Build your own MAME bar-top arcade cabinet under 100 dollars

Posted on Jul 1, 2008 03:29:41 PM

Segment from Hak5 1×04 - Sick of those n00b arcades at the local pizza shop? Wess builds a MAME bar-top arcade cabinet for under 100 dollars.

By: Hak5Darren

Rating:

Viewed: 11364 times

Tags: arcade cabinet hak5 mod

Length: 07:34

Comments

  1. December 24, 2008 01:01 am
    pacboy24

    dood ill just pay the you 100 dollars to build me one =P

  2. February 5, 2009 06:33 pm
    cyberjedi13

    i know im ive been working on mine for a while now X ] just the “mame” program is hard to get running

  3. February 20, 2009 03:38 pm
    lordcycle

    that cabniet looks like garbage.

  4. February 22, 2009 01:10 am
    Geo63

    Act Labs sells really good ones…

  5. February 23, 2009 01:24 pm
    IRONMAIDENFAN2006

    is it nesecary to do act so stupid? i mean just show us how to build it and leave out the cheesy shit

  6. March 1, 2009 02:14 pm
    helliott123

    that one guy isn’t doing a very good disguising the fact that he is balding. embrace it and shave it

  7. March 5, 2009 05:53 pm
    emeryDH

    That’s not bad for $100!,but as far as hacking a game pad its not fun just go with the ipac instead.The problem with this cabinet it that their is no room to rest your hands on,he should of made it with more room.

  8. April 1, 2009 02:13 am
    pelo0412

    Bad presentation … Bad cabinet..

  9. April 1, 2009 02:13 am
    pelo0412

    Bad presentation … Bad cabinet..

  10. April 7, 2009 02:20 am
    roboticwerewolf

    oh yeah, duke nukem.

  11. April 7, 2009 02:20 am
    roboticwerewolf

    oh yeah, duke nukem.

  12. April 7, 2009 09:26 pm
    trev198

    dude 2 days ago i was walking home and i decided to get a drink in panera, so i got my drink and when i came back out i found a 50 two 20s and a 5 crinkled up on the sidewalk

  13. April 7, 2009 09:26 pm
    trev198

    dude 2 days ago i was walking home and i decided to get a drink in panera, so i got my drink and when i came back out i found a 50 two 20s and a 5 crinkled up on the sidewalk

  14. April 8, 2009 12:23 am
    stage4turbo

    so? who the fuck cares?

  15. April 8, 2009 12:23 am
    stage4turbo

    so? who the fuck cares?

  16. April 28, 2009 11:46 am
    Phillies64

    awesome! what’d you do with it?

  17. April 28, 2009 11:46 am
    Phillies64

    awesome! what’d you do with it?

  18. April 28, 2009 11:46 am
    Phillies64

    awesome! what’d you do with it?

  19. May 3, 2009 11:55 pm
    CUTWEST

    X-Arcade is GARBAGE! stay away from those.

  20. May 3, 2009 11:55 pm
    CUTWEST

    X-Arcade is GARBAGE! stay away from those.

  21. May 9, 2009 10:19 pm
    hayabusafmw

    parts are cheap
    the PANEL SUCKS
    use the parts…..

  22. May 9, 2009 10:19 pm
    hayabusafmw

    parts are cheapthe PANEL SUCKSuse the parts…..

  23. May 18, 2009 12:11 am
    DJTEVAdotCOM

    x arcade controllers makes easy but there are major bugs…it works …aometimes it doesnt

  24. May 18, 2009 12:11 am
    DJTEVAdotCOM

    x arcade controllers makes easy but there are major bugs…it works …aometimes it doesnt

  25. May 21, 2009 12:57 pm
    Alansr10

    that hacked controller is a white phillips computer controllr. ive hacked it too. and its a piece of shit. best one to hack is logitech.

  26. May 21, 2009 12:57 pm
    Alansr10

    that hacked controller is a white phillips computer controllr. ive hacked it too. and its a piece of shit. best one to hack is logitech.

  27. June 1, 2009 08:50 pm
    matacks

    Thanks for the info on building control decks. Im gonna try this with a few extra genesis 6 button controllers. They’re hooked to the PC through usb adapters. I have the genesis 6 button arcade pad but, I just don’t think the joystick feels authentic enough for Mrs pacman..

  28. June 1, 2009 08:50 pm
    matacks

    Thanks for the info on building control decks. Im gonna try this with a few extra genesis 6 button controllers. They’re hooked to the PC through usb adapters. I have the genesis 6 button arcade pad but, I just don’t think the joystick feels authentic enough for Mrs pacman..

  29. June 29, 2009 01:33 am
    DyingIsFunny

    x arcade’s parts are shit for thier price, you should’ve gotten some sanwa or happ parts

  30. June 30, 2009 12:27 pm
    wimthuiswerker

    awesome! you did a fine job!

  31. July 7, 2009 02:48 pm
    hornpipe2

    Oh god, marble contact shelf paper.

  32. July 10, 2009 01:19 pm
    Bufa491us

    im gonna build an arcade box that hold game consoles inside, & TV for gameplay

  33. July 19, 2009 12:50 pm
    smenkinsa

    I WANT AN ARCADE IN MY BASEMENT!!!

  34. July 20, 2009 05:45 pm
    jslime

    wow that is just painful to look at.

  35. July 27, 2009 12:13 pm
    Alansr10

    no. he said he had some USB game pads to look at. and i hacked a snes controller before. it dont look like that.

  36. July 27, 2009 09:09 pm
    meplayvgalot

    i went on x arcade and it was 40 bucks!! wtf.

  37. August 10, 2009 12:03 pm
    nastyguard007

    This video was made more than a year a go, so my guess is, that the special offer is long over…

  38. August 13, 2009 01:14 am
    bogart266

    x-arcade parts are really not that good… if you want an American style arcade stick you should stick to happ, it costs more but it’s worth it.

  39. August 13, 2009 11:03 pm
    roboticsboy

    lol damn it paint

  40. August 23, 2009 10:08 pm
    mchief117

    wow this video was tastefully corny. if that makes any sense.

  41. September 10, 2009 01:46 am
    ZcultmanZ

    hey bro. how do you hack a ps2 controller? can anyone tell me

  42. October 3, 2009 07:43 pm
    UltraHaxor

    I’m starting to build my own… I’m working on the side panel measurements. (Kind of difficult).And by the way… The “n00b” arcade machine at my pizza resteraunt is an original Centipede arcade machine. :-P

  43. October 12, 2009 04:04 am
    robdun

    cool mine is a original packman arcade machine.

  44. October 12, 2009 04:05 am
    robdun

    too bad there is almost no more arcades.

  45. October 12, 2009 05:45 pm
    lucirz

    what program did you use on the computer to make the design model?

  46. November 10, 2009 03:46 pm
    yieiuu2

    It’s really sucky. I can’t even play new fighting games anymore because I don’t use consoles.

  47. November 14, 2009 05:29 pm
    Otaru94

    that guy!!..the one on the left, the one that was sitting on the couch….he has the exact same controller as me!!!…thats a kool coinsidence!!!….LOL…..

  48. November 27, 2009 09:27 pm
    shabulia

    My compliments. My arcade is going to be much more expensive but your video has been quite informative. Thanks a lot, man.

  49. December 4, 2009 12:46 pm
    ISniffDirtyPanties

    STUPID VIDEO GAMES, hot chiks dirty panties are way better and cheaper!

  50. December 5, 2009 10:03 pm
    pyroandice

    I’m using an I-Pac now but if I use the USB controller how will Mame see the two controllers (a controller for player 1 and another controller for player 2) If I push “up” on player 1 will mame have in setup mode a way to see that it’s not player 2 pushing “up”?

  51. December 7, 2009 10:10 pm
    jedistormtroop

    fucking plexiglass is a really hard one to cut so it takes some practice

  52. December 10, 2009 01:29 am
    rediance

    instead of donating money to schools for the save the music crap that kids are just gonna end up failing.. we should donate money for people to make more arcades for us to enjoy!..

  53. December 13, 2009 01:55 pm
    Aiden1337

    It really doesnt recognize by controller, but rather by button. you would simply just map your buttons out but player 1 on one controller and player 2 on the other (start, coin, up, down, left, right, buttons 1 2 3 4 5 6..). it works out just fine

  54. December 21, 2009 06:15 am
    matsu1000

    sweeeeet..i’ll build my own with sanwa joys and buttons:)(i wish)

  55. December 21, 2009 01:11 pm
    uhfnutbar1

    sucks

  56. December 21, 2009 05:48 pm
    Idlevice

    @pyroandice either 1 of 2 things; your computer will be able to tell 2 usb controllers apart and mame just needs to be configured to accept that. Alternatively, use xpadder to map the 2 controllers to different keystrokes on a virtual keyboard (say, the directional buttons for p1 and wsad for p2) and assign those keystrokes in MAME.

  57. December 22, 2009 06:55 am
    quickstepdirect

    Nice but how do you leave a quare of protect film on the plexi with nice edge and cut, without damage the plex?

  58. December 30, 2009 12:43 am
    fubucukiss

    how can i git somone to construckt me a cabnit for mugen

  59. January 9, 2010 07:25 pm
    NightmareSkates

    @robdun packman? Seriously? Are you a cheesehead Packers fan or something? lol…..try Pac-Man

  60. January 11, 2010 08:32 pm
    Dudeamis

    @NightmareSkates really? this is really what you’re going to post? really? telling someone to hyphenate Pacman?

  61. January 16, 2010 06:12 pm
    mookixox

    @fubucukiss PAY THEM sucker…

  62. January 20, 2010 12:12 am
    Turtleproof

    Cool cab’ brah let’s kick it old style nam sayin’? Real ill, we’re the chillest nerds this side of the old school. Engage the radical on my mark. MARK ha ha noice. Is my puka shell necklace sick or what?

  63. January 29, 2010 05:28 am
    AnimeandVideogames

    how do you make a arcade stick?

  64. February 9, 2010 06:32 am
    RamSG9

    dude, this is too complicated :(

  65. February 9, 2010 05:13 pm
    Truegamer2000

    Pizza shop had an arcade Neo-GeoMetal Slug X!!!!!!!!!!!lol b4 they close down…

  66. February 9, 2010 06:58 pm
    aPersonOnYouToob

    Or, you use a desktop, search mame, and then mame roms, and grab yourself a usb controller on the cheap. Or, just use your keyboard.

  67. February 20, 2010 12:09 am
    partylikepacman

    I can’t find the cabinet file on the website whats the link?

  68. February 25, 2010 11:10 pm
    d3tach3d

    i like your style!

  69. March 4, 2010 01:17 pm
    DejectedPanda

    @d3tach3d I like your moves.

  70. March 6, 2010 06:22 pm
    d3tach3d

    Gimme a beat!

  71. March 10, 2010 05:18 pm
    8BitCanadian

    Sweet, this really helped me with the button configuration, I now understand properly how they function, thanks Hak5. ^^

  72. March 11, 2010 07:50 pm
    MrJoez35

    @RamSG9 i know

  73. March 12, 2010 08:21 pm
    ZombieCyclops

    What size TV is that?

  74. March 15, 2010 05:39 pm
    phatbastard0alkaline

    ur skilled… :P

  75. March 16, 2010 04:56 pm
    indyj1698

    you are right pizza shop arcades are sooo n00bish but there was one pizza parlor i knew of that had a Donkey Kong machine!!!i was the only one who played it and thats why they replaced it with one of those damned claw machines

  76. March 18, 2010 10:04 pm
    PsilocybinDream

    i found a a disguarded metal slug arcade machine with a busted screen. i stripped all the pcb boards of metal slug out and turned it into a mame cabinet i made mine free just cuz i had an extra svideo tv and cpu layin around.

  77. March 21, 2010 08:40 pm
    ACombineOfficer

    Nice duke nukem quote at the end

  78. April 25, 2010 10:55 am
    crip102468

    Pff i didnt learn Shit from this video!! Stop making junk and get the real deal like mines!!!

  79. April 29, 2010 11:57 am
    TheRogueMonk

    if you were black you would look like will smith ahaha

  80. May 19, 2010 01:16 am
    plasticPlaystation

    #FTW

  81. May 19, 2010 01:52 pm
    dumbdude007

    DUKE NUKEM!!!! HELL YEA!!!!

  82. May 20, 2010 12:46 pm
    dumbdude007

    and? not that expensive…. cheaper than an xbox controller

  83. May 27, 2010 04:21 pm
    topher0002

    Nice little tutorial in a nutshell but if you’ve never built a mame before don’t expect to do this in a weekend without help from someone who has. The software alone can be a nightmare if you dont know what your doing. I can see the cab being built in a short amount of time but you also have to order joystick parts that arent generally sold at the corner gas station. This also assumes you have stuff laying around to do the build.

  84. June 5, 2010 08:51 pm
    MountainDewBuddies

    Yea, yea i can do it by thursday

  85. June 5, 2010 10:58 pm
    sneskegagama

    jus to let you know setting up the hardware on the pc isn’t hard but it is a pain in the ass. i am setting hyperspin.

  86. June 25, 2010 01:37 am
    nviso209

    Should be featured on CRAPMAME.COM!

  87. June 29, 2010 07:36 am
    Laubotje

    *acts like playing videogames*

  88. June 29, 2010 07:43 am
    Laubotje

    @mchief117 i love corn

  89. July 17, 2010 01:32 am
    er1ck194

    i ordered my controls at mexico city… joysticks and buttons and everything you need for about 35 bucks. Then bought a used computer off a yard sale for about 40. I bought wood from lowes and made an awesome arcade with about 120 bucks and it can run from Atari 2600 all the way to n64 and ps1.

  90. July 31, 2010 11:58 am
    yousef4817

    very very nice looking very good quality and cheap price

  91. August 5, 2010 09:10 am
    Northernsharpshooter

    @meplayvgalot i read your comment then looked to my right and seen the ad for x arcade

  92. August 6, 2010 06:02 am
    killertoaster100

    what you got son!! thanks for the help for the mame thing thank you

  93. August 9, 2010 09:36 pm
    h20pologoalie1

    @topher0002 software is a breeze just use mame32 not original mame

  94. August 11, 2010 11:40 am
    NGinuity

    There is no way that was less than 100 bucks man…..but I like it.

  95. August 29, 2010 01:34 am
    MrMagician1

    when he threw the spay can in the rubbish bin i broke out laughing, this reminds me of grind house films.

  96. September 6, 2010 08:52 pm
    DreamHomeArcades

    sweet video,check out how the pros do it :)Dream Home Arcades

  97. September 20, 2010 04:25 pm
    deceasemortician

    what’s up with your eyebrows man hahah

  98. September 22, 2010 06:41 am
    5GKryanbut

    best duke nukem quote evarrrrrrr

  99. October 2, 2010 10:40 pm
    jointhemasters

    7:11 Duke Nukem

  100. October 8, 2010 01:34 am
    lordmat666

    what is up with the 2 crt monitors?

  101. October 11, 2010 11:40 am
    111random

    How do you hook up more that 1 button to the same part of the controller

  102. October 22, 2010 01:31 am
    abbeyroadpub

    Gay

  103. November 2, 2010 04:02 am
    punkofdeath

    @abbeyroadpub I thought it was cool but im a fan of the show. but real i don’t know what else u would have to do to make it any better?

  104. November 13, 2010 01:32 pm
    flylxy

    wow… crt monitors! takes me back to 1992

  105. November 14, 2010 10:40 pm
    jscook55

    I got that package from Xarcade. Only took like 3 months to get here.

  106. December 2, 2010 09:23 pm
    TheNews1990

    @jscook55 without xarcade it be a little cheaper and arive earlier

  107. December 4, 2010 07:28 am
    25FreakOuts

    I’m just thinking, Like the Arcade Cabinet, Can they turn Mame into a Mame Home Console than a Arcade Cabinet.

  108. December 22, 2010 09:30 pm
    SuprHibby

    @meplayvgalot try lizard lick amusement

  109. December 26, 2010 04:40 pm
    DDRmaster25

    here’s how to get rid of these cat ads to get to the video0:01

  110. December 31, 2010 03:17 pm
    ensenada357

    ta chilo tu video wey!

  111. January 14, 2011 08:07 pm
    116randomness

    revision 3 roxs

  112. January 26, 2011 08:09 pm
    FJK46

    need more in depth tutorial on the control panel

  113. January 30, 2011 08:31 pm
    111random

    where do you get those little “quick connect” things?

  114. February 5, 2011 11:00 pm
    CodyRockLee13

    @111random If he’s talking about what I think he’s talking about, you can get them from LizardLick. You can also get any other arcade part you could need from there, too, including Japanese joysticks and buttons, not just american ones, which I prefer any day of the week.

  115. February 12, 2011 10:44 am
    agmon657

    dude no wot we need , no wots that dude , a woman or a life , dude ,

  116. February 17, 2011 05:07 pm
    micale66

    @agmon657 what the fuck am i reading

  117. February 17, 2011 07:10 pm
    bencinurts

    HELLZ YEAH!! I’m doin this with a NES console, and old CRT tv and arcade buttons.. Makin it full size!!! Gonna be pretty sweet!!!

  118. February 20, 2011 04:53 pm
    camatron1000

    @meplayvgalot i know me too

  119. March 2, 2011 08:33 pm
    MrJoez35

    @FJK46 i know i didnt understand anything either

  120. March 6, 2011 10:17 am
    vakaholic

    good video, but stay away from x arcade parts if you can, they’re a piece of shit.

  121. March 6, 2011 06:08 pm
    jimmyjimmy6699

    thumbs up if it reminds you of pranked at the start

  122. March 17, 2011 07:57 pm
    beav3rlll

    @jscook55 lol i ordered and x-arcade duel stick and only took 6 days to get here ..thats gotta suck

  123. March 19, 2011 11:52 am
    jscook55

    @beav3rlll - Yeah, I think they were having some supply problems at the time. To their credit the quality of the parts was very good.

  124. April 5, 2011 02:03 am
    WestCoastGamer219

    im in the process of making my own arcade cab, full sized tho, its coming along nicley.

  125. April 16, 2011 12:17 pm
    Bylga

    Amazing work

  126. April 23, 2011 09:33 pm
    animegamingdude

    @bencinurts imagine playing Contra with a real joystick and buttons.

  127. April 30, 2011 08:32 pm
    popchuncks1

    thumbs up if after he started talking about the usb gamepad soldering you thought ” this is WAY MORE THAN 100 Dollars!”

  128. May 8, 2011 03:34 pm
    jimcorrill

    He didn’t mention not to run with scissors.

  129. May 30, 2011 03:49 pm
    MrSiggy125

    his eyebrows are half the size of his eye..

  130. June 10, 2011 06:32 am
    11boooooooooo

    hold down 8 for some fun

  131. June 12, 2011 10:25 am
    treatyoself2tee

    I feel like making this but IM ALMOST 10 YEARS OLD ! I CANT HANDLE AN EFFING SAW! >_< wait then why am i watching this then? GAH!!

  132. July 2, 2011 07:16 am
    condorX2

    pretty kewl, i wanna feel those woods on those joystick :D

  133. July 17, 2011 03:22 pm
    ArchNME

    @MrSiggy125 That’s actually a symptom of syphilis.

  134. July 27, 2011 07:19 am
    ZroDfects

    I have to say that this is a crappy design that looks like it took forever. The weirdest thing is that your running it all from your laptop which is connnected to the screen on the cabinet, we aren’t blind we saw you unpause the game @ 7:18 to play the game, the cabinet should hold a PC and the controllers and what ever connected to inside. I don’t see the point of all that work you did and still have to use an outside device “Laptop” to run it all… Big Fail

  135. August 12, 2011 10:34 am
    holycowitsAM

    @treatyoself2tee are you kidding im 12 and i made my own cab sure i had a little instruction on how to use a saw and i almost killled myself using a table saw but other than that i think you could do it. bluilding the cab is the hard part the easy part is installing all the components and electronics.

  136. August 13, 2011 12:12 pm
    guitarkUngf0o

    @treatyoself2tee you and i both should not be on youtube

  137. September 1, 2011 06:00 pm
    ZackDeLaPedra

    make sure you have enough wood!

  138. September 18, 2011 10:52 am
    jakeinglis3

    how do you get the building plans

  139. December 5, 2011 10:28 am
    zimThuet

    most important part ever: i bet it controls and feels like shit cause of the framerate which has to be perfect, and cause of the controls. nobody seems to give a shit about the most important thing about this whole work, it has to feel absolutely perfectly spot on, otherwise its crap. im betting this feels like shit

  140. December 5, 2011 10:28 am
    zimThuet

    @zimThuet i realized i use the word shit a lot, im not angry or anything, just saying..

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