Any recommendations for performance tweaks for Pi Zero (for NES and SNES)?

ivarwa

Overclock :-) set arm 1000 gpu 500 core 500 sdram 500 overvolt 2.Problem solved :-) :-) :-)

Dochartaigh

I thought the newest version of the Raspberry Pi Zero had a slightly faster speed than the earlier version because it was already overclocked and couldn't be overclocked any more? (or something like that).

...or I could be totally wrong as I've never overclocked before (and am now going to run a good old fashioned Google search on how to do that.

Any overheating issues? Any freezing or anything like that? I need reliability as these are for friends/family (90% of who are NOT technical in the least).

ivarwa

Yes google around and you will find very good settings ,there is some how to on videoes on youtube .No issues with heat or freezing,just better performance,no lag on nes,snes,sega,genesis,even metalslug and final fight on mame are playable on an overclocked zero :-)

Dochartaigh

Cool. Thanks. Just did it to:

arm_freq=1000
gpu_freq=500
core_freq=500
sdram_freq=500
sdram_schmoo=0x02000020
over_voltage=2
sdram_over_voltage=2

I'll try it when I'm home (been SSH'ing into the Zero from work ;)

actnash

I have a pi 1 b+. The only cores I can use that work like they are supposed to are-
NES- Quicknes
SNES- Pocketnes
Genesis - Pico
If you go to retropie configs you can download these core under manage optional packages. After downloaded, press "a" on your keyboard right after you select a game and you can change the core. I believe this will solve your problem. There are also a few things you can do in the rgui to reduce lag. I also overclock to turbo, which helps a lot with SNES.

columboscoat

@actnash Be quiet Pi1 boy... Kwitishhh...Kwitishhhh, get back in line!

Dochartaigh

@ivarwa said in Any recommendations for performance tweaks for Pi Zero (for NES and SNES)?:

Overclock :-) set arm 1000 gpu 500 core 500 sdram 500 overvolt 2.Problem solved :-) :-) :-)

If it's even possible, this is making gameplay even slower when overclocked, somehow...The two games I'm trying are Super Mario Bros. for NES, and Adventure Island for NES as my benchmarks as I'm familiar with those games. I also tried it in increments of 25 like the overclocking Wiki said as well. I even turned on the FPS display so I could see a physical number instead of going by my gut feeling just to make sure.

@actnash said in Any recommendations for performance tweaks for Pi Zero (for NES and SNES)?:

I have a pi 1 b+. The only cores I can use that work like they are supposed to are-
NES- Quicknes
SNES- Pocketnes
Genesis - Pico

Thanks for the Quicknes tip. It's WORLDS better than lr-fceumm. I wonder why it's not used by default? I'm getting a solid 60 FPS with Quicknes on like 10 different games I tried (about 10 to maybe 20 below that with lr-fceumm - which also has HORRIBLE sound FYI).

Snes9x2002 is what Pi Zero now uses by default (which used to be called Pocketnes) so I guess I'm stuck with that unless there's a better option.

What can I try to tweak the "rgui to reduce lag"?

actnash

@Dochartaigh You can also try PiSNES for SNES, but let me tell you, the controls aren't mapped properly and if you aren't really familiar with how to set up the configs, it may be a hassle.

Here's another thing it could be. When I downloaded retropie 4.1 for zero/pi1, I had horrible lag issues and screen stuttering no matter what I did. That's actually the whole reason I got on this forum, but no one is really paying my post much attention! Ha

This is how I got my pi1 b+ (which should be under the pi zero in performance) running nes and most SNES/Genesis games at full speed.

Delete retropie version 4.1 and download and install retropie 4.0.2 for zero/pi1
Download quicknes and pocketsnes from optional packages (there should be one called pocketsnes as opposed to snes9x2002. Not sure if it's any different, that's just how it shows up on my pi)
When entering a game for the first time, press "a" on your keyboard and along with changing the core, mess around with the resolution. For me, changing video mode to CEA-4 (1280x720) and render res to output, made a HUGE difference in performance.
Overclock your pi to turbo. I've been reading that as long as you do this under raspi config and don't force anything, it won't void your warranty. Also, if things start getting hot, I think it automatically starts slowing things down to protect the pi (mine hasn't gotten too hot in turbo yet). I read where it shouldn't affect life of the pi too much either, maybe it will last 19 years instead of 20 years. It's worth it if you want the best performance.
Go into RGUI.
For NES-
Go to settings
-video
-change max swapchain images to 1
-Set frame delay to 10

leave threaded video on and vsync on

For SNES and Genesis-
Same as above, but frame delay on around 2 instead of 10.
The higher the frame delay=less input lag. But once you get too high, you will start seeing stuttering. You may be able to go higher with frame delay on your zero.

Your shit should be banging now. It will be a pain to wipe and reinstall retropie 4.0.2, but for me, it made all the difference in the world. Let me know if this works? I would like to update to the most recent version of retropie one day, but I want to make sure this bug gets fixed first.

actnash

@columboscoat ha, I'm still waiting for someone to check out the issues I was having with 4.2. Either no one knows what is going on or no one is interested. Thought that I may save some others the hrs I have wasted trying to get my settings right while I wait!

actnash

@Dochartaigh I just went to check, and pocketsnes is actually under main packages, not optional. I didn't see snes9x2002 listed, so it's possible it's just the same as pocketsnes like you said! Before I downgraded to 4.0.2, SNES barely ran even on pocketsnes. Now it runs great (except some of the sound effects suck - a known issue) on most games, even runs Yoshi's island pretty solid with occasional hiccups.

Dochartaigh

Pocketnes vs snes0x2002 might be the subtle differences between 4.0 and the most recent version of Retropie, and/or the difference between the Pi Zero and Pi 1 (I know my Pi 3 has slightly different options than the Zero does).

Anyway, I'm happy with NES being a lot better. Sega Genesis/Megadrive with Picodrive was always pretty good.All that leaves is SNES, which I honestly don't play much. I usually test with Donkey Kong country as I know that was one of the more demanding games, and that seems to play decently.

Thanks for your help - I may mess around with the resolution settings as lower resolution should improve performance (and the original resolution for these systems was below 480i...so there's room between that and the 1080P the HDMI connection is capable of ;)

actnash

@Dochartaigh glad I could help. I think overclocking will make a big difference with SNES. I couldn't get any decent performance without overclocking.

rsimmy

Surprised nobody has really said this.

Bring your Render Resolution wayyy down. Don't let it be the same as your video output.

320x240 is pushing it, although the native resolution is actually lower (256x224 for NES and SNES) on the Pi it looks blurry and doesn't scale right even with Integer Scaling.

So I suggest trying a render resolution of 640x480. You can still Output at 1080p, with a lower render res, you should see a performance boost.

Dochartaigh

@actnash said in Any recommendations for performance tweaks for Pi Zero (for NES and SNES)?:

@Dochartaigh glad I could help. I think overclocking will make a big difference with SNES. I couldn't get any decent performance without overclocking.

You're the second person who said I should overclock...I've used the stock overclock settings which were recommended (literally copied and pasted them) and NES literally runs at a crawl (with lr-fceumm at least, don't think I tried it with quicknes). Tried two different Zeros last night....what could cause this?

@rsimmy said in Any recommendations for performance tweaks for Pi Zero (for NES and SNES)?:

Bring your Render Resolution wayyy down. Don't let it be the same as your video output.

That's why I mentioned lowering the resolution! I will definitely try this - most likely for SNES only as that's still a little slow at times. I don't know what they're default settings is but I'm guessing it's greater than the 640x480 you told me to try.

ivarwa

Strange behavior after overclock,all my zeroes got better,maybe crappy slow sd card or small powersupply?

actnash

@Dochartaigh Yeah, I know every pi is different and I don't have a zero, but the overclock helped everything immensely for me. I went all the way to turbo. And like the previous poster said, you must have a sufficient power supply, especially if you have things connected to multiple USB ports (like wifi single, Bluetooth dongle, etc...) Not sure about the zero, but for all the other pis 2.5amp is recommended for maximum performance. I have this one, and I have my USB controller, wifi dongle, and wifi keyboard dongle hooked up and I haven't seen any performance issues with overclock.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MARDJZ4/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485358711&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

I do disconnect the wifi and keyboard dongle when not in use, because it will put less stress on the pi. But I've played games for hrs and never had it overheat on turbo. The turbo overclock only kicks in when it is needed for performance, so turbo is t running the entire time.

Dochartaigh

Samsung EVO 16GB class 10 SD card. 2.4 amp power supply (tried my Canakit from my Pi 3, and 3amp 24,000mah battery pack too...all on nice usb wires).

actnash

@Dochartaigh That should be fine. Have you tried quicknes and snes9x2002 with highest overclock setting enabled? It's possible it could also be the newest version of retropie causing the problem because before I downgraded to 4.0.2, I had a lot of issues, even with turbo overclock. But I have read in other forums where overclocking too much caused problems. For me, it has only sped things up and helped.

BuZz

@Dochartaigh said in Any recommendations for performance tweaks for Pi Zero (for NES and SNES)?:

That's why I mentioned lowering the resolution! I will definitely try this - most likely for SNES only as that's still a little slow at times. I don't know what they're default settings is but I'm guessing it's greater than the 640x480 you told me to try.

on the pi zero/1 the default render resolution is set to 640x480 for all emulators (can be changed with the configuration editor).

Note if you have been updating from very old retropie images this may not be the case, since retroarch.cfg is generally never changed on updates (you are expected to merge in any new settings you need yourself from the retroarch.cfg.rp-dist file).

Dochartaigh

@BuZz
good to know - one less setting I have to mess with! (this was made of the most recent image, then updated as soon as that was put on the SD card).

He BuZz, do yo know why the default emulator for NES on the Zero is lr-fceumm (which has slow performance) over one like Quicknes? (I'm assuming Quicknes is more buggy in other areas besides performance)