In October 2023, the Raspberry Pi Foundation released the Raspberry Pi 5. Initially released with either 4 or 8 GB of RAM. Later they released a 2 GB version. More recently, there has been a release of the Pi 5 with 16 GB of RAM.
The Pi 5 is twice as fast as the Pi 4.
Specs
The main specifications for the Pi 5 are:
In the documents, the Raspberry Pi 5 can perform 30,000 MB read and writes per second while the Pi 4 does around 5,000 per second.
The Pi 5 supports Single Data Rate 104 (SDR104) mode for the SD Card. This equates to read speeds of 104 MB per second, or Ultra High Speed (UHS-1). This means a rough write speed of 10 MB/s.
Granted, this can allow for a faster boot with the Pi 5, but if you get the M.2 HAT, you can boot faster. The HAT supports the connection of M.2 PCIe and NVMe devices.
So now that we have the speed, we can perform some amazing gaming.
Gaming
I have covered gaming systems before, but I have found a new website that allows for downloading the whole gaming system pre-loaded with games. These images are quite large. Most are between 512 GB or even 1 TB. So, this means you need an SD Card that is 512 GB or 1 TB, depending which image you want to download. You can also get the M.2 HAT and either a 2230 or 2242 NVMe card. Keep in mind that the M.2 HAT supports around 450 MB/s data transfers.
Keep this in mind, because the SanDisk SD card I got (512 GB) has a read speed of 200 MB/s and a write speed of 140 MB/s. You can see that the NVMe is much faster.
There is also an SSD kit that is the M.2 HAT with an SSD card already with it.
OK, so now on to the website:
https://www.arcadepunks.com/category/raspberry-pi-images/raspberry-pi-5-retro-gaming-images/
Here are links for the Raspberry Pi 5 images. To see links for the downloads, you need to sign up for a free account. Once you do this and login, you can see the links which are:
Keep in mind that you will need to have enough space for the download. The download will be in a compressed format made up of smaller files. Using a program like 7-Zip, you can extract the compressed files into one large ISO or IMG file. Again, this extracted file will be larger than the compressed files. So, if you want a 512 GB image, you will need just under 1 TB, since you will have the compressed files and the extracted image at the same time. If you have multiple drives, it may be best since extracting to the same drive can be slower, but this could be necessary depending on your system.
Once you have extracted the image, you should be able to delete the compressed images to free up space.
After you have the ISO or IMG file, then you can use Balena Etcher to extract the image to your external drive that will boot the Pi 5.
NOTE: There are images for other versions of the Raspberry Pi, not just the Pi 5.
Once you have extracted the image to the external drive to use for the Pi, you can insert it in the Pi and boot it.
Every image available has different pre-loaded games. Some images may be devoted to a variety, while some are more dedicated to specific console games.
NOTE: There are images that are 128 GB or even 256 GB in size if you want something smaller, but there are less pre-loaded games.
When you boot the Pi, make sure you have your game controller connected. I used a Nintendo wired controller since it is USB and only costs around $20.
For some gaming consoles, you may want a Pi 5 with a minimum of 4 GB of RAM.
If you plan on using the M.2 Hat, be sure to have an active cooler. An active cooler is a fan used to cool down the components that is powered and controlled by the Pi. Sometimes you can get a case that comes with an active cooler, but be sure it will hold the M.2 Hat.
You can find an active cooler here: https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/active-cooler/.
I downloaded a 1 TB image; it was just over 800 GB compressed, and it left just over 12 GB of free storage on the NVMe. Because of its speed, the system seemed quick, and the games played without a hitch. Of course, I did not try all of them, but it played very well. Even using two controllers, it handled two-player games nicely.
The list of emulated consoles would be a very long list and the games that come with it.
The two images I tried were:
If you want to check the active cooler, you can use:
To get to the Command-Line Interface (CLI) press CTRL+ALT+F5. This should switch you to a terminal. To login, use the username ‘batocera’. At any time to go back to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the Operating System (OS), press CTRL+ALT+F3. At a prompt, you can type the above command to check the fan state.
The result should be 0-3 to show the current speed of the fan. Where ‘0’ is off and ‘3’ is the highest speed, for the four speeds. To get the temperature, you can use the command:
The value you get needs to be divided by 1000, or just move the decimal place to the left three spaces. This is the temperature of Celsius. For example, a result of 52900 is 52.9 C, which is roughly 127.22 F.
Conclusion
If you are in the market for a retro gaming system, give the Raspberry Pi 5 a try. Just be sure to use active cooling.
For speed, throw in an M.2 Hat with an NVMe for better performance, or for that fact, any purpose you may need a Raspberry Pi 5.
The Pi 5 is twice as fast as the Pi 4.
Specs
The main specifications for the Pi 5 are:
- 64-bit quad core Cortex A-76 processor
- LPDDR4X RAM (2,4,8 or 16 GB)
- 2 micro HDMI ports (up to 4Kp60)
- VideoCore VII GPU
- 2 USB 3.0 ports
- 2 USB 2.0 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- 802.11 b/g/n/ac wireless
- Bluetooth 5.0
- 5V/5A USB-C connector for power input
- Power button
In the documents, the Raspberry Pi 5 can perform 30,000 MB read and writes per second while the Pi 4 does around 5,000 per second.
The Pi 5 supports Single Data Rate 104 (SDR104) mode for the SD Card. This equates to read speeds of 104 MB per second, or Ultra High Speed (UHS-1). This means a rough write speed of 10 MB/s.
Granted, this can allow for a faster boot with the Pi 5, but if you get the M.2 HAT, you can boot faster. The HAT supports the connection of M.2 PCIe and NVMe devices.
So now that we have the speed, we can perform some amazing gaming.
Gaming
I have covered gaming systems before, but I have found a new website that allows for downloading the whole gaming system pre-loaded with games. These images are quite large. Most are between 512 GB or even 1 TB. So, this means you need an SD Card that is 512 GB or 1 TB, depending which image you want to download. You can also get the M.2 HAT and either a 2230 or 2242 NVMe card. Keep in mind that the M.2 HAT supports around 450 MB/s data transfers.
Keep this in mind, because the SanDisk SD card I got (512 GB) has a read speed of 200 MB/s and a write speed of 140 MB/s. You can see that the NVMe is much faster.
There is also an SSD kit that is the M.2 HAT with an SSD card already with it.
OK, so now on to the website:
https://www.arcadepunks.com/category/raspberry-pi-images/raspberry-pi-5-retro-gaming-images/
Here are links for the Raspberry Pi 5 images. To see links for the downloads, you need to sign up for a free account. Once you do this and login, you can see the links which are:
- Torrent
- NZB
- Google Drive
- Mega.NZ
- RapidGator
- Other
Keep in mind that you will need to have enough space for the download. The download will be in a compressed format made up of smaller files. Using a program like 7-Zip, you can extract the compressed files into one large ISO or IMG file. Again, this extracted file will be larger than the compressed files. So, if you want a 512 GB image, you will need just under 1 TB, since you will have the compressed files and the extracted image at the same time. If you have multiple drives, it may be best since extracting to the same drive can be slower, but this could be necessary depending on your system.
Once you have extracted the image, you should be able to delete the compressed images to free up space.
After you have the ISO or IMG file, then you can use Balena Etcher to extract the image to your external drive that will boot the Pi 5.
NOTE: There are images for other versions of the Raspberry Pi, not just the Pi 5.
Once you have extracted the image to the external drive to use for the Pi, you can insert it in the Pi and boot it.
Every image available has different pre-loaded games. Some images may be devoted to a variety, while some are more dedicated to specific console games.
NOTE: There are images that are 128 GB or even 256 GB in size if you want something smaller, but there are less pre-loaded games.
When you boot the Pi, make sure you have your game controller connected. I used a Nintendo wired controller since it is USB and only costs around $20.
For some gaming consoles, you may want a Pi 5 with a minimum of 4 GB of RAM.
If you plan on using the M.2 Hat, be sure to have an active cooler. An active cooler is a fan used to cool down the components that is powered and controlled by the Pi. Sometimes you can get a case that comes with an active cooler, but be sure it will hold the M.2 Hat.
You can find an active cooler here: https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/active-cooler/.
I downloaded a 1 TB image; it was just over 800 GB compressed, and it left just over 12 GB of free storage on the NVMe. Because of its speed, the system seemed quick, and the games played without a hitch. Of course, I did not try all of them, but it played very well. Even using two controllers, it handled two-player games nicely.
The list of emulated consoles would be a very long list and the games that come with it.
The two images I tried were:
- 512 GB - KioDiekins Maximum Carnage 512gb Raspberry Pi 5 PlayStation 2 Image
- 1 TB - Wolfanoz Returns with the Ultimate Christmas Treat: Raspberry Pi 5 Loaded Image
If you want to check the active cooler, you can use:
Code:
cat /sys/class/thermal/cooling_device0/cur_stateTo get to the Command-Line Interface (CLI) press CTRL+ALT+F5. This should switch you to a terminal. To login, use the username ‘batocera’. At any time to go back to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the Operating System (OS), press CTRL+ALT+F3. At a prompt, you can type the above command to check the fan state.
The result should be 0-3 to show the current speed of the fan. Where ‘0’ is off and ‘3’ is the highest speed, for the four speeds. To get the temperature, you can use the command:
Code:
cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/tempThe value you get needs to be divided by 1000, or just move the decimal place to the left three spaces. This is the temperature of Celsius. For example, a result of 52900 is 52.9 C, which is roughly 127.22 F.
Conclusion
If you are in the market for a retro gaming system, give the Raspberry Pi 5 a try. Just be sure to use active cooling.
For speed, throw in an M.2 Hat with an NVMe for better performance, or for that fact, any purpose you may need a Raspberry Pi 5.
