Question about heating, Raspberry Pi 4, and Sega Genesis
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I know Retropie doesn't support Raspberry Pi 4 yet. When it does, I plan on getting Raspberry Pi 4 and installing it into a broken Sega Genesis with its original parts taken out and preserved.
I found this kit (https://www.retro-emulation.com/raspberry-pi-sega-mega-drive.html) and ordered one for my sega genesis. I plan to add Raspberry Pi 4 and an internal solid state drive to it.
My concern is that I heard 4 has higher heating than 3b which this kit was designed for (it have a tiny fan that I could order and attach for internal). Would I need a bigger fan? Any other concerns?
I'm very new, this will be my first raspberry pi, and I don't want to ruin it. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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I'd recommend you wait a little bit and get a RetroFlag Mega Drive case when they eventually update it for the Pi 4b. The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B definitely should be run with active cooling (fan). If you're just starting out, that Genesis case may be more of an undertaking than it's worth, especially if the goal is just RetroPie.
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@Bartrack
I don't have a Raspberry Pi 4 yet but here's my two cents on this subject.I've got a Raspberry Pi 3b+ in a Retroflag SUPERPi case which comes with a little 30x30x7mm fan and heat sinks and I haven't had any heat issues. I know the Pi 4 does get hotter but with a fan that size and heat sinks, I think you'll probably be fine. I've watched several YouTube videos testing the Pi 4 with and without fans, I think this 30x30x7mm fan and heat sinks will be enough for most cases.
Would I need a bigger fan?
You mean like the ICE Tower? I think a smaller fan will be okay.
Any other concerns?
I just hope that everything still lines up the same since the Pi 4 board is slightly different than the older Pi 2/3 B. Really my only concern about the kit is that the Ethernet and outer 2 USB ports have been switched and you'll need a new micro HDMI to HDMI cable which won't be in this kit...oh and you need a USB-C cable.
I'm very new, this will be my first raspberry pi, and I don't want to ruin it.
I don't think you should worry about ruining it. My experiences with these projects are that you can always work on it more and tweak something and if you mess something up, you'll be better at it next time!
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/making-mistakes -
@Daistaar It's more of an aesthetics thing for me. I'm not worried about soldering or programming or that kind of thing, because I've made a pumpkin tetris with Arduino. The thing I'm iffy on was if heating will be a problem. Since you said active cooling is required, I will make sure to have good heatsinks attached and a fan pointed to it, I hope the original Sega Genesis case have enough ventilation. Thank you.
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@backstander Thank you for addressing multiple points! The kit does include 30x30x15 mm fan which is set up to point towards the Raspberry Pi. I will make sure to have good heat sinks attached to whisk away the heat. My only concern now is if there's enough ventilation in the original Sega Genesis case.
The kit is flexible in that I can accommodate the different locations of the usb and ethernet ports, since it's mostly cables that I just hook up. But you brought up a good point with micro HDMI to HDMI, and USB-C cable. I will make sure to have those covered. Thank you!
My main concern is throttling. I know Raspberry Pi 4 (and earlier models) will throttle itself if heat gets too high to avoid damage. But I don't want this happening while I'm enjoying a gaming session with my friends, so I want to make sure the set up will maintain a stable temperature. Even with throttling, I'm afraid that it will still overheat if the case is not well ventilated, but like you said, I should just experiment and it does have heat warning on screen so I can be notified when it's overheating and figure out workarounds.
Thanks for your input!
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This video shows several heat tests on the Raspberry Pi 4 with and without passive and active cooling:
This video is interesting because it shows the FLIRC case (which doesn't come with a fan but the whole case is a heat sink) keeping the Raspberry Pi 4 cool enough and not being throttled:
I have a FLIRC case with the original Raspberry Pi 3B and it works quite well!
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