Best hardware for a RetroPie station

Discussion Raspberry Pi
1

Hi folks,

I’m planning to build a retro‑gaming station with RetroPie and I’m trying to decide on the right board for it. My son is a huge fan of Nintendo games (NES → SNES → N64), so that’s my main target but I’d also like to leave the door open .
Originally I was leaning toward the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4 GB or 8 GB) because it’s proven, well‑ supported.
Then I watched a video(https://youtu.be/w2OKJee06tA?si=T7kHTLGt_gMJaA-Q) showing the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W running N64 emulation pretty well and now I’m second‑guessing myself.
And I know there’s also the newer Raspberry Pi 5, which is more expensive but might give more headroom.

Here are my thoughts / what I’m trying to figure out:

  • Since Nintendo (NES/SNES/N64) is the core use case, how much extra power do I need?

  • Would the Pi 4 be “enough” for that target and still allow some upgrade path?

  • Would the Pi Zero 2 W suffice for the Nintendo types of games, and save cost/space?

  • Is the Pi 5 “over‑kill” for what I care about right now — or is it worth the extra cost for “future proofing”?

  • What are the practical trade‑offs (cost, cooling, power supply, heat, ease of setup) between the boards?

  • If you’ve done this — what board did you pick and why? What systems run smooth for you, and where do you hit limitations?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and real‑world experience!

2

Retro gaming does not challenge modern hardware. There are NES emulators around that just use a RP2040 (see e.g. this guide: Overview | NES Emulator for RP2040 & RP2350 DVI Boards | Adafruit Learning System). Any of the Pi-systems will give you far more than you need for emulation.

A different aspect is building the station. If you find a blueprint that works (has good critics, documentation and so on), follow it. And if it suggests a Pi4 (or whatever), why not use it.

Otherwise, if you later want to do something else with a Pi: either use the Pi-Zero-2W or the Pi5. The first fills a sweet spot with small size and high computing power, but could suffer on low memory. The Pi5 is overkill for many things people use it for, but it has some really nice features that are more important than pure power.

3

Thanks a lot for your answer!
But my question was: is it true that even N64 or Dreamcast games can run on a Pi Zero 2 W, or is it really better to go with a Pi 4?
I’ve seen there are several Pi 4 Model B versions with different RAM options (2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB), so I’m not sure which one would make the most sense for RetroPie.

For context, I already have a Pi 5 (16 GB) actually a Pi 500+, which is a wonderful machine and I also have a Pi Zero 2 WH on the way for another project.