Version 3.8 is the last major release that fully supports the S905 (non-X) and S912 chips without workarounds. Version 4.0 introduced a new device tree structure that broke compatibility for many cheap boxes. If you have an older box from 2017–2020, 3.8 is the flawless, bug-free sweet spot.
| Chipset | Compatibility | Performance | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Amlogic S805 | Excellent (legacy) | PS1 and below | | Amlogic S905 (Std/X/W) | Perfect | N64, PSP (light games) | | Amlogic S905X | Perfect | Full PSP, Dreamcast (60-80%) | | Amlogic S905X2 | Perfect | Full Dreamcast, N64 | | Amlogic S905X3 | Perfect (use correct DTB) | Enhanced PS1, Saturn (experimental) | | Amlogic S912 | Perfect | Multi-threaded cores benefit | | | No | Not supported. | emuelec 38 free
And yes, it is completely .
Android introduces overhead. Even on a powerful S905X3, running RetroArch inside Android can result in input lag and frame drops on demanding cores (PSP, N64). EmuELEC runs on bare metal. It boots directly to EmulationStation (the front-end) with zero Android services running in the background. This means your CPU and GPU are 100% dedicated to gaming. Version 3
In the world of retro gaming on a budget, few names carry as much weight as EmuELEC . For years, this open-source firmware has been the gold standard for transforming inexpensive Amlogic-based Android TV boxes into dedicated emulation machines. With the release of version 3.8, the software has reached a peak of stability, performance, and hardware compatibility. | Chipset | Compatibility | Performance | |