pinball, but that game would never work in the real world. It’s just not the same playing these titles on my iPad. They’re fun but not the same.

3) when I got Rid of my virtual pin people were starting to do pinball with a virtual reality headset. The videos that I watched about this were really promising looking, but I’ve never tried it. If the software has improved enough to be user friendly then it might be better to just build a pedestal of the front 1/3 of the cabinet. As long as your hands are in the right place while your standing at a game then it should be fantastic. If you really cared you could also mount a vertical tv on the wall so that others could watch along. A virtual cabinet will not be able to recreate 3D as well as a VR headset.

Just my 2 cents.

I own 4 real pins and a Virtual cab. The real pins are better, because they are real. But, with the virtual pin I can play Star trek, walking dead, awesome future pinball and visual pinball original games, and tons more classic real games. With force feedback, when I hit the flippers I feel them snap, the solenoids fire with the pops and drop targets, etc. It's not real, but close enough. Otherwise I have an hour drive to location play with limited machines in various condition. And, the virtual tables never break or have a light go out or solenoid burn out. If you have the space and money, then go real, all day long. With limitations on both, virtual is a good option. I've thought about selling mine, but then realize, I'll never have that variety again. Yeah, I could emulate them on my MAME cab, but not the same as my VPCab. But, with your 2,000 to 3,000 budget, you'd be getting a low end commercial virtual cab. So, with that said, look at a system 11 or low end early DMD game.

FYI, check out VPCabs Vertigo model. Looks pretty cool and cheaper than my version.