Tech Gaming Hardware discussion (& Hardware Sales) thread

[Slobodan]

 

[Madmick]

View attachment 1105023

 

[Slobodan]

Yeah I'm like Smeagol with the SSDs.

 

[GSP_37]

On Apple News, I saw an article that said someone (not company for release) is making a portable GameCube that also plays Gameboy games. I wish I could make something like that from scratch but for nonportable use. It looked like a PSP with GameCube design scheme and buttons.

 

[Croaker]

On Apple News, I saw an article that said someone (not company for release) is making a portable GameCube that also plays Gameboy games. I wish I could make something like that from scratch but for nonportable use. It looked like a PSP with GameCube design scheme and buttons.

Emulators exist

 

[Madmick]

On Apple News, I saw an article that said someone (not company for release) is making a portable GameCube that also plays Gameboy games. I wish I could make something like that from scratch but for nonportable use. It looked like a PSP with GameCube design scheme and buttons.

Emulators exist

Seconded, I don't understand why you wouldn't just use emulators. We're talking about the Gamecube and Gameboy. The Dolphin emulator (for Wii & Gamecube) was already so precise over half a decade ago the Nintendo store itself couldn't distinguish it from a genuine Wii. Gamers were able to order from the store itself, if they wanted, and to use Nintendo online services for emulated games. You could do that with a Steam Deck or any PC handheld device (ex. ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, MSI Claw A1M, etc). The portable you read about is almost certainly just an emulation machine with specialized joysticks mimicking the Gamecube. A quick Google pointed me to this:

Ashida Wii:

Ashida Wii Portable

It's been a long wait, that wait is now over... Get comfortable, make sure headphones are placed firmly on your head and prepare for a little introductory video to a portable that previously only existed in memes and dreams: (4k and fullscreen recommended) I could take full credit but...

bitbuilt.net

If you're not after the specialized joysticks, then there's really no effort required other than to set up Dolphin (for Gamecube) and Sameboy (for Game Boy) on a PC. Alternatively, and probably easier, just download them as libretocores within Retroarch. After you set that up, just order this for $15, and if it isn't automatically detected by Retroarch, which it almost certainly will be, it's very easy to just manually calibrate the controller to operate as intended in the input menu:

Arrocent GC Controller, Replacement for Gamecube Controller, Compatible with Wired USB Game Cube Controller/PC Windows 7 8 10 (Black)​

 

[GSP_37]

^ The one in the article I saw had the curved carrying handle and the author made a point to point that out.

 

[Madmick]

^ The one in the article I saw had the curved carrying handle and the author made a point to point that out.

Okay, but you said you wanted something non-portable? So why waste money on niche additional devices with a specialized form factor? Just get yourself a USB Gamecube controller, and emulate.

 

[GSP_37]

What I really want is to play the two PSP Ace Combat games, the XBOX360 Ace Combat, maybe a N64 Mario Golf if exists, Zelda, the Sega Saturn DBZ fighting game.

The Raspberry Pi I had was a 3 and overclocked, you could barely play Ace Combat since it had so much slowdown. Or maybe that was default and overclocking was slightly better. I forget. I remember a bunch of settings to dumb down just to get something closer to normal.

I watched a few Pi 5 vids of PSP and the games showed seemed like no issues using default.

 

[My Spot]

What I really want is to play the two PSP Ace Combat games, the XBOX360 Ace Combat, maybe a N64 Mario Golf if exists, Zelda, the Sega Saturn DBZ fighting game.

The Raspberry Pi I had was a 3 and overclocked, you could barely play Ace Combat since it had so much slowdown. Or maybe that was default and overclocking was slightly better. I forget. I remember a bunch of settings to dumb down just to get something closer to normal.

I watched a few Pi 5 vids of PSP and the games showed seemed like no issues using default.

PC.

 

[jefferz]

What I really want is to play the two PSP Ace Combat games, the XBOX360 Ace Combat, maybe a N64 Mario Golf if exists, Zelda, the Sega Saturn DBZ fighting game.

The Raspberry Pi I had was a 3 and overclocked, you could barely play Ace Combat since it had so much slowdown. Or maybe that was default and overclocking was slightly better. I forget. I remember a bunch of settings to dumb down just to get something closer to normal.

I watched a few Pi 5 vids of PSP and the games showed seemed like no issues using default.

Don't buy a Pi5. The price isn't worth it anymore unless you need those GPIO pins.

A Pi 5 is $66 for the 4gb version, and $80 for the 8gb. Then you need to add another $10ish for a heatsink/case.
There are better options, like a used HP Elite Desk G3 SFF for $60 that come with a 6th or 7th gen i5. At the 8gb Pi price, you can step up to one of those mini pc's with a N100 Celeron for $100 on sale that will destroy the Pi in just about everything.

 

[GSP_37]

PC.

I like the idea of low power consumption. I never considered a used or old PC just for video game stuff. If I F up the Pi 5, not that big a deal vs. if I F up a PC.

 

[Madmick]

I like the idea of low power consumption. I never considered a used or old PC just for video game stuff. If I F up the Pi 5, not that big a deal vs. if I F up a PC.

If they cost the same what's the difference? And how are you going to screw up a mini PC by simply installing emulation software?

 

[jefferz]

I like the idea of low power consumption. I never considered a used or old PC just for video game stuff. If I F up the Pi 5, not that big a deal vs. if I F up a PC.

The difference between an N100 and Pi5 is like 15 watts. That's like $5 a year extra at the national utility average.

 

[GSP_37]

I guess I need to look into what's a mini PC and cost.

 

[Madmick]

I guess I need to look into what's a mini PC and cost.

Here is the Amazon bestseller chart:

Amazon Best Sellers: Best Mini Computers

Discover the best Mini Computers in Best Sellers. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Computers & Accessories Best Sellers.

www.amazon.com

There are specials that pop off all the time in this section because it's such a competitive market. Almost all the the current bestselling shoestring budget options run on an Intel Alder-Lake N series processor from the 2023 Gracemont (N50, N95, N97, N100, N200) or 2025 Twin Lake (ex. N150, N250) families. This N97 variant with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage just went on sale for $140 a few days ago. You can find 8GB RAM iterations for $125 or less even when not on sale. Typically they come with 256GB-512GB of storage. This is cheaper than what I'm seeing for comparable Raspberry Pi 5 starter kits on Amazon.

There is very little difference between the Intel N series processors as CPUs. The only exception is the weaker dual core N50 which you don't really see in any of the offerings on Amazon. The numbering is generally a grading referring to the quality of the iGPU built onto the chipset. The N250 alone throws a wrench in that:

• N50 ---> UHD 710
• N95 ---> UHD 710
• N97 ---> UHD 730
• N100 -> UHD 730
• N150 -> UHD 730
• N200 -> UHD 770
• N250 -> UHD 730

All but the N50 above are stronger as CPUs than the Broadcom BCM2712 in the RP5, and as far as the iGPUs shown above, even the least of these, the UHD 710, is stronger graphically. On top of that, not that it will probably matter for emulation, since most emulators are best on Vulkan, these days, but the Intel processors support Direct X natively (no Wine drivers required). So they would be superior for running less demanding Windows games, and take a lot less fuss. The most attractive offerings I'm seeing are N97 or N150 units.

I've never spent serious time learning about the RP and its competitors, but that would be my rough assessment.


*Edit* Oh, to give you an idea of the gaming capability of the N97 or N150, here is a video of a YouTuber showing off just that. One important thing to note is that he is using an ever so slightly more expensive variant that has LPDDR5-4800MHz RAM (GMKTec G2 Plus, $160) as opposed to the cheapest ones I highlighted that have DDR4 RAM (prob running between 2133MHz to 3200MHz). The RAM speed is a bigger deal than normal for gaming considerations because it's what the iGPU uses as video RAM, and in these lower performance chipsets, this becomes critical to gaming performance. As the YouTuber notes, it's worth it. FYI, I am seeing a unit with 12GB of LPDDR5-4400MHz RAM and 256GB storage for $138:

N1 PRO Intel N150 12GB LPDDR5 RAM 256GB M.2 2242 SSD with 2 x 2.5GbE i226-V Chip, Mini Desktop Computers W11 PRO​

 

[jefferz]

I guess I need to look into what's a mini PC and cost.

MadLittlePixel and ETAPrime on YouTube cover emulation on different hardware.

I don’t know if I can link them or not, but you can find these mini pc’s already set up with games already installed.
@Madmick can we get a clarification if it’s ok to post links to that type of stuff.

 

[WhiteMousse]

I got the Elgato HD60x so I can stream Switch 2. The problem is my mobo doesn't have USB 3.0, only has 2.0. If I get a USB 3.0 PCIe card will that work?

 

[Ibm]

We should encourage him to buy an actual larger build so he can upgrade. CyberpowerPC has good builds for the price. You'll be set for a while, anytime you want to upgrade, just popin a new GPU. gpu's can get beefy so getting larger case can accommodate that. I made a bit of a mistake getting a pre build my case wont support anything more than a 3090 because my case is too small.

 

[Madmick]

MadLittlePixel and ETAPrime on YouTube cover emulation on different hardware.

I don’t know if I can link them or not, but you can find these mini pc’s already set up with games already installed.
@Madmick can we get a clarification if it’s ok to post links to that type of stuff.

As long as they don't discuss websites to procure ROMs or stuff like that we should be in the clear.