Dreamcast Computer

Unidentified Assilant · Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:06 am

I was thinking about building a Dreamcast computer, with the following additions.

Replacing the Dreamcast controller ports with 16-pin ports and making new joypads.
Outputting from VGA instead of from an RF Adaptor
Running off a Laptop battery
Having a built in Keyboard and Mouse (but I don't know where to get Dreamcast mouses)
Putting in a hard-drive instead of a VMU for saves
Putting a normal CD drive to replace the GD
Putting on Linux (but it will always boot)

Any ideas?

Post by **gannon** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:50 am

Only problem I'd see is with the hdd. Unless you allready have a schematic and code for it, it'll be a bit difficult. Odds are you'll need to interface it with the vmu slot with a PIC.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 8:32 am

For the keyboard and mouse thing you can buy adapters that let you use PS/2. If you want buy the 4mb memory card you can also get the memory card to PC adapter and us that. Lastly what would you use the 16 pin connector for?

JackFrost22 · Post by **JackFrost22** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:50 pm

why not use NetBSD they have a dc port that supports the hdd

Unidentified Assilant · Fri Feb 18, 2005 5:30 am

I'm not sure why I want 16-pin ports... I might just keep the original. The main idea was because I am going to mod the first controller port anyway because the VMU for the first controller will be built in (which will be the hard-drive)

Dark Savant0 · Post by **Dark Savant0** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 4:27 pm

The HDD for saves would be impossible unless you somehow made a driver for linux to move the saves.

16pin ports, probably wouldn't work.

If you put in a cd drive, then the DC wont ever read GD-ROM games. So unless you are just using linux, it wont work.

Linux is not as advanced on the DC as you might think.

ninjai · Post by **ninjai** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 1:07 pm

Dark Savant0 wrote:The HDD for saves would be impossible unless you somehow made a driver for linux to move the saves.

16pin ports, probably wouldn't work.

If you put in a cd drive, then the DC wont ever read GD-ROM games. So unless you are just using linux, it wont work.

Linux is not as advanced on the DC as you might think.

He said he wanted to make it a computer so I would asume he does not intend to play games anyways

and you could put a hdd in the dreamcast and save games to it if you built the controller, and wrote the firmware.
jusk have the output that feeds into the vmu sent to the controller and then have that data write to the hard drive. a lot of work but notimpossible.

Post by **bicostp** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:42 pm

But if he installs a Dreamcast emulator, then he could play any game he wanted! No Video Game-PC hack is complete without the accompanying emulator to bring the project full-circle!

Unidentified Assilant · Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:42 am

There are there reasons why I'm not doing this

1. I've lost intrest
2. I have a WinXP Computer in my Room anyway, so why the Dreamcast be one?
3. I no longer have a 'cast

The third reason is the main reason I ain't doing this

Post by **bicostp** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 1:52 pm

Unidentified Assilant wrote:There are there reasons why I'm not doing this

1. I've lost intrest
2. I have a WinXP Computer in my Room anyway, so why the Dreamcast be one?
3. I no longer have a 'cast

The third reason is the main reason I ain't doing this

1. There will be other projects.
2.

3. Why did you get rid of it?

Alchemist · Post by **Alchemist** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 2:49 pm

The main reason nobody has done this is it's completely impractical - you'd have to write yourself large parts of an OS. DC linux doesn't accomodate many of the things you were talking about (and runs slow as hell), and BSD's even more useless.

cpt_pancakes · Post by **cpt_pancakes** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:46 pm

get an xbox. it's easier and will do more. They are only 150 nowadays!

Post by **bicostp** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:21 pm

Alchemist wrote:The main reason nobody has done this is it's completely impractical - you'd have to write yourself large parts of an OS. DC linux doesn't accomodate many of the things you were talking about (and runs slow as hell), and BSD's even more useless.

But you can replace the DC guts with those of a mini-ITX system.

soundwave · Post by **soundwave** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:33 pm

bicostp wrote:
Alchemist wrote:The main reason nobody has done this is it's completely impractical - you'd have to write yourself large parts of an OS. DC linux doesn't accomodate many of the things you were talking about (and runs slow as hell), and BSD's even more useless.
But you can replace the DC guts with those of a mini-ITX system.

Yeah, a total re-gutting of it with a mini-ITX seems a bit less farfetched, there's been wackier places for those boards in the past.

Post by **bicostp** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:38 pm

^ Like a Commodore SX64, a Red Hat Linux box, an ammunission box, and an E.T. doll?

Go to www.mini-itx.com if you want to see more weird places for PCs.