Processor/Vidcard for arcade cabinet?

[iNonEntity]

I'm thinking of building a game cabinet for my mother's birthday gift, and was wondering what kind of components would be needed to emulate her old games. Would a basic processor with integrated graphics suffice - or would I need a basic video card? Or am I completely off and is there something more important to worry about ._. I don't really know how emulating differs from regular games. Any advice is appreciated; more cores? Higher clock speeds? More RAM? 64/32 bit? etc

 

[zeyuanfu]

A Pentium CPU will do just fine. What's your budget?

 

[iNonEntity]

I thought Pentiums don't have integrated graphics? My budget is around $700 for the entire setup including building my own cabinet with two fightsticks and a monitor

 

[zeyuanfu]

Every Intel CPU has integrated graphics except for some Xeon chips. Since your budget is 700$, here's a 500$ build with OS and monitor that should run your arcade games very well with 200$ left over for fight sticks (seems like a lot, right?):
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Sandisk X110 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Monitor: LG 22M35D 60Hz 22.0" Monitor ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $494.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-29 18:29 EST-0500

If you would like more storage and a GPU, though, I would get something like this, although it only leaves 60$ for the fight sticks:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($96.49 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.02 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Monitor: LG 22M35D 60Hz 22.0" Monitor ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $638.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-29 18:42 EST-0500

 

[iNonEntity]

Would this suffice?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Pentium G850 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($61.27 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($51.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($22.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($25.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: LG 22M35D 60Hz 22.0" Monitor ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $498.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-29 19:49 EST-0500

Also I don't need a case, since I'm setting it inside of a cabinet I plan to custom build

 

[zeyuanfu]

Yes, it is enough, but that CPU is pretty outdated. Plus, the HD 7850 is equivalent (in terms of performance) to the R7 260X while being 45$ cheaper, and since arcade games don't require plenty of graphics processing power AFAIK, the HD 7850 will suffice. Also, CX PSUs sue bad caps. I would recommend a unit from Antec, XFX or Seasonic.

 

[iNonEntity]

Yeah, I guess a 270 is a bit overkill lol How about this one?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/diamond-video-card-r7250d51g

I've had bad experiences with Seasonic lol Maybe an Antec, but what do you mean sue bad caps? They have good reviews...? Is this one okay?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-vp450


Oh and yeah the i3 beats the Pentium by a long-shot, but the price to performance ratio on the G850 is beastly imo. I also heard they can overclock well. Maybe a G3258 instead?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646g3258

 

[zeyuanfu]

The 250 will also be okay.

Seasonic units are always of good quality. Maybe you had a bad one, but the VP-450 is a solid PSU too.

The G3258 is a good CPU, but I wouldn't overclock it as the money spent doesn't give back a significant performance gain.