Portable homebrew system?

[369WIERDO369]

Hello, everyone.
I've been looking for a portable game system that will play homebrew games, emulators, etc.
I've researched quite a few systems already, but I can't be sure which ones work the best, especially with emulation.
So any help from you guys and gals would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. =)

[dnehthend]

how modern of games?

you can get a tapwave relatively cheap, they can run snes and genesis pretty well

[HappehLemons]

psp is the best portable homebrew system hands down.

[InsaneDavid]

I love my GP2X F100. I play SNES, Genesis, SMS, Game Gear, NES, Atari 2600 and TurboGrafx / PCEngine on it. A few SNES games are a little slow but everything else is great.

[369WIERDO369]

how modern of games?

you can get a tapwave relatively cheap, they can run snes and genesis pretty well

I'd be fine with just 8-bit games.

[Tupin]

Try getting a Dingoo A320, it does NES emulation on its base hardware perfectly.

[phreakindee]

PSP2000 is the best I've used. I got an Ice Silver and modded it for a total of $65, played everything from the 2600 up to PS1 and GBA games near flawlessly. Seriously, with the power of the machine and variety of things it can do, playing all PSP and PS1 games is a great extra, it is the best deal IMO. Plus it has that classic Sony feel.

I've heard great things about the Dingoo though, and the GP systems seem to be nice as well, but for the low cost of the PSP and ability to play Sony games, it's my pick.

[369WIERDO369]

PSP2000 is the best I've used. I got an Ice Silver and modded it for a total of $65, played everything from the 2600 up to PS1 and GBA games near flawlessly. Seriously, with the power of the machine and variety of things it can do, playing all PSP and PS1 games is a great extra, it is the best deal IMO. Plus it has that classic Sony feel.

I've heard great things about the Dingoo though, and the GP systems seem to be nice as well, but for the low cost of the PSP and ability to play Sony games, it's my pick.

I considered going the PSP route, but I wouldn't know how to mod it to play homebrew...

[retroman]

i agree psp with a mod...

[Dreamstate]

PSP good and the screen is big, but not the right dimentions. I love my Dingoo, though. Very easy to use and good price as well. Designed to do just what you want.

[josekortez]

I vote for the GP2X. I got one from a forum member recently, and I love it. The homebrew scene is still decent for the system too when you get tired of playing emulated games. Reword on the GP2X is one of the best puzzle games I've played lately, and it's a homebrew.

[silkd]

I think the Pandora finally started shipping too.

[kupomogli]

PSP is the best I think. If you happen to want to pick up a few retail games you can also do that. Just about every 32bit system and prior is full speed.

Genesis, TG16, GB, SMS, Capcom CPS, CPS2, Atari, NES, Neo Geo, Wonderswan, and Amiga work full speed. There are others that are that I don't use.

Sega CD has most games working full speed. SNES has most games full speed(only a couple not full speed.) TG16CD have very few games full speed(Ys and Ys3 are full speed outside of voice audio atleast.)

[ImBob]

Is there anything out there that can be hooked up to a tv?

[josekortez]

Is there anything out there that can be hooked up to a tv?

The GP2X has a TV out cord sold separately. Some PSPs are able to connect to composite connections, others are able to connect to component connections. Those cords have to be purchased separately. Depends on the model number with the PSPs. I don't know about the Dingo or the Wiz.

[InsaneDavid]

The GP2X has a TV out cord sold separately. Some PSPs are able to connect to composite connections, others are able to connect to component connections. Those cords have to be purchased separately. Depends on the model number with the PSPs. I don't know about the Dingo or the Wiz.

I've heard of building a homebrew adapter and hacking a couple things to get TV Out to work on the Wiz, but it's really not something that is feasible for normal usage. I've always thought those who chased after TV out on the GP2X / Wiz were missing the point of the system. LOL

I was thinking of picking up a Wiz later this year, you can get one for $150.00 now (http://www.gp2xstore.com/gp2x-wiz-handheld-linux-game-console.html).

[BacteriaInfection]

Of all the ones listed, which one is cheapest?

Price ranges for each?

[josekortez]

I've heard of building a homebrew adapter and hacking a couple things to get TV Out to work on the Wiz, but it's really not something that is feasible for normal usage. I've always thought those who chased after TV out on the GP2X / Wiz were missing the point of the system. LOL

I was thinking of picking up a Wiz later this year, you can get one for $150.00 now (http://www.gp2xstore.com/gp2x-wiz-handheld-linux-game-console.html).

Well, the screen on the GP2X is only 3 inches wide. I like it because it's bright enough, but not the greatest for looking at for hours at a time. Also, if you want to play your favorite games on your TV, at least you have an option to do that.


Of all the ones listed, which one is cheapest?

Price ranges for each?

I can't give you exact price ranges, but an original fat model PSP is about $99 at Gamestop. Those are the ones that are most easily flashed, but you have to get certain games to step down the firmware to run emulators. You would also need a Memory Pro Duo stick of appropriate size for the games. I would Google PSP emulation to find out whether or not it's something you're interested in going through before you start.

The GP2X doesn't have to be flashed. It runs its emulators and homebrew games from SD cards. That system is not longer being produced, so you'd have to get it from Ebay or from a forum member. I traded for mine so it's hard to put a cash amount on it, but it's still totally worth it.

[kupomogli]

The PSP3000 is $169.99, you could always look for a CFW PSP2000 on Ebay for cheaper.

With the PSP3000, the Locoroco 2 demo, and the half byte loader, you can load homebrew and emulators. It's not a custom firmware but it's a loader that can be used on official firmware through an exploit, so you can still play all the newest games. Basically. Homebrew and emulation will cost you nothing else but a memory stick which a 2GB card is dirt cheap now days and should cover anything you could want from 8bit to 16bit.

With the PSP 2000, if it's a certain firmware, you can downgrade it with the Pandora battery. They're available on ebay for fairly cheap or if you have a friend who has one. Downgrading is easy if you can follow instructions. Or if on Ebay you happen to find a system that's already downgraded. More than likely you'll find a custom firmware system for less than $169.

PSP Slim systems have composite and component out cables that you can get. GP2X has a dock station that you can plug controllers in and play multiplayer on the system itself. The GP2X dock station and controller accessories are pretty cool, but the PSP is better system altogether.

[InsaneDavid]

The GP2X doesn't have to be flashed. It runs its emulators and homebrew games from SD cards.

That's my favorite feature of the platform. Once you get your firmware set up and squared away (which if you have a fresh set of batteries and read the instructions you won't have any problems) you can't screw up your system. (And you do want the 4.1.0 firmware since it adds SDHC compatibility) Everything is on the SD card. If a game doesn't work right or settings get screwed up for an emulator, you just drag a fresh version to the SD card. Also means you can easily keep a full backup of everything you have on your computer, then if anything gets messed up you just copy it back over to the card. I use an 8GB card so there's really no limit to how much retrogaming I can carry with me. Vektar, Cave Story and LadyKiller are all good homebrews for the system as well.

I got my GP2X F100 locally off craigslist for $40.00 but I see them on eBay for around that range. If you're patient you can get one for that price.

[Ze_ro]

If you're just interested in 8-bit stuff, then I'd say go with the Dingoo. You can get them for fairly cheap (DealExtreme sells them for about $80 (http://www.dealextreme.com/search.dx/search.dingoo)), there's a respectable homebrew scene. While it runs software off SD card, you might have to do a bit of software hacking, as a lot of software requires Dingux (a version of Linux that runs on the Dingoo) to be installed. You might want to read some FAQs to see if this is going to be a problem for you or not. There are emulators installed right from the factory, so if they cover what you want, you might not have to worry at all. Rumor has it that a new model of Dingoo is on the way, though from what I could tell, the only differences were more memory and a different case style.

The PSP is alright, but you do have to hack it to install a custom firmware... certain models will be more difficult than others (avoid the 3000 and Go), and if you buy retail games, you might have to fight with official firmware update). I also have had poor luck with emulators randomly crashing, confusing directory structures required on the memory card, etc. I wouldn't buy a PSP specifically with emulation in mind. Of course, you have the advantage of playing commercial games, and the PSP is capable of doing all 16-bit systems full speed, and has the Sony-made PSX emulator.

You can also run homebrew on the DS, but this requires a flash adapter (the Acekard 2i (http://shoptemp.com/products/Acekard-2i-Card-for-Nintendo-DS-DS-Lite-DSi-p-30.html) is what you want, and only $15). The DS is less powerful than any of the other consoles listed, but there's a good chance you might already have one, so it's worth mentioning anyways. I haven't really done much emulation on DS (I already own a GP2X), but my understanding is that 8-bit systems should be full speed.

The GP2X is somewhat obsolete these days, but if you can find one for cheap, it's an excellent little system. All you have to do is copy whatever you want to an SD card and you're good to go. Very simple overall. The system is powerful enough to do Genesis and TG16 full speed, but SNES is a bit of a challenge for it (some games work great, others slow down a lot). There were a few different versions of the GP2X released, with some changes to the controls. If you decide to get one, I'd say go with the later F-200. None of the models have a "normal" d-pad, which is a little annoying. Keep in mind that you'll have to install the newest firmware update in order to use SDHC cards with it.

There is a newer system called the GP2X Wiz that came out a while back that is a bit more powerful (enough to do SNES emulation perfectly and PSX somewhat decently). Most GP2X software and emulators have been ported to the Wiz. Rather than getting a Wiz though, you might want to wait and see what happens with the Caanoo (http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php?/topic/53776-caanoo-the-new-gph-console/), which looks to be yet another replacement (same hardware as Wiz, except with more memory, a different case style, and a built-in accelerometer). Rumor has it they were going to announce it at E3, but someone leaked it early. One would hope that all Wiz software would work with it out of the box, but this company is known for making silly changes that break compatibility, so wait and see.

There's also the Pandora (http://www.openpandora.org). This device is more powerful than any of the others listed (enough to do full-speed PSX, probably N64, and *maybe* even Dreamcast if you don't mind playing without sound and with frame skipping). The Pandora also has a keyboard, which comes in very handy if you want to do any computer-type stuff, or emulate classic computers like C64, Atari 8-bit, Amiga, etc. There have been ridiculous amounts of delays in this project, but they've finally started shipping. They're still working on getting the first 4000 preorders built (let alone shipped), and no one knows whey they're going to open up ordering for the next batch... if you're patient, this might be the better choice overall, but may be overkill if all you want is Atari 2600 and NES.

--Zero

[Poofta!]

i agree with everyone that the psp 2000 is by far the easiest, cheapest and best choice.

aside from it running just about everything, you also get all PS1 and PSP games.

modding it is very easy, and googleing helps a lot, as mentioned (you can also buy one from ebay by searching cfw psp 2000).

and psp 2000 has tv output.

[kedawa]

I prefer smaller handhelds, so I'd go with the Dingoo.

[Theretrogamingroom]

I prefer the Dingoo A320. You can get alot of games on a pretty small unit.

[Ze_ro]

I put together this comparison a while back. It's a little bit old (prices probably out of date, doesn't list DSi, and I'm not sure what newer iPhone's feature), but should still be quite relevant:

http://astrocadeage.com/handheldcomp.png

--Zero

[josekortez]

I put together this comparison a while back. It's a little bit old (prices probably out of date, doesn't list DSi, and I'm not sure what newer iPhone's feature), but should still be quite relevant:

--Zero

Wow, that's pretty danged thorough. Thanks for that, Ze_ro.

[kedawa]

Apparently there's a new version of the Wiz called Caanoo that should be available late this summer.
It has more RAM, a bigger screen(LCD not OLED), an analog nub in place of the dpad, and some sort of motion sensor, but is otherwise the same as the Wiz.

Also, the Dingoo A330 is just a knockoff of the a320 made by a completely different company.

[BetaWolf47]

My friend has a Dingoo. I tried a bit, but don't know what to think. NES emulation is dead accurate, except for music playing too quickly... at least in the game I tested (Super Mario Bros. 3). SNES is slow, so you have to reduce the framerate and disable layers if possible. Most homebrew emulators run off of Dingux, so you have to learn how to run that.

I'd like to know how GP2x Wiz stands up to this. How are 16-bit emulators on that, and what systems are emulated so far?

[369WIERDO369]

I'll probably end up going with the Dingoo, cuz I'm only after 8-bit stuff, mostly....how's GBA emulation on it? Genesis, Master System?

[Tupin]

I'll probably end up going with the Dingoo, cuz I'm only after 8-bit stuff, mostly....how's GBA emulation on it? Genesis, Master System?
GBA emulation on it is good, but Genesis and Master System emulators run better on Dingux.

[369WIERDO369]

GBA emulation on it is good, but Genesis and Master System emulators run better on Dingux.


Alrighty, I'll keep that in mind. =)

Thanks for all your help, everyone!

[kedawa]

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but I remember one of the main problems with the Dingoo's default emulators is that you couldn't press Y and B at the same time, making a lot of SNES games practically unplayable. There was supposed to be a firmware update to fix it, but I don't think it ever got released, so you really should just go with Dingux if you do get a Dingoo.

The Wiz had some weird problems of its own. The OLED screen they used is configured as 240x320, probably because it's intended for smartphones, whereas the GP2X has an LCD that's 320x240. This doesn't sound like anything that would cause problems, but the way the Wiz rotates the image to display properly causes really bad tearing with a lot of GP2X software. A lot of stuff has been recompiled to run in 240x320 mode natively, but I'm not sure if all the emulators you want have the fix or not. It's definitely something to look into if you're considering the Wiz.

[InsaneDavid]

The Wiz had some weird problems of its own. The OLED screen they used is configured as 240x320, probably because it's intended for smartphones, whereas the GP2X has an LCD that's 320x240. This doesn't sound like anything that would cause problems, but the way the Wiz rotates the image to display properly causes really bad tearing with a lot of GP2X software. A lot of stuff has been recompiled to run in 240x320 mode natively, but I'm not sure if all the emulators you want have the fix or not. It's definitely something to look into if you're considering the Wiz.

That was a key problem with the Wiz, most of the applications were ported over from the GP2X without being optimized. As I'm thinking of picking up a Wiz soon, it's something I too need to become better acquainted with.

[369WIERDO369]

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but I remember one of the main problems with the Dingoo's default emulators is that you couldn't press Y and B at the same time, making a lot of SNES games practically unplayable. There was supposed to be a firmware update to fix it, but I don't think it ever got released, so you really should just go with Dingux if you do get a Dingoo.

The Wiz had some weird problems of its own. The OLED screen they used is configured as 240x320, probably because it's intended for smartphones, whereas the GP2X has an LCD that's 320x240. This doesn't sound like anything that would cause problems, but the way the Wiz rotates the image to display properly causes really bad tearing with a lot of GP2X software. A lot of stuff has been recompiled to run in 240x320 mode natively, but I'm not sure if all the emulators you want have the fix or not. It's definitely something to look into if you're considering the Wiz.

Alrighty, thanks for the tip.