Advise: Arcade cabinet controls

[Cheerios]

So I have this pretty beefy Namco cabinet just sitting here that I want to make into a MAME cabinet, but the part I'm stumped on is the joystick and buttons.

After reading a bit about them, since I really have no knowledge of what's a good joystick these days, it seems like Sanwa and Happ are the top picks while the pre-made X-Arcade is a piece of dookie. The cabinet going to be used by children and adults, so the controls just need to be rugged and responsive for more than just fighting games (and also an octagonal gate).

I'm wondering if anyone here has had any kind of experience building their own joystick panel that works with a PC through USB, and what parts they'd recommend. I'm also not sure if I can just add on to my existing arcade controls and make those PC compatible, or if I need to redo everything.

Looking to support 2 players, 6-8 buttons per player (excluding start/coin).

Post here or leave a PM.

[killerc4]

sanwa, seimitsu and happs are all good quality parts. Happs joysticks are more rugged and usually come in bat tops. Buttons the best way I can describe them is,

sanwa = floaty,sensitive
seimitsu = shorter than sanwa not as floaty (they dont move around much)
happs = clicky

worst descriptions ever, I know. it really just comes down to preference.

As for connecting them to the pc I use http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html on my cabinets. Works well and if you hook it via ps/2 connector you can wakeup the pc from a keypress. Just assign one of the side buttons to spacebar and you can turn on your cabinet from a pushbutton.

[MogKnight]

As far as joysticks: The Japanese sticks (Sanwa/Seimitsu) are actually very sturdy and unless you have someone with a killer arm and causes the whole cabinet to move while playing the game, it'll most likely not break. It is very sensitive though and some people might not the sensitivity. That is where the HAPPs come in. As far as gates go, you can buy an octo gate for either np. If you want to go with extra smooth, look up Perfect 360 sticks. You'll have to hook up a power source to the stick but otherwise it's great if you want to feel any corners.

As for buttons, I would suggest Sanwa or Seimitsu. You could go with concave happs buttons but I think the trade off for softer, convex buttons makes for a better experience. Seimitsu would be a middle ground.

[SephYuyX]

If youve played NA arcades, youre going to be most familar with Happs, if you play JP arcades, youd be used to san/sei. San/sei arent bad, but a world of difference than happs, so if youve never used them before, find somewhere to try them out.

[Cheerios]

I'm more familiar with the bat top arcade sticks and convex buttons, with very light use of the ball-top ones.

I'm looking for something that's not incredibly sensitive that would be enjoyed by people in a non-professional gaming setting.

So here's what I think I've gathered so far.

Happ joystick (maybe perfect 360), convex buttons, and an I-Pac board (http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html). Is there anything else that I'd need to purchase for the controls to function, and is there any soldering required?