I've Just Got My Bob

[MadDog]

One thing to point out, this is really only of use to developers or peaple using thier gp2x for something else other than a portable gaming / media device.

First thoughts
Using the keyboard plugged into the gp2x is cool but as the output is in a terminal window a bit pointless.

For first gen gp2x you will always need external power to the board. The docs say batterys are enough if the usb is connected to low power devices. Well mine would not boot unless it was powered from an external brick even with no connections to it. No big deal for me. Can't speek for the new gp2x systems.

The serial and ext ports are too close together, my PC has no serial cable so I have a usb -> serial device I brought a while ago. bit like this one They colide and stop each other connecting, I removed one of the clip buttons on the cable from the gp2x to give enough room. I should be able to sort this with a serial cable thats less bulky.

Read the docs first!!!! Would have saved me time.

Plugging stuff in and seing it show up is really cool and opens the gp2x up to all sorts of applications! robot brain?

Not used JTag stuff before but opens up the option for peaple to experiment with custom OS tweeks without the fear of killing thier kit. (correct me if i'm wrong here) Also maybe a proper debugger?

I'll not be using it for now but it will be very useful soon.

Needs a case that will let the gp2x sit on top with the screen in view.

Worth £35 (includes next day dev), for me yes!

 

[iggywig]

Sounds good. I'm thinking about getting one (and another 2X) to make a MAME cabinet. Think I'll wait for the USB support in emulators/games before I spend the cash though!

 

[DynaMight]

Sounds good. I'm thinking about getting one (and another 2X) to make a MAME cabinet. Think I'll wait for the USB support in emulators/games before I spend the cash though!

Surely you'll be better off using an Xbox for that?

 

[MadDog]

Sounds good. I'm thinking about getting one (and another 2X) to make a MAME cabinet. Think I'll wait for the USB support in emulators/games before I spend the cash though!

Surely you'll be better off using an Xbox for that?

I would have agreed with you till I tried to chip and install linux onto an Xbox. This is a bit off topic but....
I got a second hand one, £50 from Game Station, the Xbox worked fine. Brought a chip as recomended by toms hardware. Installed it, looked like it worked. But then brick wall, living in the uk meant the chip did not have its bios installed. And I could get no further than that. No end of googling and flashing attempts failed then as the kit was still in bits, waiting to install spare HD's I dropped something metal in it and broke it. Yes my fault but would not have happened if the chip worked first time. ( sorry, still sore from that one )

I built a server for £120 (had two spare 120gig SATA drives) So doing that for a mame cabinet would be cheaper but the gp2x is low power usage, leave it on all the time. Allows for very compact package and depending on storage 100% silent! Good option I think. With a bit of soldering skill you could mount it all in the back of a LCD panel ( if the TV can power them ) iggywig, maybe start a new thread on the ideas board, if not already done.

 

[yoyoyoyoyoyoyo]

Have you tryed using an ipod with it?

 

[MadDog]

Have you tryed using an ipod with it?

Buy me one and I will.

 

[DynaMight]

Sounds good. I'm thinking about getting one (and another 2X) to make a MAME cabinet. Think I'll wait for the USB support in emulators/games before I spend the cash though!

Surely you'll be better off using an Xbox for that?

I would have agreed with you till I tried to chip and install linux onto an Xbox. This is a bit off topic but....
I got a second hand one, £50 from Game Station, the Xbox worked fine. Brought a chip as recomended by toms hardware. Installed it, looked like it worked. But then brick wall, living in the uk meant the chip did not have its bios installed. And I could get no further than that. No end of googling and flashing attempts failed then as the kit was still in bits, waiting to install spare HD's I dropped something metal in it and broke it. Yes my fault but would not have happened if the chip worked first time. ( sorry, still sore from that one )

I built a server for £120 (had two spare 120gig SATA drives) So doing that for a mame cabinet would be cheaper but the gp2x is low power usage, leave it on all the time. Allows for very compact package and depending on storage 100% silent! Good option I think. With a bit of soldering skill you could mount it all in the back of a LCD panel ( if the TV can power them ) iggywig, maybe start a new thread on the ideas board, if not already done.

Damn, nasty. You can actually mod them without having to even open the xbox up, It's called a 'Softmod' all you need as an original copy of a certain game, standard memory card and 10mins spare.... It REALLY is that easy. On the otherhand, if this chip was a Xecutor 2.xx I can flash it for you. PM if you want info on any of it.

 

[Phil]

Dagg, I know it's insanely off topic but why wouldn't you just use a PC instead of an Xbox?

 

[DynaMight]

Second hand Xbox + maybe a 20-40GB (although could be ran directly from DVD) can be had for about £50-60. It's alot of gaming power for the money and you could quite easily setup a custom dashboard for everything too.

 

[jmetal88]

I'm building a MAME cabinet with a PC running at 233 mhz with a pointlessly small hard drive and a graphics card that's inexpensive but sports TV-out, that automatically boots MAME to different games using a boot disk system, all hooked up to a 23" TV that I bought for $90 at Wal-Mart. I haven't cut the cabinet yet, but I've drawn it out on the plywood and finally got a working jigsaw to cut the thing out with, I'll eventually get arcade controls for it, but right now I just want to see the thing standing up and working. I did think about getting a TV-out cable and a second GP2X to hack into, but decided against it for two reasons: 1. Cost, 2. No S-Video input on the TV. So yes, I will probably have the world's slowest MAME cabinet (it won't even run Mortal Kombat, I tried), but it will also be one of the world's least expensive MAME cabinets, and that is something I can be truly proud of.

 

[MadDog]

I'm building a MAME cabinet with a PC running at 233 mhz with a pointlessly small hard drive and a graphics card that's inexpensive but sports TV-out, that automatically boots MAME to different games using a boot disk system, all hooked up to a 23" TV that I bought for $90 at Wal-Mart. I haven't cut the cabinet yet, but I've drawn it out on the plywood and finally got a working jigsaw to cut the thing out with, I'll eventually get arcade controls for it, but right now I just want to see the thing standing up and working. I did think about getting a TV-out cable and a second GP2X to hack into, but decided against it for two reasons: 1. Cost, 2. No S-Video input on the TV. So yes, I will probably have the world's slowest MAME cabinet (it won't even run Mortal Kombat, I tried), but it will also be one of the world's least expensive MAME cabinets, and that is something I can be truly proud of.

At an company I worked at we all chipped in for one of them cusom cabinets where you supply the PC. We used an old 233mhz server and it ran a LOT of stuff, this was about five years ago so it should run more than you may think. But Mortal Kombat is a bit heavy. Robotron was cool as was bust a move

 

[jmetal88]

I'm building a MAME cabinet with a PC running at 233 mhz with a pointlessly small hard drive and a graphics card that's inexpensive but sports TV-out, that automatically boots MAME to different games using a boot disk system, all hooked up to a 23" TV that I bought for $90 at Wal-Mart. I haven't cut the cabinet yet, but I've drawn it out on the plywood and finally got a working jigsaw to cut the thing out with, I'll eventually get arcade controls for it, but right now I just want to see the thing standing up and working. I did think about getting a TV-out cable and a second GP2X to hack into, but decided against it for two reasons: 1. Cost, 2. No S-Video input on the TV. So yes, I will probably have the world's slowest MAME cabinet (it won't even run Mortal Kombat, I tried), but it will also be one of the world's least expensive MAME cabinets, and that is something I can be truly proud of.

At an company I worked at we all chipped in for one of them cusom cabinets where you supply the PC. We used an old 233mhz server and it ran a LOT of stuff, this was about five years ago so it should run more than you may think. But Mortal Kombat is a bit heavy. Robotron was cool as was bust a move

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll make sure to try them out!

 

[cbox]

My media pc hooked up to my 27 inch LCD tv doubles as a MAME/emulator computer. It's an Athlon 2000+ with 512 megs of ram and a 250 gig hard drive, I also have a full size arcade joystick attached to it, it's pretty fun to play on but I generally use my gp2x, gba or ds lite more. I guess I just like the handheld experience better, just pull it out and play a game or two without having to boot up the machine and pull out the joystick.

 

[iggywig]

Sounds good. I'm thinking about getting one (and another 2X) to make a MAME cabinet. Think I'll wait for the USB support in emulators/games before I spend the cash though!

Surely you'll be better off using an Xbox for that?

I've already got a chipped xbox and i see where you're coming from. I wanted something a bit more compact though! and as mentioned above low power and silent!

 

[yaustar]

Have you thought about using a mini-itx motherboard as a base?

 

[nubie]

My media pc hooked up to my 27 inch LCD tv doubles as a MAME/emulator computer. It's an Athlon 2000+ with 512 megs of ram and a 250 gig hard drive, I also have a full size arcade joystick attached to it, it's pretty fun to play on but I generally use my gp2x, gba or ds lite more. I guess I just like the handheld experience better, just pull it out and play a game or two without having to boot up the machine and pull out the joystick.

Hey, Idea. How about a MICRO Arcade machine?? For playing on your lap or on the coffee/kitchen table or on your bed or sitting on the ground. Using the GP2X screen and building a neat "cabinet" for it, like one of those "arcade controllers" but with a dock for the GP2X that looks like a full arcade machine so only the screen is visible, and you would have the option of using an LCD screen of any size you wanted 6" to a 15" screen.

If you use a different screen you could put the GP2X inside safely encased in foam rubber so that it couldn't be harmed, and an RC car style 3300mAh pack at 9 to 12 volts should run a small screen for a long time and the GP2X as well .

Does it sound cool or not cool to you?

 

[Wite_Noiz]

Does it sound cool or not cool to you?

Do it, do it, do it! Peer presure, peer presure! (oh, and post photos)

 

[Epicenter]

HydraLancer and I are planning to build a 'console' GP2X pretty soon. It'd be a small enclosure with a GP2X MK1 (First Edition) board inside, along with a Breakout board all properly mounted, with Composite video, S-Video, Audio L/R, Power In and USB ports on the outside, power switches/LEDs on the outside. It'd be controlled by USB gamepads or arcade sticks (when used in conjunction with a cabinet enclosure), run off a single power brick (not GP2X specific model) and use custom menu software running off an SD card and NAND memory. Ought to be a fun project.

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

HydraLancer and I are planning to build a 'console' GP2X pretty soon. It'd be a small enclosure with a GP2X MK1 (First Edition) board inside, along with a Breakout board all properly mounted, with Composite video, S-Video, Audio L/R, Power In and USB ports on the outside, power switches/LEDs on the outside. It'd be controlled by USB gamepads or arcade sticks (when used in conjunction with a cabinet enclosure), run off a single power brick (not GP2X specific model) and use custom menu software running off an SD card and NAND memory. Ought to be a fun project.

Im interested to see the result. Should be pretty cool.