The great GBA vs GP32 debate

Antiriad · 13 April 2003, 19:43

Ok folks...im wondering which i should one day plumb for as the ultimate handheld emulator.

The GP32 is way more powerful, and is capable of emulating 16bit systems - Snes so far, but how well? At full speed? And whilst it will be able to get all the 8bits down will a 130-160Mhz Cpu ever be able to emulate an Amiga when not even a 733Mhz X Box cant that well? Im also concerned about the relatively small community behind it, the fact its Korean and so support wont be amazing, and that the SmartMedia cards can only go as high as 128MB.

The GBA also has 8bit emulation "down" a huge community and good support, but its NEVER going to be capable of emulating 16bit systems with its 14Mhz Cpu and no fancy built in DivX and Mp3 playing like the GP32. Now, of course the GBA also boasts a large software library of its own whilst the GP32 plainly does not.
On the other hand, im more interested in playing the originals over the remakes, but still - some look cool.

Question is which is better? Will the GP32s superior hardware ensure a better emu machine or the GBAs larger community?
Im leaning towards the GP32 right now, but i may well wait to see how the seperate scenes develop before making a financial plunge.

IFW · 13 April 2003, 20:55

Get a decent pda instead. Huge community, constantly updated, loads of stuff.
The emulation of most of the systems are not very good on gp32, unless you prefer slow motion... though it's a second best choice to a pda if you are willing to do some programming on your own. If not, just stick with an ipaq or something.
Actually cartridge sizes on a pda or gp32 are in megabytes, while on gba it is megabits as is traditional in console world...

adolescent · 13 April 2003, 21:09

As stated, the GP32 really isn't that good. Most of the emulator projects died in 2002... Mine's sitting around gathering dust. And for the price, I could have gotten something much better. (Actually, I did, I picked up a Zaurus which has lots of dev support..)

rattus · 13 April 2003, 21:31

don't be fooled by the amount of emulators for the GP32, none of them run at full speed. Also programs that overclock the gp32 past 133mhz will overheat and damage the lcd screen

th4t1guy · 14 April 2003, 00:20

Yeah; just wait until the GP64 is released.

When that happens, nobody will buy it because the 3d will run too slow on it.

Antiriad · 23 April 2003, 17:05

If a IPAQ is the best bet, whats the minimum recommended spec?

IFW · 23 April 2003, 22:47

Afaik you should be able to pick up the "outdated" 200MHz models at a "bargain price"

Go for the latest ones (400+MHz?) though if in your country they cost their real retail price (hp/compaq pages for more info), since you want emulation and they do need the raw horsepower. You'll also find that there are device specific editions of some classics like Sim City or Rayman.

jmmijo · 23 April 2003, 22:53

Isn't there a new GBA model, the SP or something like that ?!?

This looks interesting but is it really an upgraded GBA or just a repackaged one

For me I've not gotten into the GBA/GP32 emu scene yet, except for the collection of said stuff so I've not really decided which one is best

IFW · 23 April 2003, 23:13

GBA was attacked by the users and the media alike (minus paid ones...) for the poor visibility of the screen that is not really suitable for high colour displays. According to Nintendo the device has been designed strictly for outdoor use under bright natural sunlight. Since public awareness of eyestrain devices become pretty high, many people who would have bought it avoided it, or bought it with a few games and stopped using it. To prove Nintendo lied about the impossibility of a lit display (since PDAs already proved that being perfectly possible by that time), many hobbyists created lighting solutions that should have been used in the first place, but would have made the device much more expensive at the time it went to market...

SP is a redesigned gba, what is changed is finally proper lighting and visibility of the display. Haven't tried it yet, so don't blame me if it is still not really good!

Test for yourself before buying and test in your hands not under the special lighting conditions used to fool customers at Nintendo boots placed in hypermarkets and stuff... They use the lighting type needed for gba display to be visible, but you can't do that under real usage conditions.

Also added is li-ion (?) rechargable batteries needed to support the higher power requirements, and a redesgined case needed for the new display and battery... and to say it is a "special edition" true Nintendo style instead of admitting they were cheap with the first design.

SP probably gives much needed life to the game scene, though an upgrade path would have been nice for existing users, since many of them may refuse to spend the launch price again for a product that could have been made properly for the first time.

jmmijo · 23 April 2003, 23:25

Thanks for the info IFW

You could say that the SP is really like a GBA Mk.II instead

rattus · 23 April 2003, 23:48

the GBA-SP internal light is actually a frontlight (it sits between the LCD and the cover) just like the Afterburner frontlight mod from www.tritonlabs.com it works just as well...second best thing to do while snuggled up in bed in the dark

the first best thing being playing Mario Kart multiplayer while snuggled up in bed in the dark with 3 other people!

Antiriad · 24 April 2003, 00:01

Well, having had a look at an IPAQ, ive come to the conclusion that theyre bloody expensive and seem to have very small hard drive space....

Ive recently posted about Amstrad CPC emulation on both the GP32 and GBA boards, and it would seem that the GBA is incapable of doing it, whilst with the GP32 someone just needs to port Kevin Thackers Arnold emulator - permission he has given

Best bet still seems to be a GP32 after all...

Antiriad · 24 April 2003, 00:04

I did forget to mention that i myself bought a GBA upon its release and sent it back cos i couldnt see s**t when i tried to play it. I came to the conclusion that i preferred a Game Gear at the time!

IFW · 24 April 2003, 00:23

Yes Game Gear and Sonic rocked. Too bad you had to play from an adaptor since battery life was non-existant

As for Ipaq check the real prices, not the rrp or high street prices. There is no hdd in an ipaq

For porting an emulator a permission is not good enough. If the device has very limited speed (GP32 at top 133MHz, but afaik that speed produces a battery life experience similar to that of Game Gear fame...) most parts of the emulator has to be rewritten in assembly, and even after it can still be bad.
On the contrary the bottom line speed for a pda is 200MHz and it is designed to be used for hours. Since similar architectures are being used the clock rate comparison is very fair in this case.
For a pda if you are looking for something, chances are somebody already done it. For GP32 somebody might sometime do it or you are on your own.
I'd say GP32 is fun if you are prepared and able to do whatever you need on your own. Also consider speed, battery life and other limitations. If you are happy with that - imo the price is a bit high for an overclocked gba without any graphic acceleration - go get it. Otherwise get the PDA.
Or better wait for the new PDA models coming out this spring/summer making the 400MHz models much cheaper

Antiriad · 24 April 2003, 16:35

I will wait therefore!

Echo · 24 April 2003, 17:34

Why can't these devices use a self illuminating screen, as found on TFT laptops?

Is it a price or battery drain issue?

Belgarath · 30 April 2003, 18:24

Castaway 0.03 which is an atari st emulator for the gp32 has recently been released. looks brilliant, apparently runs at a very good speed, screenshots of dungeon master, xenon and xenon 2 working. supposed to be very compatible, llamatron and stunt car racer also confirmed as working!

check it out http://www.codejedi.com/shadowplan/gp32.html

how many more reasons do you need to own this fabulous machine

Antiriad · 30 April 2003, 22:07

Wow! I saw a ST emu on the GP32x board, but that was barely started! Right! Im conviced to buy one now!!!

T_hairy_bootson · 27 February 2004, 15:25

[Bump]

hehe...got me a GP32

and it ROCKS!!!

Amiga1992 · 27 February 2004, 16:06

Ayey, me still wants one

View Poll Results: Which is the ultimate Emulation handheld?
GBA	14	38.89%
GP32	13	36.11%
/me dont know	9	25.00%
Voters: 36. You may not vote on this poll

13 April 2003, 19:43	#1
Antiriad The Sacred Armour Of Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sussex, UK Age: 44 Posts: 1,141	The great GBA vs GP32 debate Ok folks...im wondering which i should one day plumb for as the ultimate handheld emulator. The GP32 is way more powerful, and is capable of emulating 16bit systems - Snes so far, but how well? At full speed? And whilst it will be able to get all the 8bits down will a 130-160Mhz Cpu ever be able to emulate an Amiga when not even a 733Mhz X Box cant that well? Im also concerned about the relatively small community behind it, the fact its Korean and so support wont be amazing, and that the SmartMedia cards can only go as high as 128MB. The GBA also has 8bit emulation "down" a huge community and good support, but its NEVER going to be capable of emulating 16bit systems with its 14Mhz Cpu and no fancy built in DivX and Mp3 playing like the GP32. Now, of course the GBA also boasts a large software library of its own whilst the GP32 plainly does not. On the other hand, im more interested in playing the originals over the remakes, but still - some look cool. Question is which is better? Will the GP32s superior hardware ensure a better emu machine or the GBAs larger community? Im leaning towards the GP32 right now, but i may well wait to see how the seperate scenes develop before making a financial plunge.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Cloanto debate	guru64	Amiga scene	282	11 January 2012 21:16
GP32 and amiga stuff?	ElectroBlaster	Retrogaming General Discussion	4	13 June 2005 14:42
My GP32 FLU on Ebay	Antiriad	MarketPlace	0	12 August 2004 12:08
Elite coming to GBA, But will the GBA's target audience like it ?	sgt_chimp	Retrogaming General Discussion	9	15 December 2001 18:11

13 April 2003, 20:55	#2
IFW Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: ... Age: 52 Posts: 1,838	Get a decent pda instead. Huge community, constantly updated, loads of stuff. The emulation of most of the systems are not very good on gp32, unless you prefer slow motion... though it's a second best choice to a pda if you are willing to do some programming on your own. If not, just stick with an ipaq or something. Actually cartridge sizes on a pda or gp32 are in megabytes, while on gba it is megabits as is traditional in console world...

13 April 2003, 21:09	#3
adolescent Powered by Motorola Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Redondo Beach, CA Age: 52 Posts: 1,065	As stated, the GP32 really isn't that good. Most of the emulator projects died in 2002... Mine's sitting around gathering dust. And for the price, I could have gotten something much better. (Actually, I did, I picked up a Zaurus which has lots of dev support..)

13 April 2003, 21:31	#4
rattus Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 328	don't be fooled by the amount of emulators for the GP32, none of them run at full speed. Also programs that overclock the gp32 past 133mhz will overheat and damage the lcd screen

14 April 2003, 00:20	#5
th4t1guy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO, USA Posts: 683	Yeah; just wait until the GP64 is released. When that happens, nobody will buy it because the 3d will run too slow on it.

23 April 2003, 17:05	#6
Antiriad The Sacred Armour Of Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sussex, UK Age: 44 Posts: 1,141	If a IPAQ is the best bet, whats the minimum recommended spec?

23 April 2003, 22:47	#7
IFW Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: ... Age: 52 Posts: 1,838	Afaik you should be able to pick up the "outdated" 200MHz models at a "bargain price" Go for the latest ones (400+MHz?) though if in your country they cost their real retail price (hp/compaq pages for more info), since you want emulation and they do need the raw horsepower. You'll also find that there are device specific editions of some classics like Sim City or Rayman.

23 April 2003, 22:53	#8
jmmijo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: PDX Age: 62 Posts: 2,395	Isn't there a new GBA model, the SP or something like that ?!? This looks interesting but is it really an upgraded GBA or just a repackaged one For me I've not gotten into the GBA/GP32 emu scene yet, except for the collection of said stuff so I've not really decided which one is best

23 April 2003, 23:13	#9
IFW Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: ... Age: 52 Posts: 1,838	GBA was attacked by the users and the media alike (minus paid ones...) for the poor visibility of the screen that is not really suitable for high colour displays. According to Nintendo the device has been designed strictly for outdoor use under bright natural sunlight. Since public awareness of eyestrain devices become pretty high, many people who would have bought it avoided it, or bought it with a few games and stopped using it. To prove Nintendo lied about the impossibility of a lit display (since PDAs already proved that being perfectly possible by that time), many hobbyists created lighting solutions that should have been used in the first place, but would have made the device much more expensive at the time it went to market... SP is a redesigned gba, what is changed is finally proper lighting and visibility of the display. Haven't tried it yet, so don't blame me if it is still not really good! Test for yourself before buying and test in your hands not under the special lighting conditions used to fool customers at Nintendo boots placed in hypermarkets and stuff... They use the lighting type needed for gba display to be visible, but you can't do that under real usage conditions. Also added is li-ion (?) rechargable batteries needed to support the higher power requirements, and a redesgined case needed for the new display and battery... and to say it is a "special edition" true Nintendo style instead of admitting they were cheap with the first design. SP probably gives much needed life to the game scene, though an upgrade path would have been nice for existing users, since many of them may refuse to spend the launch price again for a product that could have been made properly for the first time.

23 April 2003, 23:25	#10
jmmijo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: PDX Age: 62 Posts: 2,395	Thanks for the info IFW You could say that the SP is really like a GBA Mk.II instead

23 April 2003, 23:48	#11
rattus Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 328	the GBA-SP internal light is actually a frontlight (it sits between the LCD and the cover) just like the Afterburner frontlight mod from www.tritonlabs.com it works just as well...second best thing to do while snuggled up in bed in the dark the first best thing being playing Mario Kart multiplayer while snuggled up in bed in the dark with 3 other people!

24 April 2003, 00:01	#12
Antiriad The Sacred Armour Of Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sussex, UK Age: 44 Posts: 1,141	Well, having had a look at an IPAQ, ive come to the conclusion that theyre bloody expensive and seem to have very small hard drive space.... Ive recently posted about Amstrad CPC emulation on both the GP32 and GBA boards, and it would seem that the GBA is incapable of doing it, whilst with the GP32 someone just needs to port Kevin Thackers Arnold emulator - permission he has given Best bet still seems to be a GP32 after all...

24 April 2003, 00:04	#13
Antiriad The Sacred Armour Of Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sussex, UK Age: 44 Posts: 1,141	I did forget to mention that i myself bought a GBA upon its release and sent it back cos i couldnt see s**t when i tried to play it. I came to the conclusion that i preferred a Game Gear at the time!

24 April 2003, 00:23	#14
IFW Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: ... Age: 52 Posts: 1,838	Yes Game Gear and Sonic rocked. Too bad you had to play from an adaptor since battery life was non-existant As for Ipaq check the real prices, not the rrp or high street prices. There is no hdd in an ipaq For porting an emulator a permission is not good enough. If the device has very limited speed (GP32 at top 133MHz, but afaik that speed produces a battery life experience similar to that of Game Gear fame...) most parts of the emulator has to be rewritten in assembly, and even after it can still be bad. On the contrary the bottom line speed for a pda is 200MHz and it is designed to be used for hours. Since similar architectures are being used the clock rate comparison is very fair in this case. For a pda if you are looking for something, chances are somebody already done it. For GP32 somebody might sometime do it or you are on your own. I'd say GP32 is fun if you are prepared and able to do whatever you need on your own. Also consider speed, battery life and other limitations. If you are happy with that - imo the price is a bit high for an overclocked gba without any graphic acceleration - go get it. Otherwise get the PDA. Or better wait for the new PDA models coming out this spring/summer making the 400MHz models much cheaper

24 April 2003, 16:35	#15
Antiriad The Sacred Armour Of Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sussex, UK Age: 44 Posts: 1,141	I will wait therefore!

24 April 2003, 17:34	#16
Echo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: South-West Wales Posts: 382	Why can't these devices use a self illuminating screen, as found on TFT laptops? Is it a price or battery drain issue?

30 April 2003, 18:24	#17
Belgarath HOL Team Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Manchester Posts: 2,513	Castaway 0.03 which is an atari st emulator for the gp32 has recently been released. looks brilliant, apparently runs at a very good speed, screenshots of dungeon master, xenon and xenon 2 working. supposed to be very compatible, llamatron and stunt car racer also confirmed as working! check it out http://www.codejedi.com/shadowplan/gp32.html how many more reasons do you need to own this fabulous machine

30 April 2003, 22:07	#18
Antiriad The Sacred Armour Of Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sussex, UK Age: 44 Posts: 1,141	Wow! I saw a ST emu on the GP32x board, but that was barely started! Right! Im conviced to buy one now!!!

27 February 2004, 15:25	#19
T_hairy_bootson Workbitch 1.3 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 46 Posts: 2,084	[Bump] hehe...got me a GP32 and it ROCKS!!!

27 February 2004, 16:06	#20
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	Ayey, me still wants one

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)