Can I run emulators with a $50 tablet?

[toptenmaterial]

I have some gift certificates to play with. Wondering if I can run demanding emulators (like N64) with an el cheapo tablet. Here are a couple.

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1160053-REG/ematic_egq347bl_8gb_egq347_7_0_wi_fi.html

 

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1222102-REG/samsung_sm_t113nykaxar_7_0_tab_e_lite.html

 

Happy holidays everyone!

[Keatah]

IMHO tablets don't provide the best experience.

[toptenmaterial]

IMHO tablets don't provide the best experience.

What's the best budget solution?

 

EDIT: my intent is to hook it up to a TV

Edited December 25, 2016 by toptenmaterial

[R.Cade]

IMO, and old soft-modded XBOX.

 

Modern "kids" use a Raspberry Pi 3, case, power supply, SD card, and a nice USB controller...

[Keatah]

Either that or NUC or cheapo laptop outputting to nice monitor.

 

Build your own, too, but that isn't a budget solution because you always want to up the specs and quality.

[Flojomojo]

I have some gift certificates to play with. Wondering if I can run demanding emulators (like N64) with an el cheapo tablet. Here are a couple.

 

They'll run well enough -- given that N64 emulation itself is not all there. Touchscreen controls for things like Mario 64 and F-Zero X are fun for a little while until you go crazy and want to put a controller on it. If the tablet has a full sized USB port, you can just plug one in. Otherwise, you want an OTG cable (mini USB male to full size USB female) or a Bluetooth controller to round the thing out.

 

I've decided that while handhelds are fun, computers are better for this kind of thing, and you can get a cheapass Windows netbook for the same kind of money and have it run anything.

[Flojomojo]

What's the best budget solution?

 

EDIT: my intent is to hook it up to a TV

everything: https://retropie.org.uk

friendly words: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-turn-your-raspberry-pi-into-a-retro-game-console-498561192

[Keatah]

I've decided that while handhelds are fun, computers are better for this kind of thing, and you can get a cheapass Windows netbook for the same kind of money and have it run anything.

 

Full-fledged computers may be the best thing. But they are so intimidating and the thought of "configuring" something is horrifying to most. Too bad, because that's how and where you get a top-notch experience.

[Flojomojo]

But they are so intimidating and the thought of "configuring" something is horrifying to most.

 

Here we go again. Do you live in Stupid Town, or what? "Most" people I know can run their own computer just fine. I'm typing on one right now.

 

[Keatah]

It's not because they're stupid and can't figure out where to change the settings or what to change them to. It's more that they don't want to bother setting anything up. Just ask any mame noob. And the intimidation factor comes from the sheer amount of settings available. It looks daunting.

Edited December 29, 2016 by Keatah

[Tanooki]

$50 is pushing it, but yeah what you threw up there should be fine for the 2D level stuff from the NES, SNES, Neo Geo, etc. 3D might likely be a bit dodgy going into already shaky N64 emulation and also Dreamcast. I'd do more personal research on what those emulators spec levels are not to run, but run well from not them but their users (forum users experiences.)

 

If you had a more realistic budget though, say $200 for the shield tablet, you'd have no limits other than whatever is out there in the level of development it sits at. Also touch controls are crap, you'll mess up a lot as those old games aren't designed for fake glassy non-buttons but real ones. Get a game pad, one way or the other or forget it outside of RPGs and puzzles that don't require speed.

[Schizophretard]

 

Full-fledged computers may be the best thing. But they are so intimidating and the thought of "configuring" something is horrifying to most. Too bad, because that's how and where you get a top-notch experience.

 

For me it would be because of OCD. I would have to know what the best settings are, what they do, and why. The only emulator I have set up is Stella and when I did I found it frustrating because of that. I'm curious, if emulators are suppose to mimic the behavior of the original then what is the purpose of settings? I mean, shouldn't that step already have been done by the developer to have it preconfigured to match the original hardware and no user adjustable settings needed because you should just add the ROM's and then it is done?

[Keatah]

Emulators seem to have many settings. Yes. This is not to change behavior of the original emulated hardware, though you can, but to match the emulator to your personal tastes and your host hardware capabilities.

 

Take solace in that the existing settings in most emulators default to a least-common-denominator setting and you only need tweak to your personal liking. This lets the emulator get up and running. It is then up to you to mix and match your hardware. Notice that mini-consoles running off emulation have no settings. The hardware is 100% known, so no need to adjust.

 

With a PC not everyone has the same joystick or controller or graphics card or monitor. And consider the OS and where you want to put your roms. And the emulator needs to know about that. In many cases the emulator can make use of extended non-standard hardware.

 

One thing notable is that sound output seems to have been standardized years ago and hasn't made any significant improvement since the new decade started. And that's alright. Another 5 years the same thing will happen with graphics because they are becoming more and more integrated into the CPU.

[S1500]

I somehow got MAME running on a cheap-ass $30 Polaroid tablet. It's about the size of a cell phone. Even I'm shocked that it runs, since it can barely run the Android OS by itself without stumbling.