Welcome to Raspberry Pi gaming. The Pi has been the starting point for countless retro setups, from a tiny box under the telly to full-size cabinets and handheld builds. This board is for all of it, plus similar single-board computers if you are running the same kinds of systems.
What belongs here
• RetroPie, Batocera, Recalbox, Lakka and other gaming distributions
• Pi-based builds: cases, handhelds, bartops and portable projects
• Controllers, encoders, GPIO buttons and wiring
• Power, cooling, storage and performance tuning
• Comparing Pi models and similar single-board computers for gaming
What doesn't
• Full-size arcade cabinets, sticks and MAME set questions: Arcade, MAME & cabinets
• Frontend themes and library tidying that is not Pi-specific: Frontends & launchers
• Emulation on a desktop PC: PC emulation
• CRT shaders and overlays: Shaders, bezels & CRT looks
How to ask so people can help
1. Your Pi model and how much RAM it has
2. The distribution and its version
3. Your power supply and storage (SD card, USB drive or SSD)
4. The emulator or core involved
5. What you have changed and what you have already tried
6. Any error message, word for word
Starter knowledge
• Power matters more than people expect. An underpowered supply causes random crashes, corrupted cards and slowdown. On many Pi setups a lightning bolt icon on screen means the voltage is too low.
• Use a decent SD card or boot from USB or SSD where your model supports it. Cheap cards fail and corrupt easily.
• Cooling helps. A heatsink or fan stops throttling during long sessions, especially if you overclock.
• Older Pi models are great for 8-bit and 16-bit systems but struggle with demanding 3D consoles. Set realistic expectations for your hardware.
• Make a backup image of your card once everything works. It saves hours if the card dies.
• Shut the system down properly rather than pulling the plug, to avoid corrupting your card.
Legal and safety
Emulation is welcome, piracy is not. Do not link, share or request ROMs, ISOs, BIOS files, firmware or keys, and do not ask where to find them. Dump your own games and BIOS from hardware you own. Pre-loaded images and boxes stuffed with games are not allowed here, whether shared for free or sold. No malware and no selling or paid services. If your build involves mains wiring, such as a power supply inside a case, do it safely or ask someone qualified.
The general house rules apply: be kind, English only (posts in other languages are translated automatically), no spam, no keyboard mashing and no self-promotion spam. Please Report anything that breaks the rules. This thread is locked, so start a new thread in this board to ask a question or show off your build.
Dexter
0 views