Best Retro Handheld

Dual cards looks complicated from what I read, and tbh everything I need will fit on the 64gb card.

But I like the flexibility of having all the rooms in 1 place so tomorrow I will try to get 2 cards working with batocera beta and/MuOS.


rp2000

I think I will just go with 1 card with Batocera. I used 2 card on the RG35XX and 1 card on Miyoo Mini + and don't really notice any difference.
 
I think I will just go with 1 card with Batocera. I used 2 card on the RG35XX and 1 card on Miyoo Mini + and don't really notice any difference.
Limited success.

I created Batocera on a 64gb in TF1. Then in options I selected the card in TF2 as "storage". This created loads of folders on the TF2 card. Some content I copied into the ROMS folder in TF2 is working (PS1, SNES) other stuff isn't (GBA). But the second card now has a ROMS, bios, chaetas, saves etc folder, so if I use any other CFW from a different TF1 I can just point that to the second card (I think).

I might have to store BIOS on the 2nd card as I get some BIOS error when launching some games, but the content still works after the error.

Edit:
K9bbkpu.jpeg



rp2000
 
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I really like Batocera, how does it perform on the H @rp2000? Ive only used it on the pi5 and mini PCs previously.
I tried Batocera V39 Beta and V40 alpha for RG-35xxh. Not much difference between them.

Compared to a mini-pc you have to temper your expectations :p Up to PS1 worked fine. A couple of games had stutters (Gran Turismo) but nothing a few settings changes won't fix, I think! A few games I could run at 2x render without issues, others would cause too much lag.

Quite a few crashes, could be alpha/beta issues or ROM issues. This is half the fun of emulation anyway :) At the moment the stock FW performs better than the custom firmwares like Batocera and MuOS for this model, but I am putting that down to the device being new and the devs needing a bit of time to optimise.


rp2000
 
My £7.65 Anbernic 35XX arrived this morning, first surprised by size thought it was bigger.

Then surprised by the screen quality and the actual audio quality for something this size.

I have a 128gb card waiting to be setup with Garlic and games, will get it on that this evening after work.

IMG-0721.jpg
 
I tried Batocera V39 Beta and V40 alpha for RG-35xxh. Not much difference between them.

Compared to a mini-pc you have to temper your expectations :p Up to PS1 worked fine. A couple of games had stutters (Gran Turismo) but nothing a few settings changes won't fix, I think! A few games I could run at 2x render without issues, others would cause too much lag.

Quite a few crashes, could be alpha/beta issues or ROM issues. This is half the fun of emulation anyway :) At the moment the stock FW performs better than the custom firmwares like Batocera and MuOS for this model, but I am putting that down to the device being new and the devs needing a bit of time to optimise.


rp2000
Cheers matey. I like the tinkering aspect, I end up doing that more than playing games half the time :)

I tend to stick to 16 bit era for these sorts of devices but I have my Odin2 for anything that needs a bit more oomph.
 
Cheers matey. I like the tinkering aspect, I end up doing that more than playing games half the time :)

I tend to stick to 16 bit era for these sorts of devices but I have my Odin2 for anything that needs a bit more oomph.
Agreed, for now I'm enjoying the tinkering, although everything being on a smaller screen makes fiddling a bit longer via a handheld compared to a PC as the menus are tiny!

I bought this solely for up to PS1 level. The next level up for me would be an RG505 that will probably play PS2 and PSP. Anything newer than that isn't really "retro", yet, in my eyes!


rp2000
 
Hmm went through the Garlic setup and must have done something wrong as not booting.

Will format and try again tomorrow.
Do you have the original RG35XX, ie not the plus or 2024 model?

Retro Game Corp had a decent YouTube step by step guide which iirc was what I used.
 
I've largely settled on this ROM for now. Works on the H and Plus models:
https://github.com/rg35xx-cfw/rg35xx-cfw.github.io/releases/tag/rg35xx_plus_h_batocera_20240306 - Batocera V40 Beta.

Everything is very well configured out of the box and very fast. MuOS is too basic for my needs so wiping that sd card.

leaves me with
64GB Card 1 - Batocera V40 beta and my Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance with many tinkering options.
64GB Card 2 - Stock Anbernic OS with their Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance, with too much content loaded that doesn't work. Tinkering is more hassle and limited.
64GB card 3 - will probably load MOD3, the stripped down official OS and load my own content
512GB card 4 - empty and probably a waste of money, unless I buy a more powerful handhled :p

Fell down a few reddit and youtube rabbit holes yesterday and wasted about 4 hours reading and watching stuff related to "batocera", "tiny best set", "Anbernic MOD3". Today I will try to spend more time playing then tinkering and reading!


rp2000
 
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I've largely settled on this ROM for now. Works on the H and Plus models:
https://github.com/rg35xx-cfw/rg35xx-cfw.github.io/releases/tag/rg35xx_plus_h_batocera_20240306 - Batocera V40 Beta.

Everything is very well configured out of the box and very fast. MuOS is too basic for my needs so wiping that sd card.

leaves me with
64GB Card 1 - Batocera V40 beta and my Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance with many tinkering options.
64GB Card 2 - Stock Anbernic OS with their Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance, with too much content loaded that doesn't work. Tinkering is more hassle and limited.
64GB card 3 - will probably load MOD3, the stripped down official OS and load my own content
512GB card 4 - empty and probably a waste of money, unless I buy a more powerful handhled :p

Fell down a few reddit and youtube rabbit holes yesterday and wasted about 4 hours reading and watching stuff related to "batocera", "tiny best set", "Anbernic MOD3". Today I will try to spend more time playing then tinkering and reading!


rp2000

My 128g arrives today (didn't want to use my spare 200G card for this, and the 32G one I got from Daiso is too small), so thanks for the test run, haha. Will go with V40 Beta.

I guess you are using single card config?
 
My 128g arrives today (didn't want to use my spare 200G card for this, and the 32G one I got from Daiso is too small), so thanks for the test run, haha. Will go with V40 Beta.

I guess you are using single card config?
Yep. 1 card in the end.

Tbh I got carried away as I saw an offer for a Samsung Evo plus 512gb for 40 euros. Overkill.

Now in reality the OSes and cores are really small. I can easily fit all the content for the 3 systems I want on a 64gb and have space left over. They only cost me 8 euros each and they are all A2 V30 so at least loading content on them is very fast as well.

plus the fact the different OSes all like their folder structure to be slightly different means having a dedicated second card requires far too much faffing around for me ;)


rp2000
 
Yep. 1 card in the end.

Tbh I got carried away as I saw an offer for a Samsung Evo plus 512gb for 40 euros. Overkill.

Now in reality the OSes and cores are really small. I can easily fit all the content for the 3 systems I want on a 64gb and have space left over. They only cost me 8 euros each and they are all A2 V30 so at least loading content on them is very fast as well.

plus the fact the different OSes all like their folder structure to be slightly different means having a dedicated second card requires far too much faffing around for me ;)


rp2000

Your last sentence solidify the decision to go 1 card then, rather than like 8G card for OS and 1 single large card for ROMS.
 
Your last sentence solidify the decision to go 1 card then, rather than like 8G card for OS and 1 single large card for ROMS.
If I was like you, and owned multiple devices, I would definitely try harder to get 2 cards working.

IF I get carried away and buy an RG505 next month (to add PSP to my arsenal), I may well try to setup dual cards again and make use of the 512Gb card. I can't really think of anything more powerful that I could get for less than 150 Euros (important so as not to get customs fees). Anything that plays PS2 well is over that price, unless i'm, mistaken. I'm too new to all of this to know if some new device will arrive for sub 150 this year with that much power, but with my limited knowledge it seems unlikely.


rp2000
 
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My £7.65 Anbernic 35XX arrived this morning, first surprised by size thought it was bigger.

Then surprised by the screen quality and the actual audio quality for something this size.

I have a 128gb card waiting to be setup with Garlic and games, will get it on that this evening after work.

IMG-0721.jpg
Garlic is the best :)

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Oddly before going through it all again just did a test and it booted first time…..

All working perfect, went with a pre made set which I am unsure if you can mention or not.

Will be playing some classics tonight.
 
I've largely settled on this ROM for now. Works on the H and Plus models:
https://github.com/rg35xx-cfw/rg35xx-cfw.github.io/releases/tag/rg35xx_plus_h_batocera_20240306 - Batocera V40 Beta.

Everything is very well configured out of the box and very fast. MuOS is too basic for my needs so wiping that sd card.

leaves me with
64GB Card 1 - Batocera V40 beta and my Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance with many tinkering options.
64GB Card 2 - Stock Anbernic OS with their Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance, with too much content loaded that doesn't work. Tinkering is more hassle and limited.
64GB card 3 - will probably load MOD3, the stripped down official OS and load my own content
512GB card 4 - empty and probably a waste of money, unless I buy a more powerful handhled :p

Fell down a few reddit and youtube rabbit holes yesterday and wasted about 4 hours reading and watching stuff related to "batocera", "tiny best set", "Anbernic MOD3". Today I will try to spend more time playing then tinkering and reading!


rp2000

Do you have a preference video guide for this install?
 
I've largely settled on this ROM for now. Works on the H and Plus models:
https://github.com/rg35xx-cfw/rg35xx-cfw.github.io/releases/tag/rg35xx_plus_h_batocera_20240306 - Batocera V40 Beta.

Everything is very well configured out of the box and very fast. MuOS is too basic for my needs so wiping that sd card.

leaves me with
64GB Card 1 - Batocera V40 beta and my Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance with many tinkering options.
64GB Card 2 - Stock Anbernic OS with their Content - fast NES, SNES, PS1 performance, with too much content loaded that doesn't work. Tinkering is more hassle and limited.
64GB card 3 - will probably load MOD3, the stripped down official OS and load my own content
512GB card 4 - empty and probably a waste of money, unless I buy a more powerful handhled :p

Fell down a few reddit and youtube rabbit holes yesterday and wasted about 4 hours reading and watching stuff related to "batocera", "tiny best set", "Anbernic MOD3". Today I will try to spend more time playing then tinkering and reading!


rp2000
Im running this on my plus, boot time is a little slow and Dreamcast is garbage due to no Flycast Xtreme core but apart from that it's great.
MuOS is much snappier at booting and loading, but still not a patch on Garlic 1.4.9 on the OG RG35XX.
 
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