Part of the appeal of the Raspberry Pi is how you can put it to use in a ton of different projects. And while we'd be here all day if we discussed every way we've seen people put these little SBCs to good use, one part of them that I really like is that they're ideal for bringing back old hardware into the modern era.

Raspberry Pis may not be very powerful, but they're strong enough to handle old operating systems and programs of computing yore. And because they're so small, you can sneak them into a shell and have them do their job without anyone being the wiser. As such, I want to take the time to explore the different ways that a Raspberry Pi has brought retro hardware into the modern era.

1 This fully-functional PS1 shows how Raspberry Pis can revive old tech

Filling in the spots that went missing

To show what I mean, here's a cool project that one Redditor on the Raspberry Pi subreddit achieved. They had the shell of a PS1, and wanted to get as many components working again with "[the] least visible modification possible." As such, while the outsides should look like an authentic PS1, the innards are anyone's game.

The creator, MrNiceThings, has been working away at replicating the PS1's functions using a Raspberry Pi. This includes reading data from a disk and handling the controller ports for input. The Raspberry Pi's small size really comes to shine in this project, as it allows MrNiceThings to get everything tucked away within the shell without anything poking out or wired up weirdly. It's a fantastic way to mix authenticity with the sacrifices you need to make to bring old tech into the modern era.

2 A modding genius has resurrected a broken Sega Game Gear using a Raspberry Pi

From a broken husk to a fully playable system

In an ideal world, people who were refurbishing old hardware would have spares on hand. However, as the years go on, it becomes less and less practical to replace the hardware with legitimate spares made at the time. As such, some people draw a line where they allow modern hardware to do the job where it's either unfeasible or impossible to have it done with legitimate hardware.

Such is the case with Jeff Geerling, who grabbed a busted-up Sega Game Gear and added new Pi hardware to get it back into working order. He made a few sacrifices to get the job done; for instance, this new Raspberry Pi Game Gear can't run physical copies of games and relies on emulation. However, the face buttons and the power light are in working order, and when things look this authentic, it's easy to put aside the fact that you can't use your collection of actual games on it. Still, I bet someone could mod that feature in if they wanted.

3 People keep making teeny-tiny (or huge) versions of old hardware

Not quite authentic, but definitely cool

Okay, so this isn't exactly resurrecting old hardware, and you can call me a cheater all you like. However, I really can't discuss this topic without shining a light on the cool retro projects people are doing with their Pis - especially given that 3D printers go so well with the tiny SBC.

We've seen a lot of projects where people remake the look and feel of old hardware using a 3D printer and Pi, such as this faux TRS-90 replica. Some people take advantage of the tiny size of the Raspberry Pi to make small versions of iconic hardware, such as a 286 PC, a small Dell PC running a Windows XP-lookalike OS, and a really small Game Boy that makes it truly pocket-sized. And then you have those that go the other way and make even bigger versions of iconic hardware, like the Gameboy XL.

While there's no authentic hardware to be seen with these projects, it's still an amazing way to bring the past into the current era. And I'd love to see more projects like these.

A good slice of nostalgic Pi

While using proper hardware always feels best, sometimes you have to make a compromise somewhere. Fortunately, the Raspberry Pi is so good at retro emulation that you can squeeze one into a shell and have it replicate the real deal. You can even get imaginative and use a 3D printer to remix iconic hardware that defined the computers that got us to where we are today.

As such, the next time you're thinking of reviving retro hardware, give the Pi a chance. Sure, it's not the same as using native hardware, but on the flipside, they're like $5 a board. That's a lot cheaper than trying to find a second-hand motherboard that still works.