This arcade cabinet was designed on a
semi-limited budget. Total out of my pocket was $146.22. (I had a
donation of sorts that paid for the wood needed in the project. Add $60 for the
true value of the project.) I did do a lot of research before
actually getting started. I priced out the wood, and then any other parts I may
need.
This is not a true MAME cabinet by some peoples standards in that I did not use
a PC as my backbone. I instead used a modified XBOX. This gave me a bit more
wiggle room in the control field. No worrying about keyboard modding, or
dealing with keyboard controllers.
From the beginning I had an available XBOX, 27" TV, and access to many
tools. I strayed away from the $125 X-Arcade Joystick and instead
purchased two used Pelican Universal Arcade Controllers for a total of
$51. I shopped around for plexiglass for the marquee as well as a light
to go behind it. This was a very cheap, very cool project to embark.
I have a full price breakdown in my Design Document that I created while researching and designing my cabinet.