the drive
the needed cable
Just get an external drive. This one is good but most drives will work. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRG7BBH/ref=twister_B08B28LGP9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 btw if you want to get a different drive you shouldn't get a normal hdd adapter cause the support for those can be spotty
Mostly all external drives will work, just stay away from enclosures. Use gui format to format the drive. Finally if you want a drive that will for sure work I recommend this. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRG7BBH/ref=twister_B08B28LGP9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
If you are just going to use the drive for Plex movies, then a $50 1TB HDD will be sufficient. ...or for $6 more you can double the storage space.
SSD (Solid State Drives) have no moving parts and use flash memory. HDD (Hard Disc Drive) is your classic spinning hard drive. FYI, any 1TB flash drive for under $75 is going to be a fake.
VNs are pretty much the only games I actually store on my SSD since they're so small, but I had a 1 TB external HDD when I need the extra space. This has served me well.
You can save money and have a better build if you source the parts locally. I.E. get a Pi4 4GB ram version (2GB will also work but 4GB gives you room for future projects while the larger 8GB is total overkill for anything other than using the pi as a Linux based PC).
Get a small SD card or use an existing one (8GB will suffice) to do the initial boot and flash the EEPROM of the pi to boot from the hard drive. I've included options for a wired or wireless controller. I own both versions and have used the wireless for over a year and can attest to the solid build of it. Both controllers have a very similar feel to the original SNES controller with a tiny bit of "sponginess" in the directional pad you wouldn't notice unless you had an original controller to compare against. IMO this build is superior because of the case and the rock solid controllers. This case is made of aluminum and does a really good job of dissipating heat (The Pi will throttle itself so it can't overheat but it WILL slowdown if it gets too hot. Another and probably the biggest gripe about these custom kits is they violate the license of RetroPie and they are custom so if your a novice you'll get a lot of gruff on the sub for using custom images (see sub rule #3).
One final thought, to setup a really enjoyable retro experience takes a little bit of effort, think of tweaking a new PC and setting it up to be "yours". By building your own pi you'll gain the experience of tinkering and have a lot of satisfaction knowing you did it and have it setup just how you want. There are so many options to truly make RetroPie your own.
BOM:
Pi4
Official power supply
Argone One case with power button and good cooling
1TB external HD
8BitDo Wired controller
8BitDo Wireless controller
The cheapest by far is if you make it yourself, and the best part is you don't need any tools and it takes a couple minutes.
In terms of performance: * Solid State Drives - fast car to rocket * 7200RPM hard drive - horse * 5400RPM hard drive - goat
Today the price difference is $3.
Currently the cheapest 2.5" hard drive vs cheapest solid State drive among major retailers in the US:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | TEAMGROUP CX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $32.99 @ Newegg |
| Storage | Western Digital AV-25 1 TB 2.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive | $29.88 @ Amazon |
To use these externally, you need an enclosure. These are available in tool-free versions for under $7-$10: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZSDVMSP
So you're looking at $37 for the cheapest and slowest storage, or $40 for something decently fast and more reliable.
If it's below this price, it's either used or a scam. For example here's a drive which is $38 used and about the cheapest you can find: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRG7BBH
And here's a $20 1TB USB drive on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Data-Flash-Drive-Portable-Thumb/dp/B0C1SYG92Z
However if you see the date, it launched in April 2023.
If you see the reviews and photos, they say 128GB, not 1TB.