Now you have thought things over, its time to choose what device you will be using to build your retro gaming machine, we will list below the pros and cons of various devices.
The key thing to remember when choosing a device is WILL MY DEVICE HANDLE THE RETRO GAMES I WANT TO PLAY? – an example of this would be the Raspberry Pi 4 WILL NOT play PlayStation 2 games very well, if at all, yet it plays 90% of the original PlayStation 1 games just fine!
Choose your device:-
- Use a Single Board Computer – such as a Raspberry Pi
- Use a PC – new or old!
- Use an existing device – such as an old console/handled
USING A RASPBERRY PI / SBC
The number one choice for real classic retro gaming is the Raspberry Pi, which currently comes in a number of versions, such as the Pi Zero, Pi 3b and the Pi 4, this tiny single board computer is capable of playing most classic retro gaming consoles up to (and including) Dreamcast and PlayStation 1 – the lower version of Pi you have the less it can play (there are limited Dreamcast games that work on the Pi 3b for example) – HOWEVER, if your peak of retro gaming is SNES, then away you go as you wont find a SBC out there that can struggle with that!
If your choosing a SBC then we at Arcade Punks recommend a Raspberry Pi 4 for your retro gaming projects as this is the current “on trend” board that most gaming image developers are using. There are literally HUNDREDS of fully loaded ready to go images for the Raspberry Pi here on Arcade Punks.
There are other forms of SBC (Single Board Computer) as well as the Pi that can be used for projects, but it would be worth checking first that there is a gaming image for your device that is suitable. Hover over the RPI & SBC Images link above in the menu to see what you can see.
Most, if not all SBCs including the Pi require a MicroSD Card for you to “write” the image onto – we’ll explain more on this later.
Check Amazon: Raspberry Pi 4 (opens in new tab)
NEXT STEP: Build a Retro Gaming Device with a Raspberry Pi / SBC >>>>>
USING A PC
Depending on the age and specification of the PC you use, the possibilities of retro gaming are endless, if you have an old PC hanging around you may just want to use that so you spend no money on your build, or you may want to be able to play the latest and greatest arcade games that require some serious graphical processing.
Arcade Punks contain hundreds of builds designed for PC, most of them are compatible with a PC that can run Windows 10 comfortably and some builds are designed for low spec machines, there is not really a rule of thumb of specs, the best thing to do is try it, see if it works and go from there!
Some of the builds on Arcade Punks, including Batocera PC Builds are complete operating system replacements, meaning you write an IMG to the Hard Drive, we recommend a solid state drive (SSD) and it self boots into the front end ready to play – other builds you will need Windows already installed, such as CoinOps for PC.
Check Amazon: Refurbished PC (opens in new tab)
Check Amazon: Refurbished Gaming PC (opens in new tab)
Check Amazon: Solid State Drives (SSD) (opens in new tab)
NEXT STEP: Build a Retro Gaming Device with a PC >>>>>
USING AN EXISTING DEVICE
Maybe your here because you have an existing device you want to “mod” such as a Steam Deck with one of our Steam Deck Builds, or maybe an Original Xbox, maybe the PsP Vita or a number of other consoles and handheld devices (the list is endless!).
This being the case, you’ll need an image (build) for that device, the great thing about “modding” a pre-existing device is all the controller configuration is done for you within the build, so its really a case of downloading, extracting and writing to the device media and your ready to go!
Check Amazon: Steam Deck (opens in new tab)
Check Amazon: Original Xbox (opens in new tab)
Check Amazon: Nvidia Shield (opens in new tab)
NEXT STEP: Build a Retro Gaming Device with an Existing Device >>>>>