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[GlamFM]

Looking at the GPD XD right now:

Is this the one? Have I already found it?

Or is something else coming in the near future?

Thanks!

 

[Tailzo]

The new 3ds was great for me the short amount of time I bothered to keep up with firmware update blocking to play my sega mega drive games on the go.

 

[jettared]

I've had quite a few, and i feel GPD is the one that checks everything.
Theres also a new gpd with windows 10 comming out but its way too expensive for me.

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

That's the GDP XD and yeah you probably won't get better than that. Plus it plays android games.


I'd like to add that Dolphin and PPSSPP on Android are quite robust too.

 

[EvilKatarn]

Depends on what platforms you want to emulate. PSP Go does the trick for me.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

I've heard good things about the JXD 7800B tablet. You can use it for SNES, GBA, PSP, DS, PSX, Dreamcast, MAME, Megadrive and a lot more. The only real drawbacks are with N64 emulation and possibly another one I can't remember, and to be fair N64 emulation has never truly perfect on a handheld device.

 

[Lunarwhale]

GPD XD's really good from what I've heard and covers most everything, not to mention that it's pretty affordable. Especially if you don't bother with the higher internal storage models and just pick up an SD card to supplement one of the lower-end ones. I've read that some of the earlier ones had build quality issues, so try to get a newer one if possible. I've got a Pandora and I'm extremely happy with it, but it's a more expensive option that you would only really appreciate if you were into open handhelds and like the idea of running a lot of old PC machines. As far as I know it doesn't really do any retro emulation better than the XD, so I can't say that I would recommend it in this case.

Just wondering, but what systems are you planning on emulating?

 

[dan2026]

The new 3DS is pretty shit for it.

You have to massively go out of your way downgrading firmware and potentially bricking your device so the emulators can run with the full power of the system.
Otherwise they run like crap.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

The new 3DS is pretty shit for it.

You have to massively go out of your way downgrading firmware and potentially bricking your device so the emulators can run with the full power of the system.
Otherwise they run like crap.

Or bypass it by paying out the ass for Cubic Ninja.

 

[LewieP]

Hacked New 3DS is pretty great.

Also has the advantage of playing 3DS games if you never owned one before.

Screen resolution is perfect for a lot of old games.

Setting up homebrew is a bit of a ballache though, and you'll want one that is on a firmware version prior to the newest one.

 

[Mondrian]

The Nvidia SHIELD handheld and tablet are pretty great. I've used both, emulated games for PSX and below without any issues.

 

[Robin64]

The new 3DS is pretty shit for it.

You have to massively go out of your way downgrading firmware and potentially bricking your device so the emulators can run with the full power of the system.
Otherwise they run like crap.

It's pretty easy these days. Like everything with homebrew, it has come on a long way.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

The Nvidia SHIELD handheld and tablet are pretty great. I've used both, emulated games for PSX and below without any issues.

They fixed the whole "exploding battery" thing right? I remember there being a big recall last year.

 

[redlemon]

Don't have either but my understanding is that its the XD or Shield Portable.

 

[Mondrian]

They fixed the whole "exploding battery" thing right? I remember there being a big recall last year.

Yikes! Yes it was fixed on the tablet, there was a new revision (the K1). The handheld never had an issue.

 

[Lunarwhale]

The new 3DS is pretty shit for it.

You have to massively go out of your way downgrading firmware and potentially bricking your device so the emulators can run with the full power of the system.
Otherwise they run like crap.

Even then I haven't found them to be that great. Still can't do PSX fullspeed, good amount of accuracy issues in the emulators for older systems (or speed issues if you do nab one with decent accuracy), hasn't seen enough recent progress to justify it in general.

N3DS recommendations should be considered more as a "if you have this thing already." It's not worth buying a N3DS for this in my experience, and even then you might end up wanting to supplement it with a better device like the XD. Since they're basically the same price anyways it's hard to justify it unless you want Nintendo's official portable SNES and GB offerings.

 

[Joey Ravn]

I swear by my N3DS. It's freaking amazing for NES, GB/C, GBA, SNES, Genesis and some other contemporary consoles. Even some arcade games, like Marvel vs Capcom, run extremely well on it. The installation of A9HL was a bit tricky, but nothing really not worth doing.

If you want PSX and newer, get an Android device like the Shield Portable. The PSP is kinda OK too, and the Vita is a PSP that has a better screen... although you can't be on the latest firmware for it to work.

 

[Prisoner KSC2-303]

I was thinking about picking up a GPD XD too. I've got a couple of old PSPs that would suffice for most of the older systems, but the HDMI out and ability to use a USB pad make it sound really appealing. I'd like to be able to play some MAME games with a stick.

 

[gweemz]

Don't know how good it is comparatively, but the PSP is always an option. Never had a problem emulating Snes games on it.

 

[akidnamededdy]

I have a GPD XD and it's great. Can emulate some Dreamcast games pretty solidly even and has a pretty great N64 emulator too. It's pretty much all I could ask for as far as handheld emulation.

 

[EhrgeizVII]

I've been using my phones for the past couple years. They run almost everything and the controllers cost like 20 bucks.

 

[Mexen]

First time seeing the GPD XD. It looks like something that I would be interested in.

 

[Grim Patron]

The Nvidia SHIELD handheld and tablet are pretty great. I've used both, emulated games for PSX and below without any issues.

Agree. The handheld shield is the best.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

GDP XD looks interesting. Thing can emulate a lot of consoles.

 

[J-Roderton]

Depends on what platforms you want to emulate. PSP Go does the trick for me.

This is what I use, too. I've only ran NES and Mame on it.

 

[simtmb]

GPD XD for sure.

I barely have used mine...but the time i did, it was wonderful.

 

[Boney]

Can that thing do dolphin?

 

[mjontrix]

I've been using my phones for the past couple years. They run almost everything and the controllers cost like 20 bucks.

This is the best option but maybe not on the go unless you're carrying a bag.

The thing is - handhelds continue to get better and better but the emulators get more accurate which slows things down so you never go anywhere. Dolphin is a special case where it got faster.

Sadly Intel killed their Atom chips so best bet is nVidia releasing a successor to the Shield Handheld or the new Mali G-71 having decent performance and not shit drivers. (Lets say 1 year after release).


If you don't want Dolphin on the go though the GPD should be fine.

Can that thing do dolphin?

Sort of but not really. Needs modern 64-bit arm processor at minimum as well as mobile GPU with excellent drivers and performance.

 

[Paasei]

I've been using my phones for the past couple years. They run almost everything and the controllers cost like 20 bucks.

That really is a great one, indeed.

 

[Lazaro]

PSP is good.
New 3DS/XL is great too, the 3DS Top Screen has a decent aspect ratio for some older games.

Android devices are alright from what I've played with. Haven't really experimented with emulation on those enough, even though I do own a Sony Xperia Z Android phone lol.

 

[Rich!]

It's the New Nintendo 3DS.

Not even a question here. Native hardware GBA playback, and retroarch covers everything from the Atari and NES up to the SNES full speed, including neogeo and arcade.

Oh and as a bonus, it's a 3DS.

 

[Enter the Dragon Punch]

It's the New Nintendo 3DS.

Not even a question here. Native hardware GBA playback, and retroarch covers everything from the Atari and NES up to the SNES full speed, including neogeo and arcade.

Oh and as a bonus, it's a 3DS.

Not worth it if you want to emulate anything 3D

 

[GlamFM]

It's the New Nintendo 3DS.

Not even a question here. Native hardware GBA playback, and retroarch covers everything from the Atari and NES up to the SNES full speed, including neogeo and arcade.

Oh and as a bonus, it's a 3DS.

Looked into it and felt like my hacking skills are not high enough.

i just want to dump ROMS on an SD Card and be done with it.

 

[PaulloDEC]

+1 for the GPD XD. Love mine, use it all the time.

 

[dan2026]

New 3DS is a bad idea for emulation.

I went down a massive rabbit hole trying to get emulators to work at full speed.
Gave up eventually because the emulators weren't able to fully use the power of the system.

I wasn't willing to do the massive ballache to correct it.

 

[Robin64]

+1 for the 3DS, especially an XL, as you get a gorgeous natural scanline effect. Added bonus for Genesis/Mega Drive games, the vertical resolution is identical to that of the 3DS. It fits perfectly.

(Credit to Rich for the pic, be sure to view it full size to see the beauty)

 

[retroman]

I was wondering the same thing, so I'm happy to have found this thread!

I only have a Dingoo A-320. It's about time for an upgrade!

 

[GlamFM]

GPD XD's really good from what I've heard and covers most everything, not to mention that it's pretty affordable. Especially if you don't bother with the higher internal storage models and just pick up an SD card to supplement one of the lower-end ones. I've read that some of the earlier ones had build quality issues, so try to get a newer one if possible. I've got a Pandora and I'm extremely happy with it, but it's a more expensive option that you would only really appreciate if you were into open handhelds and like the idea of running a lot of old PC machines. As far as I know it doesn't really do any retro emulation better than the XD, so I can't say that I would recommend it in this case.

Just wondering, but what systems are you planning on emulating?

SNES mostly

 

[yllekz]

My info may be outdated but I recall the general consensus being that the PSP 2000 is the end-all-be-all for portable emulation due to the hackability.

 

[nicoga3000]

I thought they patched out the ability to use the 3DS as an emulator? I'm in the process of hunting down either a GPD or a Shield Tablet for N64 emulation...But if the 3DS can do things up to the generation prior to that, I can wait for the next gen Shield Tablet.

 

[Red Liquorice]

+1 for the 3DS, especially an XL, as you get a gorgeous natural scanline effect. Added bonus for Genesis/Mega Drive games, the vertical resolution is identical to that of the 3DS. It fits perfectly.

Specify N3DS, because on previous models emulation is garbage.

 

[Ouroboros]

N3DS for me.

 

[Robin64]

Specify N3DS, because on previous models emulation is garbage.

Heh, yeah. Sorry, should've specified that, but I rarely even think about the o3DS when it comes to this. Poor o3DS owners.

 

[kimifan141]

still using my psp 3000 for retro

 

[Rich!]

Heh, yeah. Sorry, should've specified that, but I rarely even think about the o3DS when it comes to this. Poor o3DS owners.

My mate got an OG 3DS for cheap recently, and I installed CFW on it. While it does indeed suck ass for anything SNES level, it does a good job for NES and Game Boy games. And it of course plays GBA games flawlessly, but that's due to the fact that GBA games on the 3DS aren't emulated at all.

 

[GamingOblivion]

New 3DS

 

[akidnamededdy]

It's the New Nintendo 3DS.

Not even a question here. Native hardware GBA playback, and retroarch covers everything from the Atari and NES up to the SNES full speed, including neogeo and arcade.

Oh and as a bonus, it's a 3DS.

Honestly the GPD is the final answer here for both power and ease of use. N3DS is neat to use as a curiosity but it's hardly ideal if you're serious about portable emulation. The fact that it plays 3DS games isn't so much a bonus here as it is "the single solitary advantage."

 

[Possumowner]

The Nvidia SHIELD handheld and tablet are pretty great. I've used both, emulated games for PSX and below without any issues.

That's a great shout,especially the tablet.

 

[retroman]

How's the quality of the GPD XD's dpad? Is it responsive and comfortable to use?

I'm not a big fan of the dpad of the regular 3DS, and since the XD resembles one so closely, I'd love to know if the dpad is also similar.

 

[Robin64]

My mate got an OG 3DS for cheap recently, and I installed CFW on it. While it does indeed suck ass for anything SNES level, it does a good job for NES and Game Boy games. And it of course plays GBA games flawlessly, but that's due to the fact that GBA games on the 3DS aren't emulated at all.

People say that one SNES emulator is "fine", but I'm always a bit wary when people describe emulation with that word.