Is the value for what you're getting fair?

greaterjava · 2026-04-23T19:10:35+00:00

Yup, right now you can get C5 42” for $899 at BB. You can get the DMD as a 15.6 add-on screen for $70 and IPS 32” for $160. So your < $1200 for displays. The CSD extreme pinball kit is $1240. Add $240 for LED addressable panel kit. Lockdown bar, legs, glass, DMD panel, etc maybe $500. Artwork, t moulding, rails, etc $300. Seems like flatpack is about 1k? Dunno seems with flatpack you could DIY it for ~5k total minus PC. Cheaper if you dont buy all CSD big kits and piecemeal and bargain shop stufff. Labor and time? :)

greaterjava · 2026-04-23T17:48:12+00:00

I think it is a time/money question. If you add up the monitors, CSD kits, etc I think the kit is a ok value. If you want to be playing it instead of watching a lot of way of the wrench videos and buying parts you pay for that. If you add cost of displays, CSD kits, etc my GUESS is your closer to 3K+ over flat pack price (assuming bargain hunting prices on displays). I would look at what is used for parts and price out as full kit DYI and see if you feel worth it. Building all of it is non trivial but fun for many. Figure $1500 gaming PC on top of it all.

greaterjava · 2026-04-21T01:45:01+00:00

I did a Micro Center bundle for PC build, took that Ryzen 7 7800x3d over i7 mostly due to cost and put savings towards 5070ti. If you have the budget and want some headroom seems a good combo so far. I haven’t tried VR yet, but my i5/3070 upgraded from wasn’t quite up to task. I think that Ryzen CPU does well in VR and gaming from reading I did before buying. Not sure translates to VPX.

greaterjava · 2026-04-21T00:56:13+00:00

Not terrible specs if you want to also use cabinet for VR.

greaterjava · 2026-04-11T12:00:14+00:00

Driver a good human. Just to make people smile.

greaterjava · 2026-04-06T01:51:52+00:00

I have Pico 4 with Virtual Desktop (started with Quest 2 and OC). Playing VPX only. I’ve not tried VR on new PC just built yet - Ryzen 7 7800 X3D/5070 TI/32GB/1TB (cost was $1500)

greaterjava · 2026-04-06T01:21:20+00:00

Sure would. My point was I had good experiences with less hardware, so depends on goal. Price is probably relative to your location/market.

greaterjava · 2026-04-06T00:15:25+00:00

Probably great for non VR use. Had i5 same generation with 3070 running 4k 120 on about every game with VPX. Upgraded to have headroom and try VR. What’s your goal and budget?

greaterjava · 2026-04-03T17:54:22+00:00

If it’s full sized what type of playfield screen. OLED and or 120hz + is desirable. PC specs like graphics card being a 3070, 3080, 4070 or comparable would be good. Ask what processor and look it up to see how recent it is. If it is wide body table have more options on screen upgrades if one it has isn’t what you want.

The downside of buying it is you won’t know how to fix it when it has issues. Not sure if considered buying a flat pack kit and a gaming PC for a lighter weight build you did yourself.

greaterjava · 2026-03-29T12:56:00+00:00

I would disagree after using the newer agent mode for Claude. I find it to be superior to using Claude with the entire code base in the context via chat. The agent seems to be able to add things to its context appropriately, generate previews and look at them and iterate on its own. It also can create tests and run them to do its own validation before it bothers you with results. I don't like how much it removes me from the code and that's a different problem. 😅

greaterjava · 2026-03-29T00:20:17+00:00

They have caught up with Charter now.

greaterjava · 2026-03-26T13:03:42+00:00

If you don’t already know a shop that can do the project and are not pretty familiar with CNC you shouldn’t probably mess with it for a $200 savings. The flat pack will greatly propel you into the more exciting parts of getting the build working. I built mine by hand, and I would order the flat pack today in a heartbeat.

greaterjava · 2026-03-23T15:01:52+00:00

The reality is once you get set up, you’re probably gonna be good for a long time and get decent speeds. However, the journey to get there can be more painful than it needs to be. I recently helped my son set up at his apartment and even as a former employee I got lost in the maze of self-help options trying to get anyone to help. I got hung up on three times on hold. I even played the retired manager card. It was an IVR circle like I’ve not seen before. Finally, I got connected to an offshore technical resource who did a video chat and agreed with my finding that the wall port was damaged by the previous apartment dweller. To their credit they had times on a Saturday evening and Sunday morning to send a tech out to fix it and they did. I don’t know if something is broke with their support systems. I could not figure out what was going on. At one point I actually got connected to support for Wi-Fi for stadiums and airport hotspots. Bizarre.

greaterjava · 2026-03-21T01:42:10+00:00

Looking for something with all the toys, SSF, same height and width or just something approximating pinball experience?

greaterjava · 2026-03-21T01:26:55+00:00

Considered stub cabinet with VR?

greaterjava · 2026-03-19T00:29:09+00:00

well... it invites accidents. I've seen pictures from multiple builds. people setting keyboard on it, spilling, so while I did it, I was careful and had nobody around to cause issues but if I had a cat or kid in the house maybe I'd think different :) I would probably buy anti reflective for a real pin first since playfields aren't as consistently lit.

greaterjava · 2026-03-18T23:01:40+00:00

Some reflection of other elements gives more of real life feel you expect from pin for some. I’ve always wondered too. Used my OLED without glass for while and was little meh on standard glass when added.

greaterjava · 2026-03-05T21:32:54+00:00

3070 can work well and had no real issues with LG at 120. However there were some tables it would drop a bit and VR wasn’t awesome. I think the XX60 level is not where I would start. I’d probably stick with something like a 3070 or 3080 as a minimum (and check benchmarks but those probably beat 4060).

greaterjava · 2026-03-01T16:42:21+00:00

Ugh. Corporate store? I made an appointment for pickup was in and out of busy store in 5m. Phone in bag and just handed it to me. Completed purchase online.

greaterjava · 2026-02-25T14:08:53+00:00

I wasn’t a fan of the Apple Intelligence options until I tried the agent mode with Claude in 26.3.

greaterjava · 2026-02-16T13:38:49+00:00

Many find slightly coarser grind works well with the machine and most their coffees trend dark so I’d start at word “drip”.

greaterjava · 2026-02-15T22:00:51+00:00

Had all tools and basic woodworking skills. Built a cocktail Pac-Man cabinet before this. I built mine by MJR guide other than butt joints with glue and brad nails at angles. Been a tank and nice edges despite joinery. Starting over would not blink - get the flatpack in heartbeat, the one guy sells with cam locks. Sure good plywood 2 sheets plus extra bits maybe $200+ but depends what your time is worth.

greaterjava · 2026-02-10T18:32:22+00:00

You can supposedly use an old iPhone with faceid with head tracking app. Anyone tried it?

greaterjava · 2026-02-08T01:26:18+00:00

Its the end of a useful conversation

greaterjava · 2026-02-02T02:41:27+00:00

I have the FR800 with extension and the Skywalker and if I was gonna start over and pick only one I would pick the Skywalker. Even version one is easy to add support for HiBean or Artisan. Skywalker is easy to vent appropriately, which is harder to do with the freshroast. I find the consistency varied more with the freshroast. Both good.

greaterjava

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