This is the cabinet PC page

Running MAME requires a PC (or Mac, but why would you waste a Mac in a cabinet?). You can find versions of MAME that run on DOS, Windows, and Linux.

The first PC

A year or so ago, I had purchased a mini-ITX kit (motherboard, CPU, RAM) to build a mini PC for my garage. Since this was available and had built-in TV-out video, I decided to use it. For a $200 PC, it worked out well during the four months that it served as the basis for the cabinet.

Mini-ITX motherboard

 

The current PC

Overall, it worked well, but there were several small issues that lead me to replace it with something more powerful. Be aware that the "minimum" requirements for running MAME will get you the oldest of the classics running full speed, but not much else. When I started playing a few more "modern" games, the mini-itx had a hard time keeping up, and there were occasional frame freezes and the sound synchronization got further and further off. This was annoying, so I moved on

The current PC

Since the mini-itx board couldn't keep up, I decided to purchase a new barer bones kit and use it as the "guts" of the cabinet. The new PC has a 2.66 GHz Celeron and 512 MB RAM. It is running an inexpensive GEForce board that supports TV out and is using the on-board sound to drive the speakers.

 

Small form-factor case

 

Although I originally thought it was cooler to have the motherboard and other components exposed and attached to the cabinet, like the original arcade PCBs were, I've since changed my mind. Having an actual case inside the cabinet keeps all the PC components neatly packaged. Also, the design of a case is biased towards good airflow (the power supply fan draws cool air into the case before venting it out the back) which seems like something that might be important. The inside of my cabinet is usually warmer than the air in the room.

 

Hiding Windows

I have mostly hidden Windows, which is a GoodThing®. There are a lot of sites out there with information on doing this, so I won't go into the details, but here are the essentials:

• Edit your cursor to be one pixel, or completely transparent
• Configure Windows to start without asking for a password/user
• Use a boot screen modification tool to load a custom (MAME-themed) boot screen
• Set the desktop background to black, hide the taskbar, and remove all icons from the desktop
• Configure the Windows shell to launch your front end immediately on startup

On to the Interface options page.