Thinking of deleting some RetroArch cores that I don't use, but I'm curious if they have a use I'm not aware of first...

[PurpleTentacle]

My MAME setup used to be a mess before I swapped to the MAME 0.217 romset since I used to have arcade roms from various random sets (I didn't quite get the concept when I first started setting it up). I used to have an entry in Launch Box for various MAME cores in order to find the version that worked for each rom, but now that everything runs on the MAME 0.217 RA core, I don't see a reason to keep them. But before I delete them, I wanted to see if there was a reason to hang onto them as an option, for whatever reason.

So I have the following MAME cores that I never use: CPS 1 & 2, 2003, 2003 Plus, 2010, 2014 & 2016. 

The upsides of deleting them is that it would save some hard drive space & make Launch Box a bit less mess in terms of "Launch With..." menus & the Emulator entries. The downside is that I can't use them as an option, but I'm not sure there's a reason for it (for instance - for SNES, I like having SNES9x as my default since it supports RetroAchievements, but it's nice to have BSNES as an alternate option for the Mode 7 HD feature, on top of other features). 

 

I also have BSNES Mercury Accuracy & higain SFC cores for SNES, and at the moment, I don't see a reason to keep them since SNES9x & BSNES are pretty comprehensive, between the two of them. For N64, I have Mupen Plus 64, which I've heard is outdated, so I'm thinking of deleting that as well (I use Parallel 64 as my default, and Mupen 64 Plus Next Gles3 & Mupen 64 Plus Next (I'm not sure which to use between those last 2). I typically try out Parallel 64 first, and if something seems off about it, I'll switch to Mupen 64 Plus Next Gles3. Still deciding if I just just make Mupen 64 Plus Next Gles3 the default or not...

 

To sum up, here's a list of the cores I'm thinking about deleting:

 

• MAME CPS 1 & 2, 2003, 2003 Plus, 2010, 2014 & 2016
• BSNES Mercury Accuracy & higain SFC
• Mupen Plus 64 (should I also keep Mupen 64 Plus Next, or should I delete it & just use Mupen 64 Plus Next Gles3?)

 

[fromlostdays]

This is a tough question. The reason for keeping all of the cores is that one of the cores, even an older one, may have better compatibility with certain games. However, until you run into a specific game that doesn't work right and google search for that game, you won't really know, which makes this, in my mind, an easier question to answer.

Delete them, and if you run into a game that isn't running right, google it and see what other options are available. And at that point, you can always redownload a core.  There's no real reason to keep things you don't need if you're low on space.

In terms of the Mupen cores though, I'm not actually sure which one has the best compatibility at this point.

Edited February 9, 2020 by fromlostdays

[PurpleTentacle]

I did test all my MAME games, and they all work, so I don't think I should need any of those older versions. The only reason I could think of for keeping the old versions was because (I think it was) MAME 2003 Plus allows for high scores to be saved, but there's no point in using that unless I use it all the time (I'm kind of hoping Retro Achievements tracks more arcade high scores in the long run). Only downside is that some of the cores aren't available on RetroArch anymore, although I don't know if there's archive of past cores or not...

It is tough trying to decide between cores sometimes, especially since all it takes is for an update to make a core obsolete or the new "best" core to use. I'll try to look into Mupen more. 

[TheMadMan007]

Compatibility really is the only reason to keep them, but most cores a few megs, a couple can be a bit larger around maybe 200 megs, but if you are running out of space, deleting a few cores is the least of your worries. I personally just have all the cores downloaded and update them periodically. If one gets depreciated or something along the lines of that, I just move it into an Archived folder. I'd rather have a backup for whatever unseen circumstance, than have to go searching around for something when I didn't need to. Again, if you are running low on space, you need to invest in a bigger or secondary drive STAT. A 4 TB hard drive is pretty much chump change at this point.

[PurpleTentacle]

Space isn't too much of a concern, although it's nice to save space where I can. I frequently backup my Launch Box collection, and I copy it over to my laptop after making big updates, so it kind of helps to save space if I'm not going to use something. But the biggest reason is probably keeping things tidy so that menus/files/settings don't get too cluttered. If someone else uses my collection, it will help make things a bit less confusing, as well.