• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Best tablet for Emulators?

MAX PAYMENT

MAX PAYMENT

Member
I'm the market for a new tablet and I'm really interested in how emulators work, run, and perform.

I have a collection of n64 and ps1 games that from what I understand, can be played on emulators on modern tablets.

Is playing emulated games on a tablet a good experience?

What is the best mid-sized tablet for running emulators?
 
I use a shield portable and a shield tablet while wife uses the IPad. I use the portable for emulators since a 64gb micro SD will hold just about everything NES till N64 and every company in between. You need more room once you start loading PS1 and PSP ISOs.
 
Any of the Windows 8 tablets should be fine for older games if you don't need cycle accurate emulation. You'll want to get one with a decent screen, though.

Windows is definitely a better option than Android or iOS, though.
 
Newegg-Cyber-Monday-Shield.png
Click to expand...
The shield's my favorite portable emulation machine, but it's pretty heavy.

I recommend a Nexus 7 and a controller.
B009X3UW2G_asus_image1_lg.jpg
+
snes30.jpg
Click to expand...
8bitdo's got some really great stuff, and the new SNES controller's amazing from what I hear. As close to the original as possible.
 
Nvidia shield tablet + ipega is a very nice solution. I'll probably try the gamevice as well when that eventually supports Android.
 
I'm considering the Galaxy tab s, a 128gb SD card, and a controller.

And possibly HD with a pass through device for movies/tv shows.

Any thoughts?
 
MAX PAYMENT said:
Just for processing power?
Click to expand...

Yea, they both have the same processor line and it's actually powerful enough to run some Gamecube/Wii games with the dolphin app. If emulation is important those will run just about anything

MAX PAYMENT said:
400 is what I'd like to spend. I would spend 6, but I wouldnt be happy about it.
Click to expand...

I've seen them for around $400 on ebay although I personally can't recommend buying anything from ebay. The Pro 2 should have enough power to run any emulator and you get access to windows emulators which are for the most part a lot more mature and accurate than their Android equivalents.

mr_toa said:
Or the Surface 3 perhaps? Starts at $499,-
Click to expand...
This too the newest atom should run N64/PS1 games easily.
 
Xiaomi-MiPad-5.jpg

Xiaomi Pad

As far as Android stuff goes this is pretty good. Mid sized, 7.9' (Size of iPad mini), screen is a 4:3 ratio which is great for oldschool games. Same processor as Nexus 9 so it's one of the strongest out right now.

I've owned a Windows Surface and think they're too big. What is the situation you'll be using it in though?
 
Enter the Dragon Punch said:
Do not, I repeat do NOT get the Nexus 9. It is awful. The screen has bad light bleed, the back isn't properly applied to most of the devices, and the build quality is cheap.
Click to expand...

I've read several reviews on it and never seen this mentioned once. In fact most of them refer to it as a "premium build". If this happened to you personally have you considered that you may have just got a bad one?

Here's an excerpt from a review

CNET said:
The Google Nexus 9's premium build, speedy performance and consistent updates render it one of the best high-end Android tablets.
Click to expand...
http://www.cnet.com/products/google-nexus-9/
 
Running a Surface 3 myself tried everything up to n64 and psp all are great not tried Dreamcast yet though. And with a full usb port means any controller, I'm using a Saturn pad.
 
I'd personally recommend a Surface Pro 2 (I think this can even run Dolphin/PCSX though probably not all gussied up) or a Surface 3. It's a little pricier but it's a fully featured Windows Laptop AND tablet which I think is well worth the extra few hundred. I can't go back after my Surface Pro 3 (which while great, I'm not sure I would recommend to this end due to price, and the pro 2 has somewhat better perf in CPU intensive tasks due to how they handle heat)

For fairly dirt cheap though, my Nexus 7 (2013) did the job fo PS1, no idea about N64. Putting a controller on Android seems grosser than doing it with real windows though. Never ponied up the cash just to see if it'd work.
 
My Surface Pro 3 eats emulators up easily. And with Blue-Tooth included. DS4 is easy to use.

Dropped 1500 for mine though.
 
bomblord1 said:
Let's get this out of the way before I start looking into this further. Would you consider a windows tablet or no?
Click to expand...

I'm very familiar with IOS and android And totally unfamiliar with windows tablets. So I can't really say unless I get a good chance to mess with one.

If one you suggest is on display at best buy, I'll definitely try to play around with it.

I'm mostly leaning towards the tab s because I love my galaxy s5.
 
You'll want something with the micro hdmi, so you can hook it up to a TV. The tesco hudl is one of the few I've seen with it, and it was pretty awesome.
 
MAX PAYMENT said:
I'm very familiar with IOS and android And totally unfamiliar with windows tablets. So I can't really say unless I get a good chance to mess with one.

If one you suggest is on display at best buy, I'll definitely try to play around with it.

I'm mostly leaning towards the tab s because I love my galaxy s5.
Click to expand...

I've had decent experiences with Samsung but there's a lot of bloatware and I've heard some bad things about updates breaking touchwiz.

I think your best bet is the Nvidia Shield Tablet. It starts at $299 with the extra $100 grab the Nvidia Shield Controller + Stand. The biggest thing though is it has a Micro HDMI out and a "console" mode that allows you to control it entirely with the controller.
 
I think the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact fits this nicely, but it's pricey. It's got built in PS4 remote play as well, and also has out of the box DualShock 4 support.

I haven't used it, but there's a device that attaches the tablet to the controller. It might be a bit top heavy with a tablet.

Unlike some of the tablets in this class, it has a microSD slot. Being waterproof is also a bonus.
 
I have a 1.3ghz windows 8 tablet and its alright for emulation, you have to jack up the cpu levels in the bios to make the most out of it but then you kill battery faster and make the intel chip super hot.

It runs psp ok, not perfect but playable.
 
Enter the Dragon Punch said:
Do not, I repeat do NOT get the Nexus 9. It is awful. The screen has bad light bleed, the back isn't properly applied to most of the devices, and the build quality is cheap.
Click to expand...

This user speaks the truth. Had one and returned it for all the above reasons. Battery life was pants also.

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is very nice. Returned it only since I found it too small for my taste.
 
I have an Archos Gamepad 2, it has a d-pad, four action buttons, two option buttons, four shoulder buttons and two analog sticks. It is great for emulation, despite not having the fastest CPU/GPU. Only paid slightly over 100 Euro for the 16GB model.
 
Nvidia shield tablet. Runs it all and can stream PCSX2 on top of that. The portable doesn't run Wii Emulation, unfortunately, but it's great for everything else.
 
If you want the fastest tablet with the best emulator options, Surface Pro 2 is your best option, though the cheapest I've seen new is $350 for the i3 and $450-500 for the i5 (And you will really want the i5 if you want to run PS2/GC/PSP/WII playably).

Thats really your main option because everything else is either more expensive or isn't powerful enough to run anything that high. On other tablets, You'd have to pick and choose which GC and PSP games you can play even with the non-Pro Surface 3 and Shield Tablet
 
MAX PAYMENT said:
I'm kind of feeling overwhelmed by the options.

I don't mind spending a bit more if it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Don't feel overwhelmed. You said you wanted N64 and PS1 emulation. If that's all, most or all tablets in this thread will be able to do those platforms with no problems. Dreamcast is where it begins to get rocky, as it's more demanding and limits your choices to basically any high end Atom tablet or nVidia Shield for playability. Anything less is going to require a lot of tinkering and you will probably not be able to play many of the bigger games smoothly.

Moving up, if you want PS2, PSP, GC or Wii emulation, your options are going to be chopped at the knees and you'll probably want a Core i5 ULV for some playable games. And even then it is not 100%
 
a secret-boss said:
What's a good PSX Emulator?
EPSXe easy
Restroarch (kind of confusing)
PCSX-R
Click to expand...

On the android side, FPSE was well worth the (very little) money. No problems, easily ran games at high res on my Nexus 4 even.It had a wakelock issue (causing it to drain battery) but this was over a year ago, unsure if it's still present. In fact it made me jealous, last I tried PSX on PC is still way more of a pain in the ass than it was on android, even PCSX2 and Dolphin were easier to get going with. PS1, DC and N64 are sort of in an awkward space. Anything before that is near-perfect safe some timing issues (and CRT reproduction problems if you care), and PS2 and Wii/GC are oddly well emulated compared to gen 5. PSP is pretty great too, don't need nothin' but PPSSPP.
 
The Abominable Snowman said:
Don't feel overwhelmed. You said you wanted N64 and PS1 emulation. If that's all, most or all tablets in this thread will be able to do those platforms with no problems. Dreamcast is where it begins to get rocky, as it's more demanding and limits your choices to basically any high end Atom tablet or nVidia Shield for playability. Anything less is going to require a lot of tinkering and you will probably not be able to play many of the bigger games smoothly.

Moving up, if you want PS2, PSP, GC or Wii emulation, your options are going to be chopped at the knees and you'll probably want a Core i5 ULV for some playable games. And even then it is not 100%
Click to expand...

I didn't even know ps2 and GameCube emulation was possible on tablets when I made this thread. While it sounds cool, it would require a lot more storage space and ultimately a dramatically higher price.

I think I would be very happy with NES up to N64/ps1 emulation and GBA/DS emulation. I do plan on getting a medium sized external hard drive for movies and TV shows. So maybe I would really benefit from a fancy screen of the galaxy tab s If it's capable of what I'm looking for.

What sparked my interest is that I'm going to be off the grid on a 4 month work trip and need to bring my own entertainment.


Also, I wanted to thank everyone for their input. It is all seriously appreciated.
 
MAX PAYMENT said:
I didn't even know ps2 and GameCube emulation was possible on tablets when I made this thread. While it sounds cool, it would require a lot more storage space and ultimately a dramatically higher price.

I think I would be very happy with NES up to N64/ps1 emulation and GBA/DS emulation. I do plan on getting a medium sized external hard drive for movies and TV shows. So maybe I would really benefit from a fancy screen of the galaxy tab s If it's capable of what I'm looking for.

What sparked my interest is that I'm going to be off the grid on a 4 month work trip and need to bring my own entertainment.


Also, I wanted to thank everyone for their input. It is all seriously appreciated.
Click to expand...

Awesome. So you can literally just choose a modern tablet from this thread that piques your curiosity and fulfills other wants like a nice screen for movies, and you'll be satisfied. N64 and PSX (especially) are smaller milestones that have been conquered. DS emulation is somewhat rocky but if my Note 4 can run pretty much any game I've thrown at it well, I'm sure any tablet with more powerful hardware will handle it no problem.
 
bomblord1 said:
I've read several reviews on it and never seen this mentioned once. In fact most of them refer to it as a "premium build". If this happened to you personally have you considered that you may have just got a bad one?

Here's an excerpt from a review


http://www.cnet.com/products/google-nexus-9/
Click to expand...

I actually have heard people mention getting Nexus 9s with light bleed issues, especially shortly after its release. I bought one at release and I frequented the Nexus 9 sub-reddit a lot and did hear people complain about it and a few other issues. But I'm pretty sure those issues have been worked out. I've had 2 of them and both of mime are great and problem free. It may not be perfect but it is my favorite tablet ever. I agree it has a very premium feel to its construction.

I bought a new Samsung tablet for my son earlier this month (I forget the model but its an 8" tablet and it was just released on May 5th) and its nice but damn the screen doesn't hold a candle to the Nexus 9s. Once you get used to such an awesome screen its really hard to go back to anything else. I would recommend it without hesitation. I use it for all sort of emulators.
 
Sir TapTap said:
On the android side, FPSE was well worth the (very little) money. No problems, easily ran games at high res on my Nexus 4 even.It had a wakelock issue (causing it to drain battery) but this was over a year ago, unsure if it's still present. In fact it made me jealous, last I tried PSX on PC is still way more of a pain in the ass than it was on android, even PCSX2 and Dolphin were easier to get going with. PS1, DC and N64 are sort of in an awkward space. Anything before that is near-perfect safe some timing issues (and CRT reproduction problems if you care), and PS2 and Wii/GC are oddly well emulated compared to gen 5. PSP is pretty great too, don't need nothin' but PPSSPP.
Click to expand...

I was actually thinking of gaming on PC :S

I guess I'll stick with Vita
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MVG - The best emulators of 2025
27
4K
NeverYouMind replied
New IDE Optical Drive Emulators ZuluIDE and PicoIDE for Retro PCs
Review Trailer Hardware 
9
446
mopspear replied
What is your almost the best game ever and what's missing for it to become the best game ever for you?
1
102
IAmRei replied
Best Earbuds/Headset for the PS Portal?
2
167
LavitzSlambert replied
All-time best decade for a software developer?
24
359
Jinxed replied
Top Bottom