In this article, I’ll cover essential considerations for selecting a TV console for retro gaming. Firstly, it’s crucial to determine which console emulators we intend to run, our budget constraints, and the preferred form factor.
For example, to emulate the primary retro consoles, including up to the PS1, a budget TV box priced at $30 would suffice. However, if you wish to play releases from PS2, Nintendo Wii/Wii U, you’ll need a more powerful and expensive Android TV box, potentially with a different form factor. In this article, we’ll explore optimal options for various budgets and goals.
It’s also important to remember that you’ll need gamepads to play. Ideally, if you already own gamepads for any console, you can use those. If not, you can check out a selection of the best budget gamepads in the article titled Selection of the Best Gamepads for Retro Gaming and Console Emulation on Android TV.
I wrote about how to turn a regular Android TV set-top box into a retro console in the article “Turning an Android TV box into a retro console. A proven selection of emulators!”
We’ll base the emulation capabilities on both the performance of the original consoles and the performance of the TV consoles, taking into account the additional power needed for emulation.
So let’s begin!
What $30 TV boxes make a good retro console?
Unfortunately, with such a budget it will not be possible to find a TV set-top box for emulating PS2 games. But for PS1 games it is quite enough.
My personal favorite is the H96 MAX M3. It’s a compact TV stick priced at $23, making it perfect for travel. Here are its key specifications:
CPU: Rockchip RK3528 Quad Core
GPU: Mali-450
Storage: DDR3 2GB/4GB, eMMC 16/32/64GB
Personally, I recommend opting for the version with at least 32GB of storage to ensure ample space for all the necessary software. Storing games for emulation on an external flash drive or hard disk is indeed a smart move, as it helps keep the internal storage free for system files and applications.
Rockchip RK3528 CPU mark show ~900
Despite its older GPU, it delivers performance 10-30% higher than its more modern counterparts, making it an ideal fit for retro gaming. The only downside is its support for only OpenGL ES 1.1 or 2.0; OpenVG 1.1 (no Vulkan support). However, for emulating PS2 and Nintendo Wii, OpenGL ES 3.0 or Vulkan is necessary.
But emulation of PS1 and Nintendo64 is possible (Emulator ePSXe and Retroarch for N64).
The CPU and GPU performance H96 MAX M3 surpasses alternative TV boxes like the Xiaomi Mi TV Stick, Xiaomi Mi Box S, Fire TV, Onn TV stick, DQ06, X96, S96, and similar options by 20-30%. The RK3528 processor significantly outperforms chips like Allwinner H618, H313, and RK3228.
Allwinner H313
And so on.
But H93 Max M3 has a downside – it’s not Google certified, meaning it has DRM Widevine L3. Consequently, you’ll be limited to streaming Netflix at around 480p resolution.
What $50 TV boxes make a good retro console?
The situation hasn’t changed much. The H96 Max M3 TV Stick still holds decent positions. Its Antutu scores are around 35-40 thousand. But a worthy competitor has appeared in the form of devices with the Amlogic S905X4 and Amlogic S905X2 processors. One of them – it’s MECOOL KM9 PRO
This TV box with the Amlogic S905X2 processor scores around 60,000 points on Antutu. However, its Mali-G31 GPU falls short by 20% in performance compared to the Mali-450. Nevertheless, the Mali-G31 supports Vulkan and OpenGL 3.0, which opens up possibilities for running emulators like Nintendo Wii and PS2. However, the performance will likely be limited, and you may only be able to run lightweight games. To feel more confident in gaming, a more powerful GPU and processor are necessary.
On the upside, it’s Google certified, allowing you to stream Netflix in 4K resolution!
As you can see, this tv-box with 20.8 GFLOPS is already enough for ideal emulation of PS1 and Wii. But not enough for XBOX.
What’s the best TV box under $75?
Initially, I wasn’t planning to include this category, but I stumbled upon a truly fantastic TV box equipped with a Rockchip 3566 processor and Mali-G52 GPU. This is H96 Max 3566
This is impressive because the Rockchip 3566 processor is 10-20% more powerful than the Amlogic S905X2, and its Mali-G52MP2 GPU is nearly twice as powerful as the Mali-450! Coupled with support for technologies like OpenGL 3 and Vulkan, it’s truly an minimal platform for ideal running PS1, Nintendo Wii, PS2 and XBOX games.
but I would add a few dollars to get a more optimal tv box for these purposes
55GFLOPS – A good indicator, it will allow you to emulate games on XBOX.
What’s the best TV box under $100?
My only one favorite and the cheapest Tv Box with Amlogic S922X – X96 X9.
This is an amazing performing TV box for its price. Why?
It has ARM Mali-G52 MP6 and CPU Amlogic S922X. And these benchmarks speak for themselves.
This processor is more than twice as powerful as the one in the previous tv-box! And the graphics processor is three times more powerful! It may not provide access to newer gaming platforms, but it will allow for more freedom to customize visual enhancements in emulators.
Best TV box for emulation PS3, XBOX360, Wii U?
YES IT’S EXSIST!
This Android TV set-top box features a Rockchip 3588 processor with an ARM Mali-G610 MP4 GPU, delivering a performance of up to 610 GFLOPS.
That should be sufficient for emulating PS2 (6.2 GFLOPS), Xbox (20 GFLOPS), Xbox 360 (240 GFLOPS), PlayStation 3 (230 GFLOPS), and Wii U (350 GFLOPS). Also it has a good chances to launch Nintendo Switch Emulator.
Here’s a selection of set-top boxes with similar specifications:
In my opinion, this is truly the best option for a TV set-top box in terms of price-performance ratio. And it will allow you to make a game console with support for a large number of platforms from retro to PS3.
Unfortunately, I did not find TV boxes with a more powerful GPU. Purchasing more expensive TV boxes for gaming purposes doesn’t make sense. Therefore, if you want smoother and higher-quality graphics, it’s worth considering Mini-PCs, which I’ve previously compiled in the “Mini-PC Selection for Turning into a Gaming Console” guide.
IMPORTANT
Technical characteristics do not always mean the ability of a device to emulate platform data. For example, on Android there is currently no possibility of emulating XBOX (only through the Windows emulator inside Android, which is very slow or Batocera). There is a similar problem with emulating Nintendo WII U (there is no emulator on Android). And to emulate a Nintendo Switch, 4-8 GB of RAM is required (the specified TV set-top boxes have 4GB). Another option is to install Batocera, but not all devices support it, unfortunately (H96 MAX v58 for now not support Batocera.