Build a RetroPie Bartop Arcade Cabinet with a Raspberry Pi 

For you builders using VGA monitors, just done a build with an old Dell 19" monitor and had the annoyance of no signal using HMDI to VGA. If you're doing one similar stick your written image card into the PC and change the boot config.txt from there as it won't let you do it over Winscp as you don't have root permissions. It'll save you a lot of hassle. Just find #hdmi_force_hotplug=1 and remove the # and save.

Very very very nice! I like the simplicity you build those cabinets by being smart.

nice! Looking good!

This is perfect. I set my retropi up last night on my new 3. I wanted to make a cabinet for our annual block 3rd of July party. If I can make mine look 50% this nice, people will dig it I think. Thanks for this effort, its going to make for some awesome fun.

I MUST make one now. Not very experienced with wood work, but I am a fast learner. No special tools either but I can compromise. I WILL make one thank you for this!

The Raspberry Pi does get pretty hot when you play more demanding games like PS1, N64, some arcade stuff, etc. But you can just buy a Pi case that has a fan you can connect to the board.

Fantastic video Mike!

that bit about the air compressor is pretty clever. I'll have to remember that provided that I ever get around to actually building one of these

Cool arcade! I agree...the t molding really adds a lot!

Great stuff! I'm surprised you don't add a tinted glass to the front of the display since most cabinets usually have one.

I used your plans to build my cabinet and it came out great. I'm just waiting to put the marquee in, ordered Plexi-glass and printing graphics. I will make two modifications though. The first is using a potentiometer for volume control mounted to the side of the cabinet, and the second is to cut a 5" hole in the back door to mount a cooling fan. I've noticed that after awhile, the Raspberry Pi gets hot as noted by the small thermometer that shows up on the top right corner of the screen.

Awesome build. Another, even easier way of removing hotglue: alcohol - try it!

Used your plans and actually made 2 cabinets. Just finishing second one. I added vinyl decals made at sign store now waiting for controls I ordered

Thank you 😂 this is literally the only video I've seen were there's a proper electrical box installed and not hot gluing a power strip inside it 😂😂

You. Are. A. Genius. I would love to have just half your manual skills. Great! Awesome!

just watched the full size cabinet build. I'm here for the raspberry pi part 😁

Came out great Mike!

i built a contrl panel for my full size mame cabinet... used silver shelf paper and it looks great.. but now that i have a rain gutter business... i wish i would have used a flat sheet of black powder coated aluminum (used to make rain gutters) instead of the shelf paper.. it'll last longer plus i have about 25 colors to choose from including real copper... with the proper bit it's also easy to drill through... i may go back... take the panel off and use aluminum instead of shelf paper.. it's super thin .027" gauge so shouldn't affect the buttons at all.... if you do another one.. let me know and i can help source the aluminum.

I'm starting my build very soon. Great idea to put reflective material behind the marquee sign. I'm using an old pc monitor as my screen. The T moulding really adds a great finish. Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed it 😀

Dude!! I have been watching several videos for bartop arcades, but this video had some really awesome ideas! The amount of effort others go to for the screen to be installed behind the board, but you place it infront?? I love this and when (or if) I get around to doing my own I'll be sure to use your tips!! :)

I love this build. Does anyone know where to get speakers like these anymore? The last cabinet I made, I just used old Amazon Basic speakers and tore them down so i could mount them, but the speakers in this build look SO much better.

Didn't see in the comments or on the build page, but what are the rough dimensions...width, height, depth? Looking over several plans and trying to see what will fit in the space I have. I like your design as it seems it has enough room for two players as others I've seen are really cramped. Also excited about what type of build and video you said is coming soon!

Tis a thing of beauty. The only thing is that perhaps it's a bit wide, but maybe it just looks that way with Pac-Man on the screen, a game like Metal Slug of something might be perfect. Also there are a ton of buttons on the front.

Love the wood working skillz, talent def runs in the family!

Thanks so much for your plans and your video. I'm building a couple of these right now, and I wouldn't have have even thought of doing it until I saw what you built. Nice job.

I've seen a lot video, and this is the most useful so far, well done GeekPub

Love the video. I will be buying the plans. But I would say that he should have grounded the wiring to the metal outlet box. 101.

I don't think you have enough buttons on the CP...

Add some scanlines and you will see big difference in your games. I have a guide in petrockblog, the retropie forums. The scanlines should be set as an overlay not a shader. Shaders make your system slow, plus the overlay that Patrick made is way better.

I purchased your plans for this and i was wondering what the compass length was set at to find the angle for the curve

Nice build! We've been thinking of adding a Retro Pie arcade to our RV and this was a kick in the butt to start it. Thanks for sharing.

can someone explain how he used the compass to draw the curve?

TGP, you are an artist with wood. Most of us would be losing limbs doing this ;)

Luckily i have a grandpa who is a woodworker, and i know the electronics side. Definetely can't wait to make one once i have the time and money!

I like the homemade compass..

This is a dumb question, but how good of a craftsman do you have to be to build this? I'm not very good at building things but I would love to give this a shot.

how do I get the pc monitor to turn on without using the power button due the fact that the bezel is in the way.

Awesome-Sauce. Looking forward to the Raspberry Pi videos as well since I know absolutely nothing about them.

Wow! Dude, you have crazy talent! Thanks a ton for posting this. If I play my cards right... Just want a little pizza shack with a couple or more stand-up machines, but these can be put on the counter or table; no more reason for the bottom half it seems. I have a PiB+, a PS dual shock w/USB adapter, 32" 1080p TV with HDMI and the whole gang. I'd been using Dreamcast for years (I love that machine), but I want to expand, experiment and have fun!

Awesome job man. You made that look easy. I want to tackle a project like this so bad. I'm slowly getting up the nerve.

I noticed the TARDIS t shirt your were wearing near the beginning of the video... KUDOS... I am actually getting ready to build a TARDIS (aka the Big Blue Box) enthusiast PC gaming rig (which I plan to sell a few of once I prototype the design... This video has given me some great tips... Besides the PC components, I plan to use a rPi to control the TARDIS sound and lighting system. It will always be powered on (unless the main switch is turned off) and will be used to trigger the special effects of the case when the computer is turned on... Your speaker placement and application will be very helpful for me in doing this... Would love to bounce ideas off of you as my project progresses...

Hey Mike greetings from the UK that is one Sick workshop you have

Looks great man! I just got a raspberry pi 3 not too long ago and have just been running it like a normal console with retropie but this has given me a great idea with what to do with my pi now!

Fantastic work mate! I'd just get rid of that acer logo ;)

Finished cabinet looks great! Hoping to put one together myself eventually!

after cutting out the sides, did you sand at all? or is it unnecessary since you are using t-molding?

Muito bom trabalho!! Ainda estou sonhando com o meu que esta em desenvolvimento! Manda mais videos! Valeu.

Can't wait for the next videos on this. Would be nice to learn about the inner stuff that most people neglect to mention. Great build, now I gotta build it for my son ;-)

Looks great! 6:06 - Did you put any kind of starters on the drilling spots? Lightly tap it with a nail, just to keep the drill centered at all, or are you that awesome with a hand-drill?

Watched this video and instantly fell in love with this channel. Awesome content!

I like how simple the construction of the cabinet is, seen some pretty elaborate constructions out there, some things I might change on my build (That will be based on yours) is air intake holes in the back, and a fan to pull out the heat generated from the monitor in the top. also, is the sound, okay having them blasting out the back like that?

this is so simple. What a great vid

Awesome build.

Is the wireless keyboard described in the plan's parts list a necessity or an option, what do you need it for if you need it?

Can you estimate the total cost after purchasing the wood, controllers and basically everything outside of purchasing the monitor?

My pie is coming tomorrow this will be a good summer project my best friends dads workshop has all the tools

Very awesome build, I've been looking for a design like this. I am most interested in two things. I would like to know the exact paint and primer you used to cover the mdf. Also, I am curious to the controller board models that you used, Thanks.

Amazing vid! Me and my dad are going to build a full size one! Also we are going to use the T molding because we agree, it does add an awesome retro look!

Mike, you mentioned that you prefer a certain type of monitor so that if the power gets cut-off, it does not lose it's memory or remembers where it was at? Can you provide a model number or more specific information on what type of monitor is best to buy? Thank you for your reply. The arcade looks great!

What kind of paper did you use for the marquee? Thank you!

SO fun! Looks great! Looking forward to the videos about this to come!

if you can get a vinyl image, but no adhesive backside, what would the best type of self applying adhesive be for the job? and would the 3m 77 work well for the job? and would it work with the soap and water method used when trying to get that image on the cabinet correctly?

Time to dig my mame rom collection out of the closet!

Really beautiful Job GP! Very inspiring too as I plan to do a bar top for an original 3D game based on an old classic! I appreciate the ideas. I think I would go smaller for what I need, but the template idea is great!

well done Mike - now I am in the mood for a little pac-man!

Do some gameplay videos with this while you are talking about it, it looks awesome to play.

Love it! Just bought the plans and can't wait to build it...just a question, which router bit are you using for the t strip and where do you buy the colored t-strip???

sweet bit of kit! if I had a workshop like yours I might consider it :)

Your video helped me finished mine, thanks

Great video man! I'm working on my second build

Paintjob looks fantastic. Right now I am hesitating between vinyl or a paint... Could painted one look as good as the vinyl?

I am really excited to try this as my first major woodworking project. Question is, I would like to add a trackball in the middle for the unit. What do you recommendation for layout templates that would accommodate that and what lighted trackball would you recommend? Thanks!

What about using a daija controller , and a 32inches tv in order to play with perfect pixel asspect ratio ? Changes much ?

Great job! That came out nice! I like the idea of using the air compressor to clear the dust for better visibility. I'm going to try that.

Have you done a video that shows how to map the buttons and joystick to the raspberry pie?

What size auger bits you use for Joy-Cons and Buttons ?

Very nice work ! :)

great stuff! thanks for such a great video! taking the video probably added a lot more time to the project huh? Thanks for all the hard work you put into this for us!

I'm jealous... you have the real Art of Hands!

so you did not permanently attach the control panel, so you just slide it in and out during any maintenance?

Could I get the directions and measurements to this? You have the best and easiest design on RU-vid so far and I would love to use this design for my bartop arcade. I would appreciate the response because this would help me a lot sense I've never worked on a project like this before.

Great mike what is the size of the backer block for the monitor same as the other ?

I have kind of a different request in what I'd like to see for the raspberry pi. what about using a pi 3 to Bluetooth connect to your phone to make calls. Also using Bluetooth to connect to your phones GPS to give you directions, and an integrated backup camera that you can use even when it's not connected to your phone

Awesome build! I plan on doing one of these shortly. This video has a ton of great info. The other thing I'm interested in making is a virtual pinball machine. Do you have any thoughts about building one? We'd all love to see a video on making one! Thanks!

Would it be feasible to have the screen inset in such a way that the Acer logo is covered by the wood?

Hi, nice video. Regarding the Joystick screws, does the screws come with the Joystick? Can you recommend which type of screws I should use for a similar Joystick? Thanks

I love the build. It looks very professional. One question I have about your info is whether or not you have specific instructions on configuration of the RetroPie to work with the buttons in this particular cabinet. Your RetroPie video is done using a keyboard, rather than being specific to this build. Can you elaborate? Thanks!

This was one hell of a project...

Well done

hi, I liked your hand work but I came here for products of retropie buttons or joysticks etc. Do you have list of them? I need to build this from scratch like you.

What can use instead of a drill press?

Bartops are cool but people who build them need to make the control deck larger where you can rest your wrist while playing. Control decks needs more room below the buttons and sticks imo.

Amazing job!!! i have everything but the Cabinet.

Whats the distance between the nail and the pencil on the compass

You are really good.! Very thorough and detailed video. Thank you.

what size is the monitor and do the plans come with a complete list of all purchases needed to complete the project aslo include the templates for the buttons and speakers

Fantastic I love this project

What's the width of this bartop? I'd like to know the monitor size restrictions prior to getting the plans. Thanks!

What do each of the buttons do what number does what thing like a,b,x,y

I'm very impressed!!!! nice job!!