According to Windows Explorer a complete MAME v.65 set is 7.78 GB (8,361,786,151 bytes)
That is 2 DVDr's or 12 CDr's

The copyright holders have been pretty quiet on this issue, and don't really make any comments. It's been about a year or so since I've really explored the world of emulation, so I don't know if there are any issues now, but the general consensus back then was that as long as you weren't selling these roms for a profit, its "ok" to collect them. The copyright holders really expressed no concern, so in essence, it is sort of indirectly giving them permission.

It's sort of like both sides have an understanding for each other, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. As it stands right now, emulation is still sort of an enthusiast community.

Basically, pretty much all the games officially supported by MAME are out of production, and there are no plans for any more money to be made off these games, now or in the future...

That pretty much sums it up, in my opinion. I do not think this should be in any way compared to music, movie, and software piracy.

Cheapest for a premade is 1000? With an Xbox and an X-arcade stick, and a decent tv you could make one for about 550-600.

is there any sodering involved in buying a cabinet, X-arcade stick, and the TV and computer and putting it all together?

Shouldn't be, unless you get fancy with the power buttons or something.

The X-arcade just plugs into your computer's PS/2 port. Video out from your comp into the TV, drop the whole thing in a cabinet. No muss, no fuss.

Sounds pretty easy. So if I put everything together myself, how much would the following be:

cabinet:
pre-built arcade stick:
cheap computer:

Well, couple of questions first:

Can you build your own computer? I've tried to use my EMachine at work (1 Ghz processor) and it sucks at MAME, mostly because of the onboard video. I don't know what the lower limit of MAME is because I build my computers myself, and they always have more than enough power to handle the emulation.

So if you can build it yourself, you could probably put together a complete system with parts from Newegg for about $200-300 bucks. Buying it, more like $400-500. Just off the top of my head.

The two-player X-arcade stick is $149. Check www.x-arcade.com for other options.

The cabinet can be a pre-built or a refurb. You might be able to hit an arcade auction or Ebay and pick something up. Hell, a bowling alley may have something in the back they'd be willing to part with. Interfacing with an exisiting monitor might be more trouble then it's worth (that's why I went with a standard TV.) So if you can get a cabinet, in decent shape, with no monitor, expect at least $200 (off Ebay anyway.) And unless you can get it locally, shipping will probably be crazy (at least $100)

These numbers are just off the top of my head. What lead me into all of this was when I was looking for a vintage MKII machine. I could have gotten one off ebay for $500-600, so that's what I'm going with for the numbers.

Would anyone interested be kind enough to host pics of my mame cabinet?

I spent just over $1000 building mine from scratch. And this was after I was able to get an old nintendo cabinet for free. I spent $300 on a 20" flat screen TV, $500 for a 1Ghz Athlon that I built, and $200 for the X-Arcade stick (it just happened to fit almost perfectly with the cabinet I had so I went with that). The Arcade stick has dropped in price like what Draven mentioned.

You'd need at least a 1Ghz computer if you want to play NARC, NBA Jam and MKII. But you can run games like Ms. Pac-Man and Joust on a 386.

Can you not post them on geocities?

alright.. this sounds super cool.. but how much do you really use it?

How does it support 4-player games?

Anybody know where I can find a controller similar to the one on 720?

You would need the larger version of the Ipac. Just more inputs, more buttons.

If I was still living with my friends like I did in college, I'd have gone four player. But that would have been overkill now that it's just me and the wife

And I've been playing a couple of hours every night. I just scroll through the list and pick something I'd like to try out. Play for a bit, then I get tired of it and move on.

Ipac?

Sorry, I talked about it in a few of my posts. It's the interface between my keyboard, controllers and computer.

www.ultimarc.com

If you want roms check usenet. People started posting full sets there after mame.dk could no longer host them.

alt.binaries.emulators.mame

telling people where to get the roms most likely just ended this thread...

That one doesn't include a computer or monitor, which is the usually the most expensive part of a MAME cabinet...

Cabinet shouldn't be over 100 if you build it yourself.
Joystick 150
Cheap Comp - Go with an Xbox for 200, and a mod chip for 50. No soldering on the chip either

Then it all depends on the TV or monitor you are using.

i personally think the joystick/button pad my buddy put together looks better than the x-arcade ones... i'm pretty sure he ordered the buttons and joysticks for like 20 bucks or less... not 150.

Remember you need some sort of interface (mine was $40) and tools/talent/friends/space to build something.

If I hadn't had a garage, I would have gotten an X-arcade.

Does X-Arcade make 4 player controller pads or joysticks?

I don't think so, but I think you can daisy-chain two X-arcades together.

I am considering putting a Mame setup together. I like the idea of using a modded Xbox. Does anyone have any experience using MameX? I have found a few tutorials over ar xbox-scene.com look pretty easy to follow. The standard hard drive should be more than enough space for a mame only setup.

he found some tutorial online that showed him how to interface the buttons to his keyboard i think.

I just don't see how you guys can justify spendint 1000-2500 on a mame cab! i think his whole setup was like:

Cabinet $75
Controllers $20
Computer $100