Gp2x Or Ds Lite + M3?


bhess

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I am planning on buying a new handheld, since I bricked my DS accidentally. I have been looking at the GP2X for quite a while now, and I wan wondering if it would better for me to get a DS Lite and an M3 adapter to play retail DS games, emulators, and homebrew games, or a GP2X with a 2 or 4 gig SD card.

The GP2X would be significantly cheaper than the DS. I'm just not sure if the emulators and homebrew are better than the DS. Anyone wanna convince me why I should get a 2X?
 
GP2X is cheaper even after you factor in a 2-4g SD card? Are you sure?

Regardless, the homebrew and emulators WILL be better on the GP2X than on the DS, and the installation process is also MUCH easier. GP2X also functions as a video, music, image, and text viewer. TV-Out's awesome, too.

But DS will win every time when it comes to commercial games. So it really comes down to whether you want commercial games or not.
 
Well, the specific M3 unit I was looking at was designed for the Lite so that it dosent stick out the bottom, and it only takes a microSD card, and those are quite pricey (~$90 for a 2gb) and there are no 4gb microsd cards out yet. I will probably go with the GP2X, but I like the looks of the Lite better and the fact that it has wifi and multiplayer.
 
I went through the same decision, with psp added to the mix. I decided on the gp2x. I can say that the emulators are pretty sweet. There's some very nice ports and homebrew games as well. The music works well, though I've yet to try out any movies. It's also an excellent development platform. Knowing what I know now about the gp2x, I'd have to say I made the right decision for me personally.

That being said, I do want to buy a ds and some form of homebrew device for it, possibly an m3. I'd love the wifi and the possibility of using lynx on it, and the touchscreen is a very nice feature.
 
If you want to play DS games via piracy, get a DS+M3.

If you want open source homebrew software, emulation, and media capabilities, get a GP2X.

They're very different machines, so it depends what you want the most. IMHO emulation on the DS is quite poor in comparison (partly due to the screen, but also power), however the commercial games are excellent.

Of course, if you can afford it, get both.
 
xenonflash posted on Oct 10 2006 at 01:19 AM said:
Well, the specific M3 unit I was looking at was designed for the Lite so that it dosent stick out the bottom, and it only takes a microSD card, and those are quite pricey (~$90 for a 2gb) and there are no 4gb microsd cards out yet. I will probably go with the GP2X, but I like the looks of the Lite better and the fact that it has wifi and multiplayer.


The major problem with the DS for emulation is the low res screen. 256 x 192 just doesn't cut it for most systems. It is fine for Speccy and Colecovision but other than that it is inadequate. Take NeoGeo for example. Other than the fact that the DS lacks the speed and the RAM to do it, the resolution is 320 x 220 on the NeoGeo. That pretty much fills the GP2X screen perfectly at 1:1. The DS would only be able to display a portion of it cropping off quite a bit. You could scale it down but removing that many pixels will look like total shit. The Megadrive is 320 x 220 and many MAME games are close to that as well.

For commercial games though you won't beat the DS or PSP.

So basically:

Commercial games: DS or PSP.

Emulation: GP2X hands down.
 
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I think I'm going to go with the GP2X. I've had a DS, and I've played all the games worth playing. I would love to actually be able to finally beat the games of my childhood. I'm also about to start learning programming, and I'd like to have an easy platform to code for. Can't wait till I've got the money!
 
I am currently in the same situation as you. Still wondering what to buy. I like my GP32 but as time goes by it seems to be too slow for the latest emulators (MAME, NeoGEO....). So the next logical step should be buying brand new GP2X along with some accessories. But after reading yesterday's topic about the 275MHz GP2X @ GBAX I am a bit confused now.

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=32492#

I expected most of current emulators running games at full speed, but according to the above Epicenters post #12 it is not true (yet).

It also seems that the new MKII revision can not be overclocked so often and so far as the old model. And buying it from, say, PlayAsia seems to be kind of lottery to me (to get one that can be overclocked more than to 244MHz). And since I'd buy it mostly for Amiga emulation to recall some of great games from the past I will need every additional MHz squeezed out of its CPU.

Maybe the forthcoming voltage mod will be the ultimate solution, but I think I will hold my purchase for a while now.
 
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the ds lite is the most beautiful handheld ever made. I use it as a portable internet device (opera internet browser). Hot spots are everywhere these days, really nice.

However, for homebrew and emulation, the gp2x is the best deal at the moment.
 
I have most handheld consoles and I find that the most interesting are the GP2X and the Nintendo DS (either lite or regular). As Chaos Engineer described, the NDSL is a marvelous piece of kit - awesomely made, feels solid with excellent controls. With the Tapwave Zodiac, it's amonst the best "quality" builds of all handhelds I've ever used.
The commercial games for it are fantastic - I've been playing Mario Karts DS now for a month and still not bored with it. That kind of game doesn't appeal to everyone but it's one of plenty really neat games made for it.
The GP2X has excellent emulators for it as many of the old GP32 gurus brought forth those emulators to the GP2X.
 
BTW: You can reflash the DS ... goto www.gbadev.org and look for the flash area. The homebrew scene for the DS is pretty active so there are plenty of options there. The DS has a full socket library and built in wireless. The video is not as good as the GP2X but it does have some interesting hardware. From and emulation point of view it has some very limited options. It can run GBA code without emulation but that is not much of an advantage. In DS mode the arm9 and arm7 CPU's work together and there is more memory that the GP2X. I work with both and I like the GP2X better but it is just my opinion.
 
DaveC posted on Oct 10 2006 at 03:06 AM said:
xenonflash posted on Oct 10 2006 at 01:19 AM said:
Well, the specific M3 unit I was looking at was designed for the Lite so that it dosent stick out the bottom, and it only takes a microSD card, and those are quite pricey (~$90 for a 2gb) and there are no 4gb microsd cards out yet. I will probably go with the GP2X, but I like the looks of the Lite better and the fact that it has wifi and multiplayer.


The major problem with the DS for emulation is the low res screen. 256 x 192 just doesn't cut it for most systems. It is fine for Speccy and Colecovision but other than that it is inadequate. Take NeoGeo for example. Other than the fact that the DS lacks the speed and the RAM to do it, the resolution is 320 x 220 on the NeoGeo. That pretty much fills the GP2X screen perfectly at 1:1. The DS would only be able to display a portion of it cropping off quite a bit. You could scale it down but removing that many pixels will look like total shit. The Megadrive is 320 x 220 and many MAME games are close to that as well.

For commercial games though you won't beat the DS or PSP.

So basically:

Commercial games: DS or PSP.

Emulation: GP2X hands down.

You know, I'm not convinced you've ever actually used DS emulators (I'm not on about GBA ones, because you're right, their scaling doesn't look too great for some things). Give it a try sometime: SNES games look fine on it (you can't really notice the scaling), same with NES (can't say I've ever tried any others apart from the Mega Drive emulator, which isn't great).
 
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Orkie posted on Oct 10 2006 at 02:17 PM said:
DaveC posted on Oct 10 2006 at 03:06 AM said:
xenonflash posted on Oct 10 2006 at 01:19 AM said:
Well, the specific M3 unit I was looking at was designed for the Lite so that it dosent stick out the bottom, and it only takes a microSD card, and those are quite pricey (~$90 for a 2gb) and there are no 4gb microsd cards out yet. I will probably go with the GP2X, but I like the looks of the Lite better and the fact that it has wifi and multiplayer.


The major problem with the DS for emulation is the low res screen. 256 x 192 just doesn't cut it for most systems. It is fine for Speccy and Colecovision but other than that it is inadequate. Take NeoGeo for example. Other than the fact that the DS lacks the speed and the RAM to do it, the resolution is 320 x 220 on the NeoGeo. That pretty much fills the GP2X screen perfectly at 1:1. The DS would only be able to display a portion of it cropping off quite a bit. You could scale it down but removing that many pixels will look like total shit. The Megadrive is 320 x 220 and many MAME games are close to that as well.

For commercial games though you won't beat the DS or PSP.

So basically:

Commercial games: DS or PSP.

Emulation: GP2X hands down.

You know, I'm not convinced you've ever actually used DS emulators (I'm not on about GBA ones, because you're right, their scaling doesn't look too great for some things). Give it a try sometime: SNES games look fine on it (you can't really notice the scaling), same with NES (can't say I've ever tried any others apart from the Mega Drive emulator, which isn't great).

I believe DaveC because I've tried emulators on the DS and scaling down does look like ass. Unlike DaveC though, upscaling doesn't really bother me. Anyway, the DS has a ton of great commercial and homebrew games. It's just that the emulators aren't good at all compared to the GP2x or, say, the PSP.

Commercial Games = DS
Emulators = GP2x

It just depends on what you want it for.
 
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There are a few unique homebrew apps for the NDS. Some of the things I like are the fact that there is an MSN,AIM, IRC and Mail program you can run on your DS.
This is great since you can use wireless hotsports for free, so it's sometimes more benefiscial to use your NDS rather than your laptop to go online.

there is a great music toy called Axe... and a bunch of other cool programs.

Overall though homebrew is king on the GP2X since that's what it was designed for. The emulators are also better than you'll get on the NDS.

The main reason I'd buy an M3 is commercial games... and the ability to carry all your games on the one SD card, back u your saved games :)
 
I have a DS-lite with a Mini-SD supercard. The DS-Lite the best designed handheld on the market, aesthetically is oozes quality unlike the old phat DS which was a sham. The Lcd screen on the lite is amazing too. The screen should be bigger though and its not as loud as the old DS phat.

The hombrew scene is thriving but i would say the GP2X is better in that respect. Emulation is better on the GP2X for sure. However i had a look at snesemul the other day and its running very smooth and fast, touchscreen rom selection etc, its going to be nice. No sound at the mo though.

Horses for courses as they say. If you have the money...buy both i say :)
 
Everyone is saying Homebrew=GP2X & Comercial games = DS, which I agree with, but I'm going to add something else to the equation:

Single player= GP2X
Multiplayer = DS

I've got a GP2X and DSL, and think they're both fantastic. If you've got lots of friends who you see regularly with ds' then the multiplayer action is unrivaled. But for shear number of emulated games the GP2X will last a lifetime.
 
Orkie posted on Oct 10 2006 at 06:17 PM said:
You know, I'm not convinced you've ever actually used DS emulators (I'm not on about GBA ones, because you're right, their scaling doesn't look too great for some things). Give it a try sometime: SNES games look fine on it (you can't really notice the scaling), same with NES (can't say I've ever tried any others apart from the Mega Drive emulator, which isn't great).

Yes I notice the scaling down and removal of detail. It sucks. There really is no reason to do it either when I have a GP2X. When I have a choice of playing an emulated game on a small screen with scaled down graphics or on a larger screen with all of the detail that is supposed to be there, the choice is obvious to me.
 
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