Best Linux for Emulation
Best Linux for Emulation
Hey everyone, I’ve got a Dell Optiplex 740 SFF (a bit larger than an Xbox 360) that I removed the HDD from and added an SD card with RecalBox. It’s running great overall, though I’ve faced some hiccups with PSX and PSP titles—just a result of outdated settings in RecalBox. After playing through a few games, I’m ready to keep going with my series (Jak And Daxter). However, the next game I want to try is on the PSP, but it’s only available on PS2 and isn’t supported by RecalBox yet. Even though it claims PSP compatibility, I can’t find any emulator support for PS2 in RetroPie 3. My plan was to run Linux on another SD card so I could switch between consoles. Now I’m thinking about installing a lightweight Linux distro that’s easy to set up and can start automatically when the OS loads—something I’m familiar with from Windows, but I’m not sure how to do it on Linux. If you have any suggestions for a simple, fast version suited for this kind of setup, that would be perfect. Thanks!
Not a specialist on this, but I’d lean toward Lubuntu. Ubuntu and its variants are typically the top performers or among the most supported, while Lubuntu is extremely lightweight. In fact, I’ve managed it running smoothly on a 2003 ThinkPad. There are lighter alternatives, but I doubt you’ll need them—they’d make usability much harder. Another choice would be Xubuntu, provided the LXDE desktop isn’t your style. That should also work. For other options, you might need to check forums for the specific emulator you’re interested in. It’s a fairly niche area.
Linux represents the idea of Linux, and everyone might use emulators. If you're aiming for a complete desktop experience, OpenSUSE could be a good choice.
You might want to set up Arch Linux, giving you flexibility to build a minimal desktop or just use X RetroArch with a PS2 emulator. PCSX2 is fine, but the game wouldn't run properly inside a core. They may eventually switch to purei.org, though that's still under development.