Pi Zero W Questions (Heatsink, Compatibility)

[jay81uk]

Well, after a 6 month break, I'm back to building one of these. Mainly for Gameboy classic games, but also for Vectrex, a few SNES and Megadrive games I can't get hold of physically. Does the latest version of Retropie now work ok with the Zero W? I read the were issues in March.

I plan on buying the official red/white case for it, but as it's the smaller version case than the Pi 3 one, will a standard heatsink fit in with the case?

I shouldn't need more than one USB port to get going with this right?

Also, am I good for GBA, SNES, Megadrive and MAME with a Pi zero?

Thanks

[Ecks]

For the Zero i would suggest something like this one for the heatsink http://www.canadarobotix.com/raspberry-pi-board/1855-small-heat-sink

[jay81uk]

I used to have a Pi 3 and the heatsink pack I bought came with a mini heatsink too which was for use on the smaller chip.

Would that be suitable for the CPU on a zero, and would it fit in this case?

[AlexMurphy]

@jay81uk any heat sink is better than none in my opinion. Some might disagree and say it is really not needed on a zero. Heat is mostly a Pi 3 issue. The smaller heatsink will not cover the whole chip. The chips in the Zero and the 3 are both the same surface area. There is room for a heatsink in the official case. Be careful if you buy a low profile non-official case. The position of the chip was slightly altered for the zero w so older cases designed for the non WIFI zero the hole for the heatsink does not match up with the chip.

[jay81uk]

Ok, so if I buy the standard heat sink for a Pi 3, it will fit on the Pi Zero W chip, AND fit in the smaller version red/white official case?

[AlexMurphy]

@jay81uk Yes and yes. There is room for a camera module inside the official zero case (that is what the lid with the circular hole in the centre is for). The camera module is ~8.5 mm, so any heatsink around that or less in height will be fine.

[jay81uk]

Is a heatsink even needed for the pi zero running 16 bit emulators?

[AlexMurphy]

@jay81uk No. Is the quick answer.

[jay81uk]

@AlexMurphy Oh really? I may not bother then.

[AlexMurphy]

@jay81uk I only stuck the heatsink on my zero because it came included with the case I bought. I don't run RetroPie on it and have never worried about heat. As I said this is more of an issue for Pi 3s under heavy load.

[jay81uk]

Thanks, don't think I'll bother then. Just need to choose a case now. I quite like the Modmypi ones as they have ventilation holes just above the CPU

[Ecks]

If i was in your shoes and i had spare heatsinks laying around i would still put one on a Pi Zero just as a safety precaution and also like you said you are using a case for the Zero which leaves no ventilation for it as well.
Overall always best to be safe than to be sorry after.