When we think of arcade machines, special boards and huge maintenance challenges come to mind… but times have changed. Sega is a true monster in arcade production, and one of the most interesting aspects is that it has reused hardware for many of its products. One of them is the ALLS, Amusement Linkage Live System, which, although it qualifies as an 'arcade board'… everything inside it is a gaming PC.
Near my home there is a mall that just opened a new arcade, and I was very surprised to see classic machines like Daytona USA, with their huge CRT screens and controls worn down by the intensity of the players. Personally, I don't envy whoever has to repair one of those arcades. Its hardware dates back to the first half of the '90s, and if something needs to be replaced, the process won't be so simple.
However, that uncertainty no longer exists in modern arcades. Why? Because conventional hardware is more than enough to run popular titles. A convincing proof comes from the ALLS series (Amusement Linkage Live System) sold by Sega. The channel Bringus Studios (which we know from its GameCube Mini) managed to import one of these systems from Japan, and after removing its cover it found… a gaming PC.
ALLS: Arcade machines with Nvidia graphics and Intel chips from Sega
Beyond three serial ports and a special connector for a 'key chip', this ALLS client PC (I say 'client' because they connect to servers) uses a Gigabyte motherboard, a GeForce GTX 1060, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 120 GB SSD. The Sega Retro page has complete technical details, and the Bringus team agrees with the ALLS MX2, based on an Intel Core i5-8500 processor. The ATX power supply is made by FSP (a relatively decent brand), with a maximum power of 500 watts.
As for the operating system, ALLS uses the LTSC 2019 edition of Windows 10 IoT Enterprise to run a very successful horse racing game in Japan called StarHorse4. Unfortunately, Bringus couldn't remove the BIOS password, but with a rotation of SSDs and USB drives it installed a copy of Windows 10 Home Edition. The Nvidia drivers worked perfectly, as did Steam, several high-profile games, and emulators.
To finish, the best part: Bringus paid 418 dollars for the ALLS, when a similar computer is floating around 390 dollars in the United States.
