Quite a while ago (like before the gp2x came out) I read in the forums how the gp2x would be better than the psp in emulation because of the screen (putting firmware and other annoyances aside). There was even a picture of sonic utilizing most of the screen. After finally getting the gp2x, I believe that those comments didnt really tell the whole story. First, I tried the snes emulator. It made the gp2x only use a small portion of the screen. I then tried drmdx with shining force and it showed a small square screen yet again. To utilize the full screen, stretching is needed which in turn distorts the image rendering the original argument moot. I just wanted to point that out. oh and regarding gba games: the gp2x screen doesnt fit gba resolution at all. I dont know why anyone would want to play it on the gp2x.

Not sure what your talking about, all the sonics use the entire screen for me. In fact, genesis emulation is amazing. Some roms don't take advantage of the full screen, like street fighter 2 on the genesis but that may simply be to improve performance (on the original genesis). I'm sure someone here can clarify why that is.

You can't please all of the people all of the time...

The GP2X screen is better for the emulation of 'classic' systems than the screen of the PSP. Not only because of the quality, but because of the aspect ratio. There is nothing that we can do about the system architecture -- for example, we can't change the fact that the SNES outputs video at 256x224 pixels, which is much different than the 320x240 pixel resolution of the gp2x. However, the stretching would be, and is much worse on the PSP.

Genesis fills up the whole screen on almost every game; that is, unless, you're counting the 8 or so pixels on the top and bottom of the image -- which of course would be an insane quibble.

Gameboy games look excellent when stretched in GnuBoy2x, believe it or not. The original image size is available, but it's only 160x144 pixels. This equates to almost a perfect 2-times interpolation, though.

GnGeo2x runs games at their native resolution of 304x224 -- nearly filling the whole screen.

I fail to see any real problem here. The 2x's screen is much better when aspect ratio is considered.

And this is what the original poster is missing out on. The aspect ratio of the GP2X is basically the same as a normal television which will yield a better looking screen than on the PSP's widescreen. PC Engine on my 15.4" widescreen laptop display looks a little silly at times.

The other thing to keep in mind is that since the pixel size is smaller on a PSP, the direct 1 to 1 would be even smaller on that system.
Neo Geo is just dreamy on the GP2x.

but i I tried megaman x full screen on it, it also looks a little silly (especially his face). That wasnt really my point. What was my point was that there was someone that kept saying how this will keep the original resolutions and all that on a larger screen but in order for the screen to be large, you have to stretch and distort it anyway. However, I know how the psp would be less suited because of its wide screen (unless you only strech it vertically so that it doesnt take up all the space). I know that sonic takes up almost all the screen. I was just pointing out that some games require stretching anyway.

Yes, but at least it is stretching to approximately the same aspect ratio.

And the games still do display at the original resolutions....

You don't have to. Even the SNES is pretty large, and it's one of the only that may benefit from stretching. Megadrive and Neo Geo, for example, don't need to be stretched.

If it's only some games, why do you feel tricked or swindled? It's clear that most games look fine on the gp2x and are big enough at a 1:1 ratio, so what's the problem?

As a sidenote, GBA emulation isn't close to being fullspeed yet, or even having an full-featured emulator for it. At 240x160, it is one of the very few that would benefit from a wide-ratio screen, even though at 1:1 it's still a rather large image on the gp2x.

I never said I felt swindled or something. I was just pointing out the minor annoyances I felt. Also, snes is pretty unplayable anyway, I was just pointing it out. And, no I believe the snes screen is still small. but oh well. I bought mostly for my genesis and anime needs anyway, although a 256mb card is starting to annoy me with its tinyness. I just bought a 2gb card for $57 shipped when I discovered the good deals thread. Crapiness. Oh well at least it isnt as stupidly expensive as the psp hard drive.

SNES is playable enough for me to get to Forest of Illusion in Super Mario World. Its not that bad at all.

I beat DK1-3 with it. Some text is not readable, but you don't need to be able to read to beat the games.

Heck I beat the hole game of Super Mario World and unlocked all the secrets!

Seconded. Plus completed DKC 1-3 and Uniracers. All fun to play, no probs. And yes, I have a lot of spare time...

Plus I have a PSP and WAY prefer the GP2X for emulation, mainly due to the screen...happy camper.

Also, the PSP doesn't really have a good amount of RAM for it to be good for emulation... Sure, Genesis and SNES work...but try emulating NeoGeo MVS or even GBA...You think swapfiles are bad now...wait till you try 'em on the PSP