Super Console X Pro Review

Emulation has never been easier or more accessible. With retro classic consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Mini, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Mini, and Sega Megadrive Classic, you can enjoy old-school games without requiring original hardware. While the Raspberry Pi and other single-board computers (SBCs) are extremely popular, a pre-built device lets you play classic games with little to no effort. And the Kinhank Super Console X Pro is one of the best retro gaming emulation consoles on the market. Learn why in our hands-on Super Console X Pro review!

What is the Super Console X Pro?

The Super Console X Pro is a retro gaming emulation console capable of running thousands of classic games. Resembling a SNES or Super Famicom, it’s an Android box that comes with a microSD card pre-loaded with the EmuELEC emulator operating system. Based on the just-enough Kodi media center Linux-based operating system (OS) CoreELEC, EmuELEC is a Linux distribution (distro) that comes with tons of emulators. EmuELEC is intended to run on Amlogic SBCs.

Accordingly, under the hood, the Super Console X Pro console emulator sports an Amlogic S905X quad-core CPU mated to 1GB of RAM. In the box, you’ll find the Super Console X Pro itself along with a 2 wireless game controllers in a PlayStation 3 DualShock-style. The gamepads work with 2.4GHz USB dongles. There’s also a remote control, an HDMI cable, power adapter, and a four-port USB hub.

It’s available with a choice of three differently sized microSD cards: 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The higher capacity microSD card you select, the more game ROMs are included. By default, you’ll find over 80 emulators and up to 50,000 games from systems including the PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, and a slew of other platforms. ROMs from a slew of classic video game consoles come pre-loaded on an SD card, but you can always download games and add them yourself.

Kinhank Super Console X Pro retro console specs

• Amlogic S905X chip with 1GB RAM
• Android TV box with a microSD card running EmuELEC
• Runs over 80 emulators from dozens of game systems
• Comes with over 50,000 games pre-installed
• Choice of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB microSD cards
• Inputs/outputs: 1x microSD card slot, 2x USB ports,1x A/C RCA output jack, 1x Ethernet LAN port, 1x HDMI port, 1x barrel jack DC power connector, 1x power button
• In the box: 1x Super Console X Pro console, 2x wireless game controllers, 1x HDMI cable, 1x power cable, instructions

Super Console X Pro Design and Build Quality

The Kinhank Super Console X Pro sports a fun retro console design. Borrowing elements from the Nintendo Super Famicom (Nintendo’s PAL Japanese and European SNES console), the Super Console X Pro is stylish and sleek. It’s a small and lightweight game console, though doesn’t feel cheap.

On the right-hand side of the unit, you’ll find a microSD card slot and a pair of USB ports.

Around back, there’s an HDMI output, A/V RCA video out port, Ethernet LAN jack, DC barrel jack input, and a power button.

Underneath, the Super Console Pro X is well ventilated and features four rubber feet to keep the device elevated so that cooling isn’t an issue.

The Software Experience – An Android Box Running EmuELEC

When you first boot up the Super Console X Pro, you’ll find yourself in EmuELEC. This Linux-based OS features the EmulationStation frontend with dozens of emulator options preinstalled. Pre-loaded with retro games, the Kinhank Super Console X Pro lets you easily navigate the various game platforms. Largely, these are organized by game systems such as PSP, PS1, N64, and SNES. However, you’ll also find general categories such as Favorites or Arcade.

If you pop out the microSD card and power the unit on, you’ll end up in Android. That’s because the Super Console X Pro is an Android box. However, it’s important to note that the Super Console X Pro runs a touchscreen-optimized version of Android like the MeCool BB2 Pro or the WeTek Play 2, not Android TV.

I found the Super Console X Pro intuitive. EmuELEC is simple to navigate plus there are thousands of games pre-loaded, including metadata and box art. Therefore, it’s a fairly plug-and-play experience.

Super Console X Pro Performance Review

The Super Console X Pro is an outstanding device. It comes ready-to-use out-of-the-box and features over 80 retro gaming emulators. Depending on which microSD card you get, you’ll have a different amount of games. The 64GB variant features over 30,000 games, the 128GB microSD card gets you over 40,000 ROMs, and the 256GB iteration delivers more than 50,000 video games.

Everything is set up and working already. Emulators are installed, games pre-loaded, and box art along with metadata already downloaded. Simply fire up the Super Console X Pro to start playing. Performance is excellent, particularly for the price. I had no issue playing games from lower-end systems such as MAME arcade ROMs, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, and even PlayStation 1 titles. Even many Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and PlayStation Portable games run pretty well.

I tested out a bunch of games from a variety of newer and older systems, and everything I threw at the Super Console X Pro ran just fine. Granted, I stuck mainly to the curated selection of pre-installed games rather than adding my own. Alien vs. Predator for FinalBurn Alpha ran perfectly, and I was quickly enjoying bashing Xenomorphs. Likewise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time proved to be button-mashing fun. On the Nintendo 64, I was pleased to play Super Mario 64 stutter-free. And even some PlayStation ROMs work well, although judging by the cherrypicked titles included, it’s mostly PlayStation minis and 2D games. Still, Castlevanie: The Dracula X Chronicles was emulated flawlessly.

Rather than including every ROM imaginable, Kinhank provides a selection of games guaranteed to run well on the Super Console X Pro. Therefore, whatever you choose to play will run smoothly at playable framerates. Of course, you can always add your own games if you like.

Don’t expect every game from higher-end systems to run flawlessly. As beefy as the Super Console X Pro is, it can’t handle every PSP or even N64 ROM. Noticeably absent under the PlayStation Portable library are the God of War titles. Since God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta are pretty system intensive, they’re not included. And while you can add them yourself, chances are gameplay will be pretty laggy.

Nevertheless, the Super Console X Pro is an exceptional device. It’s easy to use, comes with a solid game library, and boasts a good price-to-performance ratio.

Should You Buy the Kinhank Super Console X Pro?

The Super Console X Pro isn’t anything you can’t build yourself. You can purchase a compatible Amlogic Android box, install EmuELEC, and load up your own ROMs. There’s a chance you could even cobble together a similar retro game console for slightly cheaper.

However, that’s exactly where the Kinhank Super Console X excels: It comes ready to use out-of-the-box, no software set up or ROM ripping required. Instead, just plug it in and start gaming. If you want a user-friendly, reasonably-priced emulation console that arrives completely assembled complete with a bevy of games, the Super Console X Pro is an excellent choice.

The Competition: Super Console X Stick vs. Super Console X Pro vs. Super Console X Max vs. Super Console X PC

While the Super Console X Pro is one of the best retro gaming emulation devices available, it’s not the only option. Kinhank offers the Super Console X Stick, Super console X Pro, Super Console X Max, and Super Console X PC.

On the budget end of the spectrum, the Super Console X Stick is a cheap Android streaming dongle. Its S905X 1.5GHz quad-core 65-bit CPU and Mali-450 GPU combo is plenty powerful. Featuring over 50 emulators, the Console X Stick can be had with up to 50,000 games. For fantastic performance in a small form factor, the Super Console X Stick is a great choice.

Kinhank’s Super Console X Pro packs similar internals with its S905X chip and 1GB of RAM. You can select different memory cards with up to 50,000 ROMs installed. While the Console X Stick and X Pro deliver somewhat similar performance on paper, the X Pro does benefit from more USB ports and better cooling.

Like the Console X Pro, the Super Console X Max is an Android box that runs EmuELEC from a microSD card. At its core, there’s an S905X3 quad-core 1.9GHz CPU, Mali-G31 MP2 850MHz GPU, and 4GB of RAM. It comes with up to 50,000 games. Many newer ROMs from systems such as the Sony PlayStation 1, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation Portable run extremely well. While you won’t be able to play the most demanding PSP titles such as God of War, or run many 3D Sega Saturn games, there’s a slight performance boost over the Console X Pro.

The Super Console X PC differs from the Stick, Pro, and Max in that it’s an x86 PC. Therefore, you’ll experience drastically enhanced performance. More demanding retro consoles such as the N64, Sega Saturn, PSP, and even PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Wii will run well. Boasting over 60,000 games on a 2TB hard drive, the Super Console X PC is an outstanding, albeit expensive, emulation console.

Overall, the Super Console X Pro delivers the best bang for your buck. Go with the Super Console X Stick if you want to save a bit of cash or the X Max for a slight performance edge. And if you need even more horsepower for PS2, GameCube, and Wii emulation, the Super Console X PC is an absolute beast.

How to Add Games to the Super Console X Pro

Although the Super Console X Pro comes pre-loaded with tens of thousands of games, you may wish to add your own. Thankfully, Kinhank makes adding more games to the Console X Pro a breeze. You have two ways of accomplishing this: Over your home internet network, or via microSD card.

The easiest way to add games to the Super Console X Pro is by simply removing the included microSD card, popping it into your computer, and adding your games to the proper folders. Under the ROMs folder, you’ll find sub-folders for different systems such as N64, Atari 2600, and GB (GameBoy). Just drag and drop your game ROMs into the appropriate folders, then re-insert the microSD card and power your device back on.

Alternatively, you may add ROMs to the Super Console X Pro over your network. To do this, you’ll need to be connected to the internet via either Wi-Fi or Ethernet. From a PC on the same network as your Console X Pro, connect using an SFTP program. Then, dump your ROMs into the corresponding sub-folder under the ROMs folder.

Super Console X Pro Review – Final Thoughts

The Super Console X Pro is an awesome little device. It’s fun, comes packed with thousands of popular games, and arrives ready to use out-of-the-box. Performance is great, especially for the price. Although some more taxing systems like the N64 and PSP won’t perform well for every game, you can still play a lot of titles flawlessly. And with its tailored game library, all of the pre-loaded ROMs will work just fine.

With lovely box art and metadata downloaded already, the Super Console X Pro is a user-friendly, plug-and-play experience. Ultimately, if you want a powerful console for playing your favorite games from a bevy of classic video game consoles via retro gaming emulators with little to no work, the Super Console X Pro is a fantastic device.