Pandoras Box

A place where you can chat about anything that isn't to do with games!
Post Reply
User avatar
gbaplayer
Posts: 961
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:30 pm
Location: Germany

Pandoras Box

Post by gbaplayer »

Hello,

does anybody own a Pandoras Box console?
There are different types available and i really want to know how good it works (emulation, controls).

Thanks
gbaplayer
My PCB Collection (2): Cyvern, R-Type Leo
User avatar
WelshMegalodon
Posts: 1225
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2015 5:09 am

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by WelshMegalodon »

As far as I can tell, they're just your standard run-of-the-mill Chinese bootleg boxes with terrible emulation. I couldn't recommend one with a clean conscience.

https://zerojay.com/pandoras-box-the-basics/
Spoiler
Let’s talk a little bit about the type of performance you get from these Pandora’s Boxes and their bootleg clones.

Firstly, it’s very clear that the people making these Pandora’s Boxes and clones don’t actually know or care much about the games being played on them as as there’s a sizable amount of games on each of them that have problems bad enough to make them problematic or unplayable. You’ve got games that require a spinner or trackball 7, the occasional game that requires a forced reboot after NVRAM has been cleared 8, or have extremely high amounts of frameskipping. There often are also clones or duplicates of games, less so for the original Pandora’s Boxes but definitely more on the bootlegs as the bootleggers are simply trying to ship something with as high a number of games as possible. From my older Pandora’s Box 4 clone, 1299 games, I probably ended up disabling about 150 games total because of the above issues with most of the rest playing well enough.

Something you are going to have to come to grips with is that most of these Pandora’s Boxes have problems with screen tearing. I’ve been told that connecting through VGA fixes the issue but I haven’t had the chance to try that yet myself. The screen tearing is a bit better on the Pandora’s Box 5 and presumably 6, but it’s still not perfect and you will notice it sometimes.

There are also *no* save games, no NVRAM writing, no high scores, no typical emulation type options you might expect such as dip switches 9 or test buttons. This is a problem with games that feature long-term progression 10 but for the vast, vast majority of the games, this shouldn’t be a problem. But this can be a positive just as much as a negative because it keeps your time on the Pandora’s Box a very simple and quick experience. 11

Look, if you’re an emulation purist, these boxes aren’t for you. They will likely drive you crazy with all the flaws and issues. You often might be better off getting a small NUC PC and setting everything up there, however…
Indie hipsters: "Arcades are so dead"
Finite Continues? Ain't that some shit.
RBelmont wrote:A little math shows that if you overclock a Pi3 to about 3.4 GHz you'll start to be competitive with PCs from 2002. And you'll also set your house on fire
User avatar
Steamflogger Boss
Posts: 3075
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:29 pm
Location: Eating the Rich

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Someone snarked with me one time after I recommended they don't buy it. They ended up returning it due to all the issues.
User avatar
trap15
Posts: 7835
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:13 am
Location: 東京都杉並区
Contact:

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by trap15 »

They're really awful, please do not get one.
@trap0xf | daifukkat.su/blog | scores | FIRE LANCER
<S.Yagawa> I like the challenge of "doing the impossible" with older hardware, and pushing it as far as it can go.
User avatar
Austin
Posts: 1263
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:32 pm
Location: Fairfax, VA
Contact:

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by Austin »

I don't recommend a consolized one, as you can get a much better emulation solution via a modded game console (Xbox, Wii, etc), a compact PC setup or a Rasberry Pi.

That said, if you have a JAMMA cab, they are cheap and easy enough to be a worthwhile multi-game solution. I have a V3 mounted in my cab that I swap to when I get tired of the few boards I have. They handle Neo-Geo, CPS1 and CPS2 really well. Everything else is a crapshoot.
User avatar
orange808
Posts: 3196
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2016 5:43 am

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by orange808 »

Save your money. MISTer is gaining momentum.
We apologise for the inconvenience
User avatar
BrianC
Posts: 8859
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:33 am
Location: MD

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by BrianC »

Someone opened Pandora's Box? Where's Zyuranger when you need them?
User avatar
gbaplayer
Posts: 961
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:30 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by gbaplayer »

And what about that Rhaspberry Pi Jamma adaptor? Is that any good?
there also is Rhasberry Pi console: https://www.ebay.de/itm/Retro-Arcade-Co ... :rk:3:pf:0
My PCB Collection (2): Cyvern, R-Type Leo
User avatar
WelshMegalodon
Posts: 1225
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2015 5:09 am

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by WelshMegalodon »

Nine times out of ten whatever hunk-of-junk computer your neighbor donated to Goodwill last month is going to outperform a Raspberry Pi.

Selling the product in that eBay listing is illegal, by the way.
Indie hipsters: "Arcades are so dead"
Finite Continues? Ain't that some shit.
RBelmont wrote:A little math shows that if you overclock a Pi3 to about 3.4 GHz you'll start to be competitive with PCs from 2002. And you'll also set your house on fire
User avatar
Limbrooke
Posts: 1884
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:24 am
Location: Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Re: Pandoras Box

Post by Limbrooke »

Here I thought this was going to be about the Alexey Pajitnov PC game of the same name.

Oh well, carry on.
'Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon.'
Post Reply