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Makondo99
211th Post

Frequent Customer

"To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 16:52

Hi there,
I've been saving up money in order to buy a PS2. If everything goes as planned, next Sunday I could be playing Tenchu 3.
But there is something that intrigues me. In a game store nearby, modded PS2 are being sold cheaper than a non-modded one (plus, you get about 5 free games).

My question is how safe is to own a modded PS2. I've heard stories about that a modded console get a shorter lifespan that an untouched one, and also that CDs and back-ups "kill" the PS2 (so it is advisable to play original games on DVDs only)

Anyone can answer this, please?

Let's rock baby

Replies:

Gen

2028th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"Re(1):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 17:01

quote:
Hi there,
I've been saving up money in order to buy a PS2. If everything goes as planned, next Sunday I could be playing Tenchu 3.
But there is something that intrigues me. In a game store nearby, modded PS2 are being sold cheaper than a non-modded one (plus, you get about 5 free games).

My question is how safe is to own a modded PS2. I've heard stories about that a modded console get a shorter lifespan that an untouched one, and also that CDs and back-ups "kill" the PS2 (so it is advisable to play original games on DVDs only)

Anyone can answer this, please?

Sony probably won't give a warrantee on a modified PS2. I'd ask the store if the store gives a warrantee, and what the warrantee is. The store probably has either no warrantee or a 30-days to return one. Ask them if the modded PS2 is used or not. You might want to ask them why it's cheaper. The answer is probably that it's cheaper because the Sony warrantee is voided by the modification. I'm sure someone else will give more advice about the safety of a modded ps2.

Personally I don't recall ever hardware-modifying any of my own game systems. I've just used things like cartridges like game genie or action replay or whatever they're called.

exodus

1298th Post

Red Carpet Executive Member

"Re(1):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 17:01:

quote:

Anyone can answer this, please?

There is no definitive answer, I'm certain that everyone's situation is different.

here's mind:
I use the dms3, the most expensive chip on the market. This is because it exists external to the system, ie it doesn't mess up the hardware (only danger is through the soldering, as with any mod). So far, I have had absolutely no trouble playing any imports, game demos/homebrews on CD or DVD.

My ps2 has existed in modded form for only 4 months now, however...so I can't speak about the lifespan.

But I do recommend the mod. It works very well for me, I've never *not* been able to play anything...and I have quite a lot of games (psone/ps2) for this damn thing.

I definitely suggest purchasing this from an EB if there's one around you, as they sell a $20 'no questions asked' year-long return policy. I screwed up a mod on one PS2 and got it replaced for free this way.

[this message was edited by exodus on Sun 28 Sep 17:04]

Makondo99
212th Post

Frequent Customer

"Re(2):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 17:11

quote:

I definitely suggest purchasing this from an EB if there's one around you, as they sell a $20 'no questions asked' year-long return policy. I screwed up a mod on one PS2 and got it replaced for free this way.

I see. Could you tell me what an "EB" is?

Let's rock baby

exodus

1299th Post

Red Carpet Executive Member

"Re(3):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 17:15

quote:

I see. Could you tell me what an "EB" is?

Ah...it's Electronics Boutique - I forget, you're in spain right? I don't think they have them there :\

but anyway, check around your area for a good store warrantee, as the manufacturer's warranty will be instantly voided by modding of most any kind.

Makondo99
213th Post

Frequent Customer

"Re(4):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 17:30

Gen

Thanks a lot for your opinion. It's quite sensible and I'll be sure to ask at the store about the warranty.

Exodus

quote:

Ah...it's Electronics Boutique - I forget, you're in spain right? I don't think they have them there :\

but anyway, check around your area for a good store warrantee, as the manufacturer's warranty will be instantly voided by modding of most any kind.

Chile :). Spain is faaaar away, but we share the same language.
I guess that a modded console will have a shorter warranty. I'll ask at the store about it.

Toxico if you're reading this, Did you have your PS2 modded?

Let's rock baby

Toxico

3202th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 17:33

quote:

Anyone can answer this, please?

As stated before, there is no truthful answer to that question... The best bet is to trust on the quality of the mod chip and in the quality of the game; there is also the skill of the technician that did put the modchip.
For example I have seen 8 "unlocked" PS2 go to waste after 1 or 2 months of use. That was low quality. Many stores here in Chile use low quality CDs / DVDs to sell the games as a result you have that the drive has to work a lot more to read the games, and that could bring even long term troubles to the life of your console; kind of like cancer.
In the other face of the coin a friend of mine "unlocked" his PS2 two years ago and he as absolutely no problem at all. His only problem his that he used a low quality chip and he has some very little problems with the DVD movies.
In other case I know of a "mithical store" that can do such service as to 'mod' your console. Since the PS2 came out they have never recieved complains for a modded console and they have a 3 months warranty to any modded consoles.

Now you have two consider the two following pieces of information: Estamos en Chile y lamentablemente en este país es súper díficil encontrar productos originales... me he movido caleta en mi ciudad sin embargo he encontrado que el stock de juegos originales es de como 500 en variedad mientras que el de juegos piratas es apróximadamente 5 veces eso 'conchasumadre' como dicen por ahí.
El factor precio; yo se que tú -al igual que yo lo hice alguna vez- ha estado recaudando dinero por mucho tiempo para "manifestar la ambición" del play 2; dada esas condiciones monetarias el comprar juegos originales que valen de entre 20 a 50 lucas es bien una posibilidad remota. Yo tengo que ahorrar unos 3 meses para comprarme un juego; en este instante tengo 3.

As a matter of fact I still haven't taken the 'virginity' of my console; but since I plan to play some japanese titles I will need to do so; even thought I plan to "stay original" as for the games; unless it's impossible to do so.

Un gran problema que tengo es que soy el único que tiene PS2 en un circulo de como 90 personas. Como no pienso gastar dinero en un juego que no me suba la adrenalina compro solo lo que a mi me gusta... Debo mencionar que mi gusto no calza con nadie de esas personas. Al menos 20 veces al día me dicen "desbloqueala para jugar X juego"... Yo no respondo nada a eso pero por instantes visualizo a esa persona con un hacha en el cráneo.

Holiday

2047th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"Re(1):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 18:05

I'm using a Messiah 2 Pro and I haven't had any problems whatsoever with my ps2 for a year.
I made sure that the shop I bought it from gave me a good 1 year warranty on the console and has its own technician ^_^

Just make sure that they don't sell you a refurbished second-hand ps2, and if possible, kindly ask them to open the ps2 up and show you the modchip.

I've heard stories of some shops which tell you that so-and-so modchip is installed in the ps2 when actually it's some cheap clone chip which might be bad for the console.
Afaik, the latest series of PS2s are the SCPH-5000X series, so you can't go wrong with this model? Not sure if it's released for your region though.
To double check, look at the serial number on the rear of the console.

Rid Hershel

5467th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"Re(2):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 18:19

I've seen PS2's read scratched regular dvd's that weren't able to read before the modding, so I assume that the chips force the laser intensity in some way? That would explain the short lived modded PS2's.

But then again, it could be just because Playstation's hardware is usually bad quality...

Makondo99
214th Post

Frequent Customer

"Re(2):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 18:21

quote:
I'm using a Messiah 2 Pro and I haven't had any problems whatsoever with my ps2 for a year.
I made sure that the shop I bought it from gave me a good 1 year warranty on the console and has its own technician ^_^

Just make sure that they don't sell you a refurbished second-hand ps2, and if possible, kindly ask them to open the ps2 up and show you the modchip.

I've heard stories of some shops which tell you that so-and-so modchip is installed in the ps2 when actually it's some cheap clone chip which might be bad for the console.
Afaik, the latest series of PS2s are the SCPH-5000X series, so you can't go wrong with this model? Not sure if it's released for your region though.
To double check, look at the serial number on the rear of the console.

There are two models I'm interested in that are being offered in a more-or-less reliable online shop. One is a "V8- PS2 Online Pack" modded with a "DMS3 chip" (1 year of warranty that covers the console and the chip) and the other model is a "V7" modded with any chip you want (6 month of warranty). Are these models the one you mentioned or are we outdated?

Let's rock baby

Makondo99
215th Post

Frequent Customer

"Re(1):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 18:36

quote:

Now you have two consider the two following pieces of information: Estamos en Chile y lamentablemente en este país es súper díficil encontrar productos originales... me he movido caleta en mi ciudad sin embargo he encontrado que el stock de juegos originales es de como 500 en variedad mientras que el de juegos piratas es apróximadamente 5 veces eso 'conchasumadre' como dicen por ahí.
El factor precio; yo se que tú -al igual que yo lo hice alguna vez- ha estado recaudando dinero por mucho tiempo para "manifestar la ambición" del play 2; dada esas condiciones monetarias el comprar juegos originales que valen de entre 20 a 50 lucas es bien una posibilidad remota. Yo tengo que ahorrar unos 3 meses para comprarme un juego; en este instante tengo 3.

AMEN!

quote:

As a matter of fact I still haven't taken the 'virginity' of my console; but since I plan to play some japanese titles I will need to do so; even thought I plan to "stay original" as for the games; unless it's impossible to do so.

Un gran problema que tengo es que soy el único que tiene PS2 en un circulo de como 90 personas. Como no pienso gastar dinero en un juego que no me suba la adrenalina compro solo lo que a mi me gusta... Debo mencionar que mi gusto no calza con nadie de esas personas. Al menos 20 veces al día me dicen "desbloqueala para jugar X juego"... Yo no respondo nada a eso pero por instantes visualizo a esa persona con un hacha en el cráneo.

Bueno, yo al menos no seria el unico por aca con una Play2, aunque seria el primero en tenerla desbloqueda. Lo que pasa es que no se a quien creerle con esto de que el desbloqueo hace cagar la play, un amigo me asegura que si mientras que otro dice lo contrario, ambos dan razones que parecen validas, asi que no se a quien creerle. Con respecto al tema del dinero, claro, es pecado gastar 40 lucas en un juego original (con todo lo que cuesta ahorrar plata) mientras que por menos de 10 lucas te puedes comprar una copia en DVD (sin mencionar los juegos Japos a los que puedes tener acceso al tener la Play2 desbloqueada). Es como tu dices, me saque la cresta ahorrando por un monton de meses y ahora que estoy a punto de tener toda la plata lista, me gustaria invertirla en algo que REALMENTE valga la pena. Pero, parece que es una cosa de suerte de como te va con estos productos de Sony :/

Let's rock baby

Holiday

2048th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"Re(3):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 18:52

quote:

There are two models I'm interested in that are being offered in a more-or-less reliable online shop. One is a "V8- PS2 Online Pack" modded with a "DMS3 chip" (1 year of warranty that covers the console and the chip) and the other model is a "V7" modded with any chip you want (6 month of warranty). Are these models the one you mentioned or are we outdated?

Guide to ps2 versions

Basically:
v9 = SCPH-5000X series
v7-v8 = SCPH-3900X, 37000 series
V5-V6 = SCPH-30000R, SCPH-3000X R, SCPH-3000X series

V9 consoles has "just" been released in North America, so try to get one if possible?

I've seen the online pack, but it was for a v9 Japanese PS2. It was bundled with a Broadband adaptor and hard disk.

In Malaysia, the DMS3 chip goes for around US$50. Pretty expensive :)
DMS website
The chip is flash moddable via a download on its website, and it runs executables as well, so it sounds like a nice chip.

On the other hand, some chips can go as cheap as US$5. Go figure ^_^

hikarutilmitt
71th Post

Occasional Customer

"Re(1):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 20:42

If you're not bothered by using such a method, you could get a flip top and a swap disc combo for $50 USD or so. The new lids AND disc should be out very soon, and it's only a modification to the shell and magnet rather than the board. They are safer.

I'm still needing to test to see if I can use the cogswap method to boot a DVD9 game (namely, using US Xenosaga to boot Sakura Taisen), though I have a suspicion that I can.

exodus

1304th Post

Red Carpet Executive Member

"Re(5):To Mod or not to Mod" , posted Sun 28 Sep 21:06

quote:
Chile :). Spain is faaaar away, but we share the same language.

OH Chile! sorry...it's hard to remember where everyone's from.

You're closer to Rid then, hehe.

I dated a chilean girl once...she was a lil crazy.

Makondo99
216th Post

Frequent Customer

"V7, V8, V9...?" , posted Wed 1 Oct 18:52

quote:

Guide to ps2 versions

Basically:
v9 = SCPH-5000X series
v7-v8 = SCPH-3900X, 37000 series
V5-V6 = SCPH-30000R, SCPH-3000X R, SCPH-3000X series

V9 consoles has "just" been released in North America, so try to get one if possible?

Can anybody explain to me what's the deal with the different versions? I mean, if a "V9" is better than a "V7" due to some techical improvement, or if it's just a fancy name. Thanks

Let's rock baby

Holiday

2064th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"Re(1):V7, V8, V9...?" , posted Wed 1 Oct 20:31

quote:

Can anybody explain to me what's the deal with the different versions? I mean, if a "V9" is better than a "V7" due to some techical improvement, or if it's just a fancy name. Thanks

From what I remember v9 SCPH-5000X series has the following improvements:
1) quieter fan
2) removal of IEEE 1394 Firewire port
3) built in infrared controller for your DVD remote. The control is sold separately though...
4) progressive scan playback for DVD movies
5) able to read more DVD formats: DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW?
6) upgrade of internal DVD driver

CrazyMike

695th Post

Red Carpet Regular Member

"Re(2):V7, V8, V9...?" , posted Thu 2 Oct 11:29

I've been wanting to mod my Ps2 for some time just to play imports, however I've been looking for a non-solder solution, and what irks me very much is just about every modchip is designed for v4 and up consoles. I have a v1 console and it just seems like more and more modchip designers are rewarding the people who did not bother to buy a PS2 until the last couple months with the greatest ease in installation and more features.

Makondo99
217th Post

Frequent Customer

"Re(2):V7, V8, V9...?" , posted Thu 2 Oct 17:37

quote:

From what I remember v9 SCPH-5000X series has the following improvements:
1) quieter fan
2) removal of IEEE 1394 Firewire port
3) built in infrared controller for your DVD remote. The control is sold separately though...
4) progressive scan playback for DVD movies
5) able to read more DVD formats: DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW?
6) upgrade of internal DVD driver

Thanks a lot for the input, Holiday!

Let's rock baby

Mosquiton

940th Post

Red Carpet Regular Member++

"Re(3):V7, V8, V9...?" , posted Sat 4 Oct 15:54

quote:
I've been wanting to mod my Ps2 for some time just to play imports, however I've been looking for a non-solder solution, and what irks me very much is just about every modchip is designed for v4 and up consoles. I have a v1 console and it just seems like more and more modchip designers are rewarding the people who did not bother to buy a PS2 until the last couple months with the greatest ease in installation and more features.

I honestly wouldn't consider modding a v1 console... my PS2 from launch died of natural causes a couple of months ago. IMO they v1 is just not very well made. If you do mod it, use a cheap chip.

I'm using a newer v with the DMS3 now, and it works wonderfully. Quite expensive overall, but I needed a mod unit badly anyway.

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