Over the past couple of years, I've been completely enamored by trying to turn anything I can into a retro gaming machine. I was hoping to find a good deal on something like Walmart's Onn. 4K Streaming Media Player, but no dice. Then, I saw Jerry's article that talks about building your own NAS with a Raspberry Pi, and it gave me the "AHA" moment I needed.
Now that the Raspberry Pi 5 has been out for a little over a year, we don't have to deal with inventory shortages. This makes for the perfect brain of a retro gaming station, and one that you can even take with you when visiting family for the holidays.
On top of that, there are quite a few deals on different Raspberry Pi 5 kits, such as the Turbo Cooled Edition from Vilros, which happens to be 20% off. This kit includes the 8GB Raspberry Pi 5, and almost everything else that you'll need to get up and running.
Although the Vilros Starter Kit includes a case, it doesn't really do much to invoke the "retro nostalgia" that I'm looking for. Geeekpi is here to do exactly that but with an added bonus. See, you could get away with just loading everything up onto the microSD card, but once you start playing more demanding games, there's a potential for some bottlenecking.
With the Geeekpi Game5Pi Case, not only can you make the Pi look like an NES, but it also includes an M.2 NVMe SSD Peripheral Board and a cooler. NVMe SSDs are pretty cheap as it is, and there are still some last-minute deals, such as saving $15 on a 1TB M.2 2230 drive. However, the real benefit is the increased read/write speeds compared to when you were to stick to the included microSD card.
The only thing missing now is a way to actually play those games. When it comes to controllers with retro vibes, few can match up to the lineup that 8BitDo can provide. I was hoping to see either Bluetooth versions of the SN30 Pro or Pro 2 on sale, but couldn't find a deal on either one. Not all hope is lost, as the SN30 Pro Wired Controller is on sale for a few bucks off over at Best Buy.
It also helps that the Geeekpi case includes front-facing USB-A ports, otherwise, it might be a bit more of a nuisance to go the wired route. But hey, you could always get a couple of these and huddle around the TV with your family just like we used to do when we were kids!
And that's pretty much it! Once everything arrives, just head over to the RetroPie website, so you can enjoy a retro-themed operating system. Then, load up the microSD card or NVMe with your library of retro games, and be on your merry way!
