All of the electronics are mounted to the underside of the lower shelf. The motherboard is a VIA mini-ITX motherboard, and came with a built-in 533 MHz EPIA processor, see full information here. It generates very little heat, so no fan is needed. It's also fairly inexpensive, motherboard and processor together were on sale for $100. The motherboard does not come with RAM, I installed a 256 MB stick of SDRAM for $50. Prices will vary greatly on RAM, so shop around. Pricewatch.com will find the best online prices, but check the feedback on the companies before you buy.
The power supply snaps onto the motherboard. The AC to DC converter is in a separate box (mounted just below the motherboard in the picture above), so it also has no fans. The power supply was $59.95, the AC to DC converter was $25.00. While a normal power supply could have been used (saving me at least $45), I loved the cleanness and elegance of that power supply.
There is a 6 GB hard disk and a CD-ROM drive attached to the system. Both of these came from my spare parts collection, making them freebees. Pricewatch no longer lists hard disks that small, they have a 40 GB hard disk for $35. The optical disk does not need to read DVD disks or write to CD-Rs, so the equivalent CD-ROM drive is listed at $15.00 at Pricewatch.
On the left of the picture is the underside of the arcade controls, which are connected to an IPAC keyboard adapter. The price of two joysticks, seven buttons, quick disconnect connectors, and the IPAC total $105.78 at GameCabinetsInc.com.
Total electronics costs, $291, would have been $341 without the freebees.
|
This is the back of the cabinet. The monitor sits on the lower shelf, pushed all the way forward. The tilting stand had to be removed from the monitor to make it fit. The monitor was a freebee I got from a company getting rid of all their old small monitors nobody uses. An equivalent monitor can be found on Pricewatch for $92.
The speakers sit on top of the cabinet. They cost $20 at the local CompUSA.
Everything is plugged into a 6 foot extension cord that was purchased at Home Depot for $6.
The small brass holes along the top and bottom are threaded inserts. A hole was drilled into the wood, the inserts were screwed in. This gives a mounting point for a machine screw so the screws holding the back on can be attached and reattached. These cost me $3 at the Woodsmiths Store, and can be purchased online from Rockler.com.
|