What would I need to have a working PC Engine setup?

[MikeFishcake]

The PC Engine has intrigued me for quite a while. Been reading reviews, playing some games on emulator (mostly bizarre japanese ones) and have enjoyed them so I'm looking at going 'legit' and getting hold of one.

I know there's different versions (TurboGrafx and so on) but it's the little white Japanese one which appeals to me the most.

So, from that, what would I need to make sure I've got a working setup?

Aside from the obvious stuff like the console, controller and some games:

- What power supply would I need?
- How would I output the display to my 32" LCD TV?
- Anything else I'd need to bear in mind when getting one?

Console Passion have this one on sale for £95: http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/product ... sole-loose

I know that's more expensive than buying private, but are the region and AV modifications worth it, considering I don't want to do any modding myself?

[Joey]

Power supply wise you use the original cable and a stepdown, or what most people, like me, do is use a Megadrive 1 power supply.

The original white PC engines are RF only, unless modded, so pretty much won't work on most TV's over here and if they do will look rubbish. So an AV mod is vital.

The Core Grafx models (later Jap models, same size but grey) come with AV out as standard which is why I got one of those.

Region modded is a bonus but not essential as all the best games came out in Japan anyway.

I picked my Core Grafx up up for £25 off eBay last year so they can be had for cheap.

[MikeFishcake]

Power supply wise you use the original cable and a stepdown, or what most people, like me, do is use a Megadrive 1 power supply.

The original white PC engines are RF only, unless modded, so pretty much won't work on most TV's over here and if they do will look rubbish. So an AV mod is vital.

The Core Grafx models (later Jap models, same size but grey) come with AV out as standard which is why I got one of those.

Region modded is a bonus but not essential as all the best games came out in Japan anyway.

I picked my Core Grafx up up for £25 off eBay last year so they can be had for cheap.

Cheers - Sounds like the Core Grafx would be a more sensible option.

I've got a Megadrive 1 anyway so that would be ace, assuming the PSU is the same for the Core Grafx?

Also, the other PCE accessories such as controllers and multitaps work on the Core Grafx, yes?

[themightymartin]

I was shopping around for a Core Grafx a while back and found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pc-engine-Turbo-Core-Grafx-Video-Games-Console-Set-W-UK-PSU-/200697012664?pt=UK_VideoGames_VideoGameConsoles_VideoGameConsoles&hash=item2eba7961b8#ht_2448wt_1037

Not sure how good a deal it is but it uses a UK power supply (no stepdown required) and runs both PC Engine and Turbografx games.

[simes]

Nope, unless it's been modified it will only run Jap games as the Core Grafx like MikeFishcake said, is just a grey version of the PC Engine with AV output. It's the one I own and certainly isn't compatible with US games.

[gman72]

I should imagine your priority ought to be a working PC Engine.

[Evander]

I have a white PC Engine not modded, RF works okay on my old Hitachi CRT. Not the best picture ever but good enough to have a blast on Final Match Tennis every now and then.

[HEAVYface]

i have a core pc engine, it works with the megadrive 1 power supply (and the jaguar one come to that)

you need decent av cable and one of those scart adapters. i found it gave a better picture going through the rgb scart socket than pluging the red white and yellow cables directly into the AV ports for some reason ....although its still nowhere near as good as a proper RGB signal from my other consoles.

that could be dependent on the make of TV too - i'm using a sony trinitron CRT.

[speedlolita]

Oh god, I can't imagine why anyone would pay £95 for a standard PC-E! Can also get a Duo R for that.

I'd say pay no more than £50 if you can.

[r0jaws]

I have a Jap Core Grafx PC engine a friend of mine in Japan sent over. Their PSUs run on 110v, however, a Mega drive PSU works perfectly over here.
Mine also outputs composite and I have the cable, so no problems there. get hold of a multitap if you can, you'll need it for multiplayer games. I paid about a tenner for mine not long ago.
Great piece of kit, I love mine.

[oli_lar]

Wouldn't bother getting a TG16 you only really need it for RPGs, and most of those are on CD (region free anyway.

You could try Yahoo Japan for a cheap bundle. Funnily enough I picked up a Core Grafx that had a PAL RF mod from there - for £1.

If I were you I'd get a Core Grafx for now - you should be able to pick one up for less than £50. You can always trade it in for a Duo if you want to try CD games later.

The ultimate PCE set up is a Supergrafx connected to a Super CD unit (aka the 'briefcase') via a Rau-30 unit with an arcade card pro on hand. Its a messy set up, but its nearly as expensive as the higher end DUOs and plays absolutely everything bar US TG16 hucards.

[MikeFishcake]

Thanks everyone for all their advice. Much appreciated!