Questions About Gp2x

[project86]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for a portable system to use at work. I work at a police dispatch center, and I have a lot of "downtime" on my 10 hour shifts. I get to use a computer for internet, but we can't install anything on it (it's a P3 800 anyway, so...) sp I'm looking for something to pass the time. PSP costs too much initially and games cost too much as well. I don't like gameboy very much. I was considering GP32, or the sega nomad, until I discovered the GP2X. I have read quite a bit on the various forums, but would like more input now that some of you have had a chance to own it for a little while.

I'm wondering what the software is like, as available right now. What EMU's can you run, for what systems, and have them work to within 90% of the original? I know there are a lot in progress, but what about NOW, right out of the box?

How is movie playback?

How comfortable is it to hold? I have large hands, and it seems like it would fit well. I know this is diferent for each person but...

How is MP3 playback? I have a smartphone running windows mobile 2003, and it plays mp3s from an SD card, but the sound quality is not very good. It's better than nothing, but inferior to an iPod (which has the worst sound quality of all the major mp3 players IMO).

If some of you could give your experience, that would be great. I know it's still new, and there's lots of stuff in the works, but I want something NOW if I spend $200. Thanks!

 

[iignotus]

Right now, you can play NeoGeo CD, NES, Megadrive, C64, Quake, Hexen, and tons of Python and SDL games in what I would call "90%" (or more). There's also a lot of other emulators and games I'm sure run that fast.

MP3 playback is fine if you ask me. No hiccups, good sound; oggs too.

Feels nice in your hands.

If it's a choice between GP32, GP2X, and Sega Nomad, I think the choice is obviously a GP2X.

 

[K0K0NUT_h3lmut]

Yeah, iignotus is right. Movie and music playback has been fine for me, and it has some of the best coders out there working for it .

 

[Alex.]

Don't count the GP32 out just yet. It's quite the smooth device, with a gianormous library of software and potential It also gives you more battery lifetime than the GP2X does, at least for the moment. Also, think glitch-less Doom 1 & 2!

 

[project86]

Right now, you can play NeoGeo CD, NES, Megadrive, C64, Quake, Hexen, and tons of Python and SDL games in what I would call "90%" (or more). There's also a lot of other emulators and games I'm sure run that fast.

​

Does that mean that a majority of the games for those systems you mentioned work well? Or just a few of them? I'm specifically interested in NeoCD, as I used to be a huge NeoGeo fan, and used to run Neorage on my PC (had ALL the games at one point). Also, do you use the same ROMs? Or are there special versions for this system?

At this point I'm pretty sold on it, even if it only does megadrive/NES for now (but does them perfectly/near perfectly). What's the best place to buy? I'm in the US (California) and the best I've seen new is about $190-195 shipped.

 

[Rayek]

Some of the emulators have trouble playing certain games, but as the developers resposible get used to programming for arm based linux and for the GP2X, the minor problems are most definitely going to be ironed out.

You use the same roms as you do when playing emulated games for PC. As far as Hexen, Quake, and Wolfenstein go, they all require the data to be transferred from the full or demo versions you own on your pc to the GP2X, so they aren't necessarily roms and emulators, they're nice ports made to run on the hardware.

For the US, I (and everyone else here) will suggest gp32z.com. They ship to the US, and are the official distributor for over here.

 

[deadlychicken22]

If you get a gp2x I think you should probably buy it from www.gp32z.com. It is the official US retailer and they have very good customer service (although it is occasionally difficult to contact them due to the enormous leap in customers with the launch of the gp2x).

About compatability:
Megadrive/genesis plays almost perfectly. When I overclock my gp2x to 266mhz (which is supposedly safe because the chip is officially a 266mhz chip....) I can play almost every genesis game I throw at the emulator with 0 frameskip at 60-62 frames per second!

Nes seems to run at OK speeds, but has some graphical issues. Currently the gp32 can emulator NES better, but i'm pretty sure that will change in the future.

Neogeo CD seems to work very well. It is still a little slow, but I can play metal slug 1 & 2 & pulstar with backround music (no sound effects) at a playable speed.

I haven't extensively tested the MP3 playback, but the few songs I have tried sounded good. If stereo sound is important to you, just remember to run the stereo patch (or was the sound fixed in the new firmware?)

The movie player with firmware 1.10 has been able to play all .avi divx and .avi xvid shows/movies that I have thrown at it. I used autogk to encode my videos and they are at 320 x 240 resolution.

Overall, as long as you are OK with a few bugs I would suggest getting a gp2x. It definitely has some problems, but these will most likely be fixed in the future. Just be careful, read all readmes, read posts on these boards, read the unofficial user guide (available on the gp2x archive), and use your head and you should be fine.

Remember to get a good sized SD card, otherwise you will be stuck having to choose one game/emu over another. And you should also pick up a card reader (should only cost <$10 or so) because the USB support isn't very good yet. If you want good battery life you really have to pick up some good rechargable nimh batteries and a good charger because standard AA don't last very long (there's a technical explanation but it's not important because the bottom line is you definitely want rechargables). These extra expenses might seem like a lot to you, but remember: these are the only things you will have to purchase because the majority of the games/emus will be free.

 

[project86]

Well, I already have a 512MB SD card in my phone, which could be replaced by a cheap 32mb card ith no problems. Also a nice 8-in-1 USB card reader, and a nice charger with 2600 maH batteries (which I got for my digital camera) so that's not a problem.

I probably wont get to use sound a lot while im at work, but would still like it to be there if I want it.

How is the D-pad? I've heard complaints about it not being very good.

 

[deadlychicken22]

How is the D-pad? I've heard complaints about it not being very good.

​

Well, it's not a d-pad, it's a d-stick. It looks somewhat like an analogue stick but it istn't, it has many little switches under it (i'm not sure on the number, i believe it is 16 or so....) and can detect when one or two of them are down at once and it is up to the developer to decide what combinations do what. The thing that many people don't like is that the stick initially feels very stiff and that you will sometimes find yourself trying to go right but you accidently hit right and a little bit up and because of the way the emulator/game detects diagnols you go up instead. My d-stick is no longer stiff, so I believe that this is only a problem whan it is brand new. The other problem should be fixable through software, but that means that it is up to the devs to fix it and we should just wait.

 

[project86]

But does the "d-stick" get the job done for games like street fighter 2?

 

[deadlychicken22]

But does the "d-stick" get the job done for games like street fighter 2?

​

I'm not into those 1 on 1 fighting games, so i'm not sure.... it works perfectly for rpg's, sonic, and most other games I've tried.

 

[Lettuce Dude]

Nobody has mentioned the snes emulation even if it is a little slow it's still fun.

 

[deadlychicken22]

Nobody has mentioned the snes emulation even if it is a little slow it's still fun.

​

Yes, it is. I've been playing chrono trigger on it. However, it is not that impressive, which is probably why nobody has mentioned it.