Can't Decide Between Psp And Gp2x?


Troy the Great

Still Fresh
Joined
Oct 1, 2005
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I myself had the same problem. What to choose the Gp2x or the PSP. They are boath great systems and here are some great comparisons made by many of your vary own forum members. These comparisons are brought from this topic: Here
I also posted the same question on a PSP forum: Here. I put together the best, the most informational, and the most non-bias Posts.

Here are the comparisons:


skeezix
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The PSP screen is _amazing_ and big, but it (as many pointed out) not as high a refresh rate. (Course to _also_ be fair, the Mk1 GP2X screen is _interlaced_ which few or no one mentioned. Thats the fan-side that forgets the flaws  The PSP screen looks stunning for emus. DaveC will bring up the aspect ratio, but its perfect in many cases (like for Atari ST, my thing.) Since its my emu on both platforms I can compare and it looks great on PSP and great on GP2x, and I don't notice the refresh much  So sorry to say, its not a clear-cut answer like many would say.

The PSP is pretty fast (sure, Risc, but the 333 is actually pretty darned fast. Irs also dual-333 plus the GPU .. thats a lot of processing power) though ARM is faster in some cases. (Theres more to it than pure CPU of course; bus, ram, predence of an FPU that ARM doesn't have.) There are a lot of commercial games, some of which suck, some are great - thats an opinion call that people shouldnt' put into your mouth for you. If you can't be bothered to use a TV console (like me, since my wife has the TV , then GTA is great on PSP since no chance to play it on the PS2. Katamari, Socom, Gradius, etc etc all great on PSP. Most of the ones I like on PSP are ports from PS2, or same familes as PS2.. but I barely play PS2 so great.)

But most are ignoring the real question.. emulation and homebrew, and the reality of it all.

A 2.0 or earlier PSP can be rolled back to 1.5 to 2.0. Those are good firmware versions so you can do lots of cool things.. open up most commercial games, and do homebrew easily.

If your PSP is firmware 2.1 or later, you get trouble.. do far they can't be rolled back to an earlier firmware version, and these are not cracked really well yet. FW2.6 is needed for a number of commercial games (some that cannot be run on 1.5 even with mods) so many people end up on 2.6 or 2.7 and firmware is a _real pain_ on these.)

So for _homebrew and emulation_ in msot cases the GP32 and GP2x are king since they're openly able to do it; if you have an older PSP then _great_, its very good.. but if you do intend to use commercial games oyu might get bonered.

(Course, the GP2x will have virtually no commercial games. Fans will forget this. Sure, yuo'll get a few, maybe even a half dozen or dozen .. but not hundreds!)

The PSP _may_ well get a modchip; theres abotu 10 people who've built their own, and there are a couple companies about to release modchips so you can run multiple firmwares.. 1.5 for homebrew, and the current flavour for games.

What would I suggest?

I don't suggest, since thats the only way to be fair 

If you want homebrew and emulation, GP2x is the way to go unless you want to wait for PSP+modchip, or buy an old PSP and never use it for commercial games 

Myself, with Sony always fighting with devs to break any homebrew exploits and combat modchips and such, I wrote off my PSP -- it is onyl for commercial games. Its a great screen (emus like _great_ on it, though it does not refresh as fast as you might like. Its also an _enormous_ screen!) and all.. but if you have to fight with Sony, load up GTA and use a save-game exploit to break out to a launcher.. its too much. Screw it ,and boot up the 2x I say.

But I own both, depending what I want to do.

jeff

ex: On a 1.5 FW PSP you can just boot homebrew from the PSP menu; on a 2.0 PSP you boot up an exploit that fires up a launcher, that you boot homebrew on. On a 2.6 FW you boot up GTA:LCS and after it loads (a minute or two) theres an exploit that breaks you into the launcher. On 2.7 your'e stuck with Flash games.

ex 2: The latest GTA:LCS UMD's dont' have the exploit present, so you can see how Soyn and co are working to stop homebrew. New FM versiosn every month or two, and companies fixing exploits. So a year from now, you'll need a modchip (if they exist), or no homebrew and new games _likely_(who can tell) on the PSP.

GP2x will always be homebrew friendly.. since homebrew is all it will (likely) ever have. 

Another point: the GP32/GP2x scene is one of the best. The 2x is bringing lots of people but the old guard GP32 people have beaten them more or less into good sceners.. its like the good old days here on gp32x.de


Oddwarg
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I own a (pink )DS, a PSP, and a GP2X, and I love them (almost )equally.
I will try to point out as many as I can of the positive sides of my machines.

My PSP:
My first seventh-generation handheld. I really think this thing is beautiful. I own a 2 gig and a 512 gig stick. Sony have permanently banned all significant homebrew in recent firmwares. Modchipped or old PSP is required to run homebrew.

The screen is really nice for 3D games(the "ghosting" actually makes many games look better), but not for 2D gaming. I used this machine as a emulator device for some time, but I upgraded. The viewing angle is great. It has an analog stick which is nice, but the D-pad has trouble facing diagonally.
It is about 30 grams heavier than the DS.

I use it as a multimedia device because:
- It has a remote.
- Easier to convert(PSPvideo9)/download(Google video...) movies for it at this point.
- Better placement of headphone port, so you can stick it in your pocket without worrying about breaking the stereo jack.
- I own a nice speaker add-on.
- The screen is big.
I know there are downsides too. I also see that you own a multimedia device so this should not appeal to you.

It boots fast. The UMDs can be a bit slow at times, but it has a hibernation mode. Just pull the power switch and it saves all essential data, so that you will resume where you stopped playing when you turn it back on. This can be unstable though. I reccommend you pause the game before doing it. There are enough good commercial games to keep me satisfied, but this costs money.

Conclusion: My PSP is not for you.

My DS:
My second seventh-ganeration handheld. The pink color is symbolic. Getting storage and utilities for this device is hard.

The DS folds together, so that the screens are protected. But if you look at the screens from the side, below, or above you won't see a thing. Only one person at the time can see what's going on. Also, you can see the space between the pixels. But the screens are sufficiently bright and clear. The touch screen and microphone gimmicks are allright.
The speakers are a tiny bit louder than the PSP's speakers. It is a bit larger, and has longer battery life than the PSP.

It is not a multimedia device. Running homebrew is not easy, nor worth it. You need to buy games( or an expensive semi-illegal RW cartridge and launcher card) to do anything, and this costs money. I do not think that the games are that good, but this is personal.

Conclusion: My DS is not for you.

My GP2X: 
My third seventh-generation handheld. I got it not long ago. Cheap SD card storage lets you save and run anything. The machine is all about homebrew, so essentially this is a super-portable linux PC. This is a one-time investment. Get the console and storage and you won't have to buy anything else.

The screen is nice. Nice viewing from any significant angle. Nice resolution. Bright, clear, and good size.
The speakers are relatively silent. It uses AA batteries, which can be aquired anywhere. Rechargables recommended. Smaller and much lighter than the others. TV-out can be enabled without big investments.

The GP2X can play almost any format, as long as someone bothers with making a player. It emulates any old machine well.

Get a GP2X:
- If you're poor
- If you're not interested in new fancy 3D games
- If you want good homebrew


LuvClub
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For starters, I like to say I do not own a GP2X and have never seen one or touched one. I have had a GP32, GBA Advance and Zodiac. So the following comments relating to the PSP are based only on my experiences with the machines that I have owned. I hope they are not considered fanboi comments.

Actually the Megadrive emu (DGEN) on the PSP is on a par with the SNES emu (Yoyo's SnesPSP_TYL). These are the two best emulators on the PSP. Both run practically everything at 60fps (and sound) with frameskip at 0 or 1 - except for those requiring extra chips e.g F-Zero. SNES SF2Turbo runs at 60fps (skip 0) with full sound using the "ignore fixed color hack" (don't know what this is but nothing seems to look different with it on).

DGEN is in no way inferior to DrMD. It probably has all the same features as well as Wifi two player play (as does the SNES emu). I do not know why DGEN is so overlooked when compared with Yoyo's emu.

The NeocdPSP also runs most things at 60fps at frameskp 0/1. As far as emulating the NeoCD it does everything well enough. Too bad it only emulates NeoCDs. An MVS emu has just been released, but this is in early alpha stage and does not load larger roms currently. Hopefully the author would learn to stream roms like the GP2X version soon. It should not be too difficult since the author has already developed a capable NeoCD emulator.

I know the D-Pad on the PSP is shite. This is a really poor point with the PSP and is more annoying since I love SF2. Using the Dpad I could only do dragon punches at best 50% of times. FORTUNATELY I FIND the analog nub is great for doing dragon punches. I personally could pull off continuous DPs left or right (but this maybe due to me being a SF2 freak). I find it easier to use than the GP32 stick. I was never able to pull off such moves using the clicky stick. The Zodiac analog is crap compared to the PSP in this respect. The Dpad is great for games which do not require diagonals like Tetris or Ghouls'n'ghosts.

There is supposed to be a mod which you could do to the dpad which would help. It is to open up the PSP and stick a piece of card to the underside of the Dpad. This supposedly would enable diagonals to be pressed with less effort. I suppose this is akin to the GP32 mod where stuff was stuffed beind the stick.

Now for the ghosting or poor refresh rate of the PSP screen. Yep this is true. Whether if you would find it sick or unacceptable depends on the person. Personally I don't like it, but I don't find it too off putting. It is more noticeable in some games and less in others. Sometimes if you notice it you would keep looking for other instances of it and it would take up too much of your attention and you would never actually get into a game. Sometimes you get into a game and won't notice it. It is like having a dead pixel on your lcd (luckily my PSP is clear), once you latch onto it with your eyes it is always fixed on it. While some people don't care. It depends on the person.

The same goes for this 1:1 pixel for emulation. It all depends on the person. I personally prefer to stretch to the full 4:3 (sometimes compromise 14:9) on the PSP as long as filtering is used. Without filtering I find it ugly even at 1:1. If you are one of the people who has orgasms about 1:1 pixel being emulated on screen, like certain people, then by all means don't get the PSP. I like it slightly blurred - TV like.

UMD loading times could be long. Which is why one should backup their UMDs and run them from Memorystick Duos. This allows for minimal loading times as well as being able to compress ISOs storing several on a stick and saving battery life.

"Fingerprint City" could be overcome by getting a full screen shield. I just got a InvisibleShield which covers the whole front face. Now it is scratch resistant and almost invisible. It is also less prone to fingerprints. I know that it costs, but it is such a great product. Tried running a key like crazy across the front and it still can't get scratched.

Hope this helps.



jdwrrzmm
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The GP2X uses SD cards for storage compared to the Memory Stick Duo cards the PSP uses. SD cards are much cheaper and have greater storage capacity.

You can find 1GB SD cards for around 20-25 bucks on newegg. The cheapest 1GB Memory stick Duo I found was $39.99 I've seen 1GB Duo cards for $60-$80 at Walmart if you plan to buy your PSP that way.

If you want to use the GP2X to primary watch movies and TV shows on I would go with the one with the cheapest format, the DVD chip, and the one with more codecs.

There is also the issue about cost. All figures done without shipping.
PSP $200
1GB Memory stick Duo $40
Total $240

GP2X $170
2500MaH rechargable batteries+Charger $15
1GB SD card $20
SD Card Reader $5
Total $210

The GP2X doesn't have WI-FI built in. If you add the cheapest USB wifi adapter I could find it would bring the GP2X total to $220 + cost of the BOB or serial to usb cable.

I don't own a PSP so I cannot comment on the emulators on it.


sanctuary13
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sorry to jump into the convo a little late, but i've got a gp2x and a psp, and i play em both actively. all the technical arguments aside, if what you want is homebrew/emu and JUST homebrew/emu, go gp2x. sure, the psp has been hacked more or less, but it requires the older OS to run any emulator ive found, which will severely limit the number of actual UMD games you can play. as far as ease of use, i've had more luck with the psp. the system options and menus are kinda similar in learning curve, but the psp is a lot more stable. the gp2x is awesome, i got it long before i got my psp, and ill always use it, but the psp is my stand-by for daily gaming.

GP2X
Pros:
*great homebrew community
*something different
*feel like a part of something new and burgeoning
*cheap
*homebrew/emu are free (donations aside)

Cons:
*unstable at best
*hard to find good SD cards with large capacity that will work
*most emulators are still in beta phase; no really "completed" apps
*not a reputable company, so dont expect a ton of support.
*crap battery life, even with pricey rechargables.

PSP
Pros:
*widespread use
*as of late, more new and better games are being released
*tons of 3rd party products
*easy to find emulation software
*decent battery life

Cons:
*not designed for homebrew, so kiss your warranty goodbye
*$$$
*you'll feel like a corporate whore.

just my opinion. i love both of em equally, because the gp2x and psp, although both handheld, are two completely different platforms. i wanna know when someone is gonna hack the nintendo DS!!



deadlychicken22
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[quote][quote="Troy the Great"] 

Is there anyone that has experienced homebrew on boath psp and gp2x to the fullest and can say the emulation 
Is more enjoyable or more functional on one or the other? Can you say the homebrew in general is better and/or has more potential.

Just answer me this.[/quote][/quote]Please, keep homebrew and emulation seperate. Homebrew is generally used to refer to original games developed by people in their freetime and released for free. Emulators are different because they are designed to emulate older systems. They aren't creating any new games, they are instead offering the means to play many older commercial (and possibly homebrew) games. 

Emulation roundup: gp2x vs. psp
psp - snes is better
psp - N64!
gp2x - neogeo!
gp2x - MAME is better
gp2x - PSX!
gp2x - genesis/megadrive is better

These are my experiences with the gp2x and psp. There are many other differences, but these are probably the biggest deciding factors.

My friend used to laugh at me for getting a gp2x . . .

He has a psp and he had 1.5 firmware and he played the emulators quite a bit and told me they were better than anything the gp2x would get. Then they came out with new commercial games that he wanted, so I bought those. They forced him to upgrade his firmware. He now has the newest firmware and can no longer play homebrew. I asked him about the gta hack because I read you could use that to play homebrew, but he told me that it is such a pain in the ass he doesn't bother with it. He's now considering buying a second psp to play homebrew. What a waste of money. If he does, he will have spent about $500 on the psp, not including the $150 he spent on his memory stick and all of the money he spent on games. What a waste.

So, if you really are only ever going to use the psp for emulation and you don't mind a blurry, stretched, screen, then it might be the better choice because of its snes emulation. However, the gp2x snes emulation is getting much better and if it continues to improve I'm sure we will have a snes emulator that is almost as good as the psp one. The gp2x also has better neogeo, genesis/megadrive, MAME, and (at least in my opinion) homebrew games.


Azure
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And the PSP does have some decent commercial games. I personally might pick one up just for the Capcom re-makes that are being made. Plus it has a nice widescreen display for watching movies (Or playing games, you don't HAVE to stretch the screen you know), better SNES emulator (Though I only mention this because I LOVE the SNES), and it honestly looks like it has better controls (The spacing out of the face buttons and the D-Pad leave much to be desired for the GP2X -- I cannot stand the stiff stick and the cheap feeling face buttons that are really close). Plus, it's been out longer and thus has more programs/developers.

Quite honestly, I feel the PSP is superior to the GP2X in every way, except:
1. The community - I prefer close-knit communities like this website over large communities like the PSP homebrew scene
2. Sony's efforts to stop homebrewing - Because of the need of PSPs of a certain firmware, I've lost interest as I'd have to buy used (Which I usually don't like to do, especially with electronics, and most especially with something with an lcd screen). HOWEVER, I remember reading somewhere that the whole firmware thing has been solved and that you don't need a 1.5 PSP anymore to play homebrew stuff.

These two reasons are why I bought a GP2X over a PSP.


winapa
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Ok, heres my take on this thread....

It kind of comes back to the old "my console is better than yours" thing. Being 36 I think I can bring something to this... "old blokes wisdom" and the like.  

So heres my take...

I have a DS, I love my DS...cool games, you can pick it up and play it for 5 minutes without a problem or you can pick it up and play it for 5 hours...still not a problem.

I looked at the PSP, but decided that although its more powerful than the DS, the games didn't have the same "pick up and play" feel about them. Longer loading times and less fun games meant that I really couldn't have played it for 5 minutes easily.

To see which commercial handheld is the best to get, you really need to look at the Japanese market, which the DS is trouncing the PSP in. I buy and sell on eBay, and you wouldn't believe the shortage of DS' at Christmas. I was selling Nintendogs packs for closing £200!

Now....Why did I buy the GP2x?

Because i'm a bit of a gadget freak...Plus having being a programmer for the past 18 years of my life, I really fancied writing some stuff for it. I looked at the PSP homebrew scene and noted the pitfalls of the version 2 firmware, and decided that for £100 I could get a console which was specifically for homebrew.

So OP what do you REALLY want? If you really want homebrew, go for the GP2x, i've never regretted getting it, and believe me when I tell you, the NeoGeo emulation is nothing short of awesome, real arcade machines in your pocket blows people away....And even though they are from the 90s, the graphics are still stunning (lets face it, thats what really impresses people).

If you want commercial games, then you need to look at the PSP for better looking but ultimately longer play session games, or the DS if you want less better looking but far more innovative games you can pick up and play for a few minutes.

Just my take, but ultimately its your decision.



Troy the Great
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Good point you brought up:
The firmware issue

Why it is not a problem:
They have a program called Dev hook witch allows you to use 2.5 firmware without updating from 1.5, They are also comming out with a Mod chip that can run two sepperate firmwares at anytime.

Good point you brought up:
The PsP games are really expensive and not that great

Why it is not a problem:
I am not here for the PsP games, "***"I am here for the Emulation/homebrew"***"(not for the commercial psp games), The commercial games are just a bonus..... I only said they have a few good games, Also They have programs were you can put psp isos on your memery card and play them off that.

Good point you brought up:
The PsP screen is bad

Why it is not a problem:
I accually like it it plays smooth, it's huge and looks great as far as I can tell. Althow I have not played any emulation on it so I would not know about how the screen looks with that.

Good point you brought up:
Psp Has no Tv out

Why it is not a problem:

Psp acctually has a Tv out adapter you can buy and I would take Wifi over Tv out anyday


-In closing I would never ugrade my firmware if it ment I would loose homebrew, because that is why I am really buying the sytem. 

They have quite an array more homebrew ports and player made games than I excpected:

http://psp-homebrew.eu/homebrew.php

They also have a very Large number of emulators running fullspeed with sound(snes!) and are further along on emulation then the gp2x on

They Also have quite a large community and alot of dev teams., But I think you guys are Great to.

*The only thing I am worried about is that they will force firmware updates on me and thus I would loose the reason I bought it.

Am I missing anything?Good point you brought up:
The firmware issue

Why it is not a problem:
They have a program called Dev hook witch allows you to use 2.5 firmware without updating from 1.5, They are also comming out with a Mod chip that can run two sepperate firmwares at anytime.

Good point you brought up:
The PsP games are really expensive and not that great

Why it is not a problem:
I am not here for the PsP games, "***"I am here for the Emulation/homebrew"***"(not for the commercial psp games), The commercial games are just a bonus..... I only said they have a few good games, Also They have programs were you can put psp isos on your memery card and play them off that.

Good point you brought up:
The PsP screen is bad

Why it is not a problem:
I accually like it it plays smooth, it's huge and looks great as far as I can tell. Althow I have not played any emulation on it so I would not know about how the screen looks with that.

Good point you brought up:
Psp Has no Tv out

Why it is not a problem:

Psp acctually has a Tv out adapter you can buy and I would take Wifi over Tv out anyday


-In closing I would never ugrade my firmware if it ment I would loose homebrew, because that is why I am really buying the sytem. 

They have quite an array more homebrew ports and player made games than I excpected:

http://psp-homebrew.eu/homebrew.php

They also have a very Large number of emulators running fullspeed with sound(snes!) and are further along on emulation then the gp2x on

They Also have quite a large community and alot of dev teams., But I think you guys are Great to.

*The only thing I am worried about is that they will force firmware updates on me and thus I would loose the reason I bought it.

Am I missing anything?



nubie
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[quote][quote="Troy the Great"] 

I am really intrested in Emulation and a little bit of other homebrew stuff. So my question is which system as of now is better for emulation. Which means: Which is easier to set up and use homebrew/emulation (as well as which one is better Organised) , Which has better quality/speed in emulating, and which is more qualified and has more potential in emulation/homebrew???
The GP2X is as easy to set up and use as a PC is with emulators (probably because you use a PC to make the folders ), the PSP is as hard as doing a swap-trick on a PS1, every time you turn it on (that or shell out $50 for that new modchip/bios thing).[/quote][/quote]The GP2X has better speed in emulating due to more advanced emulators and cores written in assembler: 

DrMDx, the Sega MD/Genesis emulator is the best and most compatible single emulator I have ever used even counting all the Kega and Ages and kGen98 PC Emu's.

gnuBoy, the GBC emulator is the best way on the planiet to play GBC games, it blows away my brothers GBA SP, screen is larger brighter and I think there are even savestates, but no Sram yet.

SNES is coming along nicely (not as good yet, but getting there).

PSX emulator is playable for some of the older or 2D games already (full FPS for some of the 2D games).

Brute power they are fairly even (disregarding the lack of 3D in GP2X of course), the GP2X has better qualifications due to the native 320x240 and bigger screen, since it isn't widescreen each pixel is bigger, I had two gp2x's and their screens are awesome, I tried a PSP in GameStop and was horrified by the blurriness and shoddy LCD. The GP2X has more potential and qualifications because it is open and already runs a common Linux Kernel, also 4GB 150x SD are $86.


[quote]
QUOTE

I am leaning more toward PSP. For a couple reasons: 

1. Amazing screen and cool looking. 
2. Seems to run more emulators with better speed(like snes) 
3. More Powerful console. 
4. Wifi. 
5. Has a good collection of commercial games 
6. The ability to emulate those commercial games. [/quote]

1. NO, screen is crap, I have played both, GP2X owns here. Cool? eh, only in the way an Ipod is cool (it wears off quick and you payed too much for it)
2. The Snes is the only one quicker at the moment, and it has only been in development so long, it is getting faster all the time.
3. Eh, ok, but does that mean anything? Aside from the 3d hardware they are fairly even, we have 64MB of SDRAM though, and most all units will clock to 245mhz, some to nearly 300mhz. Properly made games and emus are what counts, maybe we will hit a wall, but I think it will be after a 85%-90% perfect PSX emu (I.E. all games except those that taxed the real PSX running full-speed with no overclock)
4. We have wifi, I realize it is a bit of a hack, but it is doable, people have posted on this board with their GP2X on a wifi link to the net.
5. No, I don't think any of those are good, personal preference maybe, but I can't shell out $30, $40 or $50 for crap that is only playable/interesting for 10mins.
6. ?? Don't have a clue about what you mean here.

[quote]QUOTE

Why I am thinking about Gp2x: 
1. Bigger Community 
2. Seems to be have homebrew stuff, like user made games, ports(quake, doom) and More utillities. 
3.TV out 
4. Better fit screen for older consoles. 
5. Better potential for future homebrew, since Sony dos'nt like homebrew on PSP and is updating firmware to prevent it. 

I am Mainly looking to emulate: DOS, Snes, GBA, Genisis, Amiga.
[/quote]



1. Yes
2. More in spades, also just about anything using SDL or X11 on Linux is already good to go with minor porting.
3. You can't believe enough how good this is, Divx movies play on this in full-res, take it to a friends house with a collection of cool Anime or some obscure cult-classic (like Mystery Science Theater 3000)
4. Yes, Tekken 3 when I tried it last December blew my socks off (it ran at 2fps ingame back then, but the menu looked so good at 12fps I shed a tear), Sonic looks like it was Made to be played on it, the best I have ever seen Sega Genesis Games look. Period.
5. You hit the nail on the head, Sony is selling at a loss, these guys are selling at a profit, Sony needs to force you to buy games to break even.

DOS, we have it
Snes, getting better, seems ~70-80% playable/compatible/full-speed (superFX is still a no right now, sound is a slow-down)
GBA, don't bother it isn't very fast yet, it can definitely get there, but do we need Nintendo lawsuits (it would be that good), GBC is great though.

Genesis, DrMDx is The BEST. Period. (including PC emus it is unbelievably well-timed and compatible)
Amiga, it is out there, lots of custom and specialized chips mean it will be tough to get it compatible at playable speeds, but the Atari ST is comparable and the Commodore64 emu is awesome.

I don't know if you were just unaware, but we have USB Host, all you need is an adaptor for the EXT port* and you can plug in your USB hard-drive or flash-stick and play emus and movies/mp3's off it.

Also this is how you get Wifi or USB to LAN adaptors working, also USB gamepads are functional (see retrousb.com, then wipe up the drool) 
*(you can make your own, see the link in my sig, the commercial one from the manufacturer is awful, but TechFreak is designing a better one.)


Vynx
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I own a GP2X, and have access to a PSP any time I like (my brother has one). Personally, I much prefer the GP2X. The PSP is incredibly overhyped and many of the games are pretty unimpressive. It has a few gems, but not enough to warrent a purchase for me. The wow factor dies down quickly once you've had a good amount of playtime with one, and I find the controls restrictive. I don't like the thumbpad at all.

But it really depends on what you want - high-end graphics, portable console-like experience, portable DVD disks with a good screensize for video or the GP2X; tons of homebrew content, something new every week, and not a lot of investment required once you buy the unit and an SD card (although it's best to get a good card reader, it saves a lot of hassle in the long run). I think the GP2X is a much better media player personally, and Pro Duo memory cards for the PSP are ridiculously expensive compared to SD cards.

If you have a good disposable income, and like what the PSP offers, then go for that. If not, you'll have plenty of fun with the GP2X. I like watching how things progress with the GP2X, and even being able to suggest what i'd like on the system. Falling Sand has been ported to the GP2X simply because I asked and explain how good of a game it was, it's a fantastic community which is something the PSP really lacks in my experience.

The PSP is more powerful when it comes to emulators yes, but thanks to Sony's efforts to stamp out the homebrew scene, the PSP lacks big support in that area. Sony is just going to go to further and more extreme lengths to stop that sort of thing on the system. Even if that means automatic hidden firmware updates or further restrictions.



geise69
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have both as well and I had a 1.0 psp. At the time getting emulation on it was easy. Then 1.5 game around and it was still easy. Then 2.0 came and it got a bit annoying. Using GTA (which is a piece of a$$) to play emulation/homebrew was a big turnoff for me. If you are 100% sure that it is a 1.5 psp grab it! I feel that it will better suit your needs. If it's a 2.0 or above I'd pass and get a GP2X. 2.0 and above firmwares don't use kernel mode so SNES emulation is quite a bit slower than if you have 1.5 firmware psp. Same goes for some other emulators on the psp. Genesis/Mega Drive, Amiga emulation is better on the GP2X. My firmware on the psp is 2.7 and it's just gonna keep going up, especially since some "decent" games are "finally" coming out. Sony trying to stop homebrew is just getting so tiresome, but if you can deal with it get the psp. Again don't get it if you know 100% fact that it's a 1.5. If it's 2.0 firmware you can downgrade to 1.5 and back, but just make sure you know what you're doing or you'll have a nice brick. BTW the first thing I noticed when I got my psp was the bad lcd screen. No dead pixels but it has ghosting like you won't believe. Trust everyone here when you read the gp2x screen is better. TV out is better on the GP2X as well. If you're a total geek get a GP2X, but if you want something pretty to show girls or your friends get a PSP. Also I can't believe I typed all this crap.

Good/Bad overview:

---Gp2x:

Good:
*Great community
*Screen is made better for emulation
*Lots of homebrew and emulators
*Great: MAME, Genisis, NeoGeo emulation
*light wait
*Supports homebrew
*Easy to use video support

Bad:
*Slightly cheap feel
*Almost no commercial support
*Alot of nicks to work out

---PSP:

Good:
*Commercial support
*Big screen
*Commercial support
*At the moment there is a slightly larger community due to PSP's populaity
*Great 3D
*Lots of homebrew and emulators
*Great: Snes Better: GBA, n64 emulation

Bad:
*Sony is fighting homebrew on this system
*Heavy
*Screen is not really made for emulation
*Little bit more expensive
*Memery stick DUO
*Difficult to encode video for use on PSP

Still can't decide?

1.Check the original topic Here for more information. Aswhile as the PSP forum Here

2. Search YouTube for "psp emulation" or "gp2x emulation" to see some emulation in action on the two hand helds

3. Goto The Wiki and search for "psp" or "gp2x" for lots of info.


In conclusion. I myself decided to go with the Gp2x and I am very happy with it although, I am sure I would be just as happy with the PSP. I would like to thank all of these people for taking there time to write and help in my decision. I would also like to all the people who posted in my topic in this forum as well as the PSP forum. Hope I could Help ;)

If you have a comparison you would like to add PM me your writing or if you would like to add somthing to the good/bad overview, post it here.
 
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I think it should be specifically noted that GP2X+SD Cards makes a much more cost effective video-watching solution than the PSP + MS, especially if you spend a little time learning to encode your own videos.
 
No law says that you have to choose, both systems are good :)

The only simple thing that I can repeat yet again is that the GP2X is a lovely little machine that can emulate my other lovely machine ... My Amiga :)... Not that the PSP can't , it's simply because the aim of the PSP is not within the market of the GP2X or GP32... The Amiga was a doomed computer, it lived SOOO much longer thanks to homebrew :) , people should be able to code that machine that they own, it is not a feature, it is a right, and if SONY don't agree, you should dump SONY.

Decisions are a hard thing when we talk about portability, style, classic games, price... Ohhh, I do miss many things of the past lol... Those old games that taught me how a computer could be used lol... EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A GP2X or a GP32 !.


* Proud owner of my GP2X MK II , owner of AMIGA 2000 Rev 6.7 B , With Opalvision , Cybervision 64-3D , Blizzard 68060 , Electronic Design Genlock , And SOOOO Much more lol ... ( Including a silly little P4 ) ...
 
*No commercial support

You might want to change that to "Almost no commercial support", as there are a handfull of companies that are intending to develop commercially, including Int13, Apex Designs with Payback, and a few others I can't think of at the moment.
 
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I would keep it as no commercial support.

If you're technically inclined, it's not really first party. There's basically no contact between any non-Korean end user and GPH for the most part. Commercial games aren't licensed by GPH (so far as I know).

Personally, by comparison, I think the commercial support for the GP2X *is* zero. There's no way it's anything but a minus sign if it's of the least concern.
 
I think, rather then making this a sticky, maybe it should be added to the faq section... nice overview, I like it, too.
 
Thanks, glad you like it. It took me quite a while to put together. Thanks as well for your suggestions.
 
Just to Keep things organized. Now that I think about it, it might make more sense if they were quotes.
 
Don't forget the DS. I hear from my sources that SNES emulation is coming together very well on that platform.
 
True: DS has Homebrew, but it is now where close to what Gp2x or PSP has. So as for now I am leaving it out. Most people that are looking at getting into Homebrew are looking more at PSP or Gp2x. Thanks though.
 
I dunno. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NpMnEViWaw...earch=DS%20SNES . Look at DKC when it actually gets to the gameplay. Even at 266 MHZ the GP2X emu doesn't run that fast.
 
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It's hard to tell the frameskip on videos. SquideSnes (modified by Reesy) runs it just as well, I'm sure. Also, there were a fair amount of graphical glitches on that Snezzi DS.
 
No, it doesn't. SquidgeSNES has less graphical issues (except in DKC where the character look spaghettified). but it runs slower even at 266 MHZ (this is comparing it to the DS's 63 MHZ and 33 MHZ cores)
 
I think it has to do with the Mode 7 effects. The characters have lines missing from them. The DS homebrew scene is doing some pretty amazing things given how weak the hardware is.
 
I think it has to do with the Mode 7 effects. The characters have lines missing from them. The DS homebrew scene is doing some pretty amazing things given how weak the hardware is.
There's nothing missing for me... :huh:
Also, look at the video again, you'll notice that there is blackness instead of prallax bgs wich eat a lot of power. Try getting through the first level on gp2x and then play the second wich has no prallax bgs, there is a big difference. (It actually ran too fast, but thats ok now, thanks to pepone's auto frameskip)
 
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