Not Bad for $40! (PowKiddy X39 Review)
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2024
- At about $40, the new PowKiddy X39 certainly looks pretty decent. So let's do a deep-dive review to see whether this device's performance and user interface is worth the price of an evening at the movie theater.
Buy one here: www.banggood.com/custlink/Dv3...
use code "BGRuss06" to bring the price down to $40.99
Coupon expires July 31st, 2022
Thanks to Banggood who sent this device to review. All opinions are my own and no money was exchanged in making this video. The site is also hosting a Hobby Day Sales Calendar which you can see here for additional deals: ban.ggood.vip/120kT
Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
00:57 tech specs
01:45 unboxing and impressions
04:50 software and game testing
07:54 external controllers and HDMI
10:54 adding your own games
14:41 summary (likes & dislikes)
16:34 conclusion
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#PowKiddy #retrogaming #retrohandhelds - Ігри
![Powkiddy X39 - SNES не пройдёт! [Консоль с Aliexpress]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e8S6UwMS-5M/mqdefault.jpg)
![Powkiddy X39 - SNES не пройдёт! [Консоль с Aliexpress]](/img/tr.png)
![The Best Retro Handheld Under $90 Right Now [PowKiddy X55]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GRWvXiwTn-w/mqdefault.jpg)
Hi everyone, I've seen a few comments and questions about custom firmware for this device. Unfortunately I don't think it's very likely for two reasons. First, the firmware resides on the internal storage (including the unoptimized emulator cores), and PowKiddy is not apt to share their source code with community developers. So at best we could maybe see some user interface improvements, but the rest would require some serious reverse engineering. And secondly, I am not sure there is enough community developer interest to put in that amount of effort (I'm secretly hoping that by making this video, someone will become more interested!). I think this chip might be sufficient for improved SNES gameplay if properly optimized, but I wouldn't recommend buying this device specifically with the hope that we'll see custom firmware on it.
What's the game being played on 6:40? It looks like it's new.
Kinda disappointing tbh. This device looks like a ton of wasted potential.
@@svcross-do Yeah, it's only a couple months old now! Still haven't beaten it yet, though.
Hi, od Beta dev (citral) here, you'll never see a real custom firmware for an action CPU device, because they don't publish specsheets nor anything (while Ingenic does, we have the low level programming manuals for all of their SOCs). So yes it's some sort of Linux running there, but probably completely closed source.
@@pranze3484 thanks for the clarification citral!
I feel like they teased their high end X28 and then went radio silent. Powkiddy and Anbernic are gonna have to decide if they want to compete with AYN and Aya Neo.
They'd priced way lower. Not direct competition.
I think they can't compete, look at the rg552 from anbernic, and the supposedly x28 was even lower-specs than the odin, and probably more expensive. they make money from the hardware, and today with the shortages making money that way is probably not the best way, they can't lower their prices (in relation to performance) to directly compete.
X28 is the same hardware as the X18S, it's just another form factor. In other words, it uses the Tiger T618 chip.
Not same market
And retroid
Just ordered the Miyoo Mini and there's no chance I'll ever buy this, butttt here I am because I adore your channel. Cheers
This device seems great. Perfect for someone that wants to get into retro gaming but not wanting to have to set anything up and wants to stay well below the $100 starting point of the the Retriod pocket 2+ or RK3326 systems. Thinking about getting one for my niece (12 years old) that always plays with my Retroid 2+.
the morbius joke got a good laugh out of me, thank you for that
I bought one last week and I’ve been playing it a lot. I really like the look of it. I used two different nintendo switch usb controllers and both worked.
Hey buddy I've got the x70 which I think is just the bigger brother of the x39 but the life of me I cannot get this machine to not show all the games that were preinstalled on the SD card that came with it I have changed the SD card for a blank 32gb one and I have updated media playlist many times but all old ROMs still show
Any advice on how to get rid of them so I just have a plain slate
Any help would be amazing it's for my disabled brother so trying to load it with only ROMs he knows and would play
Thank you so much
I got one, not a bad handheld! I especially love the build quality, it has some weight doesn't feel cheap. I also like the fact that it has a 4 inch display, a little larger than that standard size of 3.5 inches. The interface looks almost identical to that of the Powkiddy A20. Adding roms is super easy.
Hey buddy I've got the x70 which I think is just the bigger brother of the x39 but the life of me I cannot get this machine to not show all the games that were preinstalled on the SD card that came with it I have changed the SD card for a blank 32gb one and I have updated media playlist many times but all old ROMs still show
Any advice on how to get rid of them so I just have a plain slate
Any help would be amazing it's for my disabled brother so trying to load it with only ROMs he knows and would play
Thank you so much
Is it good for GBA and GBC?
wow that powkiddy is pretty good thanks for the review Russ 😊
I like the shell. Not expecting great performance for $40
Twin sticks, stacked shoulders, smaller bezels, dual speakers that aren't covered by hands, and most importantly, a board that has reasonable power that can be developed for. Love the slab shape, it can fit larger batteries.
Great review! God bless you and yours. Praying for you.
For $35 Dollars to be able to play Sega Genesis is pretty good! Thanks for the video Russ!
Thanks for the new review Russ! I agree with you, I'd rather spend an extra $20 or so to get better functionality. But they did a good job with the physical aesthetic on this nevertheless (agree the UI is dated though lol)
Hey not to be a bother, but do you know of a better device with a large screen for 60ish dollars? I have the v90, and love it, but if I can get something like that in a larger screen I'd be pumped. Freakin' cataracts! :-(
Did you ever find something that fit your needs?
Even tho i have no intention or interest in buying something like this your videos alone are enough to keep me watching till the end...#entertaining
Thanks for watching regardless!
I'm really surprised you didn't mention the PowKiddy V90 during this review considering they're at the same price point!
REALLY surprised with the amount of IO on this little thing! Most handhelds don't bother with USB-A, as C ports can be used for peripherals and such, tho perhaps this is more user-friendly in general..
I've been looking to find an emulation device for under half of what I got my rg351m for, was thinking about miyoo mini or the Q something or other by powkiddy.
Cool vid tho, keep it up!
Thank you Russ great review
I think this will be great for my disabled brother who loves genesis mainly
Hoping I can add game art to titles as he cannot read so goes off of visual aids
Thank you again love this channel
Personally I think if I was going to buy someone a gift regardless if they knew much about emulation Id probably get them something that I would use myself and spend the 10 minutes to show them...getting someone a gift and explaining all of its downfalls are mainly because its cheap isn't a hallmark of a great gift.
I got my mom an anbernic 350p for that reason. I'd probably get the 351p for myself but she's not into 3d games so I knew the extra power wasn't something she needed. The 350 while not a powerhouse had a good look and feel and felt like something that might last awhile
Great video, I liked it so much that I actually bought the console! I have a question though about adding games that I was hoping you could help me with. I have tried adding games but they don't even show up on the list. I have put the zipped games in a folder, just as they are on the card that came with the console, but as I said before, they don't even show up on the list when I turn the console on. Do you have any idea why the games I add don't even show up?? Thanks again for the video!
Taking inflation into account these things are going for the price of those cheap tiger electronic toys went for in the 1980s and 1990s. I would have lost my mind if I got this handheld as a kid.
That's a good point. I remember that Golden Axe on the Genesis was $60 when it launched, it's crazy what you can get for $60 nowadays (not even accounting for inflation!)
I saw that an X39 Pro is releasing, are you doing a review of that soon? I'm looking for a cheaper gem, and hope that the "pro" is a bit of an update.
Aspect ratio is always kind of funny. Coming from a PAL territory, nothing looks precisely right to me at 4:3. PAL CRTs had 576 lines, to NTSC's 480, so our screens were a little taller. Our screen aspect ratio was closer to 5:4, and things made for PAL first often had closer to square pixels. NTSC screens had much more rectangular pixels. Usually this meant that NTSC games and TV shows were letterboxed for us. Sometimes they were stretched vertically to use those lines, and then TVs could do weird things to the geometry on their own. The 50Hz signal and lower framerate we suffered was rough, sure, but the display aspect ratio and pixel aspect ratio mishmash we got was pretty rough, too.
All this said, the 8:7 rendering doesn't look awful to me. A little skinny, but not as skinny to my PAL eyes as to your NTSC eyes. Even the stretched look on this handheld isn't terrible. The screen definitely isn't 16:9, so it's not stretched that much.
I guess, in the end, the venerable V90 still rules this price point. It's a shame, because the X39 seems like such a well put together device, by comparison. It's not premium, but the build quality looks good. The V90 gets solidly trounced in performance by things like the Miyoo Mini, but if you want a cheap handheld to shut the kids up, and you can get it at a good price (I caught my V90 on sale on AliExpress for $29), it's still the best budget option. I wouldn't even be mad if PowKiddy would just put the V90's internals into a non-folding horizontal or vertical bar. I realise the Q90 exists, but nobody seems to be talking about that one these days, despite it being identical in specs. Was there some serious qualitiy issue with it not shared by the V90 or something?
The X39 truly does have that PlayGo / PocketGo 2 vibe! Build quality is top notch. I wouldn't call it the next step up because it has poor SNES emulation while the PocketGo 2 has much better SNES emulation. Also, you can swap out the battery in the PocketGo 2, you can't with the X39. I know what to expect from this X39 so I have mine for up to GENESIS emulation and playing video files. I like mine for what it can do.
Was thinking about getting this but wanted to know if those shoulder buttons work for other systems like GBA?
Is there a different OS or whatever we could use in it? Get some better performance?
The USB ports read data. I've used it to transfer roms to device without ejecting msd card. That said, it needs some CFW and some emulator ports esp for SNES. As is, it's a decent Sega 8-bit/16-bit and GameBoy (all eras) machine, with caveats on anything else. Which is fine by me but also kind of a tease when Powkiddy has the excellent V90 and Q90 out there for similar pricing...
It's that screen though, right? The large screen is what I'm interested in. I have the v90, it's just a tad too small for me. I have about 60 bucks to spend right now, was thinking of saving up for a Max 2, but honestly I just want to play Defender of the Crown on GBA handheld without having to put on my glasses.
To be clear I have 60 in my "To Be Silly With" budget. Lol. Not 60 total. 🙂
Hey buddy I've got the x70 which I think is just the bigger brother of the x39 but the life of me I cannot get this machine to not show all the games that were preinstalled on the SD card that came with it I have changed the SD card for a blank 32gb one and I have updated media playlist many times but all old ROMs still show
Any advice on how to get rid of them so I just have a plain slate
Any help would be amazing it's for my disabled brother so trying to load it with only ROMs he knows and would play
Thank you so much
Anyone know what the most powerful fanless (no cooling fan) retro handheld is at the moment? Thanks.
Have you ever looked into some of the older open source handhelds like the gp2x wiz, caanoo, openpandora or dragonbox pyra
Dig the intro music. Strange Things vibe.
A powkiddy V90 comparison would be a cool video.
oh man that looks nice for pow kiddy
I have the updated X45 and it's improved in some ways but not much. Great for GBA. Completed Minish Cap on it and I have to say for $45 I'm happy with it.
Did you try connecting the power cable for the controllers?
Is this better or worse than the q90? Think they cost around the same?
This looks very much like the PocketGo V2 externally, are the shells the same size, or completely unrelated? They obviously can't be the same, since the D-pad and analog stick were the other way around in the PocketGo... EDIT: 4:19 nevermind...
When it comes to cheap emulators to give as gifts, which is the better choice: this or thier clamshell V-90? (Or is it Q-90? I forget the name)
I brought this on Ali express for my disabled brother but only just found out there is the x70 which is a 7 inch version of the x39 haha I wish I had looked about a bit more as he would definitely be better with a 7 inch screen
But presently he has a genesis handheld which only has a 2.5 inch screen on so a 4.3 inch screen will be so much better regardless
Thanks again for the video Russ
Gonna come back to this with custom firmware? Usually a better experience than just out of the box.
That's crazy for $40!
That UI makes me very happy for some reason and I don't even know why
Usually the X range devices are not great, but this device is not so bad considering the price. Yeah great value. Thanks for a great share as always👍🏾
The standard Super Nintendo or Sega Genisis usb 3.0 controller worked on the x51
Powkiddy talks about 4:3 aspect ratios, "Genesis does what Nintendon't!"
Might be okay as a beginner’s emulation device, especially for kids. I might end up getting one for my nephew.
Permisi kak mau tanya apakah powkiddy x39 pro lancar main bloody Roar 2 game PS 1 ?
So when did we start using 2007 for a long time ago? 😩 It seems like yesterday.
thought exactly the same
For a newbie this is more than enough
Could you not add a version retroarch to an SD card and run alternative emulators?
To think that this thing has exactly the same screen size and exactly the same resolution as PSP...makes me wonder when we will get a PSP-sized device capable of actual PSP emulation?
Some of it actually, but priced too much. Many modern day smartphones can run psp games with ppsp with no issues, but yeah, no d pad
Thanks for the review! Too bad the hdmi out and external controller didn't work.
Hey anyone know what file type the ps1 titles are at all
Just wanted to know so I can get a few ready for when mine arrives for my brother
Thanks all
It sort of reminds me of an unoptimized Q90. And the the Q90 has become one of my favorite devices to carry around with me if I want something to diddle with while I'm waiting somewhere. This is a pass for me, but I can see the appeal, or it could be good one for kids that requires no set up.
Do they ever test these systems out before shipping? They really aren't trying, even for a cheap device. Like don't include features that don't work. My GP2X from 2006 plays SNES flawlessly lol.
Another great video, still happy with my Odin!
Nah, they'd rather release these with buggy software and make the community do the hard work. Doesn't help that people buy them anyway, which just encourages them to not try.
Thank you Russ. Great review. Excellent entry level device. I was able to add games easy. Great value for money and helped me wait till i was ready to get a decent device RGB Max 2 from pooooowkiddy!! That is next level digitation..
Dude! That morbius hit!🤣
Looking on the bang-for-your-bucks-factor, is there any reason to choose this one over the 'golden classic' budget king PowKiddy V90 ? 🤔
Just size. Some people find the V90 too small!
Hi I want a emulation station no screen needed, arkade are at the top of the list late80.and up. Anyboby?
I've been wondering, what is the best way to tell if a screen is OCA laminated just by looking at it? I don't think I'm familiar enough to make that distinction.
Angles. Should be pretty easy to see if there's any space between the screen and the glass/plastic... Unfortunately just as easy to hide it, using certain angles and lighting in 2D-pictures, so yeah... not always easy when buying online I guess.
i've just bought one of these and i'm impressed. Does anyone know which mame romset it uses to work in CPS? I've tried Mame4all (037b5) romset but it doesn't work
Good product from X series
But I want to ask how to fix a broken screen for the X39 Pro
And where can I get it?
Thank you for your reviews
any news? I have the same problem, with hdmi I can see all normal on another screen but black screen in the device. Maybe reinstall original firmware via hdmi but where is it?
Which consoles support? Psx nes?
I like the look of it.
does it support any cheats (Game Genie/etc) ?
can it use wireless controllers if you insert a USB wireless adapter?
yes this handheld was a disappointment but at $40 i didnt expect much..i'd like to hear your thoughts on the gamemax A380..maybe someday😎👍
I got the same fuzzy screen for HDMI output. I solved it by connecting it before turning on device. Works like a charm.
SNES works fine on mine. My only criticism is the incorrect naming of the games. Just load your own collection to sort that issue.
Hey buddy I've got the x70 which I think is just the bigger brother of the x39 but the life of me I cannot get this machine to not show all the games that were preinstalled on the SD card that came with it I have changed the SD card for a blank 32gb one and I have updated media playlist many times but all old ROMs still show
Any advice on how to get rid of them so I just have a plain slate
Any help would be amazing it's for my disabled brother so trying to load it with only ROMs he knows and would play
Thank you so much
@@Jamesh2263 Did you try to delete from within console os?
@@digitizer3627 I haven't no how do I connect it to pc as I am unsure as it only came with USB c and that only changes the device when connected to pc
Really Interested to hear back from you thanks so much for such a quick reply buddy
@@digitizer3627 do you get to see internal storage when it is hooked up correctly to a pc unsure on how to connect it myself lol
I'm not dumb I swear
@@Jamesh2263 No worries my friend. What I meant is to say is to try to delete the game from the device itself. When u see your game list. You have an option to add to favourites. There should be an option to delete. Its a manual task as u have to do it one by one. If that option has been removed from the X70 then i think ur stuck with them.
is this custom-firmware friendly?
If the position of the analog stick and d-pad were swapped, and the resolution and aspect ratios were better for the games, I'd pick this up without hesitation.
I have found that with SD cards you need to reformat them when adding new files and folders. I couldn't tell you why, I've just always had to.
Does resident evil 2 & 3 run well on it?
Any idea how to make the R2 and L2 buttons of the powkiddy v90 usable ?
Also, please make a video about the details of the Aya neo air plus i3 when there's more information out. I am thinking of preordering one when available but my main worry is the battery size, compared to the AYN loki mini pro.
Just looking for a GBA with a bigger screen for my old eyes. This looks to fit the bill.
Did you bought it? I want one for GBC and GBA only. Im not convinced on the V90
@@emaheiwa8174 Yes, it's great. It plays as well as the v90 but with a bigger screen and nice thumbstick. I am about to buy another one for my nephew for Christmas.
È la prima volta che guardo un suo video. Anche io ho acquistato questa console, ma ho riscontrato un problema con i giochi Playstation. Volevo farle una domanda per sapere quale formato legge i giochi Playstation?? Perché ho usato delle iso ma non funziona in questa console. Le faccio i complimenti per il canale e ringrazio in anticipo.
There's a lot of knowledgeable people here, so it might be the best place to ask!
I'm looking to gift my mother with the easiest to use handheld emulator possible specifically for just NES, SNES, and GameBoy.
All I want is for her to be able to play the Mario Lands with a backlit screen and a decent battery.
Any recommendations?
What happens when you turn on the machine without sd card ?.
Looks like a decent piece of hardware for the price if someone with the know-how was able to come up with some custom firmware, and assuming that the SNES emulation problems are a software issue that could be fixed. Don't know much about the power of that processor, no idea how realistic that is.
As it is, though, hard to imagine it being a good pick even as a gift when for $20 more you can get someone a Miyoo Mini which, warts and all, has some of the most dummy proof custom firmware around and the horsepower to play SNES and PS1 at a "just works" level.
Which game is at 12:54 ?
There are way too many compromises at this lower budget. I'd take a Miyoo Mini over this for sure.
Hi i have a question, does the miyoo mini have any tv output?
i think pixel distortion give it an authentic feel of what a retro screen would look like lol
To be honest the weird screen resolution and mono sound are a bit offputting for me and all those software and configuration problems are the nail in the coffin for me. For that price I'd stick with the V90.
The buttons i think can be used for the miyoo mini black transparent version. Heheh just saying
So Russ, what's the best handheld at the $40 mark?
I’d say this one if you’re willing to live with its shortcomings, or the PowKiddy V90 with custom firmware if you want something more pocketable and with a clamshell.
@@RetroGameCorps Thanks for the response! Your channel is the absolute best ☺️
I got the same exact one and I like it alot and it has alot of games on it and the only thing I don't like about is that it's heavy and I could only play for twenty minutes and my wrists started to getting tired! I was fantastic to play Castlevania sympathy of the night and Power Rangers on the Playstation one emulator and if you change the sound to mono it sounds perfectly fine.
HDMI worked great for me as well. but controllers still dont work
I really wanted to love the playgo.
It was small but felt great in the hand but the build quality was lacking.
Analogue stick constantly moved the cursor on its own, which I had to disable physically.
Then the battery died and would not charge.
So I ordered a new battery and same thing happened.
Oh well
this kinda has nothing to do with the video but i'm sorry either way
@@certifiedbruhmoment85 It's about the same form factor. I like my play go but I can't dim the screen so I've shelved it for now.
Is anyone having trouble with the saving? Some of the save states here won't well, save, and even using the in-game save system doesn't work for some games, but the saves are saved in the folder as stated in the video. I like it, but if this issue persists, it might collect dust.
IF the screen wasn't so small and low res this looks like it would be amazing for what it offers.
Hi Russ, I got this device just recently, and I’ve ran into issues when it comes to save states. Some of the games I have on here would not even save, whether it be in-game or save state. A deal breaker, if you ask me.
Hey buddy I've got the x70 which I think is just the bigger brother of the x39 but the life of me I cannot get this machine to not show all the games that were preinstalled on the SD card that came with it I have changed the SD card for a blank 32gb one and I have updated media playlist many times but all old ROMs still show
Any advice on how to get rid of them so I just have a plain slate
Any help would be amazing it's for my disabled brother so trying to load it with only ROMs he knows and would play
Thank you so much
Pretty sure that's a psp screen, which was great in 2005. It does use same size and resolution.
So, V90 still rules the cheap and cheerful segment
Searched a bit and stated that it has a quad core chipset, but can't even emulate SNES properly? Hmm...
Are there atari games
Do you think an average 5 year old would be able to play this if i did all the setup, and narrowed the ROM list down to a few dozen appropriate games? Seems like an amazing trial to see if your kid would destroy a switch or not
I'm going to do exactly that! I hope he doesn't break it in the first month.
Still hoping someone figures out a way to get the pi zero 2 working inside the powkiddy v90 that folding design is so good
I love the clamshell design!!
They are working on a new version of the X18S. It won't use a Pi, but it use the Tiger T618. The new one is basically the same, but with supposedly better buttons and perhaps a better screen.
You can have a look in their community tab and give some suggestions.
ua-cam.com/channels/cdaxLFqkLJ_qO7HGGNX-6A.html
@@Pridetoons well the point of the project is to fit a tiny sbc inside a tiny clamshell device what you're proposing is trying to fit a bigger board inside a smaller device the pi zero 2 offers enough for a clamshell device like the v90 much better than whats inside the device by default which is just slow for emulation
Did you try to hook up the controller to both usb-ports?
Yep, and I also tried a variety of controllers beyond the two on screen. No luck.
@@RetroGameCorps Aw, chucks!
Cheers Russ, flawed but I do really like the look of the thing. Shame about the firmware situation, I'd get one to give away as a present and enjoy 'setting it up' for a month or two if its potential could be released,, someone would think I'd spent proper money on them. :) As is it's a tougher sell. Nearly Powkiddy, nearly.
I've heard this has trouble with Pokemon in-game saves and has trouble with in-game events
its like an anbernic device had a baby with a psp
Does it play ps1 good?
Not able to map shoulder buttons? No dice.
This actually looks good for powkitty....but they just keep pushing stuff with the same chips out. Maybe drop it down to one or two devices a year. They have this pattern of pushing stuff out before everyone else to have a powerful hand held but everything else suffers....then the fix it later