I Want A Gp2x But Concerned...

[MagusZ]

Ok first of I would like to apologize if any of the following questions I ask were answered already, Im sorry there are just too many threads for the questions I want to ask.

I really want to get the GP2X but, honestly, I just found out about 2 nights ago and have reading up on it endlessly. I was thinking of getting a PSP just for the homebrew but found, difficulties in that, and finding the GP2X is like finding heaven

Anyway my concernes/questions are:

1. Are the GP2X easy to brick? I saw that they have, shall I say, and "auto bricking" type problem where it thinks it found a firmware update on my SD card? The last thing I want is a piece of hardware that bricks itslef lol so does it brick easy? (I also ask this since it is homebrew oriented) Can anyone just come out with a piece of software that bricks it?

2. Is it hard to work with this hardware? I see thats its Linux based and I don't have the slightest clue how to work with linux.

3. I see that an MKII version is out, is that the best version to get as of now? Also is there going to be a newer version coming out soon or is this a good time to get a GP2x?

4. I read in a review and this is what the author had to say:
"One word of warning do no touch the Nand area, that area isnt for you so leave well alone or you will brick (kill) your GP2X"

What is the world is a "Nand" ? Is that a part of the hardware or something inside it? no clue what he means by that...afraid of bricking it makes me uneasy.

5. Does it play chrono trigger? this is just an obession I have and DREAM of playing this game on the go. So if it does I am sooo getting the GP2X (if it doesnt brick easy lol)

5a. I see that it has an early PSX emulator I was wondering if it was able to play Chrono Trigger (PSX version) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? I read here that the problem with the PSX emulator is the 3D chip, these games don't require that chip or atleast not much of it (I dont think they do?)

So does it play these games atleast at a slow pace?

6. Where is the best place to get the GP2X? I mean do they sell them in brick and mortar stores in the US or is it just an internet thing? If so wheres the best place to get it?

These are the questions stopping me from getting it. Im sorry again if they have been answered but I guess if someone can answer them for me I would add tot he GP2X community

I might have more questions but for now I think these are the main problem.

Thank you in advance for helping and making this product

 

[vic20-ian]

Don't worry it is as easy as using Windows explorer and a digital camera memory card reader

The latest units are already flashed to version 2 firmware so you won't have to worry about that. Even if you did want to upgrade the firmware it is easy just follow the instructions and don't do it on battery power.

1. No it is not easy to brick (any more)

2. It is as easy as a digital camera as long as you can read a readme file and put folders on a SD card where they should go as stated in the readme.

3. Can't say about MkII being better. MkI is good but some don't like the joystick.

4. The NAND is a small area of writeable memory that can store programs but also has the bootloader. If you mess about with it you can mess up your GP2x (and would need help to sort it out) but I have never had to do anything with it. Version 2 firmware even has a game stored in the NAND.

5. Could not say - read the PSX compatability or the Wiki - see PSX beta test threads - probably does play

6. GBAX.com in the UK and can ship overseas

Buy and Enjoy

 

[mth411]

Edit:was beaten to it, should post faster next time.

Bah, next time, 2 or 3 questions!

Much harder to brick now, with the new loader on 2.0 linux, and less reason to brick, as the loader doesn't need to be update (till...).

The nand is a compact flash (ish) chip in the gp2x for storage internally of the linux os, a few applications, and such. Like a hard drive in a normal computer, but with nand.

For PSX, it looks amazing, but is at least 1 month away from being fully fully playable. I would buy the gp2x and consider that the future growth. It leaves the gp somewhere to go.

Snes with squidgesnes + hack + overclocking runs most snes games at full speed, including chronotrigger. I just played for a few minutes, so you may want someone elses opinion.

Get the mk2, plain and simple, comes with better joystick cover.

If you google play-asia you can find a free shipping coupon for this month, and the gp2x is only 170$ there, so pretty cheap. They just aren't as cool as Craig from gbax


Please reply if this helped you at all.

 

[Shikaku]

1. No
2. No, drag and drop mostly, BUT ALWAYS READ THE README. Only hard if you can't follow directions.
3. Yes, probably not a new version for a good while anyway
4. You will get 2.0 firmware, you can put whatever you want on the user reserved NAND memory (which is basically built in memory for storage).
5. Someone try it on NK's SNES emulator please? Also the PSX might be possible because of the lack of 3D, but I don't know as of now.
6. What country are you in?

If you google play-asia you can find a free shipping coupon for this month, and the gp2x is only 170$ there, so pretty cheap. They just aren't as cool as Craig from gbax

Please reply if this helped you at all.

STOP RECOMMENDING THOSE DAMN CHINESE COMPANIES!

 

[Yono]

Chrono Trigger is fine on SquidgeSNES if you turn off certain layers when they interfere (Hold Vol+&-, then press A,B,X or Y depending on the layer).

 

[darkman]

I think after you get one you will forget about all your concerns. You will even forget about how much money spent on it. (I did, I felt like I didn't pay enough for it) You will have so much fun you will even forget to sleep at night. If you are in the US, gp32z.com is the US store, that is if you feel more comfortable with something close to home.

 

[MagusZ]

Hello, and thanks for the fast replies!! wow lol

Anyway I live in the USA and No I don't mind buying stuff from other countries just wanted to know if they sold them in say target or wal-mart lol

If not, then what is a reliable and cheap site to get it from?

I heard of Play-asia and Link-san but never bought anything from them. Whats wrong with Play-Asia? btw

Ill check the Wiki for the PSX thank you

I understand what the Nand is now, but is it something you could "accidentally" mess up? You say its a writeable spot for saves and such, so what I mean is easy to mess it up?

What I got from the diffrences between the MKI and MK II is that the joystick is different? is that it? seems kind of small.

 

[Shikaku]

Buy it from http://gp32z.com because you are in the USA. If a problem arises you can return it easily.

Also you are going to need an SD card: buy it from http://newegg.com, they usually have the cheapest prices. Note that all capacities are supported.

You will also need AA NIMH batteries, you can buy them along with a charger from a store like wal-mart, or if you want something more advanced and powerful, http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm

 

[MagusZ]

Thank you very much! I appreciate the help!

Hopefully ill get one soon after this week I hope its as good as everyone says it is

 

[nubie]

Buy it from http://gp32z.com because you are in the USA. If a problem arises you can return it easily.

Also you are going to need an SD card: buy it from http://newegg.com, they usually have the cheapest prices. Note that all capacities are supported.

You will also need AA NIMH batteries, you can buy them along with a charger from a store like wal-mart, or if you want something more advanced and powerful, http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm

I bought a GP2X from both Play-Asia.com and gp32z.com

I would recommend Play-Asia because they are cheaper and quicker (don't ask why, it is just a fact. Fine, it is because they actually ship when you order).

Newegg.com is good, $47 (shipping included) for a 2GB A-Data SD card 150x speed.

 

[Shikaku]

OO! Also buy a card reader if you don't have one already!

 

[luffy]

If you google play-asia you can find a free shipping coupon for this month, and the gp2x is only 170$ there, so pretty cheap. They just aren't as cool as Craig from gbax

Could you please point me to the Play Asia free shipping code? I've just spent half an hour googling without any success.

Thanks!

 

[paxl13]

One reply about the concern on play-asia,

They have a 6 month wanrenty if you have problem, but
the cost like hell to reget your product to the play-asia.

paxl13

 

[Lint]

that's right

I bought mine from play-asia, since I would have to import it anyway and everything gone ok
Lik-sang didn't allowed me to purchase by credit-card, I don't know why, but so I ordered in his neighbour (and also playasia is 10 bucks cheaper)

 

[Lint]

The mess with the NAND memory is that if you start using it thinking it's harmless, sooner or later you gonna delete the wrong file/folder and then your gp2x is busted (not to mention mp3 files within the configuration directory or any other mess a user can and probably WILL do if not advised against)
anyway, NAND is not forbidden and you should not be so afraid of it IMHO.. but you should always have more space left on SD card than NAND

also I think that most people here use Windows, not Linux, and also most people never mastered any flavour of Linux distribution, so you should make yourself at home (I think it's even harder to use Linux with gp2x than Windows)

 

[bbodin]

I'd suggest buying from the US distributor. I ordered from the UK distributor and got it fine, but it took about 15 days from order to when it arrived. Also keep in mind, if you have to ship back the shipping charges will cost a lot and will take a long time as well.

 

[nubie]

that's right

I bought mine from play-asia, since I would have to import it anyway and everything gone ok
Lik-sang didn't allowed me to purchase by credit-card, I don't know why, but so I ordered in his neighbour (and also playasia is 10 bucks cheaper)

$10 cheaper than whom? gp32z.com and gp2x.co.uk are both $190, Play-Asia is $20 dollars cheaper. Maybe $10 cheaper than Lik-Sang.

The mess with the NAND memory is that if you start using it thinking it's harmless, sooner or later you gonna delete the wrong file/folder and then your gp2x is busted (not to mention mp3 files within the configuration directory or any other mess a user can and probably WILL do if not advised against)
anyway, NAND is not forbidden and you should not be so afraid of it IMHO.. but you should always have more space left on SD card than NAND

also I think that most people here use Windows, not Linux, and also most people never mastered any flavour of Linux distribution, so you should make yourself at home (I think it's even harder to use Linux with gp2x than Windows)

No, the NAND mounted in the menu is a completely different partition than the OS, it is completely safe to delete the whole thing if you want.

It really doesn't look like linux at all, just a custom menu and some simple apps, don't worry about it. If you have ever got a PC emulator to run you should be fine dragging and dropping to get anything on the GP2X to run. Just read the Readme files.

I'd suggest buying from the US distributor. I ordered from the UK distributor and got it fine, but it took about 15 days from order to when it arrived. Also keep in mind, if you have to ship back the shipping charges will cost a lot and will take a long time as well.

HA!!

Like I said, I have ordered from gp32z.com and Play-Asia.com. The service from Play-Asia is weeks faster and the same price. I order from Play-Asia on Tuesday and get the GP2X on Thursday (UPS Courier 1-4 days for only $5 more) only cost $205 for the GP2X, TV cable and Shipping.

 

[MagusZ]

Ok, I just read the posts (sorry for the late reply I had work and just got back)

Anyway It seems the US website would be better sinc eit is cheaper to return and $10 is nothing compared to the rate of shipping it back just in case.

Anyway I had more questions, sorry if im annoying lol:

I read a lot , on these forums and other places, that people seem to Over or Under clock there GP2X. I always thought overclocking anything would hurt the hardware, melt chips, heat up quick, break, etc. Does under or over hurt the system any? Especially overclocking it.

Sorry, and thank you for all responding

Edit: heres something I found which doesn't get my hopes up on getting this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3C0K0FBHmY...ted&search=

Now I keep reading and hearing how this system is open source and directed towards homebrew, but why is it this emulator (I guess its the best GP2X has to offer) keeps running games 2x faters than normal or 2x slower? The graphics are amazing and the emulator does a great job with every game but why is the speed is soo random?

This happens to be the "main" reason I want this GP2x (there are others) but seeing this really got my hopes crushed..any responds?

 

[Tobriand]

Overclocking the GP2x isn't going to kill it. Or not fast, at any rate - the reason for this is, if I recall correctly, to do with ARM chips requiring higher voltage as they overclock more, and the voltage requirement going up much much faster than the heat produced at whatever clockspeed. I.e. it'll crash through lack of energy before it gets a chance to crash through a meltdown.

Can't remember the real details, but I think that's roughly right.

Secondly, might be worth pointing out that it is still very easy to brick the GP2x, but only if you set out to do so. And it is *very* hard to brick - unintentionally - the entire thing, since even if someone did release a bastard program that deleted crucial bits of Linux off the nand, and it stopped booting, uboot would still be there, and therefore you'd simply have to reflash the filesystem again. Complex, but not expensive

Unintentional bricking though? Very very unlikely these days... Intentional bricking? Well, why on earth would you want to brick it!??

 

[nubie]

Now I keep reading and hearing how this system is open source and directed towards homebrew, but why is it this emulator (I guess its the best GP2X has to offer) keeps running games 2x faters than normal or 2x slower? The graphics are amazing and the emulator does a great job with every game but why is the speed is soo random?

This happens to be the "main" reason I want this GP2x (there are others) but seeing this really got my hopes crushed..any responds?

Nice. Hmmm. No 3D or even an advanced 2D processor maybe?

And I don't know how familiar you are with emulators, but before everyone's grandma had a $300 2Ghz Dell or Gateway to emulate specialized hardware on, this is what all emulation was like everywhere, only worse. And we only have a slightly overclockable 200mhz ARM9 to work with, not a lot of horsepower.

Don't buy this with emulation as a main goal. Homebrew, Intellectual interest in Emulation, USB Host, open source, TV-Out, all valid reasons to buy this console.

I don't know if the Snes emu will ever be full-speed, the Genesis (DrMD) and NeoGeo seem much better, and my brothers spent a lot of time yesterday on my NeoGeo emulator with Metal Slug X and Magical Bubble.

You can hope for full-speed SNES, but I wouldn't get my hopes up, I have a 2GB SD and it is nearly full (I even had to delete some movies) of all the cool stuff on here that isn't SNES.