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Dirt cheap Chinese knock-off handhelds

Started by dmillburn, April 17, 2018, 06:33:19 PM

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I was into these open platform handheld thingies a while back, about ten years ago I got one of those dingoo A320's, a JXD S7100 and JXD S5100. The JXD S7100 had a 7 inch screen which was great for emulators!
The dingoo had a surprisingly nice clicky d-pad, I remember.
Had a gp2x which was gash and I had to get a refund on because the controls were awful.

Bought a pandora around the same time, still waiting for that! I could probably still get the money back if I chased it up, but I wrote that off a long time ago. I knew I was taking a risk at the time. The poor German bloke that got saddled with fixing everything when that Craig character jumped ship, I'd be surprised if that all didn't break him.

They all just ended up gathering dust in a drawer and got sold on ebay or chucked, fun faffing around with them though.

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on June 15, 2020, 12:36:25 AM
Looks like there's a new one, nearly ready.

https://retrododo.com/zpg-pro/

Maybe it's a waste to keep waiting for the best console, but it looks good.

I dunno, it feels like we're so close to properly decent N64, PSP and Dreamcast emulation that holding off a little longer might be the smart thing to do.

Can't say I'm not tempted by that RG350M though.

Consignia

Quote from: ImmaculateClump on June 15, 2020, 10:40:17 AM

They all just ended up gathering dust in a drawer and got sold on ebay or chucked, fun faffing around with them though.

This my big thing about buying these emulation devices. They look cool for a fiddle, but I just don't think I'd ever bother with them. That's why I'm interested in things like the Picade which you build yourself. At least if it ends up on the shelf, I'd have actually made something.

Sheffield Wednesday

I've concluded the RG350M is a bit small for my 20/20 vision (2007) or I might need glasses or just a can't be vented with it. Greatly little machine for some stuff but I'm spoiled by the Switch. Might just hack that. I won't, can't be bothered. The fun of this shit is getting it working and going wow I can play Tonb Ronder on a stamp.

Yeah, I've always wanted to build a mame arcade cabinet but I just know that the novelty would wear off really quick.
Sit down on my nice comfy seat with my arcade stick in my lap and play on my nice big monitor or go and stand at the dusty cabinet in the corner?
Well, I suppose I'd best use it since it cost so much and I spent all that time building it.
Aw fuck, I need to go into service mode and turn on autofire, hang on, I'll just open the cabinet and plug in this keyboard. Get it in a skip!

I remember getting one of those raspberry pi things one year for my nephews christmas as we used to sit together and play random games in mame all the time when he was little.
It was fun setting it up and getting it all working, then we had a couple of games on christmas day (it was pretty laggy) and that was that, five minute wonder, gathering dust.
Same with that mini snes thing, couple of games on christmas day, straight in the cupboard. Fucking length of the wires on that thing was insulting! It was like they didn't intend it to actually be used by anyone.

Maybe you could treat it as little hobby, something to keep you sane during lockdown, maybe even with the aim of selling the finished product after a month of "making sure it works". It'd be fun and there wouldn't be too much to lose if you were gonna be selling it and making some money back.

Spiteface

My RG350M arrived this afternoon. This is where I ordered it from:

https://droidbox.co.uk/anbernic-rg350m-retro-console.html

just over a hundred for the unit and a 64gb SD card. Not sure of the legalities of that, as it's nicely packed with ROMs, a lot of stuff I was going to put on this anyway.

Had a few minutes to fiddle with it, and it does 16-bit and 8-bit stuff perfectly, as you'd expect. Arcade/Neo Geo is where it depends what you're running. Street Fighter III: Third Strike doesn't run well but I suspected that anyway. Garou: Mark of the Wolves works well and still looks great, so I'm sure yer KOFs will work as well. Garou pushed the Neo Geo to its limits back then.

Haven't experimented with PS1 but I hear it's good aside from a few. Shame Tekken 3 is one of those few, but plenty of other good fighting games and such to occupy me.

Getting the metal version was worth it. The extra weight makes it feel better quality than the plastic handhelds I've had. Nice D-pad, too. Something that's a dying art these days. That's why I already prefer this over my GPD XD, even if that's more powerful - nicer controls.

The screen might be a bit diddy, but they look like they'd be great for emulating old gameboy and gameboy advance stuff.
Probably worth it just for that, you can pull it out and play tetris or kirbys pinball land or whatever on a bus.

Sheffield Wednesday

Yeah, that'd absolutely right. Sorry for no reply to your quality post above. My brain is absolutely cunted but it resonates with me totally. Number of retro boxes I've set up and as soon as I got the library sorted, I slide it further under the TV stand so I can ignore the money and hours I put into setting them up.

momatt

Quote from: Spiteface on June 14, 2020, 03:10:32 PM
Went for the RG350M (the metal version) in black.
I like having a nicer screen, and the "internal" SD card being accessible without opening it up.

So do you think this is worth getting over the standard RG3550?  I've read it has a better screen, but it's wasted as none of the games it runs can use the higher resolution.  Shorter battery life as a consequence too.
So I'm not sure.
Also having a handheld may be a waste of time as I never leave the house at the moment.

Quote from: Huxleys Babkins on June 15, 2020, 11:33:26 AM
I dunno, it feels like we're so close to properly decent N64, PSP and Dreamcast emulation that holding off a little longer might be the smart thing to do.
You may be right, but I want  one noooooow!

Quote from: ImmaculateClump on June 15, 2020, 03:12:11 PM
I remember getting one of those raspberry pi things one year for my nephews christmas as we used to sit together and play random games in mame all the time when he was little.
It was fun setting it up and getting it all working, then we had a couple of games on christmas day (it was pretty laggy) and that was that, five minute wonder, gathering dust.

Madness, I've loved mine and spent hours on it!  How can you be bored of playing any game ever?
Did you try setting your TV to GAME mode?  That fixed the lag issues I was having.

I use mame a lot but I do it on PC, the pi was just so we could play some games in the living room without any fannying about.
Yeah, I did all the right things, game mode, vsync off. I play lots of shmups so I'm a bit of a lag queen and there's a specific build I use most of the time on pc with hacked drivers that cuts out extra lag, it was probably just a mix of missing that and playing on a sluggish telly.
I'll always go for high refresh rate TN panels, happy to sacrifice image quality for less input lag so it was probably under the acceptable threshold for most folk, but just not what I'm used to. It felt really muddy in comparison.

Spiteface

Quote from: momatt on June 18, 2020, 09:43:39 AM
So do you think this is worth getting over the standard RG3550?  I've read it has a better screen, but it's wasted as none of the games it runs can use the higher resolution.  Shorter battery life as a consequence too.
So I'm not sure.
Also having a handheld may be a waste of time as I never leave the house at the moment.

It's just nice to have. The higher-resolution screen is probably a bit pointless, yes, but as a unit overall, I think this is a little nicer for reasons I've talked about:

Metal enclosure - I'm sure the plastic ones are fine. I've owned other plastic devices and the ones I've had never felt like they were flimsy in any way. If they made the plastic one in all-black, I might have got that instead. The orange bits put me off. But the metal along with rubber grips on the back just makes it feel better.

Repositioned D-pad & left analogue stick - I'm unlikely to use the analogue sticks much, and I feel the D-pad is in a better (i.e. more comfortable to me) position on the metal version,talking of controls...

Recessed sticks - on the plastic version they look like they stick out a bit too much for my liking. If I had to stick this thing in my pocket, I'd feel better about the recessed design on the metal one.

Better access to SD cards - while for now I have all the emulators and most of the ROMs I'd want (the place I ordered it from bundled in a 64GB card with a shitload of roms on it, they do this for the plastic one as well though), having access the "internal" SD card without opening it up would make me more likely to look into custom firmware and the like.

I'd say weigh up whether these things are worth the extra money to you. If not, the normal plastic version's still good, and a bargain.

A higher res screen is never a bad thing, especially when all of the supported machines all output at different resolutions anyway. You get less potentially less shimmer and judder when there's more pixels to upscale to.

I'm quite excited by the Analogue Pocket's 1600 x 1440 screen for that precise reason. Get those pixels into my fucking eyes already.

momatt

#72
Quote from: ImmaculateClump on June 18, 2020, 12:03:59 PM
I use mame a lot but I do it on PC, the pi was just so we could play some games in the living room without any fannying about.
Yeah, I did all the right things, game mode, vsync off. I play lots of shmups so I'm a bit of a lag queen and there's a specific build I use most of the time on pc with hacked drivers that cuts out extra lag, it was probably just a mix of missing that and playing on a sluggish telly.
I'll always go for high refresh rate TN panels, happy to sacrifice image quality for less input lag so it was probably under the acceptable threshold for most folk, but just not what I'm used to. It felt really muddy in comparison.

Ah, sounds like you know what you're doing more than I do.  I had to look up a fair few things you wrote there!
I guess if you game a lot and get used to a high standard of very minimal lag, then it may not be up to the task.  Maybe the chosen emulator makes a difference too?  There's a lot of fiddling about with these, which can be a fun bonus or a drag depending on what you want.


Quote from: Spiteface on June 18, 2020, 02:27:48 PM
It's just nice to have. The higher-resolution screen is probably a bit pointless, yes, but as a unit overall, I think this is a little nicer for reasons I've talked about:
.
.
.

Thanks for the help!

Quote from: Huxleys Babkins on June 18, 2020, 03:04:29 PM
A higher res screen is never a bad thing, especially when all of the supported machines all output at different resolutions anyway. You get less potentially less shimmer and judder when there's more pixels to upscale to.
I'm quite excited by the Analogue Pocket's 1600 x 1440 screen for that precise reason. Get those pixels into my fucking eyes already.
I think it depends on how the upscaling is done.  One review video I watched suggested that the upscaling caused more problems that it solved.
Oh shit, the Analogue Pocket?  Another option to consider!

Spiteface

Looking for a case for my RG350, although the proper ones would be delivered from China, and I'm impatient.

Thinking a GBA (the original one, not the later SP clamshell ones) case might work, roughly the same dimensions. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meijunter-Nintendo-Gameboy-Advance-Console/dp/B073R7TSYX/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=carry+case+for+gba&qid=1592912024&quartzVehicle=109-1388&replacementKeywords=case+for+gba&sr=8-5
some Satnav/external drive cases look like they'd fit okay, too.

Ordered a RG350M last week and it arrived today. Not had a chance to play anything, but what a beauty this thing is. These cheap handhelds always seem let down by having been designed by someone who's aware of what a games console is but has never actually used one so you end up with shitty buttons in the wrong place and a d-pad that doesn't work. Not this one. Properly decent buttons with plenty of travel and decent spring, proper lovely d-pad. Even ignoring the fact it's a solid slab of aluminium, It's better put together than anything to come out of Nintendo in yonks with their rattly buttons with no travel, flappy hinges and AIDS-tier d-pads and sticks.

Can't wait to get started on something on this thing (before inevitably getting bored and chucking it in a drawer).

popcorn

A few years ago when I was living in Tokyo I told my gf I wanted a PS4 for my birthday and she got me this. The Japanese on the package says "PlayStation".





Cabbers might recognise some of the games it includes


Gurke and Hare

EGGS

You could get absolute #numbers putting that on Twitter.

Cold Meat Platter

It always seems rude to me for a second when I see this thread title after a while.

bushwick

"KICKING NOW" STARRING "HEN & SONS"

I got a RG350 from that droidx spot, with 64gb card that has pretty much full romsets for everything (just a few PS1 titles). Was about £75 delivered I think, is a quality bit of kit. I got a 128gb card and am filling it up with PS1 games (every single one is on the archive, crazy really). 99% of everything I've tried works great, I think 1 PS1 game lagged slightly. The Final Burn Alpha emulator that's included doesn't seem to work, most games crash or run unplayably slow - could maybe change firmware or fiddle with some settings but not arsed as MAME4ALL works perfect.

Also did a bit of googling and found quite a few RG350-compatible mods of old PC games that you can download.

Famous Mortimer

It doesn't do much re: Dreamcast and N64 still though, right?


I'm excited to find out what a new tony system is.


Consignia

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on July 02, 2020, 06:30:42 PM
It doesn't do much re: Dreamcast and N64 still though, right?

Yeah, I think I'd jump onto these buggers once they reliably do PS2/Dreamcast/Gamecube/Xbox era gaming. I've been doing SNES/Megadrive/NES/Master System emulation for decades.

Cloud

I keep getting tempted, but always come back to the fact that I have a bluetooth gamepad with a bracket on it that holds a smartphone, and combined with any Android phone from the past 5 years (even a cheap one) it'll handle anything from that SNES-ish era.

These do have the "plug and play" aspect to them though - setting up a controller and installing ROMs etc can be a bit of a faff.

Pinball

The handheld market is mostly gone now thanks to mobiles, and this cheapo stuff is sadly all that's left. I bought the Pandora handheld recently, and cleaning the screen with a hankie was enough to scratch it. Not exactly a Vita.

Can you run MAME on an iPhone? ;-)

Consignia

Quote from: Pinball on July 02, 2020, 09:06:21 PM

Can you run MAME on an iPhone? ;-)

Probably, but it's probably not as well maintained as the android equivalent because of the faff of jailbreaking it. Android is the alternative to all these cheap handhelds, there's a few Chinese phones which a designed specifically for emulation but are usually a lot more expensive. I think there's a version of Dolphin on android, so if your phone is beefy enough you can play Mario Galaxy on it.

Spiteface

#84
The android handhelds are more powerful and if you're looking for N64 and Dreamcast emulation, that's the thing to look at. I've mentioned my GPD XD and that runs some Dreamcast stuff I downloaded via the built-in "Happy Chick" app quite well.

What bugs me about it, is the sound lag in quite a few cases. Apparently this is a common thing with Android stuff. Also, the GPD's controls aren't quite as nice.

These opendingux handhelds tend to emulate almost all the stuff I want them to. While I can't use FBA to play Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, it does Alpha 3 nicely, and now I've finally worked out how configure buttons per game, I can actually play it properly, knowing where things are.

Nicer controls and no sound lag are enough of a trade-off for me, personally, YMMV.

Also, this thing happened to have Streets of Rage Remake on it. I know people were raving about SOR4 this year, but Remake was so good, and looks like the 16-bit titles.

samadriel


Famous Mortimer

Quote from: Pinball on July 02, 2020, 09:06:21 PM
The handheld market is mostly gone now thanks to mobiles, and this cheapo stuff is sadly all that's left. I bought the Pandora handheld recently, and cleaning the screen with a hankie was enough to scratch it. Not exactly a Vita.
The Switch seems to be doing quite well against people gaming on mobiles. I'm not sure what the thing that predates mobiles is, that you're referring to, though, so I may be misunderstanding you.

These things are cheap because the technology to run old games has gotten cheaper, and there's still a market for it. They're not all cheap, though, and some of them cater for the higher end market - the GPD XD+ is over 200 quid, for example.

Famous Mortimer

The PiBoy DMG is nearly ready to come out, a few review sites are already talking about it - https://www.experimentalpi.com/PiBoy-DMG--Full-Kit_p_18.html

Looks like we're a gnat's hair from perfect N64, PS1 and Dreamcast emulation. I will give 120 stars on Mario 64 my best shot (I will fail, probably, because I'm bad at games).

Consignia

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on July 06, 2020, 03:39:03 PM
The PiBoy DMG is nearly ready to come out, a few review sites are already talking about it - https://www.experimentalpi.com/PiBoy-DMG--Full-Kit_p_18.html

Looks like we're a gnat's hair from perfect N64, PS1 and Dreamcast emulation. I will give 120 stars on Mario 64 my best shot (I will fail, probably, because I'm bad at games).

That looks ace. I'm still thinking about making a Picade with a Raspberry Pi 4, and that would an ace thing to have on the side. I like the build yourself aspect to it. There's a similar thing which works with a Pi Zero, which I've been tempted by before too.

Famous Mortimer

https://retrododo.com/rg350p/

This seems to be an RG350M, but in a plastic case. Same price as the RG350, too, so $30-$40 cheaper than the metal version. Given I'm probably not going anywhere where one of these would be useful til the end of the year, I might wait and see what price the PiBoy DMG is in a few months.