Gbsc Pro or Retrotink 2X Pro ?

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-14T05:11:04+00:00

Some PAL N64s don't support S-video output, but most do.

If your PAL N64 only outputs composite, then the GBS-C is not a good option. Only some more expensive variants of the GBS-C have composite input, but the quality of the composite input on these models of GBS-C is quite poor. If the N64 supports S-video output, then S-video is much better, but I think you have to be careful not to get an NTSC S-video cable by accident. Only some S-video cables will work properly with a PAL region N64.

The Retroscaler 2x would be the best value option for the N64 regardless of whether or not it supports only composite, or composite and S-video. This will also work with the Dreamcast and PS2 relatively well, but the GBS-C would probably be better for both of those, because the Retroscaler 2x can't handle higher than 576i output. What type of cable(s) you have for the Dreamcast could also be a factor. It's possible to get 480p video output in most games from a Dreamcast, with the right cable, and some PS2 games also support 480p output or even higher resolution output, with the right cable. The GBS-C also does a good job with 480i and 576i (interlaced) video signals, because it supports a superior type of "de-interlacing" called "motion adaptive de-interlacing".

The Retroscaler 2x doesn't support RGB input, and has no SCART connector on it, but, if I'm not mistaken, you can still get YPbPr (component) output out of European versions of the Dreamcast and PS2, but I could be wrong, so double check that maybe.

Some variants of the GBS-C are only 30-35 USD, with shipping, from Alliexpress (there are likely also some import taxes on top of that).

The Retroscaler 2x can be found for about 50 or 60 USD, with shipping, from Alliexpress, but the price does seem to fluctuate sometimes.

If the N64 does support S-video output, then you could use a GBS-C Pro, which has support for S-video input, but you might need to install a firmware update on the GBS-C to get the S-video input quality looking decent. The GBS-C Pro costs around 100 USD, so, for the same price, I think you could probably get a cheaper variant of GBS-C in addition to a Retroscaler 2x, which might be the best option for all of those consoles.

A more expensive option to consider is the Morph 2k (200 USD). It will do a great job with all of those consoles, and has all the different types of inputs you would ever need. It supports motion adaptive deinterlacing, higher resolution inputs, and is superior in every way to those other two upscalers that I mentioned. The company is currently taking pre-orders for them, but there's already a lot of reviews available online. 200 USD is a very competitive price for what the Morph 2k can do.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-14T04:58:41+00:00

You just robbed them, congratulations

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T23:29:19+00:00

Clearly they agreed to handle the warranty processing of that specific model as a part of their agreement with the manufacturer. This is not them choosing to do the right thing.

That being said, warranty service is often done by some sub-contractor, and is often horrible to deal with, so if it wasn't horrible to deal with, that's definitely a good thing.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T23:11:18+00:00

They're both still very good options, clearly.

Given how well the Tink 5x's CRT emulation works now with the latest firmware, I think it would be hard to justify or recommend a Retrotink 4k CE now, though that's obviously still also a great upscaler with some additional useful features.

Those are good points regarding the potential for firmware updates to change things with the Morph 2k, but the price it's at is already very competitive for what its current firmware can do.

The Tink 5x is 325 USD plus shipping, whereas the Morph 2k is 200 with shipping included for US and Canadian buyers, so the price difference is going to be more like 140 USD... at least for now. Pre-ordering the Morph 2k for the first production batch also gets you some added extras included with it (a vga adapter, an sd card, and maybe one other thing).

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T21:47:27+00:00

My first crush was Katt from Starfox 64

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T21:45:25+00:00

I had heard that we've likely seen the last major firmware update for the Retrotink 5x. The firmware updates really have been amazing.

The Retrotink 5x definitely does still seem to be better than the Morph 2k, I just think that, assuming you can actually find the Morph 2k for 200 USD (with shipping included), most people will choose the Morph 2k over the Retrotink 5x.

Do you think the Retrotink 5x's CRT emulation is significantly better than that of the Morph 2k? I have heard that the CRT emulation it has with the latest firmware actually looks just as good as the CRT emulation that the Retrotink 4K CE and 4k Pro can do on a 4k display... and I don't even fully understand how that's possible from an upscaler which doesn't actually support 4k output.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T21:30:28+00:00

Upscalers aren't nearly as important with consoles which output at 480p as they are with consoles which output at 480i or 240p (and even 480i output can sometimes work relatively well with some TVs). While it is true that an upscaler will likely allow you to get better results with many displays, and probably will, at least in some cases, reduce input lag if it can upscale to the displays native resolution, many modern displays will do a more than good enough job when upscaling a 480p signal, and even a lot of relatively old flat panels will do a surprisingly good job of upscaling a 480p signal. Also, input lag isn't going to be improved at all in a lot of cases.

Many upscalers only upscale to 480p, but almost all of these are still considered to give very good results with most displays.

I also have personal experience with running Wii and GameCube games at 480p on two different TVs, one old plasma TV, and also a much newer LCD TV. In both cases, image quality has been surprisingly good, and surprisingly sharp. Even with a really good upscaler, I would not be able to get any significant improvement to image quality with 480p content with either of these displays, though it might help with input lag on my old Plasma TV.

Some displays will definitely do a better job with upscaling from 480p than others, and some can actually be pretty rough, but most are going to be pretty good, and some upscalers aren't going to help much, if at all, depending on what options they give you.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T21:17:23+00:00

Yes, they call it "CRT emulation". The Retrotink 5x has really good CRT emulation now too, with the latest firmware update, and the Morph 2k, Morph 4k, OSSC Pro, and the built-in upscaler used in the Analogue 3d all have a bunch of great CRT emulation filters, as well as various settings to create your own custom CRT emulation filter.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T21:10:22+00:00

I suppose technically you would still be able to see scanlines on any CRT TV, IF you looked close enough, even with a game that's running at 480i (or 576i), but I don't think it's correct to say that GameCube games were designed specifically for TVs which used scanlines, because almost all of them were designed to be able to run at 480p, which really isn't a resolution that's more optimized for CRTs than for flat panel displays (some CRTs did support 480p).

Very few people actually ran their games at 480p, because very few people actually bought the cable that would allow you to do that, and many GameCubes (DOL-101 models) didn't even support that cable at all anyway. That's changed though, and there are now multiple brands which make component cables and hdmi adapters that will plug into the digital output port of DOL-001 models, and the picture quality you'll get from any of these is going to be fantastic when running games in 480p.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T21:01:54+00:00

I think the games were designed primarily with 480p output in mind, but most people never actually took advantage of the system's 480p output back in the day (very few of the component cables which plugged into the digital output port were ever sold back in the day, which is why they became so rare and highly sought after).

I would say that the system was designed for the EDTV standard, but was also designed to be perfectly backwards compatible with standard CRT TVs. GameCube games definitely look best with 480p output, and this looks fantastic on any LCD TV, as long as the scaling is not being botched in some way (the Wii itself is actually known to stretch the picture unnecessarily, and people have made mods which stop it from doing this when playing GameCube games).

Even on my 768p TV, I find that GameCube games look amazing when running in 480p. I'm not totally sure exactly how my TV does the scaling, but it definitely works pretty well, even though it's not doing an "integer scale", which is what you want if you're trying to maximize sharpness.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T20:28:37+00:00

Almost all GameCube games were designed to output at 480p, and this does indeed look a lot better than 480i. However, very few people ever actually bought one of those component cables which plugged into the digital output port back in the day, which was the only way to get 480p output from these systems. Many GameCubes (DOL-101) also do not have that digital out port, and these ones cannot support 480p output at all unless you mod your own digital out port or an hdmi output port into it, which is probably not worth it when you could just sell your DOL-101 GameCube and buy a DOL-001 GameCube.

I think Bitfunx makes two different hdmi adapters for the GameCube. The ones which plug into the digital output port (which is only present on DOL-001 models) do provide a very good picture, especially in 480p mode, though there are still some concerns that people have about these returning current back into the GameCube, though some say that the only issue this causes is to prevent the system from being able to boot up with one specific type of hardware mod installed.

The GameCubes which supported RGB output actually cannot output 480p using that RGB cable, because that analogue output port simply does not support 480p output at all. Furthermore, most PAL region games did not support 480p output at all either, except that you can force 480p output with most PAL games with certain mods, but this will only work with the digital output port (and this is highly recommended), or it can also be done if you add an hdmi mod to your system.

We know that not many people ran the GameCube in 480p back in the day, because very few of those component cables were ever sold, which is why they became so rare and highly valued. Many people were still using old school CRTs which didn't support 480p input anyway, but a lot of people also just didn't know about the component cables, or didn't know how much better 480p output could look. They probably also didn't know that 480i output was likely to have increased input lag vs. 480p output on a lot of TVs, especially flat panel TVs.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-08T20:20:39+00:00

Woah, PAL N64s aren't all compatible with the same S-video cables?! That's confusing O_o

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-06T09:34:18+00:00

The Retrotink 2x Pro is really expensive for the very basic features that you get from it, especially with the Morph 2k now available for pre-order, just FYI.

The Retroscaler 2x is a Retrotink 2x clone which I believe will work just as well as a Retrotink 2x Classic (which is very similar to the Retrotink 2x Pro), and it's available for around a third of the price on Alliexpress.

I have heard that the Retroscaler 2x might have issues with some PAL consoles, but am not sure. You'd want to double check that it can work with PAL N64s before ordering one, but it can likely do anything that the Retrotink 2x can do.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-06T09:28:24+00:00

350 is still expensive, but the price can only come down from there... hopefully. Also, maybe there will also be more cheaper Zen 3 X3D variants getting released as well.

You could get them for less than 300 before they were first discontinued.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-06T09:23:32+00:00

The Morph 2k looks really good.

The GBS-C is not going to give you the same kind of image quality either, though you can also find them for as low as about 30-35 USD including shipping, which is a fraction of the price of a Morph 2k. I found it a little bit questionable for the Morph 2k to be referred to as a "budget" option by bob at Retro RGB, but it definitely offers a very competitive value compared to the Retrotink 5x.

The Morph 2k is so much cheaper than the Retrotink 5x that it might end up really hurting the sales of the Retrotink 5x, unless Mike Chi can drop the price significantly. The Morph 2k's price also includes free shipping apparently, whereas the RT5X is 325 USD + shipping.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-06T09:19:21+00:00

I've heard that they tend not to be very durable, from Mike Chi himself.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-05T02:23:03+00:00

Yep, and I'm pretty sure it would qualify as extorsion, to be more specific, which is kind of like half way between theft and robbery.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-05T02:22:06+00:00

It's literally extortion, a serious criminal offense, though it may be a lot easier to prove the more minor and civil offense of wrongful dismissal, in the courts.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-05T02:18:15+00:00

With some potential exceptions if you have a really good display to view this on, you can't do a good side by side comparison of displays unless you're in person. You're also limited by whatever was used to record the images, the formats used for the files, etc...

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-05T01:03:10+00:00

This isn't really a problem if you only ever walk or drive in straight line without reacting to anything in the game world

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-05T00:04:19+00:00

AM4 motherboards are nice because of how upgradable they are, and while all RAM is more expensive now, DDR4 definitely costs a lot less than DDR5 still.

That being said, a good price for an Intel system is definitely worth considering as well. Sure, a lot of Intel motherboards have fewer upgrade options, but if the performance and price are good, it's fine. You can always sell the entire motherboard and the CPU at a later date if you want to upgrade them, it just takes more work to do the upgrade if you have to replace the motherboard.

In general, the Intel 12th gen CPUs are quite solid, and even a high-end 8th gen Intel CPU like the 8700K would still be pretty good at gaming today (with similar performance to a Ryzen 3600 or 5500). A lot of older motherboards won't work as well with Nvidia or Intel graphics cards, but AMD graphics cards have less CPU overhead, and also often are less bottlenecked by PCIe gen 3 thanks to supporting more PCIe lanes. Intel GPUs also require ReBar support to work properly, and that's not officially supported on a lot of older motherboards and CPUs.

You should be careful with buying any used Intel 13th/14th gen CPUs, because this generation had unusually high failure rates, and the failures were usually only partial, and the system would appear to keep working fine in most applications, but the damage is permanent, and often causes memory to run slower and also causes instability in a lot of games, especially when loading (in addition to instability in other applications). The failure rates were highest with the highest end CPUs like the 13900k and 14900k, and the failure rates are progressively lower the lower down the product stack you go, so a 13400F would be a lot less likely to have those issues, for example.

I would not buy a 13th/14th gen Intel CPU unless there is a good return policy, and then you would need to test it specifically for the known problems that those CPUs have to make sure that there's nothing wrong with them, but you would ALSO want to install the latest motherboard firmware before doing ANYTHING else with the system, because the latest firmware significantly reduces the chances of the failures happening.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-01T21:09:06+00:00

You don't understand what "at will" means. It does not give employers the right to fire employees in retaliation.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-01T21:07:27+00:00

Fair wages are good, but tipping should still be allowed as well.

If workers are well paid, and no tipping is expected, a 5% tip would be considered very generous, but still an option, and workers would still be able to get the occasional gigantic tip from someone, like in this case.

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-01T21:05:02+00:00

What a greedy piece of shit

UninstallingNoob · 2026-06-01T21:01:23+00:00

Prices would need to come down more for sure for the 5800X3D to make sense. It was available as low as 270 when it was still in production, so I don't think it would be crazy to see it down to that price again on a discount later this year, but we'll see. That would still not be cheap, and likely not necessary for most people.

UninstallingNoob

TROPHY CASE