Please Advise Me On Bying A Gp2x


Poita

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I want to buy a GP2X but have a few questions.



(1.) I read that i should get a version 2 model as the boot time is much shorter (11 seconds instead of 40) If i call a company and ask for a version 2 then i think they might just assume i'm talking about the firmware and tell me that it is. What exact thing do i need to ask in order to make sure i get the '2'???


(2.) About the Joystick/dpad thing. I read that the early one on the GP2X is a bit odd and that the later, revised one is better. How do i make sure i get that, what do i say/ask for?


(3.) I read some peoples comments about certain SD cards not working wel with the unit. I want to have a 4 Gb one so which ones work totally fine?


(4.) I live in Korea but i'm British. I called the company here and asked them if i could get a Korean model andjust use the English language firmware updae and have an English menu system. They said that would be ok. Any advice on that?


Hope you guys can help with some of these questions.
 
Poita posted on Sep 2 2006 at 04:09 AM said:
I want to buy a GP2X but have a few questions.



(1.) I read that i should get a version 2 model as the boot time is much shorter (11 seconds instead of 40) If i call a company and ask for a version 2 then i think they might just assume i'm talking about the firmware and tell me that it is. What exact thing do i need to ask in order to make sure i get the '2'???


(2.) About the Joystick/dpad thing. I read that the early one on the GP2X is a bit odd and that the later, revised one is better. How do i make sure i get that, what do i say/ask for?


(3.) I read some peoples comments about certain SD cards not working wel with the unit. I want to have a 4 Gb one so which ones work totally fine?


(4.) I live in Korea but i'm British. I called the company here and asked them if i could get a Korean model andjust use the English language firmware updae and have an English menu system. They said that would be ok. Any advice on that?


Hope you guys can help with some of these questions.

1. You're talking about 2.00 firmware anyway, and all new gp2xs are MK2.
2. You'll get the MK2 if it's new.
3.Most do. Have a search.
4. Look on the wiki for firmware upgrade instructions.
 
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boot time was decreased from ~40 to ~11 seconds in Firmware 2.0 which you'll get on pretty much any Mk1 or Mk2 unit sold today. MK2 units have the stick rotated so it's less annoying; and a better cap installed on top. As far as I know, the only version of the firmware is in English, not Korean.
 
Thank's for the reply guys.

Still in the dark a bit though.

In this review which is posted on the main page of the .co.uk gp2x site . .

http://craig.gp2x.de/review/GP2XReview.html

It states this

"The original Joystick cap was considered to be poor quality, the cap has recently been replaced with a new one which is much better and the internals rotated 45 degrees (gives better results). Make sure you get a GP2X with the new cap. The only sites which currently stock the new version are GP2X.co.uk and GP2x.de."


This seems to say that of the GP2X model there is an earler bunch (maybe the initial run) that has an inferior cap that that we should make sure to get the later 'adjusted' run version.
Is that so? And how do you differentiate when you are buying?


About the boot times. The review states this . . .

"
Boot times with the current new 2.0 firmware are around 11 seconds. The interface is simple but does the job. New interfaces are in development by various people, some can already be installed. We did our tests with the new 11 second boot interface - note that this boot time is also only available on new units. Older/Other units take upto 40second to boot - but they can be upgraded. When buying make sure you get a 2.0 unit."

When he says get a 2.0 unit is he just talking about one with the latest firmware or is there a '2nd edition' run from the factor that is somehow different?
If it's the firmware then it doesnt matter to get a first run model (if there is such a thing/differentiation) as i can just get any and if it has the old firmware on it then i can just update that? Is that so?


Then i guess the firmware installed even on the one i buy in korea will be in English.

About the SD card. It seems there are many kinds and many speeds. Is 150 speed on the 4 gb card the fastest?
Mainly though I want to make sure i dont have a card model that has problems and glitches. Just wanted to know if anyone recomends a particular brand.
 
Buy from one of the main distributors and you're guaranteed the latest model. The only place I see older revisions these days is on ebay.

I think 166x is the fastest, but I have a 4GB 150x and its great for everything I throw at it. About the brands, the main thing is to buy from a proper shop and it won't matter so much what the brand is. People have problems when they go cheap as there's tons of fakes around.
 
First run: MK I
Later run: MK II

Let's make it easier for you, it's 99.99% impossible to get a new MKI unit these days, so if you bought a new unit, it should always be MKII

Regarding the review:

It's an old review, most of the info stated in it were last updated in May as you can see in the begining of the article, so the talk about the only two sites who have MK II is outdated, all websites have ONLY MK II units nowadays.

SD cards:

Am too lazy to search for the link, but there's a compatibility list on the wiki, and you can also do one of two things:

1) Get a card from the same shop you buy GP2X from and state that you want it for GP2X (if they stock other systems) or
2) Post a link to a card you think of buying, and if any of the members here have it they shall happily recommend it or warn you if it has any problems

Welcome to the community ;)
 
Boot time is completely firmware-related. My MK1 unit with firmware 2.0.0 boots in 11 seconds, same as on an MK2. The changes in MK2 are a different LCD screen, a rotated stick, a better cap (you can change the cap on older units yourself, too, in just a moment) .. and generally higher build quality at the factory. Also power is supplied on the EXT port to make attaching USB devices easier.
 
Great info thanks. It's cleared things up alot.

Being here in Korea i don't know how poppular the GP2X is so there might still be many MK1's around.
Now i'll know what to ask for though.

The GP2X goes for about $170 here in korea (about 88 pounds)

Not bad for a portable that can play movies, mp3's and thousands of free games. ;)
 
Poita posted on Sep 2 2006 at 06:10 AM said:
Great info thanks. It's cleared things up alot.

Being here in Korea i don't know how poppular the GP2X is so there might still be many MK1's around.
Now i'll know what to ask for though.

The GP2X goes for about $170 here in korea (about 88 pounds)

Not bad for a portable that can play movies, mp3's and thousands of free games. ;)

Also, make sure you buy and SD card reader with your fancy 4 gb card. B)
 
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eh? SD card reader?
Don't the SD cards just slot into the unit and they read it?

Or do you mean to up load to as in a writer? My printer has an SD card slot.
 
He means to transfer the files to from your PC. Connecting directly to the GP2x for this process is painfully slow so everyone will recommend you get a SD card reader/writer instead. The one on your printer will probably be very slow too, but you can give it a try.

£88 is ridiculously cheap considering most of us paid £125 in UK!
 
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