USFF/NUC/Mini PCs
Recently, Ultra Small Form-Factor (USFF) a.k.a. Next Unit Computers (NUCs) have been rising in popularity on the market. By virtue of them mostly being x86-based, they are as compatible with Batocera as any desktop PC is. But since they rely solely on integrated graphics, their performance is usually a bit lower and they may struggle with thermals. With that said, most modern USFF/NUCs will still give you full speed emulation for 5th gen consoles and below.
Just because your device isn't on the Tested devices list here doesn't mean it's unsupported, it's just a list of devices that have been reported as working to the Batocera team, and what version it was running on. Consider this like a benchmark table, with less information. Let us know on the Discord if you have Batocera running on your own USFF not listed here.
In case you need a refresher on console generations, check out the top of the SBC page.
Intel NUC
Tiny all-in-one computers with impressive performance for their size. Available as “Mini PCs” with everything already installed. If you'd instead like to source the individual components yourself (like DIMM sticks, storage, etc.) you can get a “kit”, which is essentially just the case and the motherboard. Check out their range at their support page.
You may need to activate the Intel i965 drivers, but it should work out of the box with most kits.
Required accessories
- Depending on your configuration, you may need to buy RAM sticks and/or storage. These devices are very do-it-yourself (if you want to)
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel DC3217BY | Specifications | v31 | Can emulate up to 5th gen fine, some easy Dreamcast and GameCube games. |
| Intel NUC6i5SYH | Specifications | v31 | Can emulate up to 7th gen fine, struggles with Xbox. PS3 is not working. Needs Intel i965 drivers to be activated. |
| Intel NUC7i5BNH | Specifications | v32 | All hardware works out of the box. Emulates up to 7th gen well, excluding Xbox. |
| Intel NUC11PAHi5 | Specifications | v32 | Freezes when pressing [SELECT] in a game list. |
| Intel NUC8i7BEH | Specifications | v35 | Does not boot from USB ( needs confirmation). |
Dell Optiplex Micro Desktops
A bit more of a stretch, these were USFFs that were commonplace in offices and schools. They can usually be found second-hand for cheap prices, just keep in mind they've probably had a lot of use. You can check out their current range available for purchase on their official website, just look for the “Micro” form-factor.
Required accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|
To be filled.
Dell Alienware Mini Gaming Desktop PCs
Powerful mini PCs that go so far as to have high-end graphics cards. On the high-end of the price scale, and for good reason.
Required accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dell Alienware Alpha R2 | https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-au/product-support/product/alienware-steam-r2-console/overview | v32 | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny Desktops
Not to be confused with IBM's ThinkCentre computers, Lenovo's take on the USFF is a more contemporary approach. Check out their range at their website.
Required accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo M900 Tiny i5 6400t | https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre/m-series-tiny/M900-Tiny/p/11TC1MTM90010FM or Amazon page or support page. | v32 | |
| Lenovo M93p SFF | https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre/m-series-sff/10A9/p/11TC1TMM93P10A9 | v31 | |
| Lenovo Thinkcentre M715q (Ryzen 2400GE) | https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/desktops/thinkcentre/m-series-tiny/thinkcentre-m715q-tiny/11tc1mt715q | | |
| Lenovo Thinkcentre M710q (i5-7500T) | https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/desktops/thinkcentre/m-series-tiny/thinkcentre-m710q/11tc1mt710q | | |
Asus Mini PCs PN/PB series
Tiny all-in-one computers with impressive performance for their size. Check out the range at their product page.
Required accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
Just because your device isn't here yet doesn't mean it's unsupported, this is just a list of confirmed fully functional Asus Mini PCs and what version of Batocera they were tested on. Consider this like a benchmark table, with less information. Let us know on the Discord if you have Batocera running on your own Asus Mini PC.
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASUS PN50-BBR033MD | ASUS Product Page, Newegg page Amazon page or Microcenter page. | v32 | |
| ASUS PB-50 (Ryzen 3550h, 8GB RAM) | ASUS Product Page | v33 | can emulate up to 6th gen fine (struggles with xbox, gamecube up to 720p, ps2 native resolution). BEWARE: loud fan noise! |
HP Mini/Micro/Small Form Factor PCs
HP's line of regular small form factor PCs. The Micro line is incredibly thin, but usually at the cost of any disc drive/graphics card expandability.
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP 280 G2 Small Form Factor | https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-280-g2-small-form-factor-pc/11747117 | v32 | With an RX 580 GPU, emulates up to 6th gen fine. |
| HP ProDesk 400 G3 | https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-prodesk-400-g3-desktop-mini-pc/15287510 | v33 | |
| HP EliteDesk 705 G1 (AMD A6 Pro 7400B) | https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-elitedesk-705-g1-desktop-mini-pc/6893888 | | Up to 5th gen. |
| HP EliteDesk 800 G1 (Intel i5-4570) | https://support.hp.com/au-en/document/c03832938 | v35 | Up to 7th gen, benchmark here. |
HP Desktop Thin Clients
HP's Thin Clients are little USFF computers designed to connect to a larger server network that runs a VM for the machine to take over that can come in a variety of form factors. Check out their range at their Thin Clients page (scroll down to the bottom and click on “Learn” in the “HP Desktop Thin Clients”).
Required accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thin Client M340C AMD GX-412HC | Discontinued, no official pages. Here's a blog post about it. | v32 | PSX, N64 and Dreamcast full-speed at 720p. |
| HP t630 Thin Client | Product page. Support page. | v32 | PSX, N64 and Dreamcast full-speed at 720p |
GIGABYTE BRIX/Ultra Compact PC kit
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB-BLCE-4105 | Support page | v34 | At 720p all emulators up to Gamecube and 2D Wii games are running at full speed. | All PSP/Dreamcast/PS1 games run at full speed at 720p, 1080p is limiting for some high-end games. |
| GB-BXi3H-5010 | Overview page | v33 | |
ZOTAC Mini PC ZBOX C series
Check out their range on their product page.
Required accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZOTAC ID41 (Atom D525) | https://www.zotac.com/product/mini_pcs/id41-plus | v31 | Up to 5th gen |
Beelink Mini PC
Beelink is a relatively new manufacurer who employ custom motherboards using x86_64 chipsets to run small but powerful emulation boxes. They also feature some TV boxes, as discussed in the relevant section on the SBC page.
Friendly reminder that it is illegal in most countries to redistribute copyrighted materials for profit without permission.
The custom otherboard in Beelink devices is a double-edged sword; although it allows for crazy form-factors, their BIOS loaders have strange limitations/bugs that does not play nice with distributions such as Batocera. This includes sometimes not being able to boot Batocera from USB ports (even when booting from the SATA port is fine) and not being compatible with older versions of Batocera at all due to kernel requirements. This may change as the Linux kernel is updated to include these hardware off-shoots.
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beelink Gemini X55 | Amazon | 5.12, 5.19 | | Can not boot from the SD card slot. Boots from USB succesfully. Booting takes a long time. |
| Beelink U59 | Link | N/A | | Does not work with the current version of Batocera (v33), requires a higher kernel version. Will probably work with v34 when it gets released. Does not boot from the USB port. Boots from SATA port correctly (tested using a custom build with a newer kernel). |
| Beelink GTR5 (Ryzen 5950HX) | Link | v34 | Runs all systems. XBox runs at/near 60FPS depending on the game. | Not compatible with the default Wi-Fi card provided, requires swap. |
| Beelink Mini S N5095 | Link | v35 | N/A | Old version of the BIOS does not permit the changing of the boot order, and does not allow booting from any external storage. New BIOS functions fine. The BIOS can only be flashed via Windows (nice). ( confirmation needed, and which version specifically?) |
Aerofara Aero line
Aerofara is a performance-oriented mini PC manufacturer.
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aero2 N5105 | Store page Amazon | v34 | |
Fujitsu FUTRO line
Fujitsu's FUTRO line are a series of “thin client” computers.
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUTRO S740 | Support page. | v35 | | Its bootloader only supports EFI, and by default will not offer utilities to update this info. Temporarily boot into another Linux-based OS with efibootmgr available (such as Ubuntu) and configure it using the command: efibootmgr -c -d /dev/sda -p 1 -L "Batocera" -l '\EFI\BOOT\bootx64.efi' (where sda is the drive Batocera is installed to). This may change in the future. |
Obscure hipster USFFs
These ones aren't usually a “line” of devices, but one-offs by various companies that usually don't get upgraded with a new hardware revision later. They can offer great value when picked up second-hand.
ViewSonic VOT
A discontinued line of USFF computers by ViewSonic around 2011, can still be found for good prices second-hand.
Required Accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested Devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ViewSonic VOT133 | https://www.viewsonic.com/la/index.php/vot133-1-183539e54667dddc02d46f94bc0d43c5.html | v31 | Up to 5th gen |
CHUWI Larkbox
Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi's take on the NUC form-factor. Official page here.
Required accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHUWI LarkBox Pro Mini PC Intel® Celeron® J4125 | https://store.chuwi.com/products/chuwi-larkbox-pro | v31 | |
CHUWI RZBOX
A higher-end small form-factor PC packing a beefy Ryzen processor.
Required accessories
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHUWI RZBOX AMD RYZEN 9 4900H | https://store.chuwi.com/products/chuwi-rzbox | v32 | |
CHUWI HeroBox Pro Mini PC
Batocera is yet to successfully boot on this mini PC.
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Jasper Lake N4500 8GB DDR4 256GB SSD | Amazon | v32 | N/A | Does not boot. |
LattePanda
There have been reports of Batocera having issues on this device.
A tinkerer's dream, a small form-factor PC with built-in Arduino. Official page. This device is really an SBC, but isn't in the same class as the other SBCs on their own page. Just like with regular PCs, you will need to adjust the BIOS settings to enable booting from the USB first if desired.
A video installation guide of Batocera on the LattePanda by DB Tech.
Required Accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| LattePanda Delta 432 4GB/32GB | https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1908.html | 5.24 | Can do up to 5th gen full-speed. |
AWOW PC stick
Required Accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
- Micro-SD card (recommended just to use Batocera off the SD card)
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWOW NY41S | https://www.amazon.com/Fanless-Celeron-Computer-Ethernet-AWOW/dp/B09F3BJNPH/ or directly from AWOW. | v32 | Kills 5th gen, can do some low-end 6th gen. |
Kamrui Mini PCs
Kamrui makes a variety of laptops and mini-PCs.
Required Accessories
- Keyboard and mouse (for standalone emulator configuration/light gun games, most emulators can be configured with just a controller though)
- Display and speakers
Tested devices
| Model/Make | Link | Batocera | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| CK2 | Product page Amazon link | v33 | Up to sixth gen, does GameCube okay but demanding titles slowdown. |
- usff_nuc_mini_pcs.txt
- Last modified: 3 months ago
- by atari