Not sure if this goes against community guidelines, but climbing on the meme bandwagon + Thor appreciation post

Dinner / Lunch / Breakfast ready

I got this crazy set up to work. I know that many people will question why I'm choosing to even have an entry level Dell Chromebook 3100 in this set up at all. The easy answer: I'm broke and I don't own a tv. I was recently released from federal prison and am getting on my feet.

That being said, I wanted to share my set up with you. I truly didn't think I would be able to get this to work. But check it out. I am using my Anbernic RG40XX H like a regular game console. I bought a HDTV HDMI Video Capture card. My chromebook does not have any HDMI inputs, so I had to use the capture card. I also had to get a HDMI to Mini HDMI cable that runs from my Anbernic console to the capture card. I also have a knock off wired game console going into the type c input of my anbernic.

Once I have everything connected, I then had to go onto a website called NERDZAP. I had to use this site to see and hear the images coming from my Anbernic. And it works.

I actually had some guys tell me this couldn't be done on another post, but i made it happen with the help of Chat GPT4. And my computer looks like hospital patient with all these wires and cords coming out of it. I dont really know how to upload videos on here, but if I can figure out how, I'll gladly post one. But these are pictures of my set up.

I was also able to just go and get the RetroArch emulator on my computer, and that is what I did for quite awhile. But I already have thousand of games on my console, including the completely full 128gb micro sd card that has tons of Sega Dreamcast, PS1, PSP and Segat Saturn games on it. Not to mention the NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, N64, and yes, Virtual Boy games I went and downloaded myself. Also, my Anbernic seems to run most of these roms better than my chromebook does. Granted, the Chromebook has a more robust CPU, but the CPU isn't completely dedicated to gaming. So playing games in this ridiculous way seems to work. And it will do until I can finally upgrade my system and get a decent TV.

Anyways. I just wanted to share this with you. I'm quite excited because there was some trial and error that went into making this work. Today, I got it working. And it all came down to the website I ended up using to get both Video and Sound to work. For a few days, I could only get the video to work. Then I decided to stop asking Google AI. Went and asked Chat GPT and that AI got my stuff working on the first try.

Side note. Google AI has absolutely no problems giving you false information and straight up lie to you. Plus, it loves giving me outdated information. For some reason it thinks that I am using some ancient version of ChromeOS. I can't tell you how many times it sent me to a location on my chromebook, what I'm trying to find not being there, then tell me how there were lots of changes in the latest updates to ChromeOS. Like, really? Why not just tell me the latest info on the latest OS?

Well, I'm off to play so Conker's Bad Fur Day, for old time sake. Peace!

can't find any documentation on the world wide web on this one. i just had to do it. i must see it for myself.

interestingly enough, the insides was just a mashed up Mini Plus Mini + Add on joystick. its funny you can see that the joystick board was just connected on the mainboard via USB-C.

you can even see that the 3.5mm jack was still attached to the mainboard. hidden there forever.

so basically this is just a reshell of the regular GKD mini plus. On a positive note, atleast if something breaks, i can use the parts from a mini plus.

i also added a small upgrade. added a small heatsink on the cpu

it's literally just an Anbernic RG Rotate with no changes made, and they're passing it off as their own 'PRX' device. people have actually been buying this, so spreading awareness

How to install and showcase here: https://youtu.be/ybrtW-w8JpA

Turn autodub on if you don't speak portuguese :)

This is the 2TB card but the 1TB and 512GB are both on the same kind of deal. I just replaced two 1.5TB cards that died of old age with 2 2TB cards, cost twice what it would have last year but half what it was last month.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F795QKRZ

The Anbernic RG 34XXSP is probably my favorite handheld, but one of the things that has always bothered me is how bad the stock joysticks are. When I disassembled the handheld, I noticed that the joystick module was practically identical to the modules used for the Nintendo Switch. I ordered a set off aliexpress and they just came in today.

Pulling the old module out was incredibly easy. 4 screws to pull the backplate off the handheld, carefully remove the battery connector, and then lift the small tab that holds the ribbon cable in. The module itself is not even screwed in, because it presses up to the backplate of the handheld, so it's firmly in place regardless. The entire module comes right out at this point.

The problem is getting the new modules in. The standard joystick caps for the Nintendo Switch are far too large to fit through the gap available on the RG 34XXSP, so we need to take the ones from the old modules. Unfortunately, this isn't a straightforward process. You can't just pop them off like you can with so many other handhelds, so it was time for some surgery.

There are metal tabs that hold the joystick assembly together. If you carefully bend these tabs out, you can open up the assembly. Then, it's just a matter of pulling all the guts out until you get to the actual joystick, rotating it 90 degrees and pulling it out. Then you put the donor joystick in its place, pop everything back in, and bend the metal tabs back in place. It will never look as pretty as it originally did, but it doesn't have to, it just has to hold things together.

Now for putting the module into the handheld, you'll want to start by inserting the ribbon cable. This almost threw me off because it stops long before it feels like it's fully inserted, but I promise you, it doesn't have to go that deep! Push the small plastic tab back down to lock it into place, and then slide the module into position. It might fight you a little bit due to the mangled metal tabs, but just gently work it in. Finally, you can reconnect the battery and screw the backplate on.

Now, did it solve my issue? I mean, kind of... The new joysticks are... better, but they still aren't great. The cardinal snapping is a software issue, so hardware was never going to solve that completely, but it's less noticeable with these sticks. They are smoother, and have less resistance than the original modules, but joycon joysticks are never going to feel amazing.

Overall, I'm happy with my upgrade, but I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. It's a lot of work for only a small improvement. It's my favorite handheld, so it was worth it for me, but it's hard to say that this is something every RG 34XXSP owner should do.

So I've seen a lot of criticism towards the sticks on the RG34XXSP recently, especially after Anbernic announced the RG SP (basically a stickless 34XXSP), so I wanted to make a post explaining why they're actually great (and why anyone who thinks otherwise is totally wrong /s).

My first point is that if you don't really care for the sticks, they are basically invisible during normal usage. You can obviously see them, you know they are there, but they don't stick out at all. They are not noticeable at all during gameplay and they never get in the way in D-pad centric games.

Another thing to point out is that the sticks come in handy when emulating non-GBA games and for Portmaster games as well. I know this fact is irrelevant for people who only want to play GBA but also... you never know what you might want to play in the future, considering the versatility of the 34XXSP and everything it can do. The sticks simply unlock a lot of new possibilities for the device.

The last thing I never see mentioned is that you're totally allowed to use the sticks in GBA games too! For example, I've been playing Pokemon FireRed (my first Pokemon game!) for 50 hours and have found that to move my character around the map, the stick is just wayyy more comfortable than using the D-pad, which I use exclusively on the menus. This probably applies to a lot of other GBA games as well, which is why I think the sticks are great and love the fact that they can enhance gameplay even if the games they are used on were never designed around them. I think this is actually my most important point on why the sticks rock.

Counterpoint: I know some people buy the device only for the nostalgia factor, which makes not wanting the sticks somewhat understandable for me, and why the new RG SP is better in that regard. I also understand that some users may find them ugly or just straight up not pleasant to use, but considering the limitations of the clamshell form factor, I think they are as good as the can be with maybe some room for improvement.

In conclusion, the sticks are basically the reason why I think the RG34XXSP is one of the best handhelds Anbernic has made and why other similar emulation-focused clamshells don't even come close in terms of versatility and value this one offers. Also feel free to disagree with me, I understand there are multiple perspectives around this topic that I would love to hear!

Hi all, i am just very confused about this little product https://shop.ayaneo.com/products/ayaneo-pocket-micro-2

Why it can be so popular that it sold almost instantly? From my perspective, this product got some many flaws:

1. Using old CPU
2. Screen still LCD
3. Low resolution screen
4. Price too high
5. AYANEO track record regarding shipping is not good

I recently got a Pixel 2 and I LOVED it. I know there's nothing remotely close to that size ballpark for these requirements (and I mean, the games I'd wanna play on it demand wide screens anyway) but - Fellow SBCgaming small hands club members, what are we using for PSP/Gamecube/etc?

EDIT: for GKD Pixel2, NOT the Google Pixel 2
Hi everyone,

Thanks for your input and help over the past week. We have been finalizing the ROCKNIX port for the Pixel2, which is now ready for broader use!

Core Features include:

1. Suspend to memory (I.e deep sleep)
2. Latest RetroArch Cores
3. Portmaster support
4. WiFi dongles
5. USB storage mode and USB SSH Networking
6. Menu Hotkey for screen brightness and RetroArch
7. LED indicator for charging/battery level.

We are merging the last of our edits soon. Feel free to try the latest Alpha 1.4 here:
https://github.com/Jacob-Matthew-Cook/distribution/releases/tag/pixel2-alpha-1.4

I hope folks in the community revisit this device now that the various CFWs for this handheld (TwigUI, Knulli, and now ROCKNIX) are maturing. I enjoy using this thing as my tiny pocket Gameboy/Gameboy Color device!

Even if you use this Alpha, you can always manually update to the ROCKNIX nightly after the changes are merged (in a few days, stay tuned)!

Let me know if you have any issues, questions, or concerns!

I'm trying to picture the worst possible handheld one could create

1. Hinge durability

2. Button noise

3. Build quality

4. Stock OS

5. Community firmware

6. Costumer support

7. Joysticks

8. Buttons

9. Thickness

10. Screen

11. Bezels

12. Ergonomics

13. Aesthetics

14. Ram bottlenecking (Not absolute lowest, more so when it's too low for the rest of the device)

15. CPU

16. Speakers

What else am I missing as a category?

I'm gonna start off by nominating my beloved RG35XXSP for the button noise category.

A real PS2 portable made from a SCPH-90004 slim PS2 - 6 ICs have been extracted including the Emotion Engine, Graphics Synthesizer, Mechacon, Clock PLL, Ethernet PHY and Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

No AetherSX2 or ARMSX2 required. Load up your favorite PS2 classics and enjoy with OPL, Neutrino and NHDDL.

Documentation and build guide here:
https://github.com/tschicki/PS2-Portable/

Just to clarify - not my project - just something that I thought I'd share! I know emulation is "obviously" more accessible for most, but its awesome to be able to repurpose old hardware in a beautiful new form factor.

Still rocking the SD card (20 dollar for a 64gb card these days damn)

Thank you to the people here recommending this device. I’ve tried multiple handhelds including those from Anbernic. This one really is for those that want to actually play the retro games.

Saving feels like you are playing on an Nintendo Switch or mobile game on iPhone, while saving on an Anbernic feels like you are playing on an experimental device.

I got interested in cheap handheld so I could play pokemon romhack, that's when I fell in the rabbit hole.

But for some time now, I'm wondering, where do they come from ? I never heard of anbernic or retroid or the others before, it's probably because it's to niche to be mainstream, but I wonder since when they exist, what's their story, stuff like that.

Hi guys 👋 hope you’re all well

I’m looking to buy my first emulation handheld. It’s very important to me that I get something pocketable (literally to carry around in my pocket).

I found a practically new retroid pocket 2s locally for 70usd in my currency. It was listed 4 months ago so I’m sure there will be room to negotiate.

Is this slightly older model still worth it? My other option is a used anbernic cubexx for 40 usd. If neither is a good deal I’ll pass for now and wait for some more to get listed but living in South Africa makes getting my hands on handheld devices like this a little tricky.

I would love any advice

Thanks 🙏

Edit: purchased an on the way for a little over 70. Thanks for the advice guys

Thanks in advance for the input.

I have the chance to buy a RG Cube (not the XX, but the T820 device) for about $70. Is this device decent for that price in 2026? I've never had a square screen device before.

I just moved and after a few months finally unpacked some of my handheld devices from storage. Since they were all moved together, they were all at least unused for several months, but some of the older devices like my Miyoo Mini v3 have been unused longer since I have moved on to using newer devices.

However, I found that in many of the devices the batteries would no longer hold a charge, and some were even completely dead. Others did charge up but seemed to be draining more quickly than I remembered. Is this a common experience for handheld device batteries? Is there any way to prevent this if so, and are some devices more immune to this than others?

One of the reasons I never stuck with any of the Linux devices I owned was because I thought I couldn't use USB transfer with them. I read so many threads and comments about how it could corrupt the SD card.

I ended up using winSCP to connect to them instead but it added a layer of network annoyances and also started affecting what I consider to be just okay battery life to begin with. I hate popping the microSD since I always feel like I need to find a spudger and then my adapter to plug it into my computer as well as shutting down the device every single time.

Recently, I got a reply from someone here that USB Transfer is not a HW issue but a CFW issue and mentioned that muOS and Knulli had good USB transfer.

I was wondering what devices and cfw combos have good usb transfer? I've only ever tried usb transfer on a brick with nextUI which didn't end well but considering trying linux again when the RG SP comes out. I don't currently have any linux devices to test stuff out, just curious what the state of USB transfer is. I would love to be able to just plug it in like an Android device.

I've been looking into handhelds for awhile, but I'm mainly interested in one for gb/gbc/gba games, as every other system I either prefer PC emulation for, or don't have interest in. From what I've seen, the cubexx seems to be the best for this, but I wanted to ask here before deciding fully, as the price where I am is a little more than I want to pay; though I will if it's truly the best option for <$100.

I wanted to play Amiga Games on my g350 handheld (it's a clone of the r36s) on ArkOS. I did put the Amigavision harddrive adf file into the Amiga folder on the SDcard and the kickstarts into the BIOS folder in the main menu but it won't start up. Anyone had done this before and can help me please?