Reddit mentions of Miuzei Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Case with Fan Cooling and 3× Heat-Sinks, 5V 2.5A Power Supply with On/Off Switch Cable for RPi 3 B+, 3B, 2b

Miuzei Raspberry Pi 3B+ Case with Fan Cooling and 3× Heat-Sinks, 5V 2.5A Power Supply with On/Off Switch Cable for RPi 3B+, 3B, 2b

I like it overall, came with everything I wanted minus the SD card and pi.

First, I'll preface this by saying I'm NOT trying to hijack this thread -- it was the first result that came up on Google when I searched for "Arcade1Up hack", so it's mostly intended for helping other Googlers who land here.

I had some questions about whether I should go Pi or hacking the stock board, and figured a lot of people might be able to benefit from what I've found (largely in thanks to /u/BerryBerrySneaky answering my questions, and this video). So here's the information I've collected:

• The stock board hack won't be sufficient if you want to want to do a serious MAME setup; it only has 128MB of storage on it in total (yes, megabytes, not gigabytes!)
  
• Yes, the monitor conversion kit in the video will work with Wave 2 monitors.
  
• If you want bat sticks instead of ball sticks, I found a kit here (not an affiliate link!)
  
• The total cost of doing the Pi upgrade is around $200 USD. You'll need the following:
  
• The Pi (duh! I went with the Pi 3 B+ because it's only $2 more than the lower model) - $37
  
• The Pi will need some kind of heat dissipation mechanism; there are fanless cases that that supposedly do this, such as the one in the video linked above (although that case gets horrible reviews about its heat dissipation abilities, which seem questionable at best), so I went with this one for only $2 more, and it includes a fan AND a Pi power supply which you'd need to buy separately anyway. Much better reviews on this one as well. - $17
  
• An arcade button and stick kit with USB conversion boards. There might be cheaper ones than what I linked above, but I really wanted the bat sticks. - ~$50
  
• You WILL need an amplifier for the audio, since the Pi doesn't output much of a signal. What's good about this though is that you can upgrade to stereo speakers if you want to later. - $10
  
• A MicroSD card. This is where prices might vary a bit depending on your plans/needs. I went with a 256GB one because I'm going to put a lot of games on there, plus Hyperspin with video previews, and you also need space for Linux and MAME itself. $45
  
• The monitor HDMI conversion kit, this is $30
  
• A surge protector. You're going to have several things to plug in separately now (the monitor separately, the Pi, and the amp), so you will need this. You might have a spare lying around, but if not, $10
  
• $6 for a roll of double-sided tape for mounting everything.
  
• TOTAL: $205 + any applicable taxes.
  
  You'll have a totally pimped out cab though with way better quality sticks & buttons, and as many games as you want. If it's worth it to you to spend $200-300 on the Arcade1Up cab + $200 for a major upgrade, then go for it! I'll probably post a separate thread here when my stuff comes in and I get it all installed, if there's enough interest. Maybe even a video, we'll see.

> ... she became suspicious and thought I was cheating on her.

Well, if that's an issue, then the existence of an encrypted directory or partition will likely cause even more suspicion.

> Maybe if I had a "family" computer that ran the media center ...

Wait ... surely you know that a Raspberry Pi 3 is more than adequate to run Kodi or a similar media presentation app?

Raspberry Pi 3 b+, just the board, no case ... $40.

A plastic case, fan, power supply and other stuff ... $17.

(I'm not advocating that you shop at Amazon, just some pretty pictures to show. Everyone has Raspberry Pis for sale ... shop around.)

A computer like this would replace any computer you're misapplying as a media server at the moment, and it has an HMDI plug that (unlike many such things) actually works, delivering 1920x1080 picture and sound.

For me this whole Raspberry Pi thing is completely astonishing. My first computer was an Apple II and it did almost nothing, slowly. A modern pencil sharpener has more raw processing power than my first computer. It was $1600 in 1977 dollars, much more in modern currency. And a computer like the Pi for $40 ... I'm astonished.

EDIT: additions

Yay! That’s the way to go, more customizable.

I ran mine with and without a heat sink, I like the peace of mind of a heat sink, although it’s not crucial. Here’s the case I got

Miuzei Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Case with Fan, 3 Pcs Heatsinks, 2.5A Power Supply for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, Compatible with Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, Raspberry Pi 2 Model B https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BTHNW9W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XvsVBb9MX8CHS

It comes with two heat sinks, a fan, and a power cord with a good voltage and on/off switch, it also just looks super cool.

I love this case, sort of a pain to put together, but sturdy and with 3 heatsinks and a fan...Case. And it comes with a power switch on the cord which is nice.

If using it for any type of home server, I also recommend buying a case.

https://www.amazon.com/Miuzei-Raspberry-Heatsinks-Supply-Compatible/dp/B07BTHNW9W/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540153043&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=raspberry+pi+case&dpPl=1&dpID=51lQEWob8yL&ref=plSrch

This one is AWESOME because it’s got active cooling. Literally cooled mine from 60c to 35c under load