Introduction: Start Having Fun With Your GP2X-F200
Recently released, October 28 2007 in the US, the GP2X-F200 is the hottest open source hand held video game system available... And you've never heard of it!
In this instructable I'll talk some about it, and share some links and tips to get a couple hard to use programs to work.
Step 1: Right Out of the Box
There are a few games on the firmware right out of the box, but that's not why you shelled out for this machine!
At any rate, if you are waiting for your SD cards to arrive or haven't gotten a chance to check the web yet, they are a good preview of the fun you'll soon be having.
It will play Mp3 and OGG files, works great with AVI video and you can put pictures and text files on it for ebooks and a digital photo album. This machine works great, and if you've ever tried one of the Chinese knock off PMP's, you'll know this is what you've been searching for.
my review:
+ works with most media out of the box
+ open source
+ many many programs and games to choose from
+ thriving worldwide community developement and support
+ expandable capacity with SD cards
- MY EYES! see next step
- AA batteries! $$$$$ you better have an army of rechargables
- My hands are too big so I can't play as long as I'd like
Step 2: My Eyes! My Eyes!
Wow! only had this thing out for 10 minutes and I already know its worst design flaw. This blue LED shines BRIGHTLY right in my eyes. I am tempted to try and remove it completely, and save myself some battery time, but for now...
Black electrical tape.
Step 3: Wait ... Why Did I Choose This Handheld Over a Second Hand PSP??!?
Oh yeah! Because it is supported by huge open source and emulation communities!
Nobody in the US has a gp2x, I checked. They are the most unknown, obscure piece of gaming hardware.
The rest of the world loves these little freeware and emulation machines however so you'd better bone up on your Spanish and German.
Although there are many open source games available for the GP2X, the best aspect of this machine is its emulation potential. MAME,NES, SNES, GBA, GB(C), Turbo Grafx, NEOGEO, SEGA (MS,GENESIS,MEGACD), ATARI(ST,800,2600,5200,7800,LYNX), the SCUMM VM, and even PC-DOS are all emulated (some more faithfully than others) on the GP2X.
The hardest part of using open source software is that it is usually published with insufficient documentation... and sometimes none at all. While this is fine for some people... let's call them Gurus... for the rest of us dweebs it makes using open source downright unpossible.
Lets cover two of the more complicated (and rewarding) emulator installations.
Step 4: LYNX and GBA Emulation
DISCLAIMER: I have an ATARI LYNX and a Nintendo GameBoy Advance and a wealth of cartridges for both. Don't make illegal copies. Support the resale market. My classic video game collection is embarrasingly large, but I almost never dig it out of the various boxes it resides in...
At any rate, at issue with the GBA and LYNX emulators is the fact that one must have a "bios rom" file which is basically a copy of the firmware used in the original machine. Getting it out of a LYNX or GBA is challenging. I won't go in to it here, but suffice it to say that you must have the correct files to set up the emulator.
At the end of this instructable I will give some links of popular, and productive, GP2X community websites. They can help you to find the right files to get you started, but they will not provide you with roms, bios or otherwise.
I used GP2xHandy(v0.01g) for LYNX and gpsp(v09-2xb_2) for GBA. The setup procedure on the GP2X is pretty simple. Download the archive, extract it, copy it to an SD card, insert and run from the games menu. The difficult part comes when you have to put roms or something in a specific directory.
Check out the pics, they show the way to set up these emulators initially, and the highlighted file is the bios rom (which won't be available from the site you download the emulator from).
Note the folder shown is on the desktop, I would set it up and then copy the files in the folder "sd_card_game_dir" to a folder called "game" on my SD card.
Step 5: Have Fun!
Check out these links to find more resources for your GP2X. Someone please show me how to remove that LED without breaking my GP2X!
http://dev.gp2x.com/forum/http://dev.gp2x.com/forum/
http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/wiki.gp2x.org:Community_Portalhttp://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/wiki.gp2x.org:Community_Portal
http://www.gp2xspain.com/http://www.gp2xspain.com/
http://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgihttp://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi
http://www.gp2x.de/cms/index.phphttp://www.gp2x.de/cms/index.php
gpsp v09-2xb_2gpsp v09-2xb_2
gp2xhandy v0.01ggp2xhandy v0.01g
32 Comments
7 years ago
the links dont work
7 years ago
the links dont work
8 years ago on Introduction
Nice! I have only played on the GP2X-F100 and the blue light didn't bother me, although the screen could be a little brighter! But nothing beats being able to play Metal Slug on the go with one of these babies! If you're looking to get your hands on one of these old-school beauties, as I've seen from the posts below, there is a brand-new GP2X-F100 on auction on eBay right now, and for the next 9 days or so, right here: New GP2X-F100 up for grabs
13 years ago on Introduction
final update, I sold my GP2X F200 (for $100) and bought a used dingoo a320! The dingoo has better battery life and seems more straight forward. Still N64 emulation is hit and miss, Nintendo's army of lawyers can be blamed for that.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Dingoo can't emulate N64 at full speed, ever. Don't even try. If you want N64, go for a Pandora. PSPs can't do it either, Daedalus or no Daedalus, best you usually get is around 50%
It's never about lawyers with emulation.
15 years ago on Introduction
This looks pretty cool. I only have one game for my PSP, and the disk is scratched. Maybe I'll sell it off and get one of these. What's the news on N64 emulation?
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Wow only 1 1/2 years to get your answer. N64 emulation is just about impossible on this because: One there aren't enough buttons Two not nearly enough power.
15 years ago on Introduction
If anyone needs the GBA bios, google the filename.
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
The phrase 'If you need to know about something or find something, just Google it.' should just be plastered on every site on the internet, its the one true statement you will find lol.
14 years ago on Step 3
why should I "bone up" my german ? its my native language....
but seriously, i already thought of buying one of those things, because the things you could do with them arent actually the same you can do with a psp
(i hope you know what i wanna say....)
i think theyre great and if i have to choose whether to have an psp/NDS/gameby or such a thing, i would choose this
PS: sry for bad english =)
14 years ago on Introduction
I got my GP2X F-100 back when they first came out and it's the best $180 USD I've ever spent! I look forward to buying the successor, the Wiz, as soon as I have money. The emulation on the GP2X is great but the homebrew games are pretty amazing too, just check out www.muddymonkey.co.uk
15 years ago on Step 3
I own a GP2X as well, and I'm in the US. :D Unfortunately, I'm more at home with my PSP as far as Emulation and Commercial gaming goes. :/
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
Same here =]<br/>
15 years ago on Step 5
None of the computer savvy people knew what this stuff was when they started either my suggestion is to try and figure it out on your own, once you get started it is pretty easy.
15 years ago on Introduction
I wanted one too, didn't have the money, and used the reward points I earned from shopping and referring others to only cost me $112 for a f-200! I do this all the time when I want something l ike this badly. I'm always looking for an easier way. Pandora is next on my list!
15 years ago on Step 5
just thought you'd like to know your instructable was the first i'd ever heard of the gp2x or open source hand held games for that matter, thanks for opening my eyes. So heres my question for you, i'm neither a hardcore gamer, nor a computer saavy enough person to truly know what an "emulator" is but i like alot of the functionality of the gp2x especially when paired with the cradle. So i'm wondering if you would reccomend it to someone with my less than limited computer credentials over a psp? or will my minimal skills be sufficient for things like say Tetris and Sudoku as well as watching movies and listening to mp3s. This started out for me as a quest for a better mp3 player, so i'm really coming at it from that point of view. Thanks in advance for taking time to respond.
15 years ago on Step 5
Just take out the LED and and a resistor and a less bright LED.
15 years ago on Introduction
I have been following the GP2X/GP32 scene for a while. I am very active on gp32x at random intervals. never been able to save up for one though. might wait for pandora
15 years ago on Introduction
sweet, where do you get theese. and... do they go on the internet.
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
I got mine from www.gp2xstore.com in the US there's stores internationally. Google them out! Mine was $169.00 +s&h. Thats a lot of money for something that is just a toy. It's not for everyone, but I enjoy mine very much!