Pi3 can't play Super Mario World (and other SNES/GBA titles) as well as most others report

esmith13

Pi Model: Pi 3 B
Power Supply used: 5v/2.5A with inline On/Off switch
RetroPie Version Used: 4.3.16 - commit 278e96a
Built From: retropie-4.3-rpi2_rpi3.img
USB Devices connected: USB Keyboard
Controller used: Keyboard
Error messages received: N/A
Log found in /dev/shm/runcommand.log (if relevant): N/A
Guide used: N/A
File: N/A
Emulator: binary versions of lr-snes9x2002, lr-snes9x2005, lr-snes9x2010, lr-snes9x (optional emu)
Attachment of config files: N/A - Untouched aside from turning on Integer Scaling for all lr emulators via configuration editor -> advanced libretro options

Attn: @dankcushions (per his request on Reddit)

My Exact Setup Steps For This Clean Test:
Apply RetroPie 4.3 image to Samsung Evo 64GB micro SD
Insert in Pi3 in flirc case with only keyboard, ethernet, hdmi and power connected.
"Update all packages" including underlying OS.
Install optional package "lr-snes9x"
Configuration Editor -> Edit Advanced Libretro Options -> ALL systems -> Integer Scaling ON
Enable SSH
Use WinSCP to copy over No-Intro rom file "Super Mario World (USA).zip"
Reboot RetroPie

First Test: default emu (lr-snes9x2010) on HP 1080p Monitor via HDMI
Once the core loads the rom I check monitor OSD to find display is set to 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
Audio is already stuttering slightly during title screen animations.
I enter Retroarch menu with "hotkey + X" and enable fps display.
FPS appears to be locked to 60.0 but occasionally dips to around 55 or 57 fps (not really in time with audio stutter)
Playing game in first area to the left has slight audio stutter. FPS in mid 50's thru 60.0. My brain says input is a tad laggy but I may be over sensitive to it after fighting this issue for MONTHS...

Second Test: default emu (lr-snes9x2010) on Vizio E65 with Game mode ON and all post processing options OFF plugged directly in to HDMI2 (of 4 HDMI inputs)
Once the core loads the rom I check the TV's menu/OSD to find display is set to 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
Audio is already stuttering noticeably during title screen animations.
I enter Retroarch menu with "hotkey + X" and enable fps display.
FPS appears to be fluctuating between 54-60 but occasionally dips to around 46 fps.
Playing game in first area to the left has stutter, audio stutter and pops and feels to have input lag that makes timing jumps difficult. FPS in high 40's thru mid 50's.

I can repeat the above results regularly - even using different Pi3's in different cases (passively or actively cooled), different SD cards (have a few SanDisk and Trancend cards) and different power supplies (have various 5v/2.0a-2.5a units I got with Pi purchases).

I do NOT have any issues when using the same monitor and TV with a crappy 10yr old Atom dual core HTPC running Lubuntu and RetroPie_x86. LOCKED 60.0-60.1 FPS on both displays with this setup.

Someone please tell me i'm not crazy here! I think my Pi's are conspiring against me!

(P.S.: Recently built a Freeplay CM3. It runs the same exact SMW rom PERFECTLY! Also have a shield TV and a GPD XD running Retroarch 1.7.1 that run the same rom PERFECTLY on the monitor and TV tested above.)

Darksavior

@esmith13 A switch..hmm and you don't get a lightning bolt icon?

dankcushions

thanks for posting! i'm sure we can get to the bottom of this

@esmith13 said in Pi3 can't play Super Mario World (and other SNES/GBA titles) as well as most others report:

Power Supply used: 5v/2.5A with inline On/Off switch

as @Darksavior said, this is a potential issue. these on/off switches have a reputation of destabilizing power. normally you'd expect to see a lightning bolt icon on the top right corner as this happens, but even if not, i wouldn't rule it out.

also not all power supplies are created equal. there are known issues with even reputable brands like canakit. at this point i only trust the official raspberry pi one.

would you mind posting a few config files? it doesn't sound like they should be affected, but it's good to rule it out.

/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg
/opt/retropie/configs/snes/retroarch.cfg
/boot/config.txt

a video of the behaviour would be great, also!

you could also run the game via the runcommand using the 'verbose logging' option, and then after you've exited the game after a laggy session, paste the output stored in /dev/shm/runcommand.log

esmith13

@darksavior I do not.

esmith13

runcommand.log (when connected to HP Monitor)

I'll work on getting video of both tests as well as runcommand.log with TV test at home later.

dankcushions

@esmith13 said in Pi3 can't play Super Mario World (and other SNES/GBA titles) as well as most others report:

runcommand.log (when connected to HP Monitor)

thanks! everything looks normal, but this one is interesting:
[INFO] Threaded video stats: Frames pushed: 1004, Frames dropped: 0.

according to this, no frames were dropped, which i believe means it should be a solid 60fps, although at 1000 frames you were only running a 16 seconds or so, so maybe it didn't get to an area you see drops.

esmith13

@dankcushions This particular log was collected while only running at the title screen. It doesn't look like the video stutters but the audio skips for sure. Not sure if that helps.