best hardware to run retropie

akamming

hi,

i've been a happy retropie user for sometime. As a hobby project i built my own arcade bartop. Original goals was to run C64 and Arcade games

So i made a rpi4 based system, on which i used the following extensions

gpio with a python script for controlling the power on several components with relays
ipac2 to connect 2 arcade joysticks and several custom buttons
iqaudio digiamp+ for high quality speaker output.

but now i got the vibe of this whole emulation scene. so tried i want to run several other emulators as well, only to find out pi4 is not powerful enough (e.g. wii or ps2). So i want the most powerful alternative for a pi 4 on which i can run retropie.

But ofcourse i don't want to rebuild the whole arcade cabinet, so my reqs are

i still want to be able to connect the ipac2 (to prevent rewiring the whole thing)
being able to install the normal retropie without customisations to make it work
high quality amplified audio output (a seperate amp would be fine, but then not too big and i want to be able to control the volume using linux scripts (now using alsamixer)
gpio (or an alternative) so i can control relays
run on a solid linux distribution (e.g. debian)
being able to run psp, wii and ps2 games properly (in other words: a fast CPU and GPU, supported by retropie)

i don't care making it more expensive .. it's performance i am looking for..

the mentioned hardware in the installation guides (odroid C1/C2, XU3/XU4 and RPI's) are not powerful enough. any PC would be fine, but that's too big hardware for my bartop and i cannot use gpio and boards like digiamp+ ( or some other amplifier hat)

If i search on the internet i find several faster sbc's, but i do not know

if amplifier hats are available (like digiamp+)
if the cpu/gpu;s are fast enough for ps2/wii emulation
if retropie will use the accelerator hardware on those board

so my question is: Does anyone have experiences for me on what to choose?

sirhenrythe5th

@akamming AFAIK there is no SBC on the market that is able to run Wii / PS2 to call it real playable.
Besides of that only a few others than the pi are supported by retropie.

The best alternative could be a very small PC, as money is no problem for you maybe the strongest Intel NUC.

Just brainstorming, i dont know from own experience if NUCs are fully supoorted by UBUNTU, neither if it is possible to run your special hardware.

I guess other users can be more specific, but i cannot imagine that a (current) SBC is able to do what you want.
If i am wrong...i will buy the same one and look forward to play PS2 & GameCube/Wii as well :D

YFZdude

@akamming said in best hardware to run retropie:

any PC would be fine, but that's too big hardware for my bartop and i cannot use gpio and boards like digiamp+ ( or some other amplifier hat)

Actually there are several ways to use gpio with a PC. Just google "gpio for PC." These are usually referred to as DAQ cards. There are pci or usb versions available.

Of course you will still need to create something like a python script to control it.

akamming

will be a bit more difficult indead then. i will dive into the world of intel NUC's and GPIO boards (and then i still need an amplifier...)

tx!

Lolonois

If performance (Wii/ps2) is the major requirement then you will most likely land at a NUC with a beefy GPU or similar. Obviously you can not met all requirements from your list: The missing GPIO can be addressed by I2C via USB [1] (can also used on a DigiSpark) and a I2C relay switch board.

Additionally expect tinkering with the scripts of RetroPie in general.

Depending on the quality of the onboard soundcard of the NUC you may use that or use a C-Media compliant USB audio adapter. And you will have to have a decent (digital) amp and decent speakers (and proper housings). My favorite brand is Dayton Audio. I run a 2.1 channel setup.

[1] https://github.com/harbaum/I2C-Tiny-USB

hopwon

I just bought me a Geekom Mini PC IT8 (cheaper than a NUC) running Ubuntu w/8GB RAM and I am extremely happy with it.
Not sure about expansion ports as its tiny, but for the most part the CPU is well powerful enough for PSII

I do love LOVE my RPi setup but, like you, I'm am now hitting the performance limits of it (RPi4) so thinking of taking the next step in terms of horsepower.
https://www.geekom.es/geekom-mini-it8-mini-pc/

George Spiggott

I have a Retroarch/Emulation Station combo running on a NUC.