Yeah, we all want to know what would it cost us for someone to build it - Unit and Screen, no PC (that would just complicate things)
and what are the costs of the materials if one is brave enough to attempt himself?
c'mon man, tell us
Well, the expensive parts are the tv and pc. So you might save a lot if you have an old tv that you can use. Since most people are buying lcd's these days, you'll easily find a cheap tv secondhand as well. But try to find a slimfit one. I bought a demo 74cm slimfit flatscreen from Hifi Corporation for R1100.
For a pc you can use an old P4. About 90% of the games will run perfectly on that, but you might have some problems running games like the Mortal Kombat series & Killer Instinct for example. I'm using a dual core 2.4ghz.
The wood is very cheap. I paid just over R400 for all the wood I used, except for the cardboard at the back. It's 16mm MDF, bought from Builders Warehouse.
The prices for the parts depends on what you want. Have a look on sites like Ultimarc and Happ, you can get entry level joysticks for a lot cheaper. There are a couple of local places as well, but you'll be lucky if you can get a reply from them. I'd rather pay more and get good service, than pay less and get no service at all. I think from all the places in South Africa I contacted, only
Indoor Amusement in Cape Town responded. I went to their warehouse and bought the t-edging from them. I bought 12m for R100, still have lots left. They also had secondhand coin doors and other parts, but I decided to go for new parts. You should be able to get all the parts for around R1000 (new).
Perspex for the control panel, marquee and screen was around R300 from
Maizey's.
All the brackets and screws etc. were probably around R400, from Builders Warehouse. If you only use glue, you can save a couple of hundred.
Paint & primer was around R200, also from Builders Warehouse.
Printing of the control panel and marquee art was R200.
Think that's it?
