Raspberry pi 4 questions

bc320

My current HTPC is on it's way out. I am thinking about replacing it with a Raspberry Pi 4. I would like to install retropie along with Kodi. I like the idea of a raspberry pi 4 with 4gb ram. But I have some questions.

can I keep the ROMs on an external HDD?
I know N64 can be finicky to emulate. I specifically want Mario Kart 64 and Golden Eye to work. Do these two work ok on retropie?
if I can get mario kart to work then I would need up to 4 controllers. Is there an issue with a USB hub and retropie?
I have a black silent 30mm fan I am not using from another project. Can I wire it to be always on on the pi? It is a 12v fan.
I have seen some Pi 4 kits with an on/off button. Does this work? I assume I still need to shut down through software.
if I wanted to get away from corded controllers, will a Xbox 360 or other bluetooth controller work?

LiveFreeDead

Yes
Mario Kart is perfect even without the current Graphics Drivers (software only), Golden Eye is a mid 10 - 15 fps (until RPi 4 is optimized over the next few (or so) months).

3.I run a XBox 360 USB Receiver off eBay and it has 4 controllers connected off one USB port fine (for me). I also have a XBox One S Connected via Bluetooth using the terminal commands to enable it, I read Pi can handle 4 of these too. I have also ran a Hub with 4x USB Gamepads and a single GameCube to USB for WiiU/PC that worked perfect (Also off eBay). in other words, don't worry about controllers, they seem to just work with a little bit of reading. This is all on Raspbian and not RetroPie and that isn't for Pi4's yet, but I'll assume it will be just as good (USB 3 has more options after all).

4.Pi4 only uses 5v and 3v, you would be best to purchase a heat sync fan combo made for the Pi as 12v running off 5v isn't always suitable (draws too many amps on startup).

5.The switches I have seen only cut power before TypeC, you need to add your own software power button to shutdown gracefully.

See #3 response ;)

Good luck with this, a Spare Pi 4 won't hurt even if it doesn't do everything at once.

bc320

I found a Noctua on Amazon that is 5v. Should I be looking at a 4pin or 3pin? It looks like pins 2 and 4 both supply 5v.
I don't mind having this fan running all the time. Power the Pi on and the fan starts up. So I don't think I need the fan shim.
I guess I assumed retropie would have a shutdown option. Am I incorrect in this assumption?

bc320

I just realized I forgot to ask a very important question. Can I install RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi 4?

t3hyoshi

@bc320 5. There is a menu option in Emulation Station (the games menu) to power down. Once that is selected, wait for the graceful shutdown to happen and then hit the power switch. It makes it a bit like the olden days of Win9x - "It is now safe to shut down your computer." type of deal.

EDIT: There isn't an image available yet. They are working on it.

bc320

EDIT: There isn't an image available yet. They are working on it.

I guess I got too excited. good thing I didn't pay for fast shipping

t3hyoshi

@bc320 The LibRetro team, those folks behind the RetroArch project, does have an image of their Lakka OS for the Pi4. However, it's pretty static, limited customization, no Kodi, and some emulators are still present even though better optimized varients exist (coughYabausecough). What I'd do is just get Raspian Lite, make like an ubernerd and live in the shell until the install script/image comes out. Then just use the install script to convert your nerdbox into an elite gaming time machine.

bc320

"What I'd do is just get Raspian Lite, make like an ubernerd and live in the shell until the install script/image comes out. Then just use the install script to convert your nerdbox into an elite gaming time machine."

Cool.
I have no idea what that means. I guess I will just try to get Kodi up and running on it and when RetroPie starts working on it, then move my retro game stuff to it. It's not like it is doing any good on my Wii at the moment. And my HTPC is dying so I need to address that first.

bc320

So it looks like RetroPi on Raspberry Pi 4 is still a work in progress without an estimated time frame. I am wondering a few things.

I am kicking around the idea of buying a Pi3 b+ to set up for retro-games. Any idea if when RetroPi is available on Pi 4 if I will be able to transfer whatever work I did setting this up on the Pi 3 to the Pi 4?
It looks like LibreElec can be set up on the Pi 4 and I may do this to get my Kodi up and running. When RetroPi is finally ready to go on the Pi 4, will I have to wipe everything and start over, or will I be able to install RetroPi and keep all my Kodi data?

I envision my Pi 4 booting to the RetroPi front end where I can select various consoles OR Kodi. If I select a console it brings me to all the games and if I select Kodi it drops me to the Kodi log in screen.

Darksavior

@bc320 You can manually install retropie using the pi4 branch if you know how to do that. It's a wip but a bunch of the emulators work.

bc320

@Darksavior
I don't know how BUT I am willing to learn if you can point me to guide

Darksavior

@bc320 Install raspbian lite buster. Install Git sudo apt-get install git
Then the rest is basically https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Manual-Installation
When you get to the part to type in the github address, type this one instead:
git clone --branch fkms_rpi4 --depth=1 https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup.git
Again, this is a very wip build. Expect bugs.

bc320

@Darksavior
One last question. I totally get there are bugs. Does Kodi work?

Darksavior

@bc320 It doesn't work.