Minitest and interior presentation - retro M8 console/emulator with two pads, RetroArch

I would like to invite you to a short presentation of a video game console bought for £80. The device shown here is based on the RetroArch system and allows you to run games from platforms such as Atari, Nintendo, PlayStation, GameBoy, Sega, etc. The product has around 20,000 games preloaded, and there is also the option to upload your own ROMs. The console is in HDMI plug-in form and the pads communicate with it wirelessly.

Model: N00031125K50, Flash size - 128 MB, RAM - DDR3 256 MB
The whole thing came to me from China, the package got a bit battered on the way, but you can't see the damage on the product itself. The pads were protected by bubble wrap. Also included is a USB cable (for power) and an optional short HDMI extender, this is in case you are short on space behind your TV.

A 64 GB SD card is included:

Battery not included:

English-language manual:

According to the manual, the device also supports wired pads, although I did not test this. The card size limit is 128 GB.

First boot First boot First boot
We connect the device to the TV, connect its power supply and the receiver from the pads. Turn the pads on. The pads establish a connection.

A simple menu with a myriad of games greets us:

When you can search by name or group by platform (MAME, FC, GB, GBA, GBC, MD, SFC, PS1, ATARI...). We have an overview of the history of the games we run. Of course, settings, language change, controller configuration, as well as system information and factory reset are also available.

Device type: M8-V7.3, firmware V1.0.0 2024-09-26/20:10

The games work fine. In the pause menu we have emulator save and read options for each game, additionally the emulator version is given there.

The only thing that puzzled me was this persistent "insert coins" message, could it be that some of the games are designed for slot machines?

With no other complaints about the games, it's time to look inside.

Interior of the pad
The pad is constructed from two larger plates. It reminds me of a PS2 pad in appearance, but feels lower in quality. It does not use Bluetooth communication, but rather 2.4 GHz.

Joystick board designation: SEGAM-W3-B-V01

There are two unmarked circuits on the PCB, perhaps a microprocessor and a transmitter.



Interior of console
The console is realised on a Rockchip RK3036S. PCB designation: 066T-V04 2025-05-12, a fairly fresh product. On board you can see memory bones, inverters, and an empty space for what looks like an RF transceiver with an antenna on the board. I'm also puzzled by the three pads, is this some kind of programming connector? UART RX/TX and ground?

On the other hand there is almost nothing, only that chip slot in the BGA is interesting - a version under an alternative CPU?

RK3036S is a dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 MPCore processor





Windows pad test
Out of curiosity, I checked the Windows pads. I switched their receiver to the computer. The USB device is correctly seen and supported, we essentially have here two functional wireless pads that can be used independently of the console.

I verified their operation in the system tool joy.cpl:




Summary
The kit looks pretty good for its price. You could probably get it cheaper too. There are plenty of games, the whole thing works with the TV via HDMI, and the set comes with a cable to be able to connect the console comfortably even if the distance to the wall is small.
I have no complaints about the emulation, but I have encountered feedback that the SNES can occasionally frame here.
The only major drawback I see here are the pads, which require batteries to work. I'd prefer USB-charged ones. Additionally, the buttons are quite clunky and noisy, but this can be survived.
Interestingly, the pads work normally with a PC - so perhaps it would be possible to go the other way and connect your own, better pads to this console, but I haven't tested that.
And what consoles do you guys recommend, was it a good buy at this price, or would it be better to choose something else?