Message Board
| Message Board > Malarkey > GP2X |
| October 26, 2006, 16:16 | |
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Rincewind
programmer 1548 posts 
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In a bit less than a month it will be birthday time again for me, and I'm thinking of asking (and getting!) a GP2X. As for portable console history, I've owned most gameboys (all except the gb pocket) which I have endlessly played in the past. I also had a DS, but I sold it some time ago for disliking it in various ways(too small screens, useless down screen, bad launch games, big apparatus, expensive games due to not having a flashcard etc). So what would I use a GP2X for? Well I travel a lot these days, also with the train, and there I could play a game or watch a movie if I'm not sleeping. I've noticed that on from the GBA SP and beyond, I only really played a portable console during holidays (when having no PC near). I think it has something to do with my PC being superior to any portable console and keeping me from it while being at home. However, with this traveling and all the advantages of the GP2X, I will probably use it quite a bit! I especially like all the emulators for it. This means I can play cool SNES game (like certain DBZ games my heart goes out to), bother around with Tyrian & OMF in DOSBOX/Bochs, and even play good old PC favorites like Red Alert (!) and Diablo (!) on the playstation emulator (luckily a lot of fun pc games also came out for the playstation). Also I'd finally bother watching all episodes of DBZ GT, which is slightly boring as it's more childish than DBZ, so being in the train might make it endurable. And of course as a bonus, I can mess around a bit with Fenix (Woody recompile Turbulence for the GP2x pleaaase?  Tovi recompile Kensuo?  ).I do have a whole bunch of questions about the GP2X though, and as I know some of you (Moogle, Quiest, Goity, .. any more?) own a GP2X, I'd be very happy if you would please answer these questions for me. 1. Batteries I've read bad things about the GP2X battery usage, about them being empty in 10 minutes. I've also read the drainage is much increased when watching videos because the second processor core gets active for that. On the other hand, I've also read that the 10 minutes thing was related to bad charging. So how does this stick together, how much time do your batteries live on average for various uses? What batteries do you have? I am thinking of buying these high capactity 3200 mAh (!) rechargables, about how long would that do? 2. SD Card read speed Newer and higher capacity SD cards have higher reading speeds. I was wondering if this influences game performance. I can imagine this matters quite a bit when running big games, like playstation ones (for example a 650 MB game). Anyone has experience with different SD Card speeds and how it influences performance with big games? 3. Overclocking As I've heard all of the GP2X's can overclock to somewhere around 240 Mhz, and a lot to 275 Mhz. How much can yours be overclocked, and if it was not so high, did it break your heart? Some stores test their GP2X's, is it worth getting a model that has been tested to be overclocked to 275 Mhz or beyond? 4. MPEG For me there's unclearity about this format: while the official site says it can be read, some users say it can't be. Can it? 5. Thumb cap I've read about bad behaving and shitty thumb caps. Does the newest MK2 - FX100 model still has this problem or has it been fixed? 6. Your experience What are your annoyances/loves concerning the GP2X? Anything I should know? Thanks in advance! 
____________ Personal website: http://www.loijson.com |
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| October 27, 2006, 22:50 | |
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(. )( .)
Whiskered 30 posts |
I hate you rich people
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| October 27, 2006, 23:25 | |
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Moogle
Enterprise Edition 239 posts 
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Right, going top-down, I'll give my take  Point 1, the batteries. The reason batteries get drained quickly is because the Gp2x is pretty much a high drain device. Or, batteries often can provide a lot of energy, but only if it's sucked out slowly. The Gp2x wants it fast, so the best thing you can do is buy photo rechargables, I have 2.5Ah's myself, and they last somewhere between 2 and 4 hours, depending on what I'm doing. On average I'd say you can watch about 2.5 hours of video with a full charge, and depending on the game play a little more. Point 2, the SD card speed There has been a lot of debate about this over at the gp32x forums, but no tests have proven that there is a significant difference, so I wasn't too fussed with it when I bought my card, which is a standard card(the cheapest one in the lineup). As of yet I have yet to see anything running slower than it should. But hey, if you want to spend to be sure, there you go Point 3, overclocking right? I actually have no idea how high mine can go, I never seriously tested it. There is a test app which I can run if you want me to though. From what I've read 240 is about as 'slow' as they get, and is relatively rare. Almost all can go to 255/260, about half of them goes to 266 and beyond, some up to 280Mhz even. Having a 280 one is a plus, however, it dries your batteries sooner, so in practice you will be running at about 260 anyway. The 260/266 gap is the biggest 'cut', but 260 is plenty to run most of the stuff at a good speed. Point 4, MPEG support It supports several MPEG-4 variants, mostly used the Xvid and DivX ones, which cover about 90% of all avi files nowadays I think. So I guess it does. Point 5, the cap The problem with the cap is that it's mounted at a 45 degree angle by accident, which results in the diagonals having a larger degree of the circle than the normal directions. I think this has been corrected with the newer versions, and on the older it's a matter of getting used to it, after some time you'll start hitting them correctly automatically. And then there is a replacement cap you can order. I've been meaning to, but haven't yet because of lazyness. But do it. It's good. The fact that I can live without it though means it's not a necessity and that you won't hurt yourself on the original cap. It's not too splendid, but you can live with it no problem. Point 6, experience I love my Gp, I always put on some games or series on it if I go on a trip, it's just that you must be prepared that not all emulators are perfect yet. SNES transparencies are more of a hack nowadays, mostly guessing which layer is the transparent one(you can correct it of course, if it picks the wrong one). PSX emulation is half decent at best. It really varies, playing Kula World pretty much full speed but going down to 5 FPS if you load up a race in Ridge Racer. Don't buy a Gp expecting to be playing Red Alert full speed anytime within the next 3 months at least. The games are pretty cool though, and the scene is one of, if not the best, scenes of any console today, with new releases of games and emu's almost everyday. For more info, I'd recommend the Gp2x starters guide, which has 40 pages of everything you need to know, it's a really good read. Find it here. And of course, browse the boards and read up on the PSX emu, notaz' new SNES additions, and what Squidge is up to these weeks. ____________ I am Moogle and I approve this message. Quoting (. )( .) in the Bugs topic: Everytime I login the threads with new posts are by Dennis.
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| October 28, 2006, 00:23 | |
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Rincewind
programmer 1548 posts
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Thanks Moogle! I'll read the guide. Also I had more questions the other day, but I didn't place them not to overload any answerer. However I forgot them now. I'll ask as soon as I remember.
____________ Personal website: http://www.loijson.com |
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| April 22, 2007, 21:05 | |
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Quiest
now with more happynes 142 posts 
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I just happened to stumble over this thread... so you got one yet, Rince?
____________ Roundhousekick to the face, baby! |
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| April 22, 2007, 21:46 | |
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Rincewind
programmer 1548 posts
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Yes absolutely, I have one! I had some trouble with the shop (gp2x.co.uk) and in addition my 4GB SD card broken down while writing to it the first time with my pc, but everything is okay now. It's certainly a nice device, and I love all the emulators for it and tv-out ability.
____________ Personal website: http://www.loijson.com |
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| April 23, 2007, 13:37 | |
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Quiest
now with more happynes 142 posts
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Ah, thats good to hear I hope you tried some of my games too
____________ Roundhousekick to the face, baby! |
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| April 23, 2007, 18:07 | |
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yonni
None 420 posts |
Choice: Buy GP2X -OR- Wait (lots) longer and buy a shiny new PC/laptop. What do people think I should do? ____________ |
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| April 23, 2007, 21:34 | |
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Htbaa
Perl 368 posts 
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If I didn't have a PSP with homebrew enabled I would've gotten a GP2X I "think".
____________ blog.htbaa.com |
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| April 24, 2007, 00:03 | |
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Dennis
どこかにいる 2097 posts 
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Quoting yonni: Choice: This depends on what you are planning to do with it. If it is solely for entertainment on the road (i.e. to school/work) you'll be better of with a GP2X. However, a laptop is useful in airports and some train stations (and various other locations nowadays) to go on wireless internet and do stuff, do work etc etc. A laptop can be useful for school and study too, when doing projects in the cafetaria or something :D. During travel I mostly steer so I cannot really entertain myself with other means Buy GP2X -OR- Wait (lots) longer and buy a shiny new PC/laptop. What do people think I should do?
____________ Kwakkel |
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| April 24, 2007, 00:35 | |
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Rincewind
programmer 1548 posts
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Quoting yonni: Choice: Buy GP2X -OR- Wait (lots) longer and buy a shiny new PC/laptop. What do people think I should do? Get the PC/laptop first. That one will be used a lot more, the GP2X is more of a toy I'd say. I also first got a laptop before I got the GP2X. Even though I really like the GP2X, the laptop is being abused daily. [Edited on April 24, 2007 by Rincewind] ____________ Personal website: http://www.loijson.com |
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| April 24, 2007, 08:03 | |
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yonni
None 420 posts |
By PC/laptop I meant desktop/laptop (probably not clear)
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| April 24, 2007, 12:12 | |
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Quiest
now with more happynes 142 posts
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If you have no PC, you won`t have much fun with a gp2x, so get a pc first. And as this seems to get a little off topic, anyone wanna buy my PSP with some games? ____________ Roundhousekick to the face, baby! |
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| April 24, 2007, 17:59 | |
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yonni
None 420 posts |
I do already have a PC (hence I can be on this site), but I meant a shiny NEW one as this is getting fairly old (and I want to keep it to run linux on).
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| April 27, 2007, 00:00 | |
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Dennis
どこかにいる 2097 posts
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Do you put a desktop PC on your lap? Anyway, Linux does not need much. I am running Ubuntu with VMWare. ____________ Kwakkel |
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Message Board > Malarkey > GP2X