Temper Tantrums (the GBAtemp webcomic) - issue #47 "Old But Gold"
By @x65943[prebreak][/prebreak]

< Previous comic | Next comic >

< Previous comic | Next comic >​

 

[Draxikor]

Have the original hardware is really good but talking about preservation the first step is everdrive cartridges and lastly emulation, the question here is how much life does the components of our cartridges and consoles have left? How long will we find spare parts? With CRT televisions it is the same problem.

 

[Foxi4]

Have the original hardware is really good but talking about preservation the first step is everdrive cartridges and lastly emulation, the question here is how much life does the components of our cartridges and consoles have left? How long will we find spare parts? With CRT televisions it is the same problem.

Out of all the components on those old boards the ones that die first are the capacitors which fortunately are easily replaceable if the problem is caught early. The integrated circuits have an incredibly long lifespan - not infinite, but it isn't a concern for us just yet. Worst case scenario parts can be re-spun or replaced with their modern equivalents, even the custom ones, particularly in the age of FPGA's which can effectively mimic other circuits. It's a lot like vintage cars - every material has a limited lifespan, but with tender love and care a machine will serve you for decades, maybe even well over a century. The complex semiconductors (as in, ones not related to simple power switching) that will start failing first are the memory, particularly rewritable memory, but those chips are fairly easy to replace as well - just look at the reproduction cartridge market. I wouldn't worry - vintage computing isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Draxikor]

@Foxi4 Maybe depends on which country you are living and how much money you're gonna spend replacing components and importing them, for the regular user i don't this is worth it, also you need soldering skills that again not all people have, i hope next year i take a course about that but seems that videgame electronics is something very weird to learn in my country.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

@Foxi4 Maybe depends on which country you are living and how much money you're gonna spend replacing components and importing them, for the regular user i don't this is worth it, also you need soldering skills that again not all people have, i hope next year i take a course about that but seems that videgame electronics is something very weird to learn in my country.

"Videogame electronics" are no different from any other electronics, they all require the same skillset to work on and repair. Just find any class on working with electronics and you'll be fine.

But, as Foxi said, the main components of cartridges last basically a lifetime, and the parts that do fail are available worldwide for literally pennies regardless of where you're from, so it's not that big of a deal.

 

[Something whatever]

Gotta love physical collection of games and systems , yes it takes up space alot of space if you live in a 1 Bedroom apartment or something. It is is also convenient to have a one or two systems that can play alot of things


OR BUY A PC TO EMULATE THEM -NO ITS NOT THE SAME.

 

[Draxikor]

"Videogame electronics" are no different from any other electronics, they all require the same skillset to work on and repair. Just find any class on working with electronics and you'll be fine.

But, as Foxi said, the main components of cartridges last basically a lifetime, and the parts that do fail are available worldwide for literally pennies regardless of where you're from, so it's not that big of a deal.

Well that's something weird i read a lot of modders claiming that every year is more harder to repair and give maintenance to consoles and cartridges. About the electronics course i ask people about that and some says i need to specialize about videogames i know that's absurd, what i really want to learn is to install mods like RGB, HDMI output etc. But i know zero about electronics, just general things i learn watching modders.

 

[Foxi4]

Well that's something weird i read a lot of modders claiming that every year is more harder to repair and give maintenance to consoles and cartridges. About the electronics course i ask people about that and some says i need to specialize about videogames i know that's absurd, what i really want to learn is to install mods like RGB, HDMI output etc. But i know zero about electronics, just general things i learn watching modders.

The packages for the components get smaller and smaller, so you need to adapt modern equivalents for older pinouts. Some are discontinued altogether, so you have to figure out how to replace them with the parts that you do have access to. It's hard, but not impossible. As far as learning how to do it is concerned, it's not black magic - it's actually easier than most people think, if you put your mind to it. The Internet is full of helpful resources, I learned everything I know on the subject online, and the knowledge has served me well.

 

[Jokey_Carrot]

bruh this is so hashtag relatble i crying shutting and pissing rn

 

[Captain_N]

to the Girl: Your 30 years of gaming history is worth $0. The dudes cart collection is worth over $30,000. which one would you rather have?

those 2 are rocking that nes the proper way. on a CRT.

 

[Deleted User]

having the boxart of games is cool but the convenience of emulator is a lot better
i've had a crt for a while when i was younger but i think flatscreens are a lot better, i prefer my games in a higher res and 60fps if possible, its cool that with emulation you can see what a game would look like if it didnt have a small res (examples like ds and 3ds)

 

[depaul]

Minis are the proof people still love original consoles

 

[Taleweaver]

When I was young, girls didn't play (or barely played) video games.

Nowadays, girls tempt to convince boys to pirate video games.


Yeah...that's emancipation, all right.

 

[Veho]

Pfft pleb. I can do that with all my original devices!... my gf isn't happy with me sometimes...

I don't have a TV in my toilet so I'm limited to handhelds there

 

[linuxares]

I don't have a TV in my toilet so I'm limited to handhelds there

who said I had them on the toilet? Mirrors my man! Mirrors!

 

[Veho]

who said I had them on the toilet? Mirrors my man! Mirrors!

Ah. The periscope approach.

 

[Ryccardo]

lol implying the vita has decent (native) emulators

 

[Pipistrele]

Both are cool - emulation for convenience, collection for aesthetical experience. Boy and girl should get along!

 

[romanaOne]

Sometimes emulation is just better. I once tried to get back into programming 6502 assembly on real C64 hardware and the nostalgia wore off in about a week. CRT screens hurt to look at. 198x text editors seemed great at the time, but the gripping hand of it is that using vim/emacs on a PC and testing in a C64 emulator is much faster and more fun than using an actual paper notebook and typing things into some primitive 40 columns (or less) editor.

Then there's the power supply issue: C64 power supplies often fail in such a way as to destroy the C64. The fried ICs pretty much can only come from another C64. I heard there was some project to make a 3rd party replacement power supply, but, meh, there's VICE.
(The emulator, not the terrible Miami Vice driving game.)

Yeah, you can get replacement/upgrade FPGA doodads and flash-based disk drive replacements, but it is a slippery slope where you can end up not needing any C64 computer at all.

 

[Sterophonick]

I can relate to the girl on way too many levels.

 

[Dax_Fame]

People who don't understand