My Gp2x-f200 Review For "late Adopters"

[MiniSinisterMinister]

I have included a GP2X-F200 review / FAQ into my blog. If you are thinking about buying one from ebay, you may find this interesting. But you should not draw conclusions on what I have in mind for my Pandora micro-guide. It will be totally different!

 

[Alex.]

Oh just so you know, you can get rid of the startup sound with Silence. Also try tweaking the loud apps' sound volume with Gmenu2x, you can set both global and individual maximum values.

 

[Orkie]

1. The F200 was in quite high demand when it was dropped. That is what caused quite a bit of confusion, but you clearly joined long after that occurred so wouldn't know.
2. The next GPH machine is called Wiz.
3. If I ever manage to get Open2x out, we actually have patches to control the volume .
4. There is a button combo on the F200 to silence the boot sound on startup. Can't remember it off the top of my head though.
5. Try sticking a PSP dust cap on the d-pad if the separated buttons bother you.
6. Do you mean mp2x?
7. Try GP2xpdf or MiPDF, they are much better than pdfview.
8. There is a Rubik's cube game, but not touch screen. Not many developers actually have an F200 so if you want touchscreen games, start donating hardware.
9. Hm.. MAME is not optimised on the GP2X?
10. ScummVM is not a PC emulator.

 

[Manjuu]

Stella works in the F-200. You just need to change the sound frequency to a compatible one in the Audio Settings. (Also, this is no longer a problem in FW 4.1.1.)

GP2X-2600 is still faster though, but Stella has more features.

4. There is a button combo on the F200 to silence the boot sound on startup. Can't remember it off the top of my head though.

Hold down either of the volume buttons while on startup. :lol:

 

[Aryn]

Hmmm...any information on how to decrease the boot time on the F200? Mine takes 40 seconds to boot up which is waaaaay too long for me to use it in a practical manner.

 

[Alex.]

1. The F200 was in quite high demand when it was dropped. That is what caused quite a bit of confusion, but you clearly joined long after that occurred so wouldn't know.

That's true, it was also around that time that it got mentioned in some well-known paper and electronic magazines, too. I guess GPH expected to get the Wiz out the door a lot sooner.

Not to mention the wealth of polished software it acquired in its three years of existence... sadder than I initially thought actually :-/

 

[MiniSinisterMinister]

There are two versions of the F200. My version is the earlier version, which was shipped with the 4.0.0 firmware, is more compatible with existing software and it seems it also boots faster. If you have a newer firmware try to find a different one. But do not try the firmware 4.0.0 as it will brick you system!

 

[Squirrel61]

3. If I ever manage to get Open2x out, we actually have patches to control the volume .

Talking of which, are there any updates? Or is the project frozen atm?
QUOTE
4. There is a button combo on the F200 to silence the boot sound on startup. Can't remember it off the top of my head though.

Keep one of the volume buttons pressed during the first boot screen.
QUOTE
5. Try sticking a PSP dust cap on the d-pad if the separated buttons bother you.

Did you actually try that? I did and it didn't work in a satisfying way. I had to cut off the center "ring" (which originally was meant to make the button fit to the stick) and still it isn't working better.

 

[Orkie]

See the Beta Testing forum .

Also, yes. I have a PSP dust cap on my F200 and it is very nice. I keep intending to put a pivot under there too but I never find the time.

 

[senquack]

We'll get Open2X out yet Orkie!

 

[jbrodack]

yeah the f200 wasn't dropped cause of lack of demand. distributors were having trouble getting enough units from gph before it was announced they were dropping the f200.

I haven't noticed any problem with the audio hardware on the f200. gmu plays fine like you said and the default player doesn't have any major sound issues.

you need to use gmenu2x. it seems there is a version running on the pandora already so you may be using it on pandora as well. the stock menu does suck but the functionality is still there that allows for gmenu to work really well.

I though I had to hold down both volume buttons for a silent boot til I read this, nothing big but at least nice to know.

the boot time does suck though. an f100 with 2.1.1 was a much faster boot. which reminds me... any progress on open2x? the boot time seemed to be faster from a video I saw and I'm pretty sure you guys are supporting the f200 now too right?

anyway there was some good info in the guide and some inaccurate info too. mostly pretty good stuff though.

 

[MiniSinisterMinister]

Thank you I am going to update my review with your tips.

Gmenu2x was the first app that I downloaded I am going to mention it on my blog after all.

I had problems with the "Nolan Show" radio podcast from the BBC website. CraigAmp had crackling sounds during the playback and the GP2X built-in music player played it vvvvvvvveeeeeeeerrrrrrrryyyyyy ssssssllllloooooowwwwwwllllllyyyy. I did not find an option to change the speed. The music player which I recommended was the only one that played it correctly.

I have a question about the forum. Since yesterday the posts are displayed in a tree structure as soon as I log in and I do not like that and want to change it. I looked at the board settings in "My Controls" and didn't find an option .

 

[gruso]

^ Top right of screen (above your first post), "Options" drop down menu. Often happens after you visit the site via a Google link.

 

[MiniSinisterMinister]

^ Top right of screen (above your first post), "Options" drop down menu. Often happens after you visit the site via a Google link.

I got it!

 

[cranker]

yeah the f200 wasn't dropped cause of lack of demand. distributors were having trouble getting enough units from gph before it was announced they were dropping the f200.

I haven't noticed any problem with the audio hardware on the f200. gmu plays fine like you said and the default player doesn't have any major sound issues.

you need to use gmenu2x. it seems there is a version running on the pandora already so you may be using it on pandora as well. the stock menu does suck but the functionality is still there that allows for gmenu to work really well.

I though I had to hold down both volume buttons for a silent boot til I read this, nothing big but at least nice to know.

the boot time does suck though. an f100 with 2.1.1 was a much faster boot. which reminds me... any progress on open2x? the boot time seemed to be faster from a video I saw and I'm pretty sure you guys are supporting the f200 now too right?

anyway there was some good info in the guide and some inaccurate info too. mostly pretty good stuff though.

Can gmenu2x be used with the "new" f-200 that has FW 4.0.2 whick I will upgrade to 4.1.1 ?

 

[jbrodack]

Can gmenu2x be used with the "new" f-200 that has FW 4.0.2 whick I will upgrade to 4.1.1 ?

try it on your current firmware before upgrading. autorun is broken in newer firmware with makes gmenu2x more of a pain to run. you can still use it regardless but with autorun working you won't ever have to see the default gph menu again.

 

[cranker]

Can gmenu2x be used with the "new" f-200 that has FW 4.0.2 whick I will upgrade to 4.1.1 ?

try it on your current firmware before upgrading. autorun is broken in newer firmware with makes gmenu2x more of a pain to run. you can still use it regardless but with autorun working you won't ever have to see the default gph menu again.


So I guess I should use the default menu until there is a fix because i need to upgrade 4.0.2 to 4.1.0 in order to use MAME so no autorun with gmenu I am assuming...................too bad

 

[jbrodack]

Can gmenu2x be used with the "new" f-200 that has FW 4.0.2 whick I will upgrade to 4.1.1 ?

try it on your current firmware before upgrading. autorun is broken in newer firmware with makes gmenu2x more of a pain to run. you can still use it regardless but with autorun working you won't ever have to see the default gph menu again.


So I guess I should use the default menu until there is a fix because i need to upgrade 4.0.2 to 4.1.0 in order to use MAME so no autorun with gmenu I am assuming...................too bad


from a post in the "I need help section" I started cause of firmware upgrade problems I got advice from someone who didn't lose autorun with 4.1.0 or 4.1.1 so you could still see if gmenu autorun works. When you update firmware be sure to have only the firmware files on your sd to minimize chance for problems.

 

[Milamber777]

Can gmenu2x be used with the "new" f-200 that has FW 4.0.2 whick I will upgrade to 4.1.1 ?

try it on your current firmware before upgrading. autorun is broken in newer firmware with makes gmenu2x more of a pain to run. you can still use it regardless but with autorun working you won't ever have to see the default gph menu again.


So I guess I should use the default menu until there is a fix because i need to upgrade 4.0.2 to 4.1.0 in order to use MAME so no autorun with gmenu I am assuming...................too bad


GMenu will autorun the first time. However, after exiting an application/emulator, it will dump you to the default gp2x menu. From there, I just choose the SD Card, and re-run the "autorun.gpe" file, and am back into GMenu. Not a huge deal, unless you change often.

 

[cranker]

Question.......as I wait for my f-200 to arrive...why not just keep the default menu...is is that bad ? (seems like there are potential problems with gmenu and the newer FW)