Recalbox or Retropie? + Pi4 or stick with 3B?

Picade
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Hi guys - I am new to the forum and have seen some great stuff (especially the picade custom artwork!) and will receive my new 8inch Picade tomorrow.

I’ve done some research as need to get prepping but have two quick questions:

  1. The picade comes with a pi3B installed, but if I want to upgrade this what pi4 should i go for and is that a relatively easy upgrade for me? seeing comments about fans/overheating etc and it’s putting me off as I’d like to keep it as simple as possible.
  2. Recalbox or Retropie - again for simplicity which would you recommend?

Sorry for the questions but didn’t want to put multiple posts out! Thanks in advance guys.

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Where did you buy your Picade? I ask because the product page states.
All you’ll need to add is a Raspberry Pi, USB-C power supply, and micro-SD card.

3

Hi thanks for replying. It’s second hand from a friend.

4

Ok, that answers that. A Pi 4B cannot overheat, just so you know. It will throttle back if its temperature approaches 80c though, which will hurt performance. This heatsink may help and should fit without touching the back side of the Picade Hat.
Raspberry Pi 4 Heatsink – Pimoroni
The new Picade X Hat is Pi4B ready and will accept the official 3A USB C Pi 4 power supply. The original Picade hat uses the Pi 3 etc Micro USB 2.5a power supply.
I have run my 4B on the older supply with an adapter. You won’t now if you have an issue until you try it though. I wasn’t also trying to power a display with it.
Another issue if you swap in a Pi 4B is you will need a new Pi 4 compatible HDMI cable.

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thank you so much for the quick response! i think i’m going to try retropie on the 3B for a few days and then make a call on whether to upgrade or not. cheers

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Hi! I haven’t ever had a picade but I would recommend getting a Pi 4 model B, I used to have a 3b and getting the 4b made coding so much easier - so try the cheapest 4b (2gb ram). It is relatively easy I think- just put the wires into the same spots on 4b. 4b is much quicker!

Hope this helps!

Alex! :)

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So far I have a 4B 8gig, 4B 4gig and a Pi400. Much better performance than a 3B+. I’m very satisfied and glad I bought them.
The Picade Hat will plug into a Pi 4B no problem, the GPIO pinout is the same, and the 4B will be powered via the +5V and ground GPIO pins. You will need a Micro HDMI cable or adapter though.

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sorry for being ignorant but what does the HAT do again?

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This is the newest version, its very similar to the older one though. It’s where all the buttons and the joystick connect. Speaker amplifier too I think?
Picade X HAT USB-C – Pimoroni

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@alphanumeric I agree - much faster than 3B or 3B+

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Guessing the spec above can handle Dreamcast / PSP emulation decently?

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@SL1M_SHADY definitely. The 2gb of ram is still very quick. If you want a pi for general stuff (excluding gpio pins) get the pi400 for £60 (not sure how much in the us, I am in uk.) The Pi400 has gpio pins but they are hard to use because of the orientation and the fact that it has the gpio pins almost covered!