this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2025
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What is the cheapest console to get and collect for that still holds up? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 1 day ago by Grumpy404@lemmy.zip to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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Im looking for a cheap console to get and collect for that dosent cost a arm/leg but also isint boring with the game section. I have a few consoles and handhelds from when i was a kid but i want something that i can stick with and not let collect dust?

What would you suggest or advise and why so?

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[โ€“] MumboJumbo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

RetroPi is a great emulator setup for a Raspberry Pi. It's cheap to get into, small, and works with any existing Bluetooth controllers you may have.

[โ€“] RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

My only reason for not suggesting one and instead suggesting a mini PC is the lack of general availability when I went to get a Pi 5. And the cost, when I looked an Pi5 cost about $80, and for its price I figured a mini PC like an Intel NUC or even easier to find an HP EliteDesk mini, would vastly outperform it for a little higher cost.

They can regularly be found online or in person for $120 or less. I got a secondhand EliteDesk mini with a 9500T for about $60 USD, including a 256GB NVME and 16GB RAM, which is plenty for retro gaming in general. You can also get just the regular SFF and add a SFF GPU for PS3/Xbox 360 emulation at a pretty low cost as well. I put one together with a base PC cost of $99 for an i5 7500, 16GB RAM, and 500GB HDD, and added an AMD RX 6300 2GB for just $75. It easily handles PS3/X360 emulation at native resolutions. Sure it cant run most modern PC games because its an RX6300 designed for business PCs and not gaming, but that doesnt mean it cant run older stuff really well.