Your next retro console should actually be a $50 used office PC

Published Sep 24, 2026, 3:01 PM EDT After a 7-year corporate stint, Tanveer found his love for writing and tech too much to resist. An MBA in Marketing and the owner of a PC building business, he writes on PC hardware, technology, and Windows. When not scouring the web for ideas, he can be found building PCs, watching anime, or playing Smash Karts on his RTX 3080 (sigh). The retro gaming itch has been spreading rapidly worldwide, and manufacturers are launching one console after another to meet demand. From handheld devices to emulation boxes, retro gaming has never been better. You can spend hundreds on a retro console to revisit your favorite NES, SNES, PS2, or GameCube games. But there's a better, cheaper way to do it. Retro emulation doesn't need much hardware grunt, so even a cheap pre-owned office PC can do the trick. All you need is a 10-year-old desktop or mini PC from eBay, maybe add a small SSD, and install Batocera to get going. You'll be able to play games from nearly every retro console you can think of, all for just $50. You can buy a dedicated emulation box, but you don't need to Building your own is actually better Online marketplaces are full of handheld retro consoles and sticks, depending on the experience you're looking for. From $25 to $250, you can choose based on how recent the console you want to emulate is. The pricier handhelds let you play PlayStation 2 and Wii titles on an AMOLED display, but they still fall short of true retro console gaming. If you want to recreate your childhood days playing SNES, N64, or PS1 games on your TV, most people will recommend building your own retro console. And doing that is way simpler than you're probably thinking. You really don't need anything newer than a 7th Gen or 8th Gen Intel PC for your retro machine. These desktop or mini PCs on eBay will also get you 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 500GB hard drive for just $50–$60. Raising your budget to $100–$125 can get you 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, but that's optional for an emulation console unless you want to run PS3 or Switch games. $50–$60 PCs are enough for consoles up to PS2, GameCube, Wii, and PSP. You can use Windows, but Linux is way better Windows isn't ready for a console experience Now, you might be tempted to use Windows for your DIY retro console, simply because you're probably more familiar with it. Almost all popular emulators support Windows, but if you want your retro console to feel like a console and not a jerry-rigged PC pretending to be one, Linux is the way to go. Batocera is one of the most popular Linux distros for retro emulation, using EmulationStation as its frontend and RetroArch as the backend. Batocera supports a wide range of systems, ranging from PCs to SBCs and handhelds. It has a plug-and-play setup, so you don't need to spend hours setting up your emulation environment. It supports many controllers out of the box, has a polished UI, and brings nearly all emulators under a single umbrella through the RetroArch backend. You can use RetroArch directly (installed on an OS), but it requires much more manual setup. Once you install Batocera on your old office PC, it takes over the machine and delivers a complete console experience. It automatically detects your controllers and scrapes game metadata. Plus, Batocera updates regularly, thanks to its community-driven nature. Gamers keep recommending it over other options for its seamless, comprehensive, hands-off experience. batocera Repurpose old hardware without compromising your experience The best of both worlds For performance, an Intel 7th- or 8th-gen PC with 8GB RAM is enough for a 30 FPS experience in relatively modern titles. God of War 1 and 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Persona 3, and Tekken 5 are some games your setup can run without breaking a sweat. Of course, older titles can run much closer to 60 FPS, since all you need is CPU horsepower. Adding an SSD will improve responsiveness, but it's not necessary. Instead of buying overpriced new mini PCs or dedicated emulation boxes, a $50–$100 investment is a better way to enjoy retro gaming. You'll not only save money but also prevent older hardware from ending up in the scrapyard. Moreover, the fun of building your own retro console is priceless, something an off-the-shelf machine can't "emulate." Retro gaming is having a moment, and it's inexpensive to get in The world of retro emulation is heating up, with gamers scrambling to return to simpler times and higher-quality gaming experiences. You don't even need expensive retro consoles to get in on the fun. A used office PC is enough to start your retro gaming journey. Plus, emulation operating systems and community support make setup easier.