This Amazing Pi CM4 Handheld Has a Dock! - GPI Case 2 Review

[@MegaManNeo]

RetroFlag figured what Analouge missed, having a spring dock is a good thing. I want this updated case, paired with my 8bitdo SF30Pro this should be an amazing Xcloud/Parsec/Moonlight handheld.

[@Blue_Nova707]

@@acumenium8157 Overpriced useless garbage

[@cine-ish]

@@Blue_Nova707 Overpriced, overhyped, useless garbage

[@abhakam]

So much great improvement they did from the last And the additional to the dock for just $10 is a no brainer

[@keLetoN]

1:26 - 2:38 pure ASMR, thank you Taki

[@PastaLuke]

I'm sold on the CM4 and rechargeable battery alone! The dock, bigger screen, sleep mode and turbo buttons are all very nice features as well 👌

[@cljoe35]

It does not come with the cm4 chip. You have to buy it separately. That is about another 140$

[@morepowerr]

the fact that a version of it has a dock tells me you could be able to make a hardware ad-on with analog sticks and extra buttons on the sides. maybe add duo spearers too.

[@_boof]

Dual spearers? Don't you think that's a bit over the top bro?

[@foxlefox5213]

@@_boof Depends. I believe that one or the other dual wielding spearer could make a great contribution to the device's theft prevention.

[@badwrongfun5541]

Sticks would be incredibly uncomfortable in that form factor. And why multiple? At most you could fit one on there without removing the speaker. And you'd only need 2 for like... Ape Escape and almost no other games that the system can actually play. It barely looks like an OG Gameboy already at this point. Adding more is gonna make it look like a mess.

[@MrSoftypolimer]

If possible, I'd prefer to reconfigure the 2 new front buttons to L2 and R2. The missing analog stick is understandable for such a small vertical orientation device but I'm hoping to see something like a small C stick on N3DS on their next revision.

[@TakiUdon]

Agree

[@nizamrahman4665]

@@TakiUdon My idea: bring back the days of Gameboy accessories, like the Handy Boy and the Booster. With the USB C connection, it should be a trivial matter to add extra control options. Imagine the C stick addon for the original 3DS? Someone with a 3D printer should be able to whip up a dual stick and add missing buttons. Maybe it shows up as controller 2, but still inputs as player 1 in Retroarch.

[@meraki89]

Looks great! the dock is a nice option too, shame it has to be reboot to change modes though... Hopefully there's a way to swap themes depending on what mode you have it set to so you could have a minimized handheld theme and a full 16x9 docked them. Would also be nice if we could find a way of playing a different startup video per mode and turn on overlays in docked mode.

[@MegaManNeo]

To be fair, I always turn off my Switch too before putting it inside the Dock :o

[@nettack]

@@MegaManNeo I've seen on another review (ETA Prime), that it should suffice to push the sleep button and then connect the device to the dock. No reboot needed. He however did not say, if that also works the other way around.

[@FranktheTank319]

If you have to supply your own CM4, then good luck getting one. Those things are harder to get than a gpu right now.

[@deusexmachina558]

Really?

[@dividion8102]

@@deusexmachina558 Yeah. With the CM4 there are 32 variations (wifi/no wifi, 4 ram variations, 4 eMMC variations - 2x4x4 = 32). Too many SKUs, plus the chip shortage... There have never been many in stock, and now they're basically unicorns.

[@deusexmachina558]

@@dividion8102 interesting. Thank you!

[@patrickriarchy6054]

For the limiting factors of the case they should have just went with the Pi Zero 2. There is no reason to use the CM4 in this as there are only 2 back buttons. You will not be running PS1, Dreamcast or anything heavier than what a Pi Zero 2 can run due to the lack of buttons. It's 2 steps forward and 1 step back with this.

[@FranktheTank319]

@@patrickriarchy6054 It's more like 2 steps forward and 2 steps backwards. Lol but it's also a step in the right direction. They just need to make some new improvements for the next model. Also can't forget this one has a dock. So even if you can't play them handheld, you can still play them on a tv.

[@jeepee2]

It would be so cool to have a dock for the upcoming Retroid Pocket 2+!

[@gunkarsingh1369]

It would kind of beat the purpose of naming the device retroid "pocket".

[@seanlandry1216]

@@gunkarsingh1369 Like the Nintendo Switch Lite...

[@Rakiell]

@@gunkarsingh1369It's simple. We add the word dock to the end of the Retroid Pocket 2+ and call it a day

[@cine-ish]

@@gunkarsingh1369 not really. Dual purpose doesn't remove the usefulness of either use cases.

[@cine-ish]

@@seanlandry1216 switch lite should have a different name because these nothing to "switch" persay

[@microlinux]

This is an amazing review. Such a nice and detailed review.

[@TakiUdon]

Thanks for watching

[@tenchuu007]

That unboxing with no commentary was hilarious. Well done.

[@thesuperzfamilyvlog6607]

Great video, and love how accessible the pi is becoming. Watching this really makes me want to get one and make an arcade cabinet.

[@thesuperzfamilyvlog6607]

@@mezzb thank you for this. I’ve been leaning towards a PC driver, but was unsure. I actually have a decent PC sitting and collecting dust and was considering it, but with your recommendation I think I’m going to do it.

[@ericsingh8345]

I've made a custom build with pc using a 1060 (which is overkill for emulation) its working like a beauty and is not struggling with anything! I also have it set up to play my steam library. Check out Launch box if you're interested.

[@thesuperzfamilyvlog6607]

@@ericsingh8345 thank, I saw ETAPrime put out a video about launchbox, I’ll check it out. Thanks. Oh, and my older PC is an i7 5700k. Should be enough.

[@naturalselecta]

thanks for this super detailed and thorough review! sorry if I missed you mentioning it, but can you connect a controller via bluetooth to play when it's docked, or does it have to be connected by USB into the back of the dock there?

[@TakiUdon]

You can use BT - I was just using a CM4 Lite, so wired was my only option.

[@skateecho]

Honestly might get this over the analogue pocket for a better deal, decent hardware and the fact that itll be here much sooner then 2023. I’d love a pocket but dang thats such a long wait.

[@gamermanzeake]

If you don't have game cartridges, an emulation machine will always be the better route. Analogue is amazing, but the wait is not worth it at the time.

[@dekky3908]

So close to perfect if it had an analog stick and 2 more buttons, is still a nice upgrade however.

[@VirtualBilly]

Damn everything. The Pi Zero 2 W finally came back in stock, so I ordered one and the original GPi case, and the very next morning I find out this one’s announced. Unbelievable.

[@alanchow4305]

It’s nice that you now have a suspend button. Loading retropie from boot on the original GPi case was painfully slow

[@seasonal02]

I would watch this on loop if you were doing a full ASMR video on this lol. Those button sounds were lovely.

[@Xandu6a]

Great review like always! Thank you Taki. One question: How long does the battery last on average?

[@deepakkapoor8202]

I was expecting that they make these improvement to their existing Pi Zero case in mind , adding a CM4 to GPi 2 case would make this cost prohibitive for many. Original GPi case already support Pi Zero 2 so they should have included these new feature for that case too. Really like the Dock and rechargeable battery.

[@robthewoot]

it would still be a completely different case. case 1 had only a headphone jack. they would have to completely redesign the PCB, the actual case, add a battery, and probably several components to support the new USB port, battery charging, and everything else. so it would still be $70 to support a less powerful SoC.

[@gamermanzeake]

I'd honestly rather have a Miyoo Mini, and fully intend on getting that someday in the near future, but I'm checking out all these review videos in the meantime to see if you can change my mind!

[@zyxyuv1650]

I would have bought this but I can't deal with the mono speaker.

[@JimRPG]

This looks great!

[@TimdeVille]

This looks great but one thing I would have liked to see in the review is boot up time. I e never had a pi based handheld but I can imagine it’s a long wait compared to something dedicated like an RG551 etc

[@leonardosuriano8260]

a video on GPI case 2 vs GameShell ClockWork?

[@Cicirifu]

Any bottom side pics of that dock teardown? The top only has a simple USB hub IC and I wonder if there's anything more complicated going on. Though, can't expect much for $10.

[@TakiUdon]

Nothing else on the bottom

[@quimblyjones9767]

I really love my GPI original, always dreamed of owning a Gameboy as a kid. Probably skip this one tho as the Gameboy ergonomics are annoying. Shoulder buttons included.

[@jac1011]

this is the only channel where I watch 100% of the uploads.

[@TakiUdon]

Not all heroes wear capes.

[@jac1011]

@@TakiUdon well, im wearing a blanket right now. Close enough 😅

[@Drebin2293]

Why are people always harping about batteries? Do you not know you can buy rechargeable batteries to put in any device that accepts them? It's a lot easier to source and replace bad rechargeable AAs than a lipo pack.

[@microlinux]

I expected to be far more expensive. Seems a good device.

[@overoula]

it costs near 200 euro when you add to ti a cm4 4gb wifi (if you ever find one in stock) it had no active cooling also it has no joystick so you can play these games that need the increased power it gives... so....you can just get a piboy with the same money...

[@microlinux]

@@overoula yes, it's only decent for up to n64 stuff I guess. I would have preferred 6 buttons and one analog. For the rest, you can underclock the cpu. But yeah, the cm4/rpi4 is quite power hungry by itself...

[@Clappingfetus]

Looks awesome! Kind of wish you would have talked about the sleep button a little more. As far as I know this is the first pi handheld I have seen with a dedicated sleep function. It would be nice to know how much that helps with extending your battery life. Like, if I play it before bed at 90% battery and then put it to sleep, how much will it drain over night undocked while in sleep mode.

[@TakiUdon]

If the device sleeps for more than 20 minutes, it says that it is supposed to power off? I don't know, it is kind of confusing. There's no way it supports hibernate and powering off doesn't seem like the best option. Still waiting on an update for that.

[@NScherdin]

@@TakiUdon Probably just turns the screen off and stops as many running apps as possible. Then after 20 minutes shuts down. Too bad RPi foundation refuses to add any sleep functionality to their products.

[@Clappingfetus]

​@@TakiUdon Damn, that's a shame. That is the main thing keeping me from switching completely from my Vita. I can put it to sleep for a week and still have battery life. I wonder if its truly a hardware limitation or if its something that can be added via software.

[@jagstax7746]

Can you please share your RetroPie Setup? It looks awesome!

[@alioth2021]

Retroflag continues to impress me.

[@pancon5]

Man, the DMG form factor is timeless. Now for a Game Gear case!

[@Butrdtostngravy]

The 8-bitdo cable xD

[@ob68330]

Hi , can we use wireless controllers when the system is on the dock?

[@TakiUdon]

Yes

[@TimoBirnschein]

Very nice review and very nice case!

[@l3oomll7]

Nice review Taki!

[@kleev6576]

Oh man a CM5 with the same form factor? That could bring me to tears in excitement... I know the Pi5 is gonna be an incredible beast!

[@jeffmazziotta]

is something like this more powerful or better for emulating than something like the Anbernic 351 devices or the retroid2 etc ? this seems possibly better and with a lot of interesting possibilities (like bluetooth etc) but maybe just needs a little more skill to set up vs the out of the box playability of the anbernics and similar devices?

[@alucardxs77]

Thanks for this review. As I am planning buying one kit, can the blue heatsink be screwed on the pi ?

[@gumbyx84]

I'm really interested in getting this case out. What specs do you recommend on the CM4 (RAM and eMMC storage)? Hoping to play up to PS1. I now understand Saturn is a bit of a pipe dream.

[@TakiUdon]

If you have a Pi 4 that you can use to set up the card that you'll use, I'd go with a 2GB CM4 Lite. If you don't have a Pi 4, I'd get 2GB + Wi-Fi and no eMMC.

[@gumbyx84]

@@TakiUdon Thanks for the info. Here's hoping I can find a CM module at a decent price sometime soon.

[@digitaljunk]

Hi Taki, are there some active parts on the backside of the dock pcb? In your video I can spot 4 traces from the USB-C to the HDMI port. I am curious if the board does some HDMI signal processing. The FE1.1s chip is only for the two USB-A ports. Maybe some passive USB-C to HDMI adapter could do the trick.

[@stonededge]

No, the board is a dummy, there is no active components. In fact compatibility would be horrible, since most dongles work with DisplayPort and actively convert DP to HDMI. This is just straight hardwired.

[@flethacker]

can you use a keyboard and mouse and the original display while its docked? that way you have a portable pi desktop (or at least terminal)

[@ThirdEyeGoat369]

Really would like to get this, but you can't even buy a compute module right now 😳😥

[@lanzhao]

Hi, could you share the link to the controller you used when the device was docked? Thanks

[@Shinpoke030]

I currently have a rgp351v, which doesn’t play sega saturn games, now I’m hesitate which one could handle Saturn games better? RG552, GPI CASE2 CM4, or some LCL handheld, please please let me know!

[@ChrisLeeW00]

They really should have released this a few weeks ago, I already bought Christmas gifts!

[@nizamrahman4665]

Any info on where we can get that small wifi antenna? The one's I've googled for the CM4 looks huge in comparison.

[@OsmarWeyh]

Why you don't use Recalbox OS System? Don't is more stable?

[@ricky865]

Goddammit and I just bought the retro flag pistation case with the screen and they come out with this. BTW I went to the Amazon link but the deluxe version is not listed.

[@TakiUdon]

It looks like they had only a few in stock...

[@pascaljeske7307]

It's really nice can you do Video how install Programms BIOS and Games ?❤️👍❤️

[@SachielxLAEx]

love you taki and all you do for the industry but no outtakes this time??

[@TakiUdon]

The outtakes on this one might have gotten me in trouble with YT :D

[@thiagofacanha2081]

Hello. Do you know if it works with those usbc hub with hdmi,ethernet and usb ports? To replace the dock? Thxs

[@josephcruz7233]

As someone new to this kind of stuff, I got the same Cm4 that he showed but without the wifi, is there anyway to put the safe shutdown without the wifi connection?

[@gaoxiang6770]

The dock just doesn't work for me. After the boot text, it just shows a black screen, any idea?

[@user-qu6yk5he9o]

What theme are you using. I can't seem to find that theme on the RetroPie list.

[@trucbidule1116]

Hey, i bought this case with rpi cm4. Dl recalbox 8 and i have a issue. Sd card not detected. i removed it many times but still not detected. Any idea plz ?

[@ricky865]

I don't know if i'm doing something wrong every time I put my Sd card on it just stays on the boot menu and said SD card not detected and because of this I return the first one but when I receive the replacement unit i has the same problem so I don't know if I had bad luck and both units are defective or if im doing something wrong because I already did the path and I have tried with different images but it's always the same.

[@TominiOfficial]

Great video, but I believe you didn't elaborate on the dust getting in the screen like you said in 3:29. Did you say OCA? The first GPi Case had it? I don't live in dusty area, but I still don't want to clean the screen every month or so. Have you overexaggerated? Thank you

[@TakiUdon]

Both devices don't have an OTA screen. There is not really an easy way for dust to get inside the screen due to how it is housed, but it is possible. This is similar to the original PSP. I had to clean that screen one a year or so when I had an annoying piece of dust that I wanted to remove. I had one piece of dust on this device that I wanted to remove, so I took the time to fully clean it, and I am happy that I did. After two years, my first GPi Case has a bit of dust in it, but I didn't baby the device and took it many places.

[@TominiOfficial]

@@TakiUdon Thanks a lot for the explanation! I was just about to buy the first one and RPiZero2. Fortunately I did not. Keep up your amazing work. Subbed.

[@alanchow4305]

Would you recommend buying if you already have a GPicase 1?

[@Msantor1605]

How does the CM4 compare to processors that are in some of the higher end handhelds like the RG351 or the pocket2+...?

[@TakiUdon]

Much better that 351 and a little worse than 2+

[@AllenTheWanderer]

This in a GBA agb 001 form factor would be perfect.

[@SamLovesHorrorMovies]

I am interested in getting this, but I am new to Pi. When I look for CM4, there are several versions with different amounts of RAM. Do I need a specific amount for this case?

[@chocho2188]

I randomly found a 4gb lite wifi cm4 for MSRP. I know what I'm doing as soon as I get it!

[@francescosansone7560]

salve , come si configura controller per nintendo 64? c'è una guida alla configurazione dei tasti?

[@motauseef1563]

Is there anywhere I could buy one already put together and set up with pi installed?

[@octopinktattoo1744]

Hi ! Thanks for the video ! Do you have an image to share ? Thanks

[@truemex4life]

If only I could find the Pi CM4 in stock 😭

[@alucardxs77]

Received mine today and sadly the sd card slot is not working ...

[@luisyamilfeliciano5798]

The only problem is the lack of CM4 on the market.... i was looking for a 8gb ram one and its almost imposible. I manage to pay one but the ship date is for 2023 wtf 😔

[@jasongooden917]

Still waiting for a company to make a horizontal handheld.

[@Jay22222]

What do you mean a “horizontal handheld?” or do you mean one based on this exact system. There’s a ton of horizontal handhelds out there..

[@jag4109]

Is the deluxe version with the dock not purchasable yet? The links for the regular version and deluxe version on their website both lead to identical product pages with identical prices

[@TakiUdon]

They told me they were sold out....

[@jag4109]

huh, that's odd, surprised they could go that fast plus even though the product pages were identical, they had different ASINs something seems off here, but I guess it's just a matter of time to see what happens

[@Dan_Whitehead]

Can I ask how did you get sound to work please?

[@robbalvey]

Press F4 on your keyboard to get to the command prompt. type: sudo nano /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf change the following two lines from: defaults.ctl.card 0 defaults.pcm.card 0 to defaults.ctl.card 1 defaults.pcm.card 1 4. Reboot the system.

[@Dan_Whitehead]

@@robbalvey thanks, replied elsewhere!

[@treskate]

Now where can I find a cm4 with 4gb ram w/ wifi for a decent price?

[@eleven9286]

Im so confused. How does this work and how do you get the Pi and games in there?

[@meokih]

GPI Case 2 or Retroid Pocket 2+? What do you recommend? Thanks!

[@TakiUdon]

RP2+ has more power.

[@rioakbar8108]

but how long the boot time is ? is it betther than the pi zero?

[@dividion8102]

It'll be much faster than the Pi Zero (or Pi Zero W), which can take around a minute to boot (depending on what OS you run, how many games are on it, how fast your microSD card is, if you have WiFi turned on, etc). The Pi Zero 2 with the same OS and games should boot in under 20 seconds. I expect this probably only takes 10-15 seconds. The Pi Zero has a single core clocked about 1GHz, whereas the Pi 4 has 4 cores and can be overclocked to 2Ghz.

[@NScherdin]

@@dividion8102 Pi4(including CM4) has about a 9 second delay before it starts booting. I was told this is due to the DRAM calibration it does on power on and there is no work around. Best boot time I've ever achieved is about 30 seconds.

[@dividion8102]

@@NScherdin Hmm. Now you've made me check since it's been awhile. I have a few non-CM4 Pi4s. My PiBoy DMG gets to the Retropie screen in 15sec, and finishes loading at 28sec. I guess I was thinking of my NESPi 4 which boots a little faster off the SSD. The CF card is definitely slower, but only a few seconds.

[@francescosansone7560]

come rimappare il lo stick analogico sul d-pad?

[@StatusQuo209]

That slow response time... Are we sure that's not a VA panel?

[@bubblixsky]

Could someone please recommend a raspberry pie with wireless Wi-Fi for this? I have zero experience with raspberry pies so i would really appreciate any help.

[@nexxusty]

If you own a GPi Case 2 with a dock, you can just use a USB WiFi dongle. You don't need WiFi models whatsoever.

[@loadingtekno]

I actually like that the first one uses batteries. Having to use batteries in 2023 is so uncommon that I love it

[@edstar83]

Exactly rechargeable AA batteries are a thing.

[@corsinivideos]

Man this looked good then they completely killed it without R2+L2 triggers...madness

[@LolaliciousSmiley]

What's your favorite Akuma super art?

[@patrickriarchy6054]

So the new Gpi-2 uses the CM4?. And what themes are you using on both?. Thank you.

[@TakiUdon]

Super Retroboy and GBZ35

[@patrickriarchy6054]

@@TakiUdon Thank you. Great review and video btw. I didn't even know this was in development or being made.

[@Buguese]

10:14 What theme is that on the gpi2?

[@zacstephenson3734]

Do you have a link for the low profile antenna?

[@erikleypoldt8275]

Was golden eye running full strength?

[@craigpickering8775]

Is the image for the cm4 the 4/400?

[@oliwierzyskowski3137]

imagine retroflag makes a nintendo ds case

[@TarikA]

Why does nobody measure the boot time? You had the device turned off while showing all the buttons and stuff and then you've been in the "sound test" section instantly, where it was turned on. It's very important to me how long this device needs for a coldboot because the GPI Case 1 took ages and thus I often find myself not wanting to grab it.

[@leecollins5479]

can you add games from usb via the dock?

[@Obloms]

Really wish the screen was larger. 3" screen is kind of tiny :(.

[@TakiUdon]

Agree. There are people that did a DIY upgrade to 3.5 which looks much better.

[@captainlorres7001]

does the CM4 need to have 0 memory capacity? because the sd card ist the memory

[@alansmemoriesofnothingands8029]

the last screen was 18bit most dont know it has to be 24bit not just ips.

[@richidog5768]

I liked the batteries. No China Bomb.

[@73Mooner]

Which Pi CM4 should i get?

[@jamesmcafee2443]

Got a cm4 board you can loan me 😂

[@lexluthermiester]

@Taki Udon FYI, it's pronounced Gee-Pie, not G P i. Just throwing it out there.