I think the devs should add recommendations for the ODroid microcomputers

This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 11 months ago by tipoto.

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12/26/2015 at 21:29 #112543

supersaiyancurry
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I don’t know how much using different hardware affects the performance of an OS, but I did some research into mini-computers with higher processing capability than that of the Raspberry Pi 2 and found out about the ODroid C1, U3, and XU4. I’m 100% sure these pieces of hardware are more capable than the Raspberry Pi 2 in running the new “out-of-experimental” emulators such as Mupen64Plus, ppsspp, and reicast. Somewhere popular on this site, I think recommendations for these pieces of hardware should be advertised for people that want in on this operating system- but with no limitations. I’m pretty sure the Odroid XU4 is the best right now. I’m gonna buy an XU4 myself later and I’ll tell you guys how it is.

Here are some references to convince you guys:

http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php

http://dn.odroid.com/homebackup/201506301905569693.jpg

12/27/2015 at 00:48 #112550

herbfargus
Member

It’s a different cpu architecture and compiled differently for different emulators not to mention it lacks the community support that the pi has as well as costs more, along with the main devs not having odroid boards to test with.

Perhaps if the devs had the boards and the time it may be looked at in the future but for now the pi fits most people’s needs. I’m also not sure how much of a difference the performance would make for a few emulators, if that is the case in most cases a pc would suffice.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about cross platform compatibility and I hope we get to the odroid but until we have the hardware and the time (and it becomes a priority) it may be some time.

12/28/2015 at 07:21 #112612

tipoto
Participant

I’m currently trying to switch from the Rpi2 to the Odroid XU4 for my retro gaming console project, I received the board 1 week ago, so it’s still too early to give a definitive opinion. I have been participating and reading on the retropie forums since the Rpi2 came out and I know pretty well the system now, I think I should be able to give an interesting feedback soon. ;)
Btw, there is a port of retropie for Odroid, but I don’t know the limitation since I didn’t test it, I’m using the OGST image (Odroid GameStation Turbo), which is great, but I use it as emulators manager, I don’t use XBMC, which is the default frontend, there is also the option to use EmulationStation, but I didn’t test it either.

My first impressions (but again, it’s really early):
Pros:
– Performances are better than on the pi. I will give more details later, after further testing.
– The community is not that small, it’s why I decided to try one of their board, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. Check their forums and the number of topics and posts: http://forum.odroid.com/
– Nothing else unfortunately

Cons:
– Even though the community is OK, it’s not as big as the pi’s
– No VSYNC support with X11 (but works with FBDEV with the latest drivers) -> Because of that, if your entire system works with X11 (like OGST), you get some tearing problems, especially with the 2D scrolling games, I didn’t notice the problem with the 3D games for the moment though and it’s not horrible with the 2D games, but still annoying when you come from the Rpi.
– It’s not possible to switch from FBDEV to X11 (from the terminal mode to the window mode), the only switch you can do is by using startx and go to the GUI, but forget about using xinit command in the console…
– You need to deal with the so called “black screen issue”, which makes the XU3/4 users’ life hard. Basically the graphic driver keeps the screen black when you switch from fullscreen to window mode, they have a workaround to limit the issue, but you still can get it once in a while. However, once you know how to avoid it, it’s possible to build a black screen free system, but it costs you some limitations on what you can do with your frontend and emulators. This problem can only be fixed if arm finally decide to fix something on their side first, it’s why Hardkernel didn’t solve it yet.

I’ll try to update my feedback soon…
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