Has anyone installed windows (or linux) on an Atari VCS and been able to run GOG games on it? Any level of success or specific issues?

I don't have a VCS, however looking at the specs it is possible.

AMD w/Ryzen, 8Gb ram, and the core default OS is a Debian based Linux, so it already has linux on it. The PC and customizable notes suggests it's a tiny form-factor hobbyist PC board.

But other than aesthetics you'll get similar stats from a chromebook or Pi4 probably.

I don't see what real difference it would make, as it's still running x86 arch under the hood, innit?

With the AMD chip, i would assume so. Otherwise it wouldn't tote 'Windows' being an option.

Specs (from wiki) are: The Atari VCS features a Ryzen-based AMD R1606G APU with two cores and four threads (SMT) that clocks at 2.6 GHz up to 3.5 GHz[47] and a Vega 3 graphic solution (GCN 5) supporting OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan, with an HDMI 2.0 connection supporting 4K screens at 60 Hz with HDCP 2.2 protection. The VCS 800 features 8GB of DDR4 2400 (4GB for the VCS 400 model) upgradeable to 32GB, and an internal eMMC storage of 32GB with an available M.2 SSD SATA slot to increase the internal storage. Four USB 3.1 ports are provided, enabling external storage and support for accessories. The Atari VCS features one Gigabit Ethernet connection, WiFi and BluTooth.

There are instructions online to install windows (dual boot). I was considering upgrading the RAM and adding a drive to the available M.2 slot for installing Windows.

It seems like that would be all I need to then install Galaxy and get a bunch of my GOG games running there (display is big TV instead of PC monitor). I do have some linux games, maybe i can find a doc on how to get into their OS to install something... or just install linux on there. I wonder if I can also run VirtualBox on a windows install on there...

Just wondering if anyone has played with any of that on an Atari VCS (I got it for Christmas).

Hmm curious. If it is sufficiently powerful enough and cheap enough option it may become a goto for a cheap base computer model... Plug in a keyboard mouse and an OS and you got a PC and gaming system for cheaper than my ABS Barebone system back in 2006. (Minus the hard hard drive).

This is assuming, that they didn't go super cheap and it would wear down quickly or whatnot. Have to see 6-12 months down the line if people were complaining or what the reviews are.

ReviewTechUSA was commented on the VCS being discontinued. So how much interest you can get in the VCS will be... uncertain.

Man, now I'm jealous. I have to buy all my toys for myself these days. ;)

I got a mini PC. Compared to the Atari VCS, this Mini PC:
* Is more powerful (I'm pretty sure about that)
* Comes with Windows (but I installed Linux anyway)
* Doesn't come with those Atari games
* Is more expensive

(There's also cheaper mini PCs, typically with Celeron processors, but they're less powerful, as you'd expect.)

Again depends on what you need to do. Having a more expensive gaming machine or used for something that needs more power, or plugging into a more powerful machine and giving it jobs while using a weaker machine for trivial tasks seems a good balance. It isnt anymore spending $3,000 for a laptop getting 400Mhz 32Mb machine and a 400Mb drive.

Half my time is spent on a flashed Chromebook for a fraction of the price. Probably weaker than your mini-PC, but other than a few missing keyboard keys it performs great. Actually i tend to VNC into another stronger machine that's going to be on all the time to give it tasks.

Do you have specific things you do with your Mini-PC? Games it performs as a baseline?

Your flashed Chromebook is probably comparable to my small laptop, except that my small laptop is not actually a Chromebook. (It actually came with Windows, but I would argue that machine is too weak to run modern Windows comfortably. I tend to use the terminal without xorg running on it.) I could actually compare the laptop to my Raspberry Pi 4; the CPUs are about the same power in terms of compiling the Linux kernel (note that this task is highly parallel), but the laptop has the better GPU. (Worth noting: Small laptop is 2 cores, while the Pi is 4.)

My mini PC, which, I believe, cost around $400, would fit the "stronger machine that's going to be on all the time" role, though you actually can go higher spec than mine.

I haven't tried that many games on it, but what I have tried is this:
* Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: Seems to run the game reasonably well. It's not completely smooth, but it is running at 1080p with High settings.
* Celeste runs well on it, but then again, this particular game runs well on my small laptop, so that's no surprise. (With that said, Celeste's controls aren't laptop friendly, with the whole needing to dash while pressing diagonally thing. VVVVVV is more laptop friendly, as all you need is three keys to play, so you can play with one hand and hold the laptop with the other.)

My main use for the mini PC, so far, is actually youtube; it has no trouble with 1080p60 youtube video, whereas my Pi can't handle that. (Plus, the pages load *much* faster on the mini PC.)

I convinced my wife that it was a Christmas gift for the "house" - so everyone can play when they come over. :)

Smart move. ;)