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PI Zero GBA performance
Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 8:37 pm
by winnieblues
Hello all, new here so go easy
I was wondering if anyone can provide some concrete info about emulating GBA titles on a Pi Zero, as I cant find a reliable source saying so (so many youtube videos differ in speed and performance)
Was wondering if it can run GBA titles on stock clock speeds (and if not how much would I need to overclock) Would I need a heatsink/fan?
Or do I evade the PI Zero and just go with a Pi 3 for future proofing.
Thanks all! Have a great day

Re: PI Zero GBA performance
Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 10:49 pm
by rodocop
All the gba games I have tried work fine on the zero. These are the only ones I've played so far. No overclock and no heatsinks.
Megaman Zero 1-4
Super mario advance 1-4
Zelda Minnish cap
Mario kart
Pokemon emerald.
Re: PI Zero GBA performance
Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 11:32 pm
by moosepr
I can give some a go on my tiny pi if you want, just let me know which ones you are thinking and I will video them
Re: PI Zero GBA performance
Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 1:00 am
by winnieblues
rodocop wrote: ↑Thu May 04, 2017 10:49 pm
All the gba games I have tried work fine on the zero. These are the only ones I've played so far. No overclock and no heatsinks.
Megaman Zero 1-4
Super mario advance 1-4
Zelda Minnish cap
Mario kart
Pokemon emerald.
Literally all of the titles I will be using on the pi zero, thank you! Do these run at 100% with smooth audio? or can it be choppy at times.
Re: PI Zero GBA performance
Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 4:23 am
by fernandinho1337
hi
everything is smooth. if you experience any issues i suspect it is caused by a faulty rom file. there are generally no lags soundwise or of any other kind at all (my experience so far, using pi zero 1.3 with retropie 4.1)
best regards
Re: PI Zero GBA performance
Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 6:13 am
by RetroRocket
fernandinho1337 wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2017 4:23 am
hi
everything is smooth. if you experience any issues i suspect it is caused by a faulty rom file. there are generally no lags soundwise or of any other kind at all (my experience so far, using pi zero 1.3 with retropie 4.1)
best regards
Seconded; I ran into a couple ROMs that slugged at times but I tried running them on my desktop and had the same issue. There may be some intensive games that would cause framerate drop, but I've yet to find one.
Like fernandinho says, if you run into a problem, try using the ROM in a more known platform because it's probably at fault and not your pi.
Re: PI Zero GBA performance
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 2:54 am
by oliddell
I solved this by switching the ROM to NTSC 4:3 if it was PAL (and vice versa), metroid zero and fusion were unplayable - all good now