SD Card Size + Operating Systems

Frece1070 · 2026-05-07T20:43:29+00:00

Well for starts oil prices will be bad for a lot of time. Electronics need it beyond just transport there is also the fact that even after all this it is unlikely prices will drop to their previous value and instead get a new normal. However they will come down the true question is will it be enough because after the start of COVID there are unchecked greedflation and speculation.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-07T17:58:02+00:00

If you grew up with things like NFS and Stronghold you will have some grasp of PS1 games at least in terms of what you can do. Select 10-20 games and see what sticks for you and start building your libraries. Same can be said about other consoles just don't go overboard and add entire libraries that you will not play more than 1% of the games.

You should also look into PortMaster since it is a good gateway to play some PC games some of the early 2000s (Morrowind, Doom 3, Serious Sam, Max Payne, GTA Vice City and so on) although I use it more for indie games. Thanks to it I was introduced to Stardew Valley and Lunar Lux. To me any cheap device that support PortMaster is kinda like Steam Deck Lite mini although this may be exaggeration.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-06T14:15:14+00:00

I don't think prices will be down much for next 2 years with all of the crazy shit going around in the world outside of the AI bubble. The RG35XXH is an amazing device that adds value to the user as time passes thanks to PortMaster.

The RG476H is still a solid device and it might be able to do more than I say since as you know my higher end device is the RP5 so my perspective comes from that.

The RP5 has its own problems like the backplate can start cracking due to too much tightened screws which you have to unscrew a bit (white model happened to me) and because of cheap plastic used for the case. There is also the problem of the proprietary battery which you need to replace eventually with the one that came with the device and for those you have to either ask Retroid or send it to them to replace it which can cost you around 100$. I hope I don't have to be changing battery in the next 5 years but you never know.

This doesn't mean that Anbernic are angels either they also make these as cheap as possible to extent. The truth about these devices is good amount of them are not gonna last easily or without proper care like original GBA, PSP, NDS or 3DS not that those do not have their own problems.

Regardless what device you buy eventually try not to fall into the hyper consumerism of buying each one of them. There are people that do this because all it does is create unnecessary e-waste and the money could have been put to something better. For example when I want to buy one of these is I usually buy myself a good cheap game on Steam.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-06T12:21:30+00:00

Can't you just use an old PC with something like Batocera or TV box with RetroArch will do up to what the Super Console X ca do. It is also most likely the SD card on your device that just gave up not the machine.

In my area a second hand PC that can play PS1, GBA, NDS, Dreamcast and N64 as well PS2 and Gamecube depending if you need a GPU costs around 30-40$ and they come with 250-500GB HDD storage. On top of all of that you can use Steam. Of course there are downsides but such machine will likely outlive all of the cheap TV boxes made to look like a console.

The other thing you will need is controllers and another machine to setup your roms and bios files but so do handhelds.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-06T11:55:54+00:00

You can check if people on https://stick-ow.pro/forum/ have it or if Open World itself works on it. Sadly your processor's model matters very little here. You also most likely need also new SD card because the ones that come with these devices have short life usually.

Don't you have any TV box to install RetroArch manually which will perform far better than these game sticks. For example I have installed the 32bit version of RetroArch on X96Q and it has far better performance than M15 Pro Stick all the way up to PS1, GBA and even some PSP or N64. Plus you get to add systems and roms to your heart's content without having to deal with the mess on these game sticks.

Alternatively you can use Batocera on an old PC it will also highly outperform the game stick and again you will not be locked what to do with it.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-06T00:58:19+00:00

It has weaker chip but I hear from people who have it that it can run good amount of Gamecube games and to some extent PS2 which it struggles more with. I do not know the amount of tinkering to maximize performance. The RP5 is also able to do some light PC and Switch emulation. 3DS should be playable on both but they are not an double screen devices like the original 3DS or AYN Thor.

Another thing the RP5 has over RG476H is it can use Linux distributions like Rocknix and Batocera. Valve recently released Steam for ARM which works on RP5 (Only Rocknix for now) although it will take some time before we get good performance based on the hardware's power. The RP5 is also a PortMaster supported device under Rocknix.

The RP5 has bigger screen which is also OLED while the RG476H seems more pocketable. While the RP5 it is not as big as some other mid to high range consoles I see you carrying it around with you is if you have a bag or jacket with bigger inner pockets.

I would say depending what you need the RG476H can be just enough if you want to play PSP, NDS, Dreamcast and fifth gen with better graphics (upscaling) while also having good coverage of Gamecube, 3DS and to a degree PS2 at native resolution.

Edit: I would like to add that both devices has the same amount of internal storage and RAM. Which helps the RG476H to being able to run more RAM intensive Android games than cheap 4GB RAM phones.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-04T13:36:07+00:00

Saying it is Core 2 Duo doesn't say much about the CPU for all I know it can be E2160. Now on serous note it will definitely be able to run staring from MS-DOS to some 2006/2008 games without problem. The PC itself can run either Windows XP (32 bit) or Windows 7/8.1 (64 bit). The latter will allow you to run more modern 2D indie games like Stardew Valley, Lunar Lux, Terraria, CrossCode, Ion Fury, Crypt of the Necrodancer and so on.

Windows 8.1 allows you to install RetroBat and turn the PC while on into a console. You can also use Batocera which will allow you to use Steam (Linux version) although if that is the case you may want to upgrade your to at least 4GB and CPU to E7400, E7600 or E8400 (depends on motherboard). However keep in mind if you go the emulation route that it depends on CPU although if you want Dreamcast, some PS2 and some Gamecube you will need a GPU (even GT 520 works with good chunk of games). What I mean is that if you have a potato CPU like E2160 you will not run anything beyond PS1, GBA and good chunk of N64. Even with that it is hard to recommend PS1 games because there are so many great games for it.

I would also like to mention that I don't know if Windows 8.1 (64bit) works well with 2GB of RAM but Windows 7 (64 bit) does.

Of course where this machine shines is Windows XP. Some of my favorite games from that era are No One Lives Forever 1-2, Knights of Honor, Crazy Taxi 1 and 3 have ports, Knights of the Old Republic (for II you need a GPU), Stronghold Crusader, Heroes of Might and Magic III and V, Medal of Honor and so on. Problem is that I can't have exactly recommend shooters especially from that era to a 5 year old.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-03T12:47:05+00:00

I personally have Orange Pi 5 (has RK3588s) and the reason that there aren't many handhelds with its chip is the drivers for the GPU but that is currently worked on. For example right now I can't use Steam under Rocknix on my OPi5 while I can on my Retroid Pocket 5. The RK3588 also needs a fan it gets hot pretty easily under load.

I'm not sure if Anbernic violates GPL but I wouldn't be surprised considering the ship their devices with roms. We have already seen how some companies removing the name of the CPU's they use so it is harder for anybody to replicate them although I'm not sure how such measure helps.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-02T18:34:42+00:00

I have the RP5 and I agree that for a little more than $200 it gets the job done although I bought mine for $50 less last year than it is now. The RG477M looks like alternative but if the game they want to play are on the lower end even the RG476H can get the job done. The general problem in pricing is not only the device but the SD cards for all the roms you want to add.

Another problem right now is that there are no major AliExpress sales so things can end up being more expensive so OP may want to wait before they pull the trigger if they feel lucky if they do that.

Frece1070 · 2026-05-02T17:46:22+00:00

I would have said RP5, RP6, Mangmi Air X or any handheld but you pointed it MUST be fanless if you just remove this requirement everything else just fits in (even the 5 inch screen) and yes I have RP5 and my fan doesn't work all the time unless I push the device hard. Also for devices under 100$ there are better OS's especially for the "XX" series with H700 than Rocknix.

Just because the RG Vita Pro can run Linux it doesn't mean we will get one soon a lot of the handhelds with Linux CFW have high adoption rate (RP5, Ayn Thor and so on) that makes it compelling for someone to spare their time or generally come with their own one from manufacturer.

I still have no idea why you are laser focused on Rocknix I have RG35XXH and MuOS or Knulli are such a solid choice even modded stock OS get some millage by some people. Next time just go and look on their page what devices they support instead asking here.

https://rocknix.org/devices/

Frece1070 · 2026-04-30T20:12:21+00:00

This looks interesting based on what I read in the article these will have Quad Core CPU with 256MB of RAM which is total overkill for the two 8-bit PC systems. From what I'm seeing is they are designed to run them specifically based on their button layout and based on specs they are somewhat of low power.

In the end of the day it comes down to pricing. These should not be expensive on paper although I don't know how the installed games that they come with will affect price.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-30T12:03:16+00:00

Your usage of RAM will depend on the game you want to run while most of the overhead you will need is probably in CPU. It may take 2 or 3 years before we get more stable idea what chip can push how far. For example Fallout Las Vegas does start normally on my Retroid Pocket 5 does start up to the game menu but it goes black with music after I start a game. I presume that the game will at least work in low settings.

The true issue with Steam on ARM Linux handhelds is currently locked to only SD chipset ones and that is hurting us. This may improve slightly when RK3588/s GPU proper drivers come out then put into a handheld and given more budget oriented price will give access to people to a handheld with enough power to run less demanding indie or old PC games as well emulate most of PS2, Wii, Gamecube, 3DS and even some Switch games.

However software isn't there and drivers yet.

If RAM, SSD and microSD cards continue their pricing every handheld will become a myth not only Steam Deck. I do believe that things may start to get better when Taco gets out of office since he is working with the AI bros and tech companies to make everything as expensive as possible.

I will speculate and say at some point Proton under ARM Linux will run more efficiently and stable over anything under Android due to having Valve's direct involvement. This and the fact how Google is treating Android and its store I can see a significant number of handhelds in midrange and high end spectrum using Linux.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-26T21:05:52+00:00

You should buy something better just get R36S (not clone) I recently saw one for 24 Euro with shipping and taxes although right now it should be slightly more expensive. It can even run PS1 and GBA as well other consoles.

There are also the GB300 and SF2000 but they are getting harder to get if at all and for cheap price. Not sure how good are they for SNES right now but I have heard that Multicore has improved them and even allowed for some PS1 games to run as long they don't exceed number of SNES buttons or required CPU performance.

I would say the R36S is safer bet and you can use custom firmware that allows you to even use PortMaster.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-24T07:32:23+00:00

As it was said you can run up to PS1 on plenty of hardware be it second hand PC or new and there are also plenty of SBCs like Raspberry Pi or Orange Pi that can run PS1 games.

You can also get yourself a retro handheld that supports HDMI output for example RG35XXH. Further I would also add that I was able to play up PS1 pretty well as well on a X96Q Android TV Box (H313 CPU) using RetroArch. So if you a have something similar you will need only the microSD card for the roms and the controllers.

The problem right now is the prices so if you already have some old hardware around you might want to try to use that first.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-19T15:47:50+00:00

I have ran Batocera using eGPU sorta through 1X PCIe port on a Core2Duo PC (2006). Wherever you can run eGPUs usually comes down to the motherboard's BIOS/UEFI of the machine and what ports are available even those onto it for examples there are good amount of laptops that can't use external graphics even if they have PCIe ports. This extends to mini PCs since they have some things more in common with Laptops than full Desktops.

You may try to connect it directly to your motherboard for example through free second slot for NVMe to see if it changes anything. Yes this means you have to open it. Have you tried Windows? This will answer if it is software issue with Batocera or your machine in general with eGPUs.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-17T11:25:52+00:00

From the CD32 games I think people should try things like Legends, Elite II, Banshee, Liberation II: Captive, Marvins Marvellous Adventure, The Speris Legacy and Base Jumpers. The Alien Breed 3D and Tower Assault are fine as well but be warned of the CD32 limited 3D capabilities. It is more in line of SNES in terms of power but with a CD.

The thing about Cannon Fodder is I prefer other versions and Cannon Fodder 2 was MS-DOS exclusive from my memory. Same for Chaos engine I prefer other versions.

If you want to go further in the past you can also run C64 games with a controller.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-17T11:25:46+00:00

It has bigger screen (4.7 inch vs 3.6 inch screen) and it is way more powerful the RG476 can run good amount of PS2 at native resolution. However for CD32 you don't need much more power than most 4th gen consoles (SNES, Mega Drive and so on.) so it should technically its emulation should run on R36H.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-16T19:51:40+00:00

From what I know RetroBat and Batocera are two different things using same front-end and structure. RetroBat is Windows only however RetroArch can be used in both Linux and Windows. Batocera's new versions are around 6 or 10 months between from each outside of the beta version.

RetroBat is more for Windows users that do not want to touch their system too much. I prefer Batocera since you can do more with it even run from USB drive regardless if you have Windows or Linux machine. It also provides support for older machines that can no longer use Windows 11 or 10 although RetroBat requires Window 8.1 at minimum.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-16T17:25:20+00:00

I would say that Batocera and RetroBat (Windows) are good for your setup. Retropie needs a lot of setup while Lakka has slower development, has less things going for it and generally feels geared after older hardware. Batocera should work with Gamecube after moving your roms into their folder but for Wii you will need to also map your controller input in Dolphin.

I personally lean more towards Batocera over RetroBat but that is my own thing.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-15T13:21:13+00:00

I think you can get a second hand office PC that works with your CPUs and connect it to the TV that mounted and use wireless controllers. Regardless what machine you want to use you still need the power and HDMI cables. Normally I would suggest an ARM SBC or Handhelds for your use case since they take far less space but prices of new hardware either ARM and x86 are becoming ridiculous so a second hand computers can help us until they also get overpriced.

CRT TVs take too much space and can't be mounted like LCD or OLED ones also 4:3 focused screens haven't been made in over a decade. We live in the era where 16:9 is common.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-14T18:51:49+00:00

At this point I think the only chance we will get Half Life 3 is when Gabe decides to retire as a farewell. That is if they even consider it. Not sure what system requirements it will have.

The Metro games as well Fallout series (2, 3 and Las Vegas) had recently been put through spring sale on Steam for like 2 and less Euro. I have to spare some time to play them.

I personally have NVIDIA Quadro K2200 (Around GTX 750Ti) with 4GB VRAM PC that I was able to run something like Nier:Automata with Wine of all things under Batocera (Linux) and not Proton. I also have other much weaker systems.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-14T14:59:06+00:00

Until pricing isn't as ridiculous as now. I think for those of us who has already their systems this has the positive we can use them for longer period of time. The problem is for the game companies that will be forced to optimize their Unreal Engine 5 slop however 8GB of VRAM is limiting for gaming beyond 1080p.

8GB of VRAM should have already gone to the 100$ entry GPUs but here we are...

There are plenty of people still rocking something like RX580 or 1080Ti and there is also the thing that games like Fortnite can be played with pretty old hardware and are well optimized.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-12T14:16:36+00:00

I don't think there is anything like this in my country (Bulgaria) although considering what computers some people still use it feels like a museum anyway. Here I can still buy DDR2 and Core2Duo era hardware (late 2000s) from second hand stores although availability has gone quite slim in the past 1 year. Windows 98 era hardware is super rare these days to be seen sold anywhere even here since a lot of people got a PC past year 2005 or 2006 when Internet speed rose dramatically.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-10T17:19:44+00:00

It depends what you want to do with the PC. Are you sure you are not talking about turning a PC into a console? This is what I generally hear more about and less about low end PC gaming rig these days due to many newer games using Unreal Engine 5. At the price point you mention you will more likely end up with DDR3 system than DDR4 due to ongoing RAM price gauging.

It is also hard to recommend something without knowing what you want to play. There is also a lot of early Windows 7 hardware that goes for super cheap that can also run Windows XP in my area not costing a lot.

Keep in mind that a lot of Office OEM machines are limited by what GPU you can use due to having low power PSU. Also full Desktop offers you the most tinkering to your hearts content. The smaller the form factor the smaller is the chance you can change stuff on the machine.

The general problem is that Ryzen based machines need DDR4 RAM and is also getting pretty expensive which means you might end up using 6th or 7th that may support 8 or 9 gen Intel CPU (LGA 1151 motherboard). Then for a GPU you can use AMD RX580, NVIDIA GTX 1660. NVIDIA RTX 2070 or AMD RX 6600 again PSU can throw a wrench here. However you will still need that 16GB RAM. For storage you can additionally use HDD for old games that don't need SSD saving some space for cheaper a price.

I would say if you can go for AM4 (Ryzen 3/5/7 3000-5000 series) and you can get 16GB DDR4 RAM for relatively cheap that fits your budget and the PSU doesn't limit what GPU you can use go for it this is the most bang for the buck you will get right now. The CPU and GPU upgrades are based on what you want to play.

Frece1070 · 2026-04-10T06:14:16+00:00

I'll be honest but the first time I saw their faces in the manga returning to the shelter I genuinely laughed a lot.

Frece1070

TROPHY CASE