How much ram?

gamerphil

Hi all; I hope all are well and safe.

I am about to buy a CanaKit Rasberry Pi 4 kit, but it comes with different amounts of RAM.
I know usually the more the better applies in computing, but all I will be using it for is for RetroPi; how much RAM will I need to be able to play any of the PlayStation/n64 games as smoothly as the actual console?

I currently have a raspberry Pi, but keep encountering issues with sound and general lagging whilst playing Mario-Kart for example; I don’t know how much RAM my current unit has, or know how o check sorry; it was given as a gift.

Thank you all for any insight you can provide to help.
What do you guys think about CanaKit?

I’m thinking of getting the self-cooling edition with 4GB ram.

Thanks

mitu

The 1 or 2Gb models are fine also, more RAM doesn't add to emulation performance. The only factor when getting another model is other usages for the Pi (desktop machine/server).

Kookamunga

@mitu Would the amount of ram have an impact on the feel of the interface, and the initial load of the ISO, especially if they're compressed though?

gamerphil

@mitu that makes sense; I mean 4gb wasn’t even a thing back in the PlayStation days haha.

I think the lowest version of CanaKit has 4gb; so that would be the one to get then I guess.

Another question open to all:
What is the noise like on the kits that have fans?
CanaKit have recently released an aluminium, self-cooling kit which doesn’t need a fan.
Does anyone have one of these? Are they indeed better than having a fan?

mitu

@kookamunga No.

@gamerphil

What is the noise like on the kits that have fans?

Unless you intend to overclock, there's no need for a fan with a cooling case. I don't have a fan, so can't say much about noise.

simpleethat

@gamerphil I have a Villros kit with a fan and I only realize that it's on when the TV is off.

DreamcastKid

@simpleethat said in How much ram?:

I have a Villros kit with a fan and I only realize that it's on when the TV is off.

if you connect the fan to the 3.3V GPIO Pin you shouldn't be able to hear it at all.

i tested my fan with the 5V and 3.3V GPIO Pin and found that 5V was too noisy for my taste. At 3.3V, i can barely hear it and it still provides enough cooling without the noise.

gamerphil

@dreamcastkid good idea. Thanks 🙏

IceChes1

I used an Arduino breadboard controller to turn my fan on and off. Also, 2.