What emulators can the pi zero run well?

suprjami

@twd said in What emulators can the pi zero run well?:

@suprjami you cannot over o'clock a pi zero it comes clocked

Yes you can. sudo vim /boot/config.txt and http://elinux.org/RPiconfig#Overclocking

Bumping the core, GPU, and RAM up to 500 fixes any slowdown I encountered with SNES games.

I wouldn't bother overclocking the CPU, you tend to only get another hundred MHz or so out of these ARM chips, it doesn't seem worth the risk.

You can verify your overclock with vcgencmd measure_clock while doing something that causes the component speed to ramp up, like playing games in an emulator. http://www.elinux.org/RPI_vcgencmd_usage

twd

@suprjami I am sure that I read on the pi forums it has no affect ... It may show a diffrent setting but actually standard ... But as I read it there I took it as fact. Only game I had slowdown on is star fox but I have that anyway on cart. But yeah I am no expert

suprjami

@twd I just tested, it works.

Fresh RetroPie image with no overclock config:

$ vcgencmd get_config int | egrep "arm|core|gpu|sdram"
arm_freq=1000
core_freq=400
gpu_freq=300
sdram_freq=450

Core speeds while running PiFBA to ramp the clock speeds up:

$ for clock in arm core v3d isp h264; do echo -e "$clock:\t$(vcgencmd measure_clock $clock)"; done
arm:	frequency(45)=1000000000
core:	frequency(1)=400000000
v3d:	frequency(43)=300000000
isp:	frequency(42)=300000000
h264:	frequency(28)=300000000

Set some overclocks:

$ egrep "^[^#].*freq" /boot/config.txt 
gpu_freq=500
core_freq=500
sdram_freq=500

Reboot and the config changes are applied:

$ vcgencmd get_config int | egrep "arm|core|gpu|sdram"
arm_freq=1000
core_freq=500
gpu_freq=500
sdram_freq=500

Running PiFBA again confirms it:

$ for clock in arm core v3d isp h264; do echo -e "$clock:\t$(vcgencmd measure_clock $clock)"; done
arm:	frequency(45)=1000104000
core:	frequency(1)=500000000
v3d:	frequency(43)=500000000
isp:	frequency(42)=500000000
h264:	frequency(28)=500000000

In my experience, the difference in performance also demonstrates the overclock is working.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet, not even my post above! Learn how things work and try it yourself :)

twd

Not doing that ... As I took my info from the raspberry pi dev team . You will lose warranty too. But I have no reason to overclock as everything is working fine.... Thanks for posting the tib bits though sure thee applicable to the pi 1

suprjami

@twd said:

You will lose warranty too.

Possibly. On the earlier models the warranty-void bit was only set when you put force_turbo=1 or current_limit_override=1. Anything less than that was considered a "safe" overclock.

There's also what the retailer will exchange ("hey it just stopped booting i dunno what happened") and what the manufacturer eventually decides to offer wholesaler warranty on or not.

Anyway, for an item that costs $5 or less, who cares? If it dies just turn it into a keychain and buy a new one.

twd

@suprjami

I know what your saying but in the uk at least stock is low ...considering they make them 5 miles away . I am happy at stock setting.. Also new to linux so not comfortable with it don't help I have dyslexia :( . I have to sit with my iPad and pie running so I can look up code words.

suprjami

@twd Well, take your time and have fun. The Zero can do a lot without overclocking :)

twd

@suprjami thanks mate , I am happy with the speed tbh , it just a novelty atm saves me using the real hardware as I hate using hdtv with them as a 80's kid I have to use a crt but there in storage atm having work done at my home. I will upgrade soon to a pi3 maybe to try psx emulation or just for street fighter 3rd strike

SIrRandall

@twd said in What emulators can the pi zero run well?:

@SIrRandall runs in pifba actually ever rom worked from fba list.... If you search YouTube for simply Austin he gives out a fightcade pack ... I know that one works grab that

Thanks that works wonders.

@edmaul69 said in What emulators can the pi zero run well?:

@suprjami i used lr-fba-next for neo geo. runs good with no overclocking. I didnt add cps games or mame due to having a full 16gb card from home consoles.

I can't find lr-gba-next for pi zero even in the experimental(yes i updated everything.). How did you install it ? from source ?

edmaul69

@SIrRandall i said lr-fba-next. I dont even use lr-gba-next on my pi3 because it stuttered when i last tried using it. But if you need lr-gba-next or lr-fba-next try looking in main packages or optional packages if not in experimental.

meleu

@edmaul69 said in What emulators can the pi zero run well?:

@suprjami i used lr-fba-next for neo geo. runs good with no overclocking.

@edmaul69 are you sure that you use lr-fba-next on a Raspberry Pi Zero?!?!

edmaul69

@meleu i will have to try to remember to double check. I could be wrong.

edmaul69

@meleu i just checked. And yes i am running lr-fba-next on the pi zero.

cyperghost

@suprjami said in What emulators can the pi zero run well?:

$ vcgencmd get_config int | egrep "arm|core|gpu|sdram"
arm_freq=1000
core_freq=400
gpu_freq=300
sdram_freq=450


$ vcgencmd get_config int | egrep "arm|core|gpu|sdram"
arm_freq=1000
core_freq=500
gpu_freq=500
sdram_freq=500

Thank you! This gives the Pi Zero the right push. NeoGeo Metal Slug runs smooth with analog sound with these settings. A good setup with moderate danger imho :)

Don't believe everything you read on the internet, not even my post above! Learn how things work and try it yourself :)

Knowledge is power!

PS: I stand in no relation to @suprjami :D

suprjami

@cyperghost said in What emulators can the pi zero run well?:

A good setup with moderate danger imho :)

I agree, I think just running the GPU and RAM slightly faster is pretty low-risk. The Zero seems to draw very little power and generate very little heat. They've really improved the production process.

Knowledge is power!
PS: I stand in no relation to @suprjami :D

I'm sure you know lots of things that I don't, whether they are about Raspberry Pi or other things in life.

So we all help each other out and everyone's knowledge improves :)

drake999

@suprjami This is an excellent post my friend. I was just reading through the general discussions and came across it. I may have use for this, thanks for getting it out there.

Dyleup

@suprjami

I am very interested in trying this, but I am very new to linux and the terminal. I seem to be stumbling on specific symbols such as | and " are not available through my USB keyboard directly connected to my Pi Zero.

Is there any way I could update the Pi's config.txt file on the SD Card through the GUI on my ubuntu laptop?

meleu

@Dyleup said in What emulators can the pi zero run well?:

Is there any way I could update the Pi's config.txt file on the SD Card through the GUI on my ubuntu laptop?

Sure. Plug the SD card on your ubuntu and it probably will automount two partitions: retropie and boot. The file you want to edit will probably be at /media/YOUR_USERNAME/boot/boot/config.txt. Just open the file with your favorite text editor and edit it as you want.

Exodus

Hi! Newbie here.

Reading this thread I now have a pretty fair curiosity about seeing whether Starfox can run at a speed in which music audio can at least keep up (it's about 3-4 bars behind the gameplay as far as I can tell). So I'm wondering whether a good heatsink could allow enough overclocking beyond what suprjami did to get performance to that level.

Does anyone have good thermodynamics or heatsink knowledge to know what would be most effective in terms of fan shape and blade numbers for heat dispersion rate?

I'm looking at something like these products to start:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100013
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry-Pi-compatible-Sinks-heatsinks/dp/B00FRMBSPW

edit: I already tried suprjami's clock speeds and did not notice a really appreciable difference. Game is barely playable with some slowdowns and the music lags badly.