Conflicted on whether to buy the 1GHz Unit or the ReBirth.


Brotasmo

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Jun 18, 2010
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I know some version of this question has been asked before, but as I understand it, it depends on the user. As mentioned in the title, I'm having trouble on deciding whether I should buy the ReBirth Edition Pandora or if I should wait and save up more money for the 1GHz unit. I'm having trouble trying to justify the extra $220 for the 1GHz unit and I need some help on deciding which unit is for me. I understand what I want to get from the Pandora might be different than what other people might want. But, I'm willing to compromise some features that I don't need if it will cost me less.


Could you guys compare for me? So, here are somethings I would like to use the Pandora for. What is there to expect from both editions in these areas?


Here's what I'd like to get out of my Pandora:


1. Emulation. (PSX, SNES, Gamboy color and advance, NES, Amiga, C64, Genesis, and (I know it's not perfect) N64.)


2. Office suite. Libre Office and Google Drive through Chrome. (Power-points and word documents)


3. Google Chrome for web browsing.


4. Games made for Pandora. Ex. Super Geometry Dust.


5. Remote desktop to my PC


6. Music playback of various mp3s


7. Video playback. (is 720p practical?)


8. Youtube?


9. eBook reading from .epub and .pdf files.


10. Android. (Not a huge deal if it isn't that great on the ReBirth. I have a couple pretty good Android devices anyway, and If I want game controls I'll buy and iCP 2 when it comes out. But it would be nice to have it right on the Pandora.)


11. Qemu running Age of Empires and Diablo. (Also, not the biggest deal if this isn't decent on the ReBirth.)


Once again, I'd like to be able to have all of these features without spending an extra $220 on a 1GHz unit. But, If I'm going to be missing out on a lot of cool stuff, then maybe that'd justify the 1GHz Pandora for me.


Thanks in advance for looking at this post and for responding. (I know this is a long one!) This community really rocks! I am hoping to be a happy owner of one version or the other of the Pandora within the next month or so!
 
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Buying the 1Ghz helps the company(ies) continue to survive and supply original preorders their units.


They are used as some extra cash to help produce.


A rebirth can do all of that and probably run at 1ghz overclocked.


Buy a 1ghz and support OP


Buy a rebirth and save cash!
 
Both offer performance but if you're looking to play some number crushing emulators then I suggest the 1GHZ for better performance / stability at higher clocks.
 
Rebirth can run at 1GHz overclocked, however it does drain battery faster and puts strain on the innards. QEmu needs 1GHz to run at a decent speed. N64 needs to be overclocked somewhere between 800-1000MHz to run well. GBA using visualboy advance needs 1GHz to run well, but unless you are having compatibility issues uses gpSP. Flash in firefox is faster with an overclock. The current youtube streaming programs are temporarily broken due to a youtube API updates, but there is a nice downloader for youtube videos which can then be played locally. Libreoffice via pandebian runs great at 600MHz. Im not sure but I believe 720p+ might be a bit too taxing on either of the pandora models.
 
Rebirth can run at 1GHz overclocked, however it does drain battery faster and puts strain on the innards. QEmu needs 1GHz to run at a decent speed. N64 needs to be overclocked somewhere between 800-1000MHz to run well. GBA using visualboy advance needs 1GHz to run well, but unless you are having compatibility issues uses gpSP.
And I assume as far as PSX goes, ReBirth @ ~800 MHz is sufficient?
 
As you seem to want to do a lot of stuff, i'd say go for a 1GHz.
Well, If that's the case, then I might as well wait until I can actually afford a 1GHz unit. I just don't how I can really justify the price. Is the 1GHz unit THAT much better?
 
You can always buy a ReBirth and then upgrade to a 1GHz should you find you want the extra horsepower. I have plenty of ReBirth units in stock and ready to ship, only one 1GHz unit left currently.
 
As you seem to want to do a lot of stuff, i'd say go for a 1GHz.
Well, If that's the case, then I might as well wait until I can actually afford a 1GHz unit. I just don't how I can really justify the price. Is the 1GHz unit THAT much better?
Well I had the original pandora (circuit co assembled-pre -rebirth) It was a great machine.Snes, megadrive, psx all run perfectly.I now have a 1ghz pandora and it overclocks to 1,240 ghz.Some rebirth uniths can reach 1ghz though most about 850 mhz. I believe games like streetfighter 3(in final burn advance emulator) benefit from the extra speed of a 1ghz unit +the chip has some extra stuff too. net browsing is faster too. Still the original pandora has the same great sound, controls and can play alot of emulators. Amiga emulation in uae 2.0 for a1200 stuff may benefit from extra power from the 1ghz unit too. Still the original unit wont dissapoint you either. apparently n64 emulation gets quite a boost due to the new chip in the 1ghz unit though n64 emulation is not great on any system apparently.nuff said.
 
Well I had the original Pandora (circuit co assembled-pre -rebirth) It was a great machine.Snes, megadrive, psx all run perfectly.
So, you don't think I'd be disappointed if I went the ReBirth route? I don't want to be disappointed by something I've been saving for for a while you know?
 
You won't be disappointed either way.


The 1GHz unit is faster than the Rebirth model even if you clock them to the same cpu speed, because it also has faster RAM access and a faster GPU.


1. For N64 emulation it makes a difference (not a huge difference, but noticable), for the other emulators the Rebirth model is already full-speed.


2. Office stuff works well enough on the Rebirth: one issue is of course that you have only a small screen, at 800x480, while most office software assumes something like 1024x768 as a minimum. The screen is the same on both units, so no difference there. Abiword works quite well, in fullscreen mode it is just perfect.


3. Should be no problem on either unit, of course more power means it's faster, but the difference will not be huge. Limiting factor for browsing is usually the amount of RAM, and that's the same on both units. So don't get an older 256MB unit.


4. AFAIK all games made for the Pandora are made to work on all models of the Pandora.


5. Limiting factor here is wifi speed, which is not spectacularly good on the Pandora. I can get 1 megabyte per second, but (it seems) only in relatively short bursts; the long-term sustained speeds I get are more like 200 KB/s. Other people have reported even much lower wifi speeds, although we may now know what causes that problem.


6. Music playback is very good on any Pandora.


7. Video playback is not that good, depending on which codec it is. I recommend recoding your videos to 800x480 (the screen size of the Pandora). Some people have reported 720p playback (of course scaled down) to work, but I wouldn't count on it.


8. Youtube works for low res (240 or 360p) videos; for better results it's best to use a Youtube downloader and watch the movies outside your browser.


9. Reading books is not cpu intensive at all, no difference there.


10. Android works smoother on the 1GHz unit than on the Rebirth unit. I don't use it myself, so not much I can tell about it.


11. Haven't used Qemu myself yet, but of course extra horse power will always improve that emulator, because there's no such thing as a "full-speed" PC :)


Overall, I would recommend the Rebirth model to you. If you have enough cash available, the 1GHz model is of course nicer, but w.r.t. bang for buck, the Rebirth model is the best imo (the 1GHz is 50% more expensive but not 50% better). So if you don't have the cash lying around (like you say, you would have to save longer), I recommend the Rebirth model.
 
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Well, I have the ReBirth and I'm very happy with it. I could have waited another month, spent another 200 bucks, and gotten the 1Ghz...but I didn't feel that what I wanted it for was worth the extra money or time. That's a call only you can make.


the other factor that went into my decision was that the ReBirth was more tested out, and any bugs might have been addressed/fixed, whereas the newer model, maybe not.


An example of this is the old black cases some folks got and eventually didn't prove out. I got the silver case and I'm glad I dd, hearing what I heard about the old black cases.


So, for me the decision would come down to two factors:


1. Can you do what you want with the cheaper model?


2. Can you afford the extra bucks?


3. Are you comfortable in the role of early-adopter?


I think you can tell, from some of my statements above...I'm NOT comfortable in the early-adopter role. You may be.


While I can't answer your question for you, I hope I have given you a few things to think about and factor into reaching your own decision.
 
You won't be disappointed either way


Overall, I would recommend the Rebirth model to you. If you have enough cash available, the 1GHz model is of course nicer, but w.r.t. bang for buck, the Rebirth model is the best imo (the 1GHz is 50% more expensive but not 50% better). So if you don't have the cash lying around (like you say, you would have to save longer), I recommend the Rebirth model.
Thanks so much for the thorough response!
 
How high of a priority is n64 emulation for you ?


Amiga ? Video playing ? Are you happy shelling out the extra cash ?
 
Amiga and N64 arent the most important. I'd think PSX Is most important for emulation. I'm willing to shell out the extra cash, but I'd prefer not to if i can do all the things id like.
 
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Since you mentioned emulators that push the capabilities of any pandora (qemu etc), you will benefit from the higher speed
 
You can always buy a ReBirth and then upgrade to a 1GHz should you find you want the extra horsepower. I have plenty of ReBirth units in stock and ready to ship, only one 1GHz unit left currently.
I have a rebirth I wouldn't mind the xtra horse power, how much $ and how much hassle is it to upgrade from rebirth to 1Ghz, or is it worth waiting a few months for the dragonbox?
 
You can always buy a ReBirth and then upgrade to a 1GHz should you find you want the extra horsepower. I have plenty of ReBirth units in stock and ready to ship, only one 1GHz unit left currently.
 
I have a rebirth I wouldn't mind the xtra horse power, how much $ and how much hassle is it to upgrade from rebirth to 1Ghz, or is it worth waiting a few months for the dragonbox?
As it looks like currently only ED is activly selling the Pandora and a 1GHz PCB is about ~250 USD (including 19% tax). As Ed isn't offering the upgrade via its shop anymore, you would have to drop him a message if he still does it - or you could do it yourself (or maybe someone else from the boards lives near you and is able to do it).
 
You can always buy a ReBirth and then upgrade to a 1GHz should you find you want the extra horsepower. I have plenty of ReBirth units in stock and ready to ship, only one 1GHz unit left currently.
 
I have a rebirth I wouldn't mind the xtra horse power, how much $ and how much hassle is it to upgrade from rebirth to 1Ghz, or is it worth waiting a few months for the dragonbox?
As it looks like currently only ED is activly selling the Pandora and a 1GHz PCB is about ~250 USD (including 19% tax). As Ed isn't offering the upgrade via its shop anymore, you would have to drop him a message if he still does it - or you could do it yourself (or maybe someone else from the boards lives near you and is able to do it).
I've taken my pandora appart and put it back together before to replace the LCD cable, cracked my case a bit in the process, but it's barely noticable. So long as i don't need to sodder anything, I can probably do it. But it sounds like it makes more sense to see where pyra goes before spending the xtra $250 on a new board, nvm the hours of toiling labor to take apart and put back together?
 
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