Pc Based Console System?


g8rpal

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Feb 23, 2007
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Anyone know of a product that already exists that would be a lightweight PC w/ USB ports an SD card reader and TV Out?

If not, any suggestions for components to make a cheap pc based console?

I was thinking about using it in my living room to run JUST emulators and games.

I was disappointed with the cradle.

Thanks
 
gatorpal said:
Anyone know of a product that already exists that would be a lightweight PC w/ USB ports an SD card reader and TV Out?

If not, any suggestions for components to make a cheap pc based console?

I was thinking about using it in my living room to run JUST emulators and games.

I was disappointed with the cradle.

Thanks
A mini/nano/pico ITX motherboard?
http://www.trident-uk.co.uk/single_board_computers/nano_itx/
 
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I had a horde of friends trying to sell their modded xboxes to replace their new modded xbox360s about a year ago.

That should fufill your requirements. Just ask a few friends if they wanna get rid of it.
 
I'd go with an xbox - they make brilliant console emulators.

or perhaps an asus eee pc? I don't know the capabilities of those though as they are not available to buy yet.
 
I'll vouch for the modded XBox. You don't get USB or SD (though you can mod in a USB port, if you need to), but with a big ass hard drive in there you can fit just about anything you'd ever want onto it and it's easy to load up over a network.

There are also a few small form factor PCs you could use, or a Mac mini, but they'd probably be more expensive.
 
doesn't an xbox have an ethernet port too, so you can play movies and the like from your main pc easily without having to struggle with usb keys and the like?
 
yes it does. some people load roms from their pc so they don't have to keep using ftp. ravnos was probably referring to both methods since they go over the lan. it has an optical drive too :D unfortunately the earlier ones can barely read regular xbox discs, let alone anything recordable.


if you can't find a modded one, get a regular one and mod it. they are cheap and plentiful. unfortunately a good modchip will cost at least $60. if you've never soldered then get a solderless chip, but bear in mind that you have to be very careful moving your xbox around, or you will find yourself having to reposition it.

pros: can do many psx games well and some n64 games.
dosbox seems good, though i haven't tried it yet, or mame for that matter (will soon).
earlier home consoles are mostly flawless.
i like the xbox controllers, having a wireless one is great, and a modchip bios will let you shut down the system from the controller.

cons: ok, this is a pretty weird one: i have a 720p hdtv with three component inputs. one takes 480i/p. the other two are 480p and up. the xbox dashboard, bios screen, and program menus can output 720p, and they look great. but in all of the emulators i've used, output is 480i, which means i can't use 720 for anything. so, a weird issue that probably won't apply in your case.
but be warned: the machine is pretty loud.

via is making some cool, very small form factor mobos that have onboard ram + cpu, which goober linked above. it depends on what you want to play and how much you are willing to spend. i personally think the xbox is nice because it costs less than $200 for everything, lets me keep the 8 & 16-bit games in the closet, and even though it's essentially a desktop PC, there's very little PC-ish things you have to do with it once you get it set up how you want it. you just turn it on and go.
 
You don't actually need to buy a modchip to mod an xbox, it can all be done by software. The most failsafe way I've come accross is to get a USB cable for your xbox, and turn a flash dongle in to a memory card(can change it back after) and copy one of the exploited gamesaves(splinter cell, 007 nightfire, mechassault) accross, failing that, hotswapping is the cheapest(free) method.
 
Titcher said:
You don't actually need to buy a modchip to mod an xbox, it can all be done by software. The most failsafe way I've come accross is to get a USB cable for your xbox, and turn a flash dongle in to a memory card(can change it back after) and copy one of the exploited gamesaves(splinter cell, 007 nightfire, mechassault) accross, failing that, hotswapping is the cheapest(free) method.
yeah, if you're a GIRL...


;)

you probably need a copy of those games to do a savestate exploit, right? still not a big deal even if you do, and it's still cheaper.

at the time i thought i couldn't upgrade the hard drive if i did a soft mod, but it looks like that's been solved, so....

maybe do the softmod but keep the soldering iron hot just in case you miss the odor.
 
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You could also Try DexOS, it's a console type OS, (for x86) thats based on the Xbox OS, its at that stage where is need some emulators porting, it even run on a modded xbox, also theres a gp2x port on its way.
See here: http://www.dex4u.com/gui.htm
 
Seiti said:
If you're into hardcore hacking, try the Kurobox (blackbox in english).

http://www.revogear.com/

Never touched one, but it looks really cool (and quiet ;) ).


That looks very cool! I see it is an ARM processor. Would that run the same software as the gp2x?
 
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gatorpal said:
That looks very cool! I see it is an ARM processor. Would that run the same software as the gp2x?
I guess it could, but the software don't have to use nothing hw accelerated. Only a guess! =)
 
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