radtastic89
n00b
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I'm looking at at MVS's on Ebay and I see that they are pretty cheap around $80 to $100. So I'm wondering how expensive it is to turn it into a CMVS or at least have someone change it over for me.
How Expensive Is To Build A CMVS?
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Joneo
Belnar Institute Student
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The short answer is; it varies.
Depending on how pretty you want to make it (custom case?), or what kind of video output you want (RGB -> component converter like NeoBitz adds another $80 or so). Then there's the (highly recommended) unibios ($32), and various smaller and cheaper mods. If you aren't comfortable with electronics work (soldering mostly), you'll need to source someone to put this all together as well.
Others may be able to give you more detail, but I think that covers the major stuff.
Depending on how pretty you want to make it (custom case?), or what kind of video output you want (RGB -> component converter like NeoBitz adds another $80 or so). Then there's the (highly recommended) unibios ($32), and various smaller and cheaper mods. If you aren't comfortable with electronics work (soldering mostly), you'll need to source someone to put this all together as well.
Others may be able to give you more detail, but I think that covers the major stuff.
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Like said it varies. If you do everything yourself you save money.
If you plan to make a CMVS with component, s-video, composite, stereo and Unibios you would roughly spend about $200 in parts. The better price you get on parts, the better.
If you plan to make a CMVS with component, s-video, composite, stereo and Unibios you would roughly spend about $200 in parts. The better price you get on parts, the better.
I think the cheapest and at the same time easiest route to go is to get a simple supergun - especially if you do not want to get into soldering etc.
Mind you, even going this route there are still numerous costs involved (cables, controllers, power supply, Unibios etc.) - these quickly add up.
The other major issue is finding a fully working MVS board without any problems / issues. I guess an advantage of the supergun is that you can swap the boards if one fails on you later on down the line, while with a CMVS that is not necessarily that simple, since you got a lot of parts and labour commited to a particular board.
Mind you, even going this route there are still numerous costs involved (cables, controllers, power supply, Unibios etc.) - these quickly add up.
The other major issue is finding a fully working MVS board without any problems / issues. I guess an advantage of the supergun is that you can swap the boards if one fails on you later on down the line, while with a CMVS that is not necessarily that simple, since you got a lot of parts and labour commited to a particular board.
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If you were to build it yourself, then I would suggest to take your time, to look at as many pictures as possible so you can find out what looks best and most importantly: Try to get the best parts possible even if that means that you would have to spend up to $50 more. It's worth it. Also, think twice before cutting any holes.
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Don't forget controllers and a game for it.
So basically, you're looking at getting for your CMVS:
an MVS board
5V adapter
Neobitz video encoder
RCA/Svideo connectors (may/may not come with the Neobitz)
jack for the adapter
UniBIOS
Wire
SPST switch for power
So basically, you're looking at getting for your CMVS:
an MVS board
5V adapter
Neobitz video encoder
RCA/Svideo connectors (may/may not come with the Neobitz)
jack for the adapter
UniBIOS
Wire
SPST switch for power
Skips
Belnar Institute Student
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I just finished a CMVS using a MV1FZ for about $142 without a plexiglass base. The video encoder I used was the CVS287. This model has component only though. If you are patient you can get the parts for a good price by watching eBay or the forums here. I've picked up a few working 1 and 2 slots for under $50 bucks on ebay so building a CMVS can be cheap if you have the know how and are not itching to get it done right away. Paying someone else to do it I imagine would cost you another $80-$100 if you ship them the parts (not counting shipping). I am not sure though, Xian Xi would know what a fair service fee would be. I have only sold a couple full units and not done the build as an actual service yet.
At the risk of comparing apples to oranges, I thought somebody might be interested in the rough costs associated with getting a Supergun + Neo Geo MVS setup together. Below are USD costs of the main components for the system which I put together over the course of the last month or so. Obviously your mileage may vary and you may be able to source some parts cheaper and get better deals in terms of shipping costs depending on where you are located, but this should give you a rough idea of what it takes when putting together such a system from scratch.
ArcadeForge Supergun + PSU 171,43
MV-1FZ board 115,01
Unibios 3.1 35,34
161-in-1 cart 97,65
Euro SCART RGB cable 3m 20
Jamma extender 34,1
2x 5m gameport ext. cables 22,94
2x Neo Geo CD pads 100
2x lithium recharegable batt. 10,54
Total 607,01
All in all the costs do rack up. A possible saving would be to go for a cheaper / lesser quality Supergun, although I must say that I think this was money well spent. People in the US would usually also require a video encoder so this is an additional cost to factor in.
ArcadeForge Supergun + PSU 171,43
MV-1FZ board 115,01
Unibios 3.1 35,34
161-in-1 cart 97,65
Euro SCART RGB cable 3m 20
Jamma extender 34,1
2x 5m gameport ext. cables 22,94
2x Neo Geo CD pads 100
2x lithium recharegable batt. 10,54
Total 607,01
All in all the costs do rack up. A possible saving would be to go for a cheaper / lesser quality Supergun, although I must say that I think this was money well spent. People in the US would usually also require a video encoder so this is an additional cost to factor in.
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