Last April I purchased a Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike showcase cabinet off of eBay for what I consider dirt cheap. I brought it into work and have been sharing it with co-workers, and even hosted a month long mantis-style tournament at the end of last summer with around 50 participants. Since I've had it, SFIII:3S has really grown on me, it's a much better game than I originally gave it credit for. I'm oldschool at heart though with my favorite Street Fighter being SFII:Hyper Fighting. For a short while I considered picking up a SFII:HF Jamma board to slap into the cabinet, but I doubt such a giant step back would have been very appealing for others. So instead I decided to look forward and put my faith in Capcom.

Around September, my 33" arcade monitor showed signs it needed maintenance. The whites streaked all the way across the screen and the brightness was much darker on the left side of the screen than the right. It needed at least a re-cap and potentially a yoke adjustment with the tube turned on (probably dangerous) to fix the geometry issues (boo for no onboard controls to adjust geometry). I hate fiddling with monitors, especially since they can kill you if you don't know what you're doing. So instead I decided that an LCD would be the way to go.

After hearing that Street Fighter IV was coming to the PC, it sealed the deal. Thinking of 720p SFIV goodness on the cabinet, with the potential to keep SFIII:3s running in the meantime was perfect. I began my plans to "MAME" my showcase.

I picked up all the equipment in early December and did the work on 12/29/08 with two co-workers in an INCREDIBLE 27 hours straight. When looking back in hindsight, we had no clue what was actually in store for us. It was rough, if it wasn't for the help, there's no way I could have done this modification alone.

I might get into the gory details on the mod later on, but for now, here's the before and after results. All prepped and ready for Street Fighter IV PC (please come out soon!)

Before:

• Cabinet: Hanaho Showcase Arcade Cabinet Jamma wired
• Monitor: 33" Sharp Image arcade monitor (Geometry issues, streaky whites)
• Board: Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Jamma board

After:

• Cabinet: Hanaho Showcase Arcade Cabinet Jamma wired
• Monitor: 32" Samsung 720P HDTV (LN32A450)
• Hardware: Antec 300 case, Q6600 + Freezer 7 heatsink, 9800GT, 2gig Ram, 500gig HDD
• Other Hardware: J-PAC (Jamma 2 PC interface)
• Software: Windows XP, Mala Front End (shelled), Final Burn Alpha
• Emulator Blitters: 4xHQ render, Scanlines, 3d tube emulation

To Do:

• Wire coin doors so they light again.
• Install intake/exhaust fans in the PC and monitor compartments for superior airflow.
• Install new Perfect 360 joysticks.
• Clean and buff scratches out of the control panel plexi overlay.
• Install new artwork under the control panel plexi overlay.
• Create a new Marquee for SFIV once it's released on PC.