Depends on how much you're willing to spend and what you want to do with it. Since want to play emulators, you shouldn't get a DuoQ. The XenoGC is the other budget option, and while version 2 of it supports multiple games on a single disc, I have no idea whether or not it fully supports homebrew now or is still limited in it's abilities.
Guaranteed choices are the Viper and qoob chips. Although a bit pricey in comparison to the DuoQ and XenoGC, they'll more than get the job done.
The best chip to get would either be the ViperGC Extreme or qoob Pro. Last I heard, the ViperGC Extreme still doesn't fully support all it's onboard features, and the video forcing may not work still. I have a qoob Pro myself, and it works well. I personally prefer the qoob chips, although the USB ripping capabilities of the ViperGC Extreme would be nice to have if only for added convenience.
So basically, don't bother with the DuoQ and maybe the XenoGC (since emulators may not work without a workaround). Get a chip from the Viper or qoob line-up, since you'll have the most success with those in terms of homebrew and video forcing. I recommend the qoob Pro or SX if you're interested if taking a look at those.
Note: The XenoGC workaround is to install a power switch on the XenoGC so that you can turn it on and off while the GameCube is on.
I have the Nester emulator ready on my computer with some nes games to play. I wanted to get these games working on my gamecube and it seems the only opition is a chip. From what you have told me there is no point in getting a duo q. And probley not worth getting a Xeno Gc.
So i left with the opition of a viper or Qoob!
I take it both chips support the opition to play NTSC games on a PAL console with out messing around just straight boot of the NTSC game on the PAL gamecube system?
But reading about the Qoob chips it says you need (*) BBA required (**) SD card adapter required (***) Original Action replay needed once.
So i sounds like its best 2 get a ViperGC Extreme?
Sounds the best sounds like it will have lots for me 2 do and keep me happy with my gamecube.
And i think it will do all i want it 2 do!
Play any games from around the world on my PAL gamecube
Play emulators
Faster boating of orignal disk
+ Direct boot of all media, without swapping!
+ Supports all regions PAL / USA / JAP
+ On-board MP3 Player included
+ Super easy USB upgrade system (USB transfer cable included)
+ DVD Disc upgradeable
+ Network(*) upgradeable
+ Bios selection/control supported
+ Supports all retail hardware (DOL-001 USA, JPN, EUR and DOL-102)
+ Fastboot of original discs
+ Compatible with "GCOS" and other IPL replacements, allowing homebrew development via SD card (**) and/or network (*)
+ Comfortable easy to use Windows PC flash software (in download section)
+ Supports homebrew and open-source coding
+ Integrated media compatabilty check (checks all sectors of inserted media)
+ Streaming Audio Fix
+ Integrated status LED
+ Easy Installation, only 6 wires (no soldering on qoob chip required, special cable included)
+ Multicolor graphical user interface for easy operation
additional product image
+ Supports Mini/DVD-R, Mini/DVD+R
+ 16MBit on-board Flash to store homebrew applications
+ High secure - low power Actel FPGA
+ Packed in a stable cardboard box including all wires, 3D Sticker and USB transfer cable
+ Supports multi-game discs (game compilations on one disc)
+ Supports multi-disc games (games on more than one disc)
+ Supports Panasonic Gamecube
+ Supports Action Replay cheat codes (***)
(*) BBA required
(**) SD card adapter required
(***) Original Action replay needed once
Ok then. The deal with the BBA, SD card, and AR is that the qoob Pro and SX have features that rely on those pieces of hardware/software, however they aren't required for normal use. The BBA isn't necessary unless you plan on making back-ups, not to mention the qoob Pro can be flashed via USB anyway. As for the SD card adapter, there's no reason to use this either since you can flash apps directly to the onboard memory, removing the need to load from an SD card. Lastly, the AR's cheat engine can be ripped to the qoob Pro's onboard memory so that you can use the qoob Pro as a cheat device. That's why it says it's only needed once.
I have a qoob Pro, and I've only used the BBA for making back-ups. I've never flashed over a network, run apps, or any of that since I can just flash via USB and load it straight from the chip.
Quote:I take it both chips support the opition to play NTSC games on a PAL console with out messing around just straight boot of the NTSC game on the PAL gamecube system?
Last I heard, the ViperGC Extreme's BIOS had a problem that prevented it from forcing the video (PAL to NTSC or NTSC to PAL). Strange, considering the ViperGC's BIOS did it just fine. The qoob chips both support video forcing and it works great based on my experience. Some people have resorted to running GCoS on their ViperGC Extreme chips to avoid the video forcing issues.
Quote:Faster boating of orignal disk
The qoob chips boot just as fast as the original BIOS. I have no idea how long the ViperGC chips take, but I'm willing to bet boot speeds are about equal.
I noticed the Ninja Mod wasn't mentioned.
If you have a bba, you can use that to load up dols, or it can run them off of disk. You also can flash it's bios, which you can't do with the Xeno.
I'm planning on getting the Ninja Mod soon myself, since its cheaper then the qoobs, will still allow me to play dols, and I can flash it's firmware if needed.