PortaPi Tabletop Arcade Review!

[@KaienSander10Official]

This channel is so underrated, its such a good channel this! One of my favorites! You earned a sub!

[@user-ii4gi4ts4y]

KaienSander10 Ikw!? make that two :)

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

Thank you!

[@alukeofalltrades]

my brother recently showed me a bunch of your DMG Gameboy mods and ever since I've been addicted to your channel! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@AllanChan]

I appreciate how thorough you are in your reviews! Especially using clear easy-to-understand language that considers both techies and non-techie audiences. I will definitely build this arcade kit after watching your review :D.

[@tylerbrown7110]

Love this channel. Great work on this video, by the way. Looks like a really solid kit.

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

Thank you!

[@bruwneahdoge3621]

Your videos are always top notch! Great review!

[@danayers2490]

i wasnt even a minute in before i subbed!! Great content, keep up the good work!

[@witsull338]

That screen looks excellent! I might consider picking one of these up for the summer. I'm a little rusty on my soldering skills anyway, haha. Great review!

[@alan_browne_]

Amazing video! Really good quality!

[@gryzor]

I have built this kit and It's great, especially if you don't have the time or will to outsource everything. I made mods (added power switches, external HDMI, improved sound noise (Cable + ferrite), painted, etc. It's fun. I have a full time job, I can afford this and more. I even created an external 2nd player controller (only joystick and buttons). It's all about the journey, not the destination ;)

[@RetroBuiltGames]

this.

[@TheLivingArcade]

I got the same low voltage warning on my kit as well. Most USB cables are too thin and suffer voltage drop. I ended up cutting the wire off a certified Pi power supply and soldered that on instead. It was a much thicker gauge and I haven't had a problem since! Even overclocking it. Just sacrifice a Pi Certified power supply. Totally worth it.

[@Code1D10T]

You not only got a new sub, but you just convinced me to buy this kit, too!

AWESOME JOB!!!

[@SNBfilms]

Seems like a decent price a modern multicade. I would be more likely to purchase one if they had a nice CRT option -- it's tough going back to anything else after playing through RGB on a PVM. Great review, thank you!

[@TheLivingArcade]

If you run a jumper from the ground GPIO pin on the Pi to the ground on the amp it will eliminate any ground potential difference between them and the audio noise will be reduced substantially!

[@guspaz]

Regarding the low voltage issues with the Pi, looking at their site, they recommend using a 12v power supply when using supplemental lighting as you did: the display, audio amp, and LEDs get directly driven by the 12v supply, and a step-down converter is used for the pi. With a good step-down converter, that ought to avoid the issues entirely. I recommend the "Pi Power" from Geppetto Electronics, which is a switch-mode power supply that accepts 6v-14v DC input and outputs stable 5v. Input can either be from a standard barrel jack, or soldered to two vias, and output to the pi can either be plugged directly in to the pin header, or connected from the pins to the header by wire, or you could even wire it to a micro USB cable and connect it to the pi via the pi's microusb power input, or any other way to get 5v into the pi.

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

In my case, the warnings are actually due to the Pi wanting slightly more than 5V (something like 5.1). I'm still well within the power supply's output capabilities (a 15W adapter is included with the kit). I tested with both the marquee LEDs and audio amp disconnected, and the Pi still threw the warning. In the future I plan to switch to 12V power and use a variable buck converter for the Pi, so I can set it at a voltage it likes -- but I'll check out the Pi Power too. Thanks!

[@RetroBuiltGames]

As you stated, If you supply the Pi's 5V via straight through the GPIO header the warning will no longer be present. The Micro USB connection path has an inline fuse for protection and the V drop across this fuse is likely the culprit causing the under voltage. Bypassing this fuse is not recommended unless you 'trust' the inline PSU.

[@anasarkawi4331]

you can force raspberry pi to only output from hdmi but not from composite out

[@mrkrabs622]

Great video. Subscribed!

[@jdriver2308]

suzo happ makes so mutch different things i thought they just made speakers!!

[@Fattydeposit]

If there was a way to swap out the LCD screen for a zero-lag, vibrant CRT type I'd be a lot more interested in this. Those old games are all neutered on modern displays.

[@ownageDan]

it would have to be alot bigger for a decent CRT to fit

[@DavidDavisDH]

It won't fit, CRTs are huge, you could use a scan generator and using a VGA to HDMI adaptor which I'm going to do.

[@psistis80]

I have a arcade stick which has Usb/Playstation 2 compadibility.Can i use it via usb,or do i have to re assemble it to work on my Raspberry Pi3?

[@joebarone3272]

wow what a great video

[@amshermansen]

Love the finished look - But it's just too small for my tastes. Full size arcade cabinet or bust. :)

[@rogjerr]

Can they print custom designs on the wood or it just comes naked?

[@themilkman4771]

Hey is it possible to solder a game into a gameboy,color,advance and ds

[@Skankhunt-sj7bk]

It's very expensive for somebody like me you can best just build everything yourself it will take a while but if your result turns out well it will be very satisfying

[@johnnygirling55]

Great review! Quick question, what was MAME like running through this set up? I have heard that the Pi is a little under powered for this. Cheers

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

For 8- and 16-bit consoles, I've generally gotten good performance on my Pi 3. N64 titles can be choppy unless you tweak the settings.

[@RWL2012]

This Does Not Compute why would you want to play N64 on an ARCADE machine anyway?

[@C_A_I_GAME]

I want one !

[@JeffreyQProductions]

Is the screen large enough for comfortable single player gaming? This is my biggest hesitation. If you're playing a racing game like fzero or mariokart, is it really big enough? What are your thoughts?

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

I'd say so. It's a 10" screen, and because the controls are fixed, you're always going to be relatively close to it.

[@sighrelief]

Is playing games that were made for a D-Pad with a Joystick actually comfortable? I can't imagine that would feel all that great...

[@ownageDan]

if youre used to sticks from playing other games (shmups, fighting games, etc.) then it's perfectly fine. in fact, i prefer it to a normal dpad, because modern controller dpads are shit.

[@sighrelief]

ownageDan well, yes of course. shmups and fighting games would be a good fit. But im more talking about platforming, or really most genres of games on most any retro console. Which were all optimized for D-pads

[@slade307]

I grew up on the Atari 2600 so I prefer a joystick when it's available. I definitely play better with one.

[@wambomedia]

Will it work with the newest Raspberry Pi 4?

[@michaelheintzer4261]

Lewi Sym Nope but the picade does

[@Redbl0odx]

How much does the pre-built version cost?

[@user-ii4gi4ts4y]

Redbl0odx Sums of money

[@Redbl0odx]

Thank you for your oh so helpful answer. I figured it out though. I wish they sold a pre-built of the 2 player version. I'd probably buy that up in a heartbeat.

[@l.v.8375]

Price for all ? (Full ended)

[@Vass881234]

can you plug in headphones

[@CoolSkyMiner]

the type of kit should I buy

[@CoolSkyMiner]

and what the best Raspberry Pi to use

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

I'd go for the Pi 3 since it offers the best performance.

[@CoolSkyMiner]

This Does Not Compute thank you

[@BigJoker]

Jesus, $330 without even the pi included? I know it's convenient to get it all from them, but the price on it is a huge markup from the materials involved. At the end when you thank them for sending you one, does that mean they sent it for free (likely in hopes that you'd do a review), or was it just a general thank you?

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

I was indeed sent the kit for free as part of the review -- I mention this at both the beginning and end. And I am honestly appreciative that Retro Built reached out and asked if I'd like to do a review, considering the size of my channel. As for the price, I think it's fair considering everything you get in the kit and also its overall quality. Someone commented over in the build video that they had made their own mini cabinet from scratch, and ended up spending a similar amount.

[@yyhaoyue]

FierceDeityXeroX , same can be said about just every other consumer product. if you only have to pay the cost of materials, a laptop would only cost like $30.

[@caveman-zd5yv]

can you have cheats with these systms?

[@Alexander-fc3nt]

*$330 for this?? no way!! in my country i can make this build for 70$ (max price.. i think i can do it for $40)*

[@foxbaker1736]

IPS Lcd Screen ? Most important question ...

[@quietstormtcb8543]

Does anybody sell a retro pi all ready to play in a small cabinet?

[@MobileDecay]

How does an arcade cabinet provide an authentic retro console experience. Lol. I wish I could buy this shit premade. =(

[@yongxianghe1432]

why upload again?

[@Kintah]

yongxiang he that's the review he uploaded the assembly

[@the7percentsolution]

That's definitely a cool set up, but you'd have to really REALLY miss playing games on an actual arcade machine to be willing to cough up that much money and build it yourself as opposed to just playing them on your computer with an emulator and roms.

[@danielwatson4350]

well i think it is great to have a diy kit for people who dont want to look for stuff ... but a cheaper way is to buy an old pc (including speakers and screen) , the stick and buttons on ebay or amazon and make your own cabinet design ... that way you pay less and have a full size bar-top arcade for about half the price ... but both way are okay ! hope this help some people figure out what way is the best for them ;)

[@ExtraRav]

Hi

[@elguero117]

can it run launch box?

[@ajdhjaoakdn2ndgoogleaccoun929]

U SHOULD CHANGE UR NAME TO *TDNC*

[@VictorinoL42712]

I thought this was Jwittz

[@zoomeyes9328]

I don’t think PortaPi was the best name decision..

[@SapphFire]

I would rather buy a real console but this is ok

[@jeremyjohnson8844]

I don't know, emulation feels pretty damned authentic to me using my laptop and a simple Logitech gamepad.

[@PinkManGuy]

Only three buttons? That's lame.

[@sanjayg900]

He did say you could get it with up to 6

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

Indeed, it comes with 6 by default. If you ask Retro Built, they can customize the control panel with a different layout/number of buttons. The 3-button version is just what I happened to be sent.

[@PinkManGuy]

I should have paid more attention. I saw the 3 buttons and was triggered into a tizzy before finishing the video. Sorry! :[

[@ownageDan]

3 is enough for a lot of arcade games. wouldn't want to play fighting games on that tiny thing anyway.

[@MrReav13]

It's cool no doubt, but $330 is ridiculous.

[@michaelheintzer4261]

Picade is better

[@keepmymindpreoccupied2892]

waste of money

[@Sebastian-xy3xk]

PortaPi sound like Porta-Potty to be honest 😂😂😂😂💩💩🚽🚽

[@kNo1bdy]

Helloz World watching this while pooping

[@totalgarbageforreal]

Why the fuck would anyone want to play Mario and Sonic games on an arcade system? The only emulator that should be on there is FBA. Could have played some Metal Slug, Spin Master, Top Hunter, Robo Army or even Sengoku 3, instead. Or something like Progear no Arashi. Or 3rd Strike. Or...

[@RWL2012]

supergarbage I was thinking the same thing. Mario and Sonic aren't primarily arcade games!

[@Lorfarius]

Well you can plug a USB controller in and play it like a console if you like. And there's nothing forcing you to play those games! It's nice to have the option.

[@RWL2012]

Derfel Cadarn proof of Sonic 1 arcade version?

[@danyates1]

Yeah I agree, there was a touch of irony when he said in the intro about the lack of authenticity playing emulators on a PC and was then showing Sonic (a genesis/mega drive game) on an arcade cab. Perhaps I'm nitpicking.