Which raspberry pi?

Mrs-Weasley · 5 Jun 20, 12:54 PM

Hi I am making an arcade machine with my son and am wondering what the best raspberry pi to get for emulators. I am a complete amateur at this so any help would be gratefully received. I have posted on retropie but there answers are a bit complicated for me.

I know the 3b+ pi is established for emulators and games but the newer pi4 is faster but not as established.

Does anyone have any idea what the best option is please?

400ixl · 5 Jun 20, 01:29 PM

The Raspberry Pi is hardware. You then have the Operating system and then the emulator.

There hasn't been a major re-architecture of the hardware as part of the Model 4. Both use the ARM architecture with the 4 using the Cortex-A72 and the 3 used the A53 variant of the same chip. The performance update between 3 and 4 is pretty big so if you can use it then it is worth it.

Raspbian as an OS if that is your choice is now based on Debian 10 (buster) instead of Stretch. This is what has broken some of the emulators on the Pi 4 such as RetroPie (now fixed), recalbox (Still broken I believe), Batocera (working) and Lakka (working).

If the games you want to play are on the list for the working emulators then I would go with the 4. Other emulators are working on compatibility so if you need a particular one then you may need to go with the Pi 3b, but personally I would go with a working emulator and get the 4 and move as and when your preferred one is fixed.

Batocera & Recalbox are best for beginners, RetroPie is a good median and Lakka is best for power users.

Batocera video at & so maybe start there.

Mrs-Weasley · 5 Jun 20, 01:43 PM

Hi 400ixl thank you so much for the very detailed reply I really appreciate your time sending it. I only thought there was retropie for emulators so you�ve already taught me something. So basically you think I should get the pi4 and use batocera?

400ixl · 5 Jun 20, 02:32 PM

Have a look at them all and see what devices / games they support. If Batocera covers what you need it would be the easiest way to go to start with and supports the Pi 4 so you would get the best performing hardware.

You can then look at others as you get more experienced.

**BucksBugsy** · 6 Jun 20, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by 400ixl

The Raspberry Pi is hardware. You then have the Operating system and then the emulator.

There hasn't been a major re-architecture of the hardware as part of the Model 4. Both use the ARM architecture with the 4 using the Cortex-A72 and the 3 used the A53 variant of the same chip. The performance update between 3 and 4 is pretty big so if you can use it then it is worth it.

Raspbian as an OS if that is your choice is now based on Debian 10 (buster) instead of Stretch. This is what has broken some of the emulators on the Pi 4 such as RetroPie (now fixed), recalbox (Still broken I believe), Batocera (working) and Lakka (working).

If the games you want to play are on the list for the working emulators then I would go with the 4. Other emulators are working on compatibility so if you need a particular one then you may need to go with the Pi 3b, but personally I would go with a working emulator and get the 4 and move as and when your preferred one is fixed.

Batocera & Recalbox are best for beginners, RetroPie is a good median and Lakka is best for power users.

Batocera video at & so maybe start there.

You've just made me very grumpy

I now have another project I want to add to my list!

Mrs-Weasley · 6 Jun 20, 05:57 PM

I got the pi 4 but could only afford the 2gb one I have read that will be enough for what I want it for so I hope it is.

**BucksBugsy** · 7 Jun 20, 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by Mrs-Weasley

I got the pi 4 but could only afford the 2gb one I have read that will be enough for what I want it for so I hope it is.

I am genuinely interested to follow how this goes - please keep us posted.

I have a 3b I think with 4gb - I may give this a try

400ixl · 7 Jun 20, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by Mrs-Weasley

I got the pi 4 but could only afford the 2gb one I have read that will be enough for what I want it for so I hope it is.

Should be fine. Most of the machines you are emulating would have been lucky to have had 256Kb of memory.

disney332 · 7 Jun 20, 09:14 AM

As a more mature dibber, my first instinct would be to have a large dollop of double cream with my raspberry pi 😂

Disney332

**BucksBugsy** · 7 Jun 20, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by disney332

As a more mature dibber, my first instinct would be to have a large dollop of double cream with my raspberry pi 😂

Disney332

Mmmmm - that sounds like a good programme!

5 Jun 20, 01:29 PM	#2
	5 Jun 20, 01:29 PM 400ixl Imagineer
400ixl Imagineer Join Date: Mar 12	The Raspberry Pi is hardware. You then have the Operating system and then the emulator. There hasn't been a major re-architecture of the hardware as part of the Model 4. Both use the ARM architecture with the 4 using the Cortex-A72 and the 3 used the A53 variant of the same chip. The performance update between 3 and 4 is pretty big so if you can use it then it is worth it. Raspbian as an OS if that is your choice is now based on Debian 10 (buster) instead of Stretch. This is what has broken some of the emulators on the Pi 4 such as RetroPie (now fixed), recalbox (Still broken I believe), Batocera (working) and Lakka (working). If the games you want to play are on the list for the working emulators then I would go with the 4. Other emulators are working on compatibility so if you need a particular one then you may need to go with the Pi 3b, but personally I would go with a working emulator and get the 4 and move as and when your preferred one is fixed. Batocera & Recalbox are best for beginners, RetroPie is a good median and Lakka is best for power users. Batocera video at & so maybe start there.

5 Jun 20, 02:32 PM	#4
	5 Jun 20, 02:32 PM 400ixl Imagineer
400ixl Imagineer Join Date: Mar 12	Have a look at them all and see what devices / games they support. If Batocera covers what you need it would be the easiest way to go to start with and supports the Pi 4 so you would get the best performing hardware. You can then look at others as you get more experienced.

7 Jun 20, 09:14 AM	#9
	7 Jun 20, 09:14 AM disney332 Imagineer
disney332 Imagineer Join Date: Oct 09	As a more mature dibber, my first instinct would be to have a large dollop of double cream with my raspberry pi 😂 Disney332 __________________