I know this is probubly a supid question to be asking, but recently Ive been earning money to purchase a GP2X. However, Ive specked to a person who bought the unit and was unsatisfied, saying that the buttions were poorly misplaced casing screen splashes and the analog is horable, along with the waiting time for the unit to boot. I would like to ask, is this true? Ive looked at A few GP2X Youtube videos and these apears false, however it keeps bugging me. I don't want to by a unit I have trobule controlling the games on, neather the screen splashes. If this is false, how can I prevent it from going into that state?

Also: Can the GP2X Run Nintendo 64 games,or is there no emulator for that yet? I would like to know this so I can collect the ROMS before I get the unit. And lastly, since I'm in Oregon, were is the best place to buy a GP2X?

Thanks,
Classic Team (AKA Mygames19)

It's not analogue, that's probably why he said it was rubbish

Also; no N64 emulator, but then the N64 emulator on PSP is unusable.

Sounds like the person you talked to got a first edition unit. I've had none of those problems with my MK2.

I bought mine from play-asia.com (in Hong Kong), but you might want to check out one of the US retailers (there weren't any when I bought mine).

Some people just don't like the stick (some go as far as to replace it with a hacked-in Dpad). I like it though.

BTW: Where in Oregon are you? I'm in Klamath County, in the middle of nowhere.

none of those problems are real problems except the stick problem which is mainly a problem for fighting games like street fighter. N64 emulation will never happen ever at even close to playable speeds. Buy your gp2x from gp2xstore.com there located in California and have great prices and service.



I thought that Daedalus R11 ran Mario Kart 64 and a few other games at just about fullspeed.

Alright, so what I understand so far:

Try buying from GP2X store.com, there in California.
Nintendo 64 would run too slow, therefore it is not on the GP2X.
...and its not an anlog stick, and it only has problems when it is being used at a extremely high rate...

New Questions:
than if its not an analog, what is it?
if the Nintendo 64 will not run, why have I seen the Playstation run in it?
Difforence between First Edition, MK2 and the GP2X in the Value Pack?

There's nothing wrong with the buttons. But the digital stick can be very annoying at times. ( Fighting games such as Street Fighter is one example. ) The boottime is not that bad, maybe 15 seconds at most, and after that there's not much loading screens after that.

If you like fighting and shootemups then check out CPS2 and NeoGeo roms.

First Edition: Crap. MK2: Good. Value Pack: Same console as MK2.

...Okay, thats good to know. dont buy a First Edition anywere. But that still doesint explain why the Playstation works on the GP2X and the 64 does not, or what you would call the D-Pad (Disigned as a Pad, Stick, ect.)

EDIT: Also, I just fould out that Play-Asia is asking less for the GP2x but there fearther away... So I dont know which one is better. (FYI, Play Asia is asking 179.99 and GP2Xstore is asking 194.99...)

The PSX emu isnt and will most likely never be playable speeds. You could write an N64 emulator for the GP2x, but that doesnt mean that it will be playable.

I dont have any problems with the stick, and the placement of the buttons is only annoying when trying to play an emulated system where you are used to the real systems controller layout. (i.e. SNES controls were not a PSX diamond shape, they were skewed more).

Chances are you wont find a first edition anywhere even if you wanted one.

Get yours from www.gp2xstore.com like some others have said.

You will probably have import taxes with Play Asia.

i the playstaion emu on the 2x will never run fullspeed and the n64 is far more complicated to emulate

it is harder to emulate Nintendo 64 than Playstation also the Playstation emulator can only run 5% of the all Playstation games full speed but lots of games are playable even they are not full speed



see http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Hardware_Versions

You won't pay import taxes, but the shipping is $25 rather than $10. So play-asia is not cheaper.

Okay, thanks people. Oh, and lastly (and I want your opinion) Is it really worth the owning of a GP2X and how long do you think its lifespan will go? And lastly, anything I sould know about before I purchase the unit.

Thanks-
Classic Team (AKA Mygames19)

If you like retro gaming, nice good homebrew and the best community you can get and to be able to watch movies on the go without the need of spending hours of converting, then you won't regret buying a GP2X.

Define "Lifespan"... it is not like you are buying one to play a current crop of games. The GP2x is good at what it does... and for the most part that is playing emulated games from the past and it will always do that... and for some emulators like Mame, Neo Geo, Coleco, SNES, Genesis, Lynx, etc.. etc... etc... what more are you expecting.

Its like buying a DvD player and expecting it to someday play Blueray. I personally do not feel that there is a lifespan for this device. It is doing what it does... and it will perhaps do a little more as the developers continue to work on it, but it has pretty much already exceeded my expectations.

Where else can you get value like this? To be able to play all these games for the relatively low cost of the device... a SD card... and in my case... rechargeable batteries... and a charger.

Ripster, I think your right. Thanks everyone for posting, Ive got some valuble info on this. Now, last questions. Which batteries are best for long life? Kerkland, (thats Cosco) Energizer, Duracell? and what size SD card do you suggest? (Remember, Im trying to stay on a tight bugget, but I also want to hold 100 - 200 games, not to mention Music, Videos and Photos.)

I have a 1 GB card, and since I recently discovered some god games for MAME and CPS2 I can no longer have those games + GBA + SNES + SEGA at the same time on one card.. Not to mention MP3s or Videos.

I suggest at least 2 GB.

Don't waste your time with disposable batteries. You need some rechargeable batteries. Many people will recommend 2500mAh batteries or better, those are really hard to find, I find 2000mAh is good enough. Generic rechargeables work fine.

SD cards over 2gb aren't very compatible (better compatibility with larger cards is being worked on) so do check on the wiki/forums to make sure the card will work if you're going to get one larger than 2gb.

Classic Team, I have a GP2X, PSP & DS Lite. I will concentrate on PSP & GP2X in this reply to help answer some of your questions.

Screen - No problems on GP2X - all clear! The only issue is the view angle. If you plan on watching a movie with a friend it will cause problems. If you are playing or watching alone it will be fine. PSP screen is great for movies, but ghosting can be a (minor) problem, as can the ratio for some emulators.

Control : For emulators i think the GP2X easily beats the PSP. Use the 'GP2X' cap (CraigX cap i think??!) and everything works fine. The GPX is completely digital, but try running most 8 or 16 bit systems on PSP's analogue nub, or ""d-pad"" and you will see the difference

N-64 : Some systems are just not meant to be emulated properly on current handhelds! The PSP has perfect PS1 emulation on PSP using Dark Alex. However, I feel the N64 emulation is worse than PS1 emulation on GP2X. Whilst we have seen great progess on emulation on both systems (SNES, GBA & Amiga), I honestly do not think N64 will be fully playable on either until GP3X/ PSP2 come out!

Price : I got mine on gp2x.co.uk - good deals witth 4GB SD & extra's. I'm sure you can get it cheaper in the US. Lifespan : Serioulsy? NES, Genesis, Atari ST, MAME, SNES, GBA, NeoGeo, TG16, 2600, C64 etc & etc .. Tens of thousands of games available and that is not including homebrew games. Yeah, i think lifespan is not an issue

Hey man if you're going to get a memory card, get it from these guys: LINK

They sell memory in the U.S. for super cheap! I think that they are in California, so it should reach you shortly if you decide to order from them...

Edit: They also have rechargeable batteries and chargers... LINK
BTW, I have bought things from them and they have great service!

Definitely get some 2500mAh NiMh rechargeable batteries, disposable batteries will only last for something like 15 minutes.

Ok... I will chime in on the battery and sd card issue. As far as SD cards go... they are pretty cheap on eBay... I was able to get a 2GB Kingston Elite card for about $20 shipped, not the fastest card available but it works fine for the GP2x. It only annoys me when I am downloading content to it, but that is expected.

For batteries... rechargeables are definitely the way to go. I purchases some Energizer 2500's prior to doing any research on the subject, that was a bit of an oops. After doing some research I found that there are some new batteries available that do not discharge nearly as quickly as the normal NiMH batteries do... the two most readily available one's in North America are the Eneloop from Sanyo 2000mAH and the Rayovac Hybrid 2100 mAH which I bought. Though the capacities are not as high as some of the newer rechargeables I like the fact that I can count on them being relatively fully charged when I need them. Do a search and compare what is available and decide for yourself... the price different between is slight. Besides the GP2x comes with 4-2500mAH rechargeables enough for between 8-10 hours of gaming.

Battery chargers... they are different, and the best one I found for a reasonable price was from RipVan100, called the Lightning 4000N. It has a function to discharge the batteries fully before recharging them, plus it does this by pulse charging (maintaining a low temperature when charging). Fast chargers can create high temperatures that can actually damage the batteries and shorten the life of them. Also this charger will trickle charge the batteries to near 98% capacity (if you do a search someone tested this). The only issues I have with RipVan100 is they state that delivery to Canada is 3-5 days... mine took 18 and during this time I emailed them 3 times without a response.... in short their customer service sucks. But it did arrive and I am happy with the product so far. Its seems to have a lot of the features of much more expensive chargers for the current price of $24.95 (regular price is $29.95).

Sooooooooooooooooo... in reality all you really need is a good charger, you already have rechargeables with your GP2x... at least my Value Unit came with them. But I would order my charger the same time as my GP2x so they arrive together... and if possible the charger first. Nothing worse than having your GP2x and be unable to play it because the batteries are not charged (rechargeables do not come charged since they discharge so badly). But if you do want to get some extras I would definitely recommend you check out the new technology.

Thanks.
So... It would be nise if I could just go to a store and buy this, it would be much cheaper that way:
PGI 2GB Secure Digital (SD) Flash Card Model AE30-2030-0101
on Newegg.com
and... In I need more room I wont get anything larger than 2 gig. I dont want to have to wait for it to load for more than 5 seconds.

And... since the GP2X comes with 4 rechargable batteries... I dont think Ill need more. However, do I have to have a charger like the one Ripster mentioned?

You should be able to find a SD card at a Staples/Office Depot/Wal-Mart or whatever.

"in reality all you really need is a good charger...But I would order my charger the same time as my GP2x so they arrive together...Nothing worse than having your GP2x and be unable to play it because the batteries are not charged"

He's saying that you don't need a fancy charger like his. In fact I use a fast charger. I also have some of those ones that charge in 15 minutes. I don't want to wait for my batteries to charge and when they finally commit seppukku (as in they stop working), they will be cheap to replace anyway.

Actually what I am saying is you don't need a charger like mine, but for the price its well worth it. It will charge the battery more fully and your batteries will last much longer. The downside is that you will not have it charged in 15 minutes... the rapid chargers do not come anywhere near a full charge (in the 85% of full capacity range) but then neither does the one I bought, however it does trickle charges it and tops it off to about 98% full charge.

Here is one review on the subject ( http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM )... but there is a much better one somewhere. They actually tested a number of chargers... and compared them.

Once charged you will have a good 4 hours of playtime... more than enough to recharge the dead batteries.

If you already have a charger then by all means just use it. For me I like to do the research and find what I feel works best for me. Nothing worse than spending money on something only to find out you should have bought something else... which in the end is what you are going to do anyway. Like the new technology batteries... I can charge them and leave them in a storage case for when I need them. Meanwhile I can just cycle my old style rechargeables. It will be nice to know that I have enough power for about 20 hours when I go on my weekend trip to the cabin next weekend.

I bought payback from the gp2x store two towns over here in California and received an empty envelope, stick with Play-Asia, they have always delivered and for less. Batteries/chargers check out Ni-MH prices at http://batteryjunction.com

You are from Oregon? Wow yer spellin' is "horable" for being a native English speaker.

Anyway no N64 will never run fullspeed on the GP2X, no hardware 3D chip to do such things.

I believe that you would be better off with a PSP.

Emulation on both consoles is fairly similar -- OK some emulators on PSP are better, some on GP2X are better, but in general they are comparable.

However, because you don't seem sure of whether you should get a GP2X I don't know if it is the right thing for you. The main thing is that if you get bored of emulators and classic games in a few months time, you can play commercial games on a PSP -- that is not an option on the GP2X. Besides isn't a PSP cheaper now? If you find that you do like emulators you could then consider getting a GP2X later.

OR how about a second-hand GP32 to see if you like it. I still use my GP32, but never touch my First Edition GP2X. Just a thought.

SD capacity has no bearing on load times :S.

Good God, what's your problem? It's just some new guy trying to learn more about a system he is interested in. Most people realized that he didn't know that the N64 can't run at all on the gp2x and told him nicely. You seem to criticize people who are freshly registered on here and seem to want to drive them away.

And don't make fun of his spelling. He only spelled "where" incorrectly. Your grammar is not so great, BTW:

"Anyway no N64 will never run fullspeed on the GP2X, no hardware 3D chip to do such things." compared to the correct:

"Anyway, N64 will never run fullspeed on the GP2X, because there is no hardware 3D chip to do such things."

Enjoy, DaveC.

Thanks for the help. In a few weeks I plan to buy a GP2X and Ill be back on the forums to talk about GP2X and ask questions.

However... Why would some of you try to persuade me to buy A PSP over A GP2X if this is a forum for GP2X users? Anyhow, I suppose if you would like you can close this... Whatever you want.

- Classic Team (Mygames19)

Well, you seemed to have an interest in the N64 and there is an emulator on the psp for that system. I think that's why he tried to persuade you.

We are not all blind fanboys here, most people, if not all, own multiple consoles. Therefore, we'll honestly tell you that the PSP may be more suitable.

If you go to a PSP site and ask the same question they would slag off a GP2X (using really bad grammar.)

I didn't say anything about grammar

And if you want to get picky it was more than "where" that was spelled wrong I guess you can't spell very well either (Sorry Classic, Omars made me elaborate. I didn't want to do this). Lets see:



Enjoy, Omars.

Spelling:....

I was asking about the 64 because I understood that it runs Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Gameboy, ext. But I could not find a 64 emulator. So, I asked. But I plan to have as many games as I could play on the GP2x on it.

It's simple, if you want fancy 3D stuff, buy a PSP

If you like the old 2D consoles, a great movie-player and a nice community, stick to the GP2X.

Ok, so I guess only the first part of my post was true...

Still find the GP2X to be excellent for retro gaming, dont really use mine for music or movies just retro gaming. MAME of course is excellent, the GBA emulator runs so well as do many others.

THe original post really did have some shocking spelling though, we're not the perfect spellers here but that post was shocking. I think if anything some of those spelling tutors on the Nintendo DS might be more up his street.

i'd get a psp, seems more up your street.

XD, more comments about how my spelling sucks.

The main reason I'm getting the GP2X is because I have a Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, GameBoy, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Gamecube, Sony PS2, Nintendo 64, a Gamegear, an NES, and for better or worse, a Sega Nomad (the ultimate battery eater; takes 6 AA's and last 3 - 5 hours, but is very rare.). And this is why I want A GP2X, so I can play most of that on the road. (Super Nintendo.... and much more )

And look, I spelled everything right.

I was kinda hopping no one would catch that... LOL he passed the test.

Question: Do GP32 games run on the GP2X? (AKA backwords campadabilaty?) If not than cant they just be ported because both are built mainly off the same code.

And... is there an emulator for running the GP2X on the PC to test the homebrew games?

Thanks - Classic Team (AKA Mygames19, the NEW member)

Do GP32 games run on the GP2X? (AKA backwords campadabilaty?)
No.

If not than cant they just be ported because both are built mainly off the same code.
No, the two are totally different systems. They can be ported, but with as much work as from any other platform.

And... is there an emulator for running the GP2X on the PC to test the homebrew games?
No.

The GP2X is excellent in terms of support, emulators while some are still early ports but the Mega Drive, Zx Spectrum, MAME, Colecovision, Atari 2600 and others are looking great.

But I don't reccommend the GP2x, at least for now, because it's one of the most terribly built consoles I've ever seen in my life. A Nightmare to open and put back together, the stick is the main problem and can break easily (you may have luck though). You really need a dpad for this one, if I could I would buy a modded Gp2x.

Check alternatives before like Tapwave Zodiac, NDS and PSP homebrew and the Gp2x and make sure it fits your needs. For now I personally regret buying it but it's an excellent console.....just badly built.

I have mentioned it before and will mention it again as its such a good product.

I bought a "ReZap" battery charger on ebay for 25$ (AUD), the charger is great. Not only does it charge ordinary rechargables but will charge ordinary Alkaline batteries, I usually get 10-20 charges by the time the battery has had it. Some of the cheapest batteries have lasted the longest.

This is from their website..


So, being a very decent charger should give you longer battery life with your normal rechargables, but if you are out and buy some disposable alkalines, fear not, you can recharge them. Its not money wasted

~Fox

Alright, Ive come back with 2 new questions for you.

Does the GP2X support the Sega Saturn? the Saturn is actuly not nearly as powerful as the Nintendo 64 or playstation, even though it is said to be 64bit, it actuly has 2 32bit prosessors... And it rarely uses both. 3/4ths of all the games on the Saturn were 2D... So it makes sense to me...

Also... I found this GP2X on E-bay... Should I get it? He has an image showing it works... but he cant garentee it does... I've never owned one so I wouldin't have A clue. But you guys have, so Im going to ask you guys if this would be A good bid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Gamepark-GP2X-Video-Ga...bayphotohosting

Thanks.

The Saturn is much more difficult to emulate than either the N64 or the PSX. It is a much more complicated design and is not as well documented. I can't even think of any PC Saturn emulators that are as good as the available PC N64, PSX, or even Dreamcast emulators for this very reason. This has also been covered about a million times.

okay... Well I guess I want to take the question back, and ask another. I've been looking around the GP2X wiki and I found A list of what does and doesin't work on the GP2X... but I couldin't help but notice that under the Widnows section there is no mention of Windows 3.1... Can anyone tell me if that is possable?

Windows 3.1 does not work at a "usable" rate via DOSbox.

If you're hedging this much, don't buy the GP2X. It won't do everything you can imagine.

The GP2X will emulate many popular 8-bit and 16-bit systems, as well as serve as a general development platform.

uh. is it a deal breaker if windows 3.11 doesn't work? shesh.

it sounds more and more like the gp2x isn't for you, coz if you got one you'd just complain about all the software etc.

ps, no, it does not emulate the G5 Apple Mac Pro, nor does it emulate IBM BlueGene L, the Cray XMP etc.. and you cant run windows vista on it.