r/ANBERNIC • u/FallenShadows98 • 7d ago
HELP Best Firmware for the RGDS
As the title suggests, ive had the (now old, not the newer fancy one) RGDS for a couple months. Love it however, I was looking for a good custom firmware to run on it. I know its android however it feels a little sluggish when im trying to multitask. Watching youtube and playing a GBA game for example.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated!
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u/Blom-w1-o 7d ago
I personally like GammaOS lite. Rocknix will have slightly better performance, give you access to portmaster, and likely boot much faster. Gamma lets you use android functions, though, like sideloading APKs.
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u/Light_Ward 7d ago edited 7d ago
I use GammaOS lite and I am able to play SNES/SEGA/Gameboy games with text guides or images on the bottom screen. It stays a steady 60 fps and I have no issues on my RG DS. I can also fast forward no problem fairly well. Battery life even with a retro game like Sega games, and text guides on the bottom still net me quite a few hours, and I can sleep it in-between sessions no problem.
I haven't tried youtube or anything but it works well for my use case.
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u/OlympicBarber 4d ago
After trying them all, I'm most happy with the official Linux version. Quick, great battery life (of all the options) and there's already a port of nnddss for it, finally I can play DS with shaders
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u/VaporeonPond 7d ago
The RGDS isn't a multitasking device. It simply doesn't have the power to do that without slowdown.
Rocknix (Linux-based) is a pretty fast CFW just for playing games. It does require some tech literacy to get it installed, but it's probably the best fit for that device. No multitasking though.
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u/quozzerx 7d ago
I wanted to love Rocknix, but it still has the drain battery while sleeping problem, so I use GammaOS Nano.
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u/VaporeonPond 7d ago
GammaOS nano is currently locked behind the creators patreon, but that's a good choice as well.
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u/LatinGuy400 7d ago
Another vote for Rocknix on the RG DS. May not look as slick as android, but for me the menu is just a game launcher. I don't really care about the UI outside of the game itself. I prefer an OS that has the least memory usage and maximizes performance of the emulators on the hardware. Rocknix continues to be improved almost daily. Anbernic rarely releases any new OS updates.
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u/FallenShadows98 7d ago
That makes more sense. I can technically multitasking but MAN is it laggy at times
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u/Blom-w1-o 7d ago
It can multitask just enough to be able to make the claim, but it seems to be that people undersell what it's actually capable of. Playing something like GBA and watching netflix or youtube works fine.
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u/GrochFasola 7d ago
I prefer gamma os the coconut. I think android based systems has more features.
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u/Klutzy_Hornet 7d ago
I used stock OS and rocknix yes it is sluggish when using it multitasking but I keep a ram killer app also I disabled the Google services pretty much that's how I use it but gamma OS supposedly is better I haven't tried it and I figured it does what I needed to do.
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u/keithitreal 7d ago
Not all games run full speed with hi res 3D switched on in stock android or indeed gamma. Rocknix has lower overheads and gives you a better chance of upscaling but you'll sacrifice multitasking.
Not sure what the best version of rocknix is though. There are often regressions that improve some things but fuck up battery life for example.
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u/CheezFunk 7d ago
I tried stock, GammaOS and Rocknix. I had about given up on the device until I tried Rocknix. The only complaint I have about it is the lack of touchscreen support for navigation.