Atari-Inspired RetroPie Console

Hacker “danieleikelenboom,” a fan of the Atari 2600’s design, decided to build a “modern” retro-console inspired by it. As documented here, the results are quite good, but the process was certainly a learning experience.

The build’s first challenge was that the Raspberry Pi 3, while powerful, was having trouble properly emulating N64 games. To address this problem, this hacker overclocked the CPU, and added a fan and heat sink assembly to keep things at an acceptable temperature. He attached his new sink with a 3D-printed bracket and was even able to power the 12V printer fan he used with 5V, simplifying the electronics. After that, he connected a mono amplifier and speaker to pump out the necessary retro sounds to complete his gaming experience.

The Atari-like exterior was designed in Fusion 360 and 3D-printed, with the exception of a wooden area made to accept USB controllers. In the middle of this is an LED surrounded by a translucent cover, which looks rather nice when lit up. While it can be played as a stand-alone console, the system can also output the game to an external display and speakers, and the screen can be switched off as needed.