I'm wondering if any of you guys have any experience with any of these console emulator systems that plug in to an HDTV via HDMI port. I'm thinking of buy one but don't know which one.

These are for playing old Arcade, NES, SNES, PS1 type games similar to MAME or NES/SNES emulators. I'd rather buy this than a whole arcade unit that runs about $2,500.

https://www.emiconductor.com/products/game-console

https://minigbox.com/g4

https://futurefaves.co/products/retroplay

https://www.emiconductor.com/products/game

https://thetodayztrendz.com/products/retro-king-mini

Make your own RetroPie
https://retropie.org.uk/

This seems a little too advanced for my oldness. The ones I listed look like they're plug and play. But maybe I'm misunderstanding things.

97 said:

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This seems a little too advanced for my oldness. The ones I listed look like they're plug and play. But maybe I'm misunderstanding things.

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Its extremely easy. Just buy the newest pi you want to have and follow the direct guide for installing the os. Its really the best option there is. Then you just download the roms you want to play and load them in. Use your current wireless controllers from any ps or xbox if you have them, else you will want to buy a few. You can even buy preloaded retropie memory cards on ebay if you dont want to deal with sourcing your own roms. Or heck, even peoples whole retropie systems are being sold, controllers and all. I would suggest those over multiple chinese knockoff junk systems.

Raspberry Pi's still aren't super easy to come by these days, unless you are willing to overpay.

FatZilla said:

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97 said:

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This seems a little too advanced for my oldness. The ones I listed look like they're plug and play. But maybe I'm misunderstanding things.

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Its extremely easy. Just buy the newest pi you want to have and follow the direct guide for installing the os. Its really the best option there is. Then you just download the roms you want to play and load them in. Use your current wireless controllers from any ps or xbox if you have them, else you will want to buy a few. You can even buy preloaded retropie memory cards on ebay if you dont want to deal with sourcing your own roms. Or heck, even peoples whole retropie systems are being sold, controllers and all. I would suggest those over multiple chinese knockoff junk systems.

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So I can use my PS5 controllers with Pi?

97 said:

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FatZilla said:

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97 said:

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This seems a little too advanced for my oldness. The ones I listed look like they're plug and play. But maybe I'm misunderstanding things.

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Its extremely easy. Just buy the newest pi you want to have and follow the direct guide for installing the os. Its really the best option there is. Then you just download the roms you want to play and load them in. Use your current wireless controllers from any ps or xbox if you have them, else you will want to buy a few. You can even buy preloaded retropie memory cards on ebay if you dont want to deal with sourcing your own roms. Or heck, even peoples whole retropie systems are being sold, controllers and all. I would suggest those over multiple chinese knockoff junk systems.

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So I can use my PS5 controllers with Pi?

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Should yes. Via usb or blutooth.

FatZilla said:

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97 said:

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This seems a little too advanced for my oldness. The ones I listed look like they're plug and play. But maybe I'm misunderstanding things.

---

Its extremely easy. Just buy the newest pi you want to have and follow the direct guide for installing the os. Its really the best option there is. Then you just download the roms you want to play and load them in. Use your current wireless controllers from any ps or xbox if you have them, else you will want to buy a few. You can even buy preloaded retropie memory cards on ebay if you dont want to deal with sourcing your own roms. Or heck, even peoples whole retropie systems are being sold, controllers and all. I would suggest those over multiple chinese knockoff junk systems.

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Dumb question., Where do I find the hardware to download and use this Retro Pi? Do I need to purchase this unit?

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Model-2019-Quad-Bluetooth/dp/B07TC2BK1X

And then buy a case and power supply for it?

97 said:

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FatZilla said:

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97 said:

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This seems a little too advanced for my oldness. The ones I listed look like they're plug and play. But maybe I'm misunderstanding things.

---

Its extremely easy. Just buy the newest pi you want to have and follow the direct guide for installing the os. Its really the best option there is. Then you just download the roms you want to play and load them in. Use your current wireless controllers from any ps or xbox if you have them, else you will want to buy a few. You can even buy preloaded retropie memory cards on ebay if you dont want to deal with sourcing your own roms. Or heck, even peoples whole retropie systems are being sold, controllers and all. I would suggest those over multiple chinese knockoff junk systems.

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Dumb question., Where do I find the hardware to download and use this Retro Pi? Do I need to purchase this unit?

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Model-2019-Quad-Bluetooth/dp/B07TC2BK1X

And then buy a case and power supply for it?

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Pretty much yes. 5v 3a charger, usb c cable(check old phone chargers if you have any, they may work) . And a micro sd memory card to load the OS and games on. I would also recommend some mini stick on heatsinks for the board to help keep the chips cool. For a case, theres a ton out there. Something like this should fill a lot of your needs.

GeeekPi Raspberry Pi 4 Case with PWM Fan, 18W 5V 3.6A USB-C Raspberry Pi 4 Power Supply, Heatsinks, USB Card Reader, Micro HDMI Cable, Micro HDMI to HDMI Adapter for Raspberry Pi 4 8GB/4GB/2GB https://a.co/d/8NzvxrB

Quote:

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Then you just download the roms you want to play and load them in. Use your current wireless controllers from any ps or xbox if you have them, else you will want to buy a few.

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Do you have a particular place you get ROMS from? It's been years since I messed with emulators, but I've had a desire to download some PC builds recently. I just remember, back in the day, downloading roms was something you wanted to do on an old/crap PC because most of those sites were loaded with spyware.

jr15aggie said:

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Quote:

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Then you just download the roms you want to play and load them in. Use your current wireless controllers from any ps or xbox if you have them, else you will want to buy a few.

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Do you have a particular place you get ROMS from? It's been years since I messed with emulators, but I've had a desire to download some PC builds recently. I just remember, back in the day, downloading roms was something you wanted to do on an old/crap PC because most of those sites were loaded with spyware.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/Roms/comments/m59zx3/roms_megathread_40_html_edition_2021/

I dont have a site anymore. Its been years since i downloaded any (back when PSP was new lol).

Also, Internet Archive is a good place to look. Sometimes its easier to just google whatever rom you're looking for and add 'internet archive' to the end (ex: "Super Mario World Rom Internet Archive") than it is to use the Internet Archive's search function.

FatZilla said:

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Pretty much yes. 5v 3a charger, usb c cable(check old phone chargers if you have any, they may work) . And a micro sd memory card to load the OS and games on. I would also recommend some mini stick on heatsinks for the board to help keep the chips cool. For a case, theres a ton out there. Something like this should fill a lot of your needs.

GeeekPi Raspberry Pi 4 Case with PWM Fan, 18W 5V 3.6A USB-C Raspberry Pi 4 Power Supply, Heatsinks, USB Card Reader, Micro HDMI Cable, Micro HDMI to HDMI Adapter for Raspberry Pi 4 8GB/4GB/2GB https://a.co/d/8NzvxrB

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Sorry for all the noob questions but there are three different versions of Raspberry Pi and I don't know which one to purhcase.

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Model-2019-Quad-Bluetooth/dp/B07TD43PDZ?th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Model-2019-Quad-Bluetooth/dp/B07TD42S27?th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Model-2019-Quad-Bluetooth/dp/B07TC2BK1X?th=1

Whatever you do, don't buy that 1GB model for $111...

To give you an idea of how much prices are inflated, these are the original MSRP's for Raspberry Pi 4 models:

RAM Retail price

• 1GB - $35
• 2GB - $45
• 4GB - $55
• 8GB - $75

The 4GB version is necessary if you want to get into something like Playstation or Dreamcast emulation. If you're sticking with older consoles, 2GB should be sufficient. With RetroPie, there isn't really any benefit going with more than 4GB.


EDIT: Worth noting Raspberry Pi CEO: 'Million-Unit Months' Are Ahead

boy09 said:

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Whatever you do, don't buy that 1GB model for $111...

To give you an idea of how much prices are inflated, these are the original MSRP's for Raspberry Pi 4 models:

RAM Retail price

• 1GB - $35
• 2GB - $45
• 4GB - $55
• 8GB - $75

The 4GB version is necessary if you want to get into something like Playstation or Dreamcast emulation. If you're sticking with older consoles, 2GB should be sufficient. With RetroPie, there isn't really any benefit going with more than 4GB.


EDIT: Worth noting Raspberry Pi CEO: 'Million-Unit Months' Are Ahead

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I want to run old arcade games like I used to via MAME as well as NES and SNES games, Sega, and a few others.