GBZ minus the "Z"??

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TheProfessorEGG
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GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by TheProfessorEGG » Tue May 10, 2016 10:55 pm

So I am a noobie in the RPi world, and electronic tinkering as well. I have a few Raspberry Pi 3's stocked up, but obviously we all know the issue with finding a RPi0 that isnt 10x retail lol. Does anyone know of someone that has successfully modified the GBZ to work with a Pi3? I know space is probably one of the biggest limitations, but it is worth a try.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Evan

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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by Popcorn » Tue May 10, 2016 11:07 pm

Check Chiz's build in the Show Off forum. He is using an RPI2 which is the same footprint as the 3. He had to remove alot of the components and totally hacksaw it up so it's definitely not for the faint of heart. Also, quite obviously, your warranty will be beyond void and you will probably never be able to use it for any other purpose in the future. But It's possible.

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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by 1461748123 » Tue May 10, 2016 11:28 pm

Yes that will be possible, as @Popcorn mentioned.
You will have to sacrifice the cartridge sd card reader function as well

TheProfessorEGG
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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by TheProfessorEGG » Wed May 11, 2016 12:32 am

What are the cons to losing the cartridge reader? Shear convenience?

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Fleder
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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by Fleder » Wed May 11, 2016 12:40 am

The cool effect of having a cartridge with a function and the fact that you have to open the case to change the sd card instead of just pulling out the cartridge.

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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by crispy_tofu » Wed May 11, 2016 1:20 am

The cartridge is essentially just a neat little feature that brings the build together, making it feel more authentic (if you know what I mean).
There aren't really any disadvantages with removing the reader, just that the SD card reader will be less accessible.

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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by Popcorn » Wed May 11, 2016 3:01 am

Now the PRO side of using a RPI3 is that PSX emulation will work fairly well. And N64 is quite OK too. I was tempted use a pi3 for this fact alone. Because on the RPI0, those two emus are completely unplayable.

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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by dboSS » Thu May 12, 2016 4:33 am

I would love to use the raspberry pi 3 but there're two things I'm afraid of:
1. I wish I can play Tearing saga + Super Robot War on PSX on a GBZ or GB3 => But no sign right now prove that those games can run smoothly with this board.
2. I dont have any experience on electronic, so working on a raspberry pi 3 with not much guidance is really hard for me.

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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by wermy » Thu May 12, 2016 10:59 am

I really, *really* wouldn't recommend a Pi 3 for this. Those things use such a crazy amount of power and generate so much heat. Just sitting there on my desk, with a heatsink on, my Pi 3 shows the temperature warning image on the screen while compiling large codebases. When that happens it throttles the CPU. I literally had to point a desk fan at it to get it to stop. ಠ_ಠ

And then there are the power requirements. Under load the pi 3 can consume upwards of 700mA, compared to the Pi 2's ~400mA

http://www.pidramble.com/wiki/benchmark ... onsumption

Not to mention that this is JUST the Pi itself, no screen or amplifier or anything.

For reference the guts of my GBZ build top out around 450mA total.

If you went with the Pi 3 (assuming you solve the heat issues) you'd easily be exceeding 1000mA, I would bet, which would make it so even the 1000mA power boost probably couldn't keep up with charging and playing at the same time.

And your battery life would be awful. Sorry to be a naysayer but I just don't think it would be a good option here. :(

Pi 2 would be awesome though!
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Re: GBZ minus the "Z"??

Post by Retrohead95 » Thu May 12, 2016 9:59 pm

wermy wrote:I really, *really* wouldn't recommend a Pi 3 for this. Those things use such a crazy amount of power and generate so much heat. Just sitting there on my desk, with a heatsink on, my Pi 3 shows the temperature warning image on the screen while compiling large codebases. When that happens it throttles the CPU. I literally had to point a desk fan at it to get it to stop. ಠ_ಠ

And then there are the power requirements. Under load the pi 3 can consume upwards of 700mA, compared to the Pi 2's ~400mA

http://www.pidramble.com/wiki/benchmark ... onsumption

Not to mention that this is JUST the Pi itself, no screen or amplifier or anything.

For reference the guts of my GBZ build top out around 450mA total.

If you went with the Pi 3 (assuming you solve the heat issues) you'd easily be exceeding 1000mA, I would bet, which would make it so even the 1000mA power boost probably couldn't keep up with charging and playing at the same time.

And your battery life would be awful. Sorry to be a naysayer but I just don't think it would be a good option here. :(

Pi 2 would be awesome though!
Aww. Just when I was starting to fall in love with it :(. I was wondering the same when I came across that post that shows its power consumption. Guess my project is on hold until I find another alternative or find a work around.

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