Pi4 or Odroid XU4?

Zering

Hi guys,

I'm new here, so apologies if there's already a thread similar to this one.
I've had an RPi3 for two years now, and honestly it's the best investment I ever made. It's allowed me to catch up on a ton of NES, SNES, Megadrive and PS1 games I'd missed, and to discover a bunch of more or less obscure systems (the Pc-Engine <3). I've only got two problems with the Pi 3 : its hit-and-miss performance with the N64, Dreamcast and PSP, and its complete inability to emulate the Saturn, 3DO, PC-FX or Jaguar properly.

Now I understand that those four emulators will probably remain in the experimental section of the script indefinitely, however I keep reading about people who've managed to run the N64 and Dreamcast pretty much console perfect using the Odroid XU4 or the Pi4. I don't like PC gaming so I want to be able to run as many systems as possible from my RPi.

So here's my question.

I'd like to upgrade from my RPi 3 but not sure which route would be the best. I understand that the Odroid XU4 board is much better performance wise, however does it support as many emulators as the Pi does? Even the obscure stuff like the X68000 or the PC-98?

It's also my understand that the Pi 4 has scored much better performance, but I've read somewhere that it doesn't yet support Retropie? Am I confused? Could somebody clear that up? And if it does support it will it support the same emulators as the Pi 3?

And my last question : if I get either of these boards, which one should I get? Which one will give me the best balance between performance and versatility?

Thank you guys for your time.

mitu

@Zering said in Pi4 or Odroid XU4?:

I understand that the Odroid XU4 board is much better performance wise, however does it support as many emulators as the Pi does? Even the obscure stuff like the X68000 or the PC-98?

Odroid XU4 is better than the Pi 3, not than the PI4.

It's also my understand that the Pi 4 has scored much better performance, but I've read somewhere that it doesn't yet support Retropie? Am I confused? Could somebody clear that up?

Support for the Pi 4 is ongoing and you can install manually while waiting for an official image release.

And if it does support it will it support the same emulators as the Pi 3?

Maybe not 100% the same emulators, since it's a different system, but the same systems/platforms will be supported.

And my last question : if I get either of these boards, which one should I get? Which one will give me the best balance between performance and versatility?

I'd say get a PI 4, it's better supported upstream and it's probably going to be used more for RetroPie than the XU4.

Zering

@mitu said in Pi4 or Odroid XU4?:

Odroid XU4 is better than the Pi 3, not than the PI4.

Just what I was hoping to hear, thanks.

@mitu said in Pi4 or Odroid XU4?:

Support for the Pi 4 is ongoing and you can install manually while waiting for an official image release.

What does that entail?

And does anybody have an estimate of how long it will take for an official image to be released?

mitu

What does that entail?

https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Manual-Installation/

And does anybody have an estimate of how long it will take for an official image to be released?

No.

Zering

All right, thanks. You've been a great help.

jlopezvl

Better use precompiled images at https://files.retropie.org.uk/images/weekly/

jlopezvl

Id prefer it to manual instalation ... Burn the image for pi4 and it works for sure ...

matchaman

Get a Pi 4 and try to be patient :)

It's a little beast in terms of performance, once things get finalized it will be capable of quite much more than the XU4.

Zering

@matchaman said in Pi4 or Odroid XU4?:

Get a Pi 4 and try to be patient :)

It's a little beast in terms of performance, once things get finalized it will be capable of quite much more than the XU4.

I've just seen Pi 4 tests for the Saturn and it seems to run well. That's insane! I never thought I'd see this beast of a console running decently on a Pi. That's it, I'm sold.

The only question I've got left is which version to go for : the one with 2 GB of Ram or the one with 4? Normally I'd go for the best one but I've read RAM usage is pretty low on that kind of device anyway. Is the extra 2 gig worth the extra 20 pounds?

quicksilver

@Zering for average user 2gb is fine. 4gb really only needed if you'll be using it as a desktop computer as well. I have so far only run into one memory related issue with my pi 4 2gb and that was because I was compiling source code for a rather large project (not something an average user would be doing).

matchaman

Just as quicksilver said, 2GB should be enough. But if you can get the 4GB version go for it, you might get better performance in the future for more demanding emulation. I have both and I've seen a little difference in YouTube playback.

Zering

I'll go for the 4 GB board then, I wouldn't want to miss out on potentially awesome future emulation!

Just for the sake of conversation, would anybody be in the know of any new planned functionalities/emulators for the Pi 4?

grant2258

im looking forward to seeing how mame current is running on the pi 4. I only usually play 80s and 90s that would be an ideal setup for the living room barcade has a mini pc in it at the moment can see me changing that anytime soon. If the mame team do some dynarecs for arm there could be a fair few systems on the go on the pi.