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Do you think this is worth it? pittsburgh.craigslist.org/sys/5685236524.html I'm not sure. Especially since it's used. Paying that much for a used PC probably isn't that cost effective for the situation anyway.
That's nearly identical to the setup I use personally... as for the price... at $200 I'd say buy it but at $300 you'd be better off just building it from new parts.
 
I just traded a Intel 1151 3.5ghz dual core G4500, Asus H110 mobo, with 8GB of DDR4 2100mhz ram and a Crossair 650Watt PSU...
For something worth about 300$ ~ 350$ in value.

Maybe I just give too good a deal, but that guy is super over priced at 300$ IMO.
 
I keep getting mixed signals if I should go with CRT or LCD. That's ok though. The different dialogue has been thought provoking for me. It might actually be better if I went with LCD though. Plug and play with VGA sounds ideal, especially if I end up getting that DVD drive to play Namco System 256 games.

Speaking of the PC build, if you think I should go with the Pentium, what kind of motherboard do you think I should go with? I don't want to build an expensive PC though. If there's a way to do it without breaking the bank, I'd love to.
 
I keep getting mixed signals if I should go with CRT or LCD.
In terms of image quality, accuracy, and authenticity I don't think there is any debate that CRT is the better option.

LCD is more convenient, it's just a matter of how much image quality you're willing to sacrifice for convince, and at what cost.

Personally, if you're going to game on an LCD then I think it's seriously worth considering the point of putting it in a cabinet. why not just use the big LCD screen you've already got, buy a couple of fight sticks, and run them to a MAME PC (or run your Sys256 through a Supergun)?
 
The arcade "feeling" of a cabinet is more important to me than image quality, honestly. I would prefer a CRT but if all my needs can be met with an LCD instead, I could go that route.

Order of importance to me:
1. Being able to play MAME, late 90s-early 2000's arcade games, Namco System 256, and maybe NAOMI.
2. The arcade "feeling"
3. Two-player capability of MAME games
4. Affordability
5. Future Namco System 357 capability
6. Image quality

Honestly, a perfect image would be great but it's not all that important to me.
 
It's more than image quality, it also effects gameplay in terms of both lag and gameplay speed (usually sped up to accommodate games running below the 60Hz threshold of your LCD).

Also keep in mind that you wont find a 4:3 LCD screen larger than 19" so if you go with a 16:9 (widescreen) LCD everything made before ~2008ish will be either stretched out or have black bars. and you'll need a significantly larger screen to have the same visible area as a comparable 4:3 display.

For instance you'd need to have a 24" widescreen LCD to have the same visible area as 19" 4:3 LCD.

if you want an LCD that is compatible in size to the 27" CRTs found in Candy cabs then you'll need a 32" LCD. Most of the people in this thread who are running LCD arcade cabs spent nearly $2000 on a low-lag gaming grade LCD. So while you CAN find cheap LCDs a better question is how much are you willing to spend on an LCD vs the quality (in terms of both game play and graphically) of the result.
 
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I like my Kraylix cab but I think once I figure out how to squeeze a few more cabs in my game room I'll be relegating it to LCD only games and building another Hyperspin setup in either a Blast or Net City for everything else.
 
The arcade "feeling" of a cabinet is more important to me than image quality, honestly. I would prefer a CRT but if all my needs can be met with an LCD instead, I could go that route.

Order of importance to me:
1. Being able to play MAME, late 90s-early 2000's arcade games, Namco System 256, and maybe NAOMI.
2. The arcade "feeling"
3. Two-player capability of MAME games
4. Affordability
5. Future Namco System 357 capability
6. Image quality

Honestly, a perfect image would be great but it's not all that important to me.
prefabricated cabinet, an LCD screen and a computer.
 
The arcade "feeling" of a cabinet is more important to me than image quality, honestly. I would prefer a CRT but if all my needs can be met with an LCD instead, I could go that route.

Order of importance to me:
1. Being able to play MAME, late 90s-early 2000's arcade games, Namco System 256, and maybe NAOMI.
2. The arcade "feeling"
3. Two-player capability of MAME games
4. Affordability
5. Future Namco System 357 capability
6. Image quality

Honestly, a perfect image would be great but it's not all that important to me.
prefabricated cabinet, an LCD screen and a computer.
By prefab cabinet, you mean like a Kraylix or one of those pre-made cabs that you stick LCD's into?
 
for me is image quality first..

Modern/PC or none sprites - LCD followed by a Vewlix
Sprites 15hz-31hz - CRT follow by Dynamo, candy possibilities are endless.

I start with MAME on PC CRT, Mame on CRT TV, MAME on CRT arcade monitor only, MAME on professional broadcast monitors, MAME on a cab with CRT arcade monitor..

Them MAME on an LCD only, which did not like, MAME on LCD did not like, MAME on the kraylix slim and LCD which I did not like.. All that had to do with picture quality.

As crazy as this sounds those expensive monitor on the Viewlix is the way to go if you care about picture quality and arcade felling on modern gaming staff:)
 
The arcade "feeling" of a cabinet is more important to me than image quality, honestly. I would prefer a CRT but if all my needs can be met with an LCD instead, I could go that route.

Order of importance to me:
1. Being able to play MAME, late 90s-early 2000's arcade games, Namco System 256, and maybe NAOMI.
2. The arcade "feeling"
3. Two-player capability of MAME games
4. Affordability
5. Future Namco System 357 capability
6. Image quality

Honestly, a perfect image would be great but it's not all that important to me.
prefabricated cabinet, an LCD screen and a computer.
By prefab cabinet, you mean like a Kraylix or one of those pre-made cabs that you stick LCD's into?
yeah, you're only limited by your budget on the pc.
 
Stick with going for the CRT cab plan. Since your top priority is MAME, nothing is more important for getting MAME running than a nice CRT cab. You can run MAME on an LCD, then use HLSL scanline emulation, but you'll need a good PC with a fairly beefy CPU to do that. No need for that plus it doesn't look the same. Go with the most authentic experience possible. Go with a CRT SF2 Style cab. Get your feet wet. That will let you know what you are up against. You can add other systems or upgrade cabs later. You can also add systems with some manual switching so you don't over-complicate the process for yourself; run a JAMMA extension cable to each system board as needed. Keeps it simple, keeps it cheap. Lots of ppl do this. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Nothing in your list of desired games that you want to play screams out "I was designed to be played on an LCD, damnit!". So go with a CRT and get your feet wet by getting MAME to run on it. Keep in mind, you are speaking to a bunch of arcade snobs here. That is like telling a wine snob that you have a date and want to impress by getting a good bottle of wine at Safeway. The wine snob will tell you, "Are you out of your mind?" You've been hit with a little elitism so I can see why you are confused a bit. Some of us totally scoff at MAME and emulation. Personally, I just graduated from that scene a few short months ago. I still have some roots with emulation. Even given what I know now, if I were to build a MAME cab, I am going with a CRT cab. Actually, many of the project cabs I have sitting around will end up being MAME CRT cabs so I can clear some stock. In my area, Craigslist is littered with LCD conversions for MAME that sit for months without selling. And no doubt, if you asked all of the folks on this board if they were to build a MAME cab to play games up through the 90's and with the only condition being to get the most authentic experience possible, would they go with CRT or LCD? CRT would get 100% of all the votes.

This one is an easy choice.
 
"That is like telling a wine snob that you have a date and want to impress by getting a good bottle of wine at Safeway." Funny that you said that.. I went to a wine place and the person recommended a wine that costed me $200.. tried it and did not like it.. I and my girl went to Olive Garden and they offered us a wine sample.. I asked what it was..the person said "Reunite Lambrosio".. I hunted that wine down and found it at Walmart and Gaint.. The biggest bottle cost a whooping $15.. Great wine with Food and snack. give it a try just for giggles, Disclaimer - I am not a wine drinker nor do I drink alcohol or beer... I am a cheap date:)
 
Disclaimer - I am not a wine drinker nor do I drink alcohol or beer... I am a cheap date:)
You wouldn't happen to have a sister would you? :P
I do but she is happily married with my best friend since High School.. High School kids approach my sister all the time and the husband gets a kick out of it.. He just listens and smiles.

How did we get from a Disclaimer to having a sister question?
 
A terrible question to ask...is there a feasible way to hook up a PS VITA TV to an arcade cabinet? haha

So if you guys believe CRT is necessary for arcade gaming and if I believe that I need to get MAME running so I don't have to buy PCB's then middle ground is what I should look for.

Instead of paying like 1600-2000 for a fully loaded cab, is there a way I can get a rough cab for 150-300 and then get the PC going to that? I also need to consider the Namco System 256 Drive that I want too. I'm actually considering getting the drive first and then hooking that up to my gaming PC so I can play it until I get a cab.
 
Around here 150$ isn't going to get you a cab with a monitor.
You might find the body/coin door/control panel for that.

Your tastes (JVS boards and MAME PCs) screams LCD screen and not CRT.
Also, no offence... but I really don't think you have what it takes to maintain/work with a CRT.

It's a pain to use CRT emudriver, you can't use modern Windows 8/10 64-bit UEFI installs with a setup like that.
To get it working I had to resort to using WinXP, screw that noise! *mumbling*outdatedtrashosfrom13yearsago*mumbling*

Next, the actual operation of the CRT, will at least require you to pull the tube and chassis at some point.
Go ahead and watch the Youtube videos now... Make sure you're comfortable doing some of these things before buying!
 
real cabs are heavy as shit, fragile like an egg and high maintenance. But damn does it look cool to turn them on in a row.
 
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