View Full Version : XBOX or Dreamcast - which is better for emulation?
Scream And Fly
09-28-2007, 05:56 PM
I'm looking to get a console to mod for emulators - mostly NES and SNES, but others too.
My question is, which console do you think is better for this purpose and why? XBOX or Dreamcast?
I would really appreciate some guidance on this.
Thanks!
CosmicMonkey
09-28-2007, 06:13 PM
If you're purely wanting a box full of romz, then the Xbox is the best choice. It's more powerful than a DC, and relatively easier to code for what with it essentially being a 733Mhz Pentium 3 PC. Therefore there's a much greater range of emulators available for the Xbox and you can store all your romz on the HDD.
You might also be interested in a little piece of homebrew software called Xbox Media Center.....
roushimsx
09-28-2007, 06:22 PM
Xbox by a fairly large margin. More system supported because people generally just recompiled open source emulators from the PC with snazzy new front ends. The Xbox is powerful enough that people can get away with being a bit lazier for most systems :)
Internal hard drive so you don't even need to put anything on a disc, you can just FTP everything to your Xbox on the other side of the house.
The stock Xbox controller is leaps and bounds better than the Dreamcast pad for old games, while also having a wide range of quality controllers and adapters available if you want to use something else.
The one downside is that you're going to need a buddy to load the exploited save for you or you're going to need to go pick up an Action Replay Max and a supported game.
You might also be interested in a little piece of homebrew software called Xbox Media Center.....
Xbox Media Center is fucking excellent. Even disregarding its uses as a vehicle for movie/tv piracy, it's just a really slick and multi-functional interface that does everything so damn well.
suppafly
09-28-2007, 06:45 PM
The xbox by a mile
The xbox has superb genesis, mame and snes emus. Same for GBA
Poofta!
09-28-2007, 06:56 PM
xbox by a million miles.
the dreamcast cant emulate to save its life (thats why its dead! haha!). i mean sure it can RUN those games but barely any nintendo game/system runs at full speed/sound.
you can install linux on your xbox and itll run anything youll throw at it, no mod chip needed.
norkusa
09-28-2007, 07:18 PM
And not only does emulation run better on Xbox, a lot of the emulators (mostly the Xport ones) have 720p/1080i video options so you can play them in HDTV.
InsaneDavid
09-28-2007, 07:23 PM
I'll chime in from the Dreamcast emulation camp, the one advantage the Dreamcast has is that it doesn't need to be modified to run emulators. NES emulation through NESterDC v7.1 (I don't like the SE release) is excellent and the Gameboy / Gameboy Color emulator DCGNUboy is pretty good as well. Aside from that however, there really isn't much to write home about on the DC emulation front.
sickdrummer420
09-28-2007, 07:26 PM
I'll chime in from the Dreamcast emulation camp, the one advantage the Dreamcast has is that it doesn't need to be modified to run emulators. NES emulation through NESterDC v7.1 (I don't like the SE release) is excellent and the Gameboy / Gameboy Color emulator DCGNUboy is pretty good as well. Aside from that however, there really isn't much to write home about on the DC emulation front.
yea NesterDC runs really well, but compared to anything on the Xbox its nothing. Xbox will even run ScummVM and Daphne which also rocks. Hell even a PSX emulator on it runs some great games. Having over 10,000 games on mine, I would have to say go with Xbox.
CosmicMonkey
09-28-2007, 07:33 PM
As for actually giving your Xbox the 'red pill' I'd maybe suggest a mod chip on this occasion. If you know someone locally who can do a TSOP flash for you, then that's the way to go. But with the amount of messing around required to TSOP flash (or exploit) a single Xbox you should just go for a chip. Get your soldering iron out and install an Xecuter 2 as they're nice and cheap and will do everything you require. Solderless adapters are available too if you don't feel like soldering.
You'll also want a new HDD. The original one is only 8GB (sometimes 10) which isn't going to hold much. So depending on how crazy you want to go, depends on what size drive to get.
Scream And Fly
09-28-2007, 09:55 PM
Awesome post, thank you everyone!!! XBox it is, but I won't abandon my Dreamcast - I love that system.
Wolfrider31
09-28-2007, 10:14 PM
By the by, EBGames is having a deal on used Xboxs for 49.99. The offers good until Oct 4. I think you need to be subscribed to their email list to get the coupon code though. If you want mine shoot me a PM.
Sweater Fish Deluxe
09-29-2007, 05:42 PM
The stock Xbox controller is leaps and bounds better than the Dreamcast pad for old games, while also having a wide range of quality controllers and adapters available if you want to use something else.
Is there really a wide variety of controllers available? I made an Xbox-to-USB adapter a few years ago whenI learned how easy it was, but I've never really used it because there doesn't seem to be any good controllers available for the Xbox. I don't like the standard controller at all and the only non-standard design from a third party that I can find is the Street Fighter Anniversary controller which looks great in pictures, but acually feels like totaly shit. Are there other controllers available that I haven't seen.
The fact that third party controller makers almost never stray from the dresign of the first party controller anymore has been a big complaint of mine for a while now. On the Dreamcast, the only people who made really different controllers were some of the Hong Kong accessory makers, but I haven't seen anything similar for the Xbox.
I know there's an Xbox version of the Joybox 3-in-1, though, and for emulators that's all you should need since between the Saturn controller and the Playstation controller (at least if you can find a nice one without the stupid segmented dpad), you should really have all the configurations you need for most systems out there. And a good arcade stick, which there seems to be a couple to choose from on the Xbox.
I'm a huge fan of the Dreamcast, but the Xbox has it all over the DC when it comes to emulation. The Dreamcast has a much better homebrew scene overall, though, when you consider all the original games and KOS itself.
...word is bondage...
Barbarianoutkast85
09-29-2007, 05:45 PM
In my opion I think the Xbox is the best for playing emulators on a console. I mean, you could sit down on a rainy afternoon with a satchel of cold beer, a bag of cocaine and woop it up for hours.
MarioMania
09-29-2007, 06:04 PM
On the Sega CD Emulater can you put in the Sega CD disk or it's just an ISO
CosmicMonkey
09-29-2007, 06:46 PM
On the Sega CD Emulater can you put in the Sega CD disk or it's just an ISO
Just because Barbarianoutkast85 suggested a few beers and some nasal-based activity for a gaming session, doesn't mean you should do it before posting on here. Now go sober up and try that again in English....
Trebuken
09-29-2007, 07:14 PM
I would get a dedicated PC...anyways.
The Xbox is better sure and more expensive. If you can afford the Xbox than the Dreamcast is an inexpensive addition and you don't have to do anything to it, you just have to burn some discs.
norkusa
09-29-2007, 08:02 PM
On the Sega CD Emulater can you put in the Sega CD disk or it's just an ISO
You can do both. I've got a bunch of ISO's on my Xbox's hdd but if I have the original on cd, I usually just use that.
TheDomesticInstitution
10-04-2007, 06:06 PM
Yep, the XBOX is good for emulation. I just set mine up last weekend... it took me quite a while and I still have bugs to work out. There is a lot of info available about it online, and few good places to go. But It would pay to know someone else who has done it sucessfully, so you can get tips. I still have quite a few questions of my own, that I haven't been able to get answers for even after hours of searching a lot of other forums... I really don't want to join another forum just to ask a few questions though. BTW I used SNES9X for the emulator... and it's really customizable, so maybe look into it.
BocoDragon
10-04-2007, 09:02 PM
I would love to hear how well the Xbox runs MAME. Can you play all the Capcom and SNK fighters on it? Does it looks nice on the TV and run flawlessly?
I already have a PC hooked up to my TV through S-video for all the emulation I could need.... but I'm starting to feel that the picture quality is a little sub-par on my SDTV because my video card can only render at too high a resolution (800x600+). It's a bit fuzzy.
CosmicMonkey
10-04-2007, 09:37 PM
Well there's a Capcom CPS3 emulator for the Xbox (http://nebula.emulatronia.com/index.php) that's just been released. I'm going to give this a go tomorrow to see how well it runs.
3rd Strike FTW
TheRedEye
10-04-2007, 09:44 PM
I would love to hear how well the Xbox runs MAME. Can you play all the Capcom and SNK fighters on it? Does it looks nice on the TV and run flawlessly?
I already have a PC hooked up to my TV through S-video for all the emulation I could need.... but I'm starting to feel that the picture quality is a little sub-par on my SDTV because my video card can only render at too high a resolution (800x600+). It's a bit fuzzy.
If you're using Windows XP, get a program called QuickRes. It forces XP into 640x480. I'm using that and running ZSNES through s-video, and after adjusting brightness and contrast with my video card, there is almost zero difference between it and a real SNES.
Oh, and to answer your question, all emulators are "scaled" on the Xbox. The image is blurry, just like all classic game compilation discs (or like the TG-16 games on the Wii).
Fighter17
10-04-2007, 09:47 PM
XBOX, and my goodness there's a CPS3 emulator on it.
Kid Ice
10-04-2007, 09:56 PM
To DP guys: Sorry to say but I've been lurking at your forums over the last couple of months and the quality of the forums (and the people) are heading towards downhill.
Piss up a rope! What rat hole did you crawl in, you fucking goon?
InsaneDavid
10-04-2007, 10:05 PM
Piss up a rope! What rat hole did you crawl in, you fucking goon?
Oh god, he wasn't banned?
cyberfluxor
10-04-2007, 10:52 PM
:2gunfire: http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c196/cyberfluxor/thebird.jpg
Arrrgggg.
And just go PC if you can. You typed on here right? You can get a USB controller for a few bucks just find the right one (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107376).
Fighter17
10-04-2007, 10:53 PM
:2gunfire: http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c196/cyberfluxor/thebird.jpg
Arrrgggg.
Why you got to attack my avatar like that man? :(
bangtango
10-04-2007, 11:01 PM
Why you got to attack my avatar like that man? :(
What is your avatar anyway?
Say......what's on your mind besides the Atari Jaguar?
Fighter17
10-04-2007, 11:06 PM
What is your avatar anyway?
Say......what's on your mind besides the Atari Jaguar?
The avatar is from the Japanese Anime series Samurai Pizza Cats. The person is Bad Bird.
Read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Pizza_Cats
And what's on my mind lately, my job and trying to get the games I need.
cyberfluxor
10-04-2007, 11:14 PM
What is your avatar anyway?
Say......what's on your mind besides the Atari Jaguar?
Wow. You see, he puts Samurai Pizza Cats to shame. :shameful:
What a great anime it is though, at least watch the episode "Gender Bender Butterflies!" that wasn't released in America but was shown in Canada and other countries. Oh, and here's a popular AMV from years ago someone made from the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZpWjxm0Zko
Fighter17
10-04-2007, 11:16 PM
Wow. You see, he puts Samurai Pizza Cats to shame. :shameful:
What a great anime it is though, at least watch the episode "Gender Bender Butterflies!" that wasn't released in America but was shown in Canada and other countries.
Wait, HOLD IT!
We're both on the same page for SPC.
But yeah, Gender Bender was funny as hell.
cyberfluxor
10-04-2007, 11:27 PM
Wait, HOLD IT!
We're both on the same page for SPC.
But yeah, Gender Bender was funny as hell.
I don't know what page you're referring to but I liked the show and it sucks it won't have a complete DVD release anytime soon if at all. As for you though, don't start spamming, trolling and leading threads off-topic again. It was like a train wreck last time you were here and I've read enough garbage you've tossed onto other forums. As a courtesy I'm letting you know of this in hopes it won't happen again and end up with others aggravated even more and another ban.
Enough off-topicness, back to the OP now! Chop-chop. ;)
bangtango
10-04-2007, 11:33 PM
Enough off-topicness, back to the OP now! Chop-chop. ;)
*GULP* Yessir.......
I'm looking to get a console to mod for emulators - mostly NES and SNES, but others too.
My question is, which console do you think is better for this purpose and why? XBOX or Dreamcast?
I would really appreciate some guidance on this.
Thanks!
The only emulation I've ever used on either system was a SNES emulator on DC. The original Dreamcast pad wasn't much for playing some of the one-on-one fighters I tried out, like SNES Fatal Fury 2. But I am sure there are much better options. Otherwise, it did all right with the SNES games but I'll stick with my PC. I wish I had more to chime in about NES emulation on the Dreamcast but the guy who put the SNES & NES discs together for me as a favor gave me a blank disc (he simply forgot to put the NES emulator on). I won't know until the next time I see him and have him "finish the job." *shakes head*
BocoDragon
10-05-2007, 03:14 AM
If you're using Windows XP, get a program called QuickRes. It forces XP into 640x480. I'm using that and running ZSNES through s-video, and after adjusting brightness and contrast with my video card, there is almost zero difference between it and a real SNES.
Whoa... thanks for the tip. You might have just saved me a lot of hassle. My PC is an emulation beast, but the too-high resolution was killing it.
I use my Xbox for all my retrogaming needs. NES, SNES, Mega Drive, Neo Geo, CPS1, 2, 3 and Intellivision. Haven't tried MAME but i reckon i'd already be busy for hours on end on my Xbox. Running it via component to my CRT TV and it looks superb.
Dreamcast is great for all the Naomi arcade stuff, but for emulation I think the scene is pretty much dead these days.
Fighter17
10-05-2007, 08:08 AM
Whoa... thanks for the tip. You might have just saved me a lot of hassle. My PC is an emulation beast, but the too-high resolution was killing it.
I was having the same problem when playing games on my TV (thru S-Video). It only goes up to 800x600 and it looked terrible.
Let me try it out. :)
Jimid2
10-05-2007, 08:15 AM
I've got an XBox here I've been toying with hacking for a while now... Are there any good Turbografx/PC Engine EMUs ported to the XBox? and does anyone know of a good XBox dedicated site where I might get more in-depth info on hacking the box (soft or hard) and EMUs?
norkusa
10-05-2007, 12:48 PM
I would love to hear how well the Xbox runs MAME. Can you play all the Capcom and SNK fighters on it? Does it looks nice on the TV and run flawlessly?
Oh yeah. I've got MAMEoX Plus on my Xbox and it runs great. Seems like most of the games made around 97' and up start to have problems with slowdown and memory size. You can double the size of RAM in your Xbox to 128mb though and this emulator will support it, so that'd help the newer stuff to run. And MAMEoX also supports lightguns too. For Capsom and SNK arcade roms though, you'll want to use the FBA-XXX emulator since it's optimized for them and runs perfectly. Even plays in 1080i too.
I've got an XBox here I've been toying with hacking for a while now... Are there any good Turbografx/PC Engine EMUs ported to the XBox? and does anyone know of a good XBox dedicated site where I might get more in-depth info on hacking the box (soft or hard) and EMUs?
MendafenX-PCE is the best TG-16/PCE emulator. Does cd games and even Supergrax stuff too, all in 1080i or progressive scan.
You guys should use ZsexBox v3.3 for SNES though. So much better than SNES9X.
BTW, here's where I download all my emulators from. I had a hard time searching for them before I found this place:
http://www.eurasia.nu/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=48