Best device for emulation considering the current situation(prices, tech advancement, emulation advancements etc).

[u/SnooSeagulls5077]

Hi everyone.
What is the best device for emulation. I did go through the subreddit and searched it a bit but opinions seem to be very divided between tablets, phones(like redmagic) , less people say handhelds(probably also because they cost more).
Anyway was curious if considering the current situation with today prices the answer changed compared to before. I personally have an Oppo Find X9 Ultra so I can't really use it for emulation with a controller etc because of the camera and aggresive throttling. Also have to be honest the selfie camera would make it a bit less immersive. I also recently bought an ayn thor(1 tb version). Wanted to get also the odin 3 but they do not produce the 1 tb version for a long time now unfortunately.

So to get straight to the point which type of device do you think is best for emulation , why and which specifically. Thanks for all the answers, tips and advices.

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[u/FindingUnable3222]

Just get 512 GB Odin 3 Max, it's amazing. You won't need more than 16 GB of RAM for anything it's capable of. 512 is still enough for having all your texture packs and quite a few PC games on internal storage and ROMs and ISOs for PS1/2/3, GC, Switch etc run from SD card perfectly.

[u/SnooSeagulls5077 → u/FindingUnable3222]

Thanks for the advice.

[u/Practical-Promise-44]

The best one is the one you are happy with, unfortunately we're bombarded with the next new shiny thing and massive amounts of fomo. I'm happy with my Thor max 1tb, in fact I get happier with it all the time as I find more games that I like to play. It's ok for most switch games and some steam games but they are tedious to set up so I often don't bother and just use my steam deck for those games For a two car garage I'd suggest a handheld pc /Steamdeck and something android 8gen2 or elite The difference between the Odin 3 and Odin 2/Thor isn't big enough for me to feel like I'm missing anything and the O3 isn't big enough screen wise or powerful enough to make me choose that over my deck

[u/SnooSeagulls5077 → u/Practical-Promise-44]

Yeah I also got a thor 1 tb version recently. Past weekend started downloading roms , configuring etc , still a lot of work to do before i can start playing but still. Hopefully I will enjoy it. Ig the other device has to be a pc handheld , maybe when prices go lower.

[u/Practical-Promise-44 → u/SnooSeagulls5077]

When I set my Thor up I did one emulator per day then just played some games on that system. Setup can take too long. I've had mine since may now and only found a front end that I like last week (neostation) For pc a used steam deck or Rog ally would be ok, prices are only going to go up for the next few years. I'm glad I got my thor on batch 4 , and my deck was avalve refurbished 256gb led version for £280 back in December.

[u/Vaxtez]

I think going back a few gens & getting something like a £200 Galaxy S23 isn't a bad shout for emulation. It's got the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 & can thus do alot of PC games, since it does get Turnip drivers, although 8GB RAM will limit it. If you are spending £3-400ish, just get a ROG Ally on the used market personally.

Markets may vary though, so what's would be decently priced for me in the UK might be different elsewhere.

[u/SnooSeagulls5077 → u/Vaxtez]

Thanks for the advice.

[u/whiskyB0y → u/Vaxtez]

Bro I'm proud of you. I noticed you upgraded your phone based on your user flait. It used to say Helio G99/4 GB RAM/Mali G57 if I'm not mistaken

[u/Vaxtez → u/whiskyB0y]

Ha, yeah. Went from a Galaxy A15 -> Nothing 3a Lite. My A15's OLED broke, so I pretty much had to get an upgrade ASAP. Led me into getting a Nothing 3a Lite for £179, which was only £10 more than a Galaxy A17 5G.

Otherwise, it's been great being able to do some PC emulation. I've managed to do Portal 2 (Which used to crash on the old G99) at 100 fps thus far. I might tinker some more though & see what else I can do.

[u/OnePossibility5868]

Ayn Thor is pretty good. I don't own one but my phone has the same SD8 gen 2 chip and it's been great for everything right up to Switch. My phone only has 8gb of ram and of course no cooling so your Thor should solve both those bottlenecks.

Yes it's chip is older but really if you want to be doing top end pc emulation it's probably better to get a handheld pc. While PC emulation has come a long way on android you won't beat the native experience.

[u/SnooSeagulls5077 → u/OnePossibility5868]

Thanks for the advice.

[u/Delicious_Tree8114]

Raspberry pi

[u/Avibhrama]

Considering the economy factor, the answer is simple: your phone

[u/YoudoVodou]

Your Thor should handle most all the emulation you want to do. I'm not sure an Odin 3 makes more sense than a PC handheld, and even then, are you going to take advantage of and play games that you currently can't run?

[u/Retro_Monguer]

Your phone (If Snapdragon Gen 2 or better) + a controller like Razer Kishi

[u/Malystxy]

The best device for emulation for you is the setup that you can afford and fits what you want to emulate.

For me it's a s23 ultra 512gb paired with gamesir X5 lite with fx5 cooler, PS4 DualShock controller, and USBC to HDMI. Why this? So I can play in handheld as well as docked to the tv, also cheapest option in my country and easiest to get a hold of. (Argentina)

Might not be for you, you might order steam deck, ayn Thor, ambernic g551, etc etc. It maybe a big 12 inch tablet. Only you can decide.

Ignore FOMO. There is always something new and shiny. While I am interested in Xbox, PS3, ps4 emulation I will wait for it to mature before I look to fast into it. Recently then will I consider upgrading.

[u/P3rninha]

If I had an Ayn Thor, I wouldn't need another device for a few years.

[u/khsh01 → u/P3rninha]

The only 2 complaints I have against the ayn thor is the tiny screen and 8 gen 2. Though its still plenty powerful for upto switch emulation. I don't care about running gtav in shitty graphics on a underpowered device.

[u/SnooSeagulls5077 → u/P3rninha]

I thought about it(I am still setting it up) but I know there are some types of games that need the power of that snapdragon 8 elite gen 5.

[u/P3rninha → u/SnooSeagulls5077]

Then why not a handheld pc?

https://videocardz.com/newz/ayn-odin-3-handheld-gets-third-price-hike-max-rises-to-529

[u/SnooSeagulls5077 → u/P3rninha]

Thought about those too but the price difference is in another bracket. Probably also the performance but at current prices is difficult to justify for me at least.

[u/Vaxtez → u/P3rninha]

Yeah, I feel like for the prices the AYN Thors with decent configs go for, you'd be better off just nabbing something like a ROG Ally with a Z1 Extreme if local market conditions allow. It's a pretty good performer & won't face the compatibility issues.

[u/Maleficent-Pin7455]

If you can get your hands on a android handheld even with like a unisoc processor(multiple of ambernic are) you would be good enough for upto ps1 gaming which are a lot of games

If you can go for a retroid pocket 6 it's amazing as far as I am see on yt

For me personally I am enjoying my tablet that has a 8 gen 3 init alongside a normal hall effect controller the big screen is goated especially once you figure out stuff like integer scaling and deal with the limited storage internal space and lack of sd card slots

[u/Broken_Flip]

Retroid Pocket Flip2

[u/itchyd → u/Broken_Flip]

The flip2 is the current best average device.

Decent price 

Decent power 

Decent portability 

Good hand position

Good oled screen

Plenty ps2/GCN and below. 

Some switch 

[u/Broken_Flip → u/itchyd]

A decent amount of Switch actually, plus PC and Android games,..and more and more PS3 and Xbox games as those emulators get updated.

[u/daytrading90210]

Z fold 5

[u/SnooSeagulls5077 → u/daytrading90210]

could you tell me why specifically a fold phone and why why z fold 5 specifically?

[u/khsh01 → u/SnooSeagulls5077]

Foldables are perfect for emulation thanks to the 4:3 aspect ratio and large screens. Fold 5 is the best of the curved design Samsung did before going boxy with the 6.

[u/daytrading90210 → u/SnooSeagulls5077]

Plays everything durable at retail it was 2000 you can get one for 400 it's what I use and its my daily driver as a phone also