Portable X86 Device (Size Of Psp) To Play Ms-Dos Games Natively

[andwan0]

I've been playing oldskool 1990 PC games on my PSP (via PSX ports or SCUMMVM or even Amiga ports). DOSBox and DOS emulation on PSP is way too slow. Even FreeDOS on bochs emulator is still slow (well it's not slow to run DOS and use DOS but it's slow to run the DOS games under DOSBox or FreeDOS on PSP).

So I was thinking... PSP is a 333MHz MIPS machine. Wouldn't it be cool if someone made a x86 portable device as small as PSP? Am not talking about laptops. If we took a x86 motherboard and shrunk it down to the size of a PSP... then using the Memory Pro Duo or MicroSD as the hard drive... and have USB or PS/2 ports for the mouse & keyboard... and the small LCD screen. then the power consumption would be similar to that of PSP... and can use a small 9V battery. Then can install/use MS-DOS natively and play all oldskool 1990 MS-DOS games like Alien Carnage, Duke Nukem series, and many more.

I read an article of some guy made a portable PS2 virtually similar size as the PSP. If he could do that then one could do a self project in making a x86 portable gaming device size of a PSP too.

Would this be feasible? Does anyone know about x86 motherboards, batteries, LCDs, storage (Memory Pro Duo / MicroSD), PS/2 or USB connections, etc)?

 

[dflemstr]

then the power consumption would be similar to that of PSP...

No, it wouldn't. x86 is very power hungry.

Anyways: Why not just get a small laptop aka netbook?

 

[Exophase]

This is what I think about the idea:

- If you're looking for a stock x86 motherboard to use you won't find one even remotely small enough to fit in something PSP-sized, no matter how much you modded it. So it would have to be a custom made board.
- I am very skeptical that anyone made a PSP sized PS2. Ben Heck style handheld mods are usually much, much larger than that (and use PSOne screens as well).
- The power consumption would be a lot higher than PSP, even if you used a similarly classed CPU like a Geode. But it'd be pretty weird to go for something much less powerful than an Atom to try to save a little power.
- 9V is a poor choice of power, because this kind of device shouldn't need anything with such high voltage - you'll end up just wasting power stepping it down to a lower voltage. And if you had alkalines in mind, those are not suitable for providing the current draw that a device like this would need.
- What kind of controls would it have? If you don't care about controls and just want to use external mice and keyboards then you'd may as well just buy a UMPC or equivalent. Those may already be suitable as it is.

 

[mali]

If you got the skills and the money, buy an UMPC, rip it apart and design a custom case with gaming controls.
Btw, this is more suited to the Off Topic section

 

[danielliu88888]

why is this in the pandora section

 

[fischju2000]

This is what I think about the idea:

- If you're looking for a stock x86 motherboard to use you won't find one even remotely small enough to fit in something PSP-sized, no matter how much you modded it. So it would have to be a custom made board.

Well, http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/01/vias-mobile-itx-platform-is-half-as-big-as-pico-itx-still-full/

 

[Butterman]

This has got to be a troll.

 

[skeezix]

THIS HAS BEEN DONE.

If you want a tiny UMPC, those exist; and due to x86 costs and power, you get a little brick, but theres a whole class of device you're tlaking about.

Consider:
http://en.wikipedia....aio_UX_Micro_PC
--> gorgeous screen, but very expensive, and now defunt

Myself, I was more a fan of..
http://en.wikipedia....ain_B1_UMPC.jpg
--> Wibrain is really awesome, and just a _Touch_ bigger than the PSP. Maybe 10% more brickish in every direction.

In reality, these things are really pretty impresswive for stuff, but well .. DOS gaming sucks like that you need a d-pad and analog to do it right .. (thus I have made this thread on-topic to Pandora!)

The Wibrain's are even not that brutally expensive.. prolly the $600 range or something, which is the same range as a netbook give or take (not the cheapest netbooks which are $300

jeff

edit: youtube, wibrain playing quake 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uBQGXxCh9c

 

[dflemstr]

This has got to be a troll.

It is night where I am now. I am typing this on a computer keyboard. Your alias is Butterman.

 

[rabidpoobear]

This has got to be a troll.

It is night where I am now. I am typing this on a computer keyboard. Your alias is Butterman.

OHH I GET IT WE ARE STATING FACTS NOW. THAT WAS CLEVER DFLEMSTR.

 

[Butterman]

This has got to be a troll.

It is night where I am now. I am typing this on a computer keyboard. Your alias is Butterman.

It is night where I am now. I am typing this on a computer keyboard. Your alias is dflemstr.

 

[dflemstr]

This has got to be a troll.

It is night where I am now. I am typing this on a computer keyboard. Your alias is Butterman.

OHH I GET IT WE ARE STATING FACTS NOW. THAT WAS CLEVER DFLEMSTR.

Actually, no.
It's morning here (it's 0:20 AM), I'm typing this on a phone and Butterman's alias is "Evil Monkey".

Something tells me that I should stop doing this now.

 

[mali]

edit: youtube, wibrain playing quake 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uBQGXxCh9c

Hehe, the Wibrain was on my radar for a while, but that while was very short

 

[Polossatik]

Build your own... using http://www.lippertembedded.com/coreexpress-eco.html for example

There is some other 486 class little gumstick thingy around, but I can't find it right now.

 

[kingoddball]

Viliv - 1.3ghz UPMC PC (Intel Atom)

 

[Asmo]

Consider:
http://en.wikipedia....aio_UX_Micro_PC
--> gorgeous screen, but very expensive, and now defunt

Don't forget their predecessors:

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/sony_vaio_U50.htm

 

[moxie]

Well, after a quick Ebay visit I'm just waiting for the postman to start playing DOS games in a portable way on a...well, I'm not quite sure, but I think you might still call it an x86

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hp200lx,_open.jpg

However, there will be no Duke Nukem. I'm hoping for Might and Magic I and II, and maybe the Ultimas

 

[skeezix]

Viliv - 1.3ghz UPMC PC (Intel Atom)

YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE POSTED THAT.

Holy shit!

And here I just did a 75 hour work-week and have some OT..

jeff

 

[mafia-man]

Well, after a quick Ebay visit I'm just waiting for the postman to start playing DOS games in a portable way on a...well, I'm not quite sure, but I think you might still call it an x86

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hp200lx,_open.jpg

However, there will be no Duke Nukem. I'm hoping for Might and Magic I and II, and maybe the Ultimas

Think you may be very disappointed with that. Its a monochrome display with a only a 186 processor. it's doubtful you could run anything more than Infocom text adventures.

There is also no audio by the looks of it, the DAC just monitors the battery

 

[dschroeter]

Viliv - 1.3ghz UPMC PC (Intel Atom)

Holy shit!

I thought you all would be following gizmos on http://www.umpcportal.com/.

Viliv makes nice devices, but the S5 doesn't have a keyboard for DOSBox. I think the UMID M1 fits the bill, but if you go that route you should wait on the UMID BZ. The Viliv N5 is coming also. Then there's the Fujitsu U810 ... lots of options for small, powerful handhelds that could do DOSBox.

Then again, none of these offer what the Pandora does, for much less money, so why bother?