Need help selecting a few things for my ps2.

[weasels]

BEFORE I START! i just want to say sorry if this topic has arisen/answered already. i did look around the forum and did read some posts on it.and i have been all around the internet looking for some answers. so you guys are like my final recommendations on what to get. SO....i have decided to get a mod chip! but before i do i wanted to ask some of the you guys on these forums for your expertise on the subject. I decided to get a mod chip over the soft-mod mainly due to ps1 back-ups. if i read correctly, soft-modding cant boot up ps1 back-ups. i wanted to get something that i know will work but was at a lower price. out of the modchips i found, the DUO 3 Ultra seems like the best. It does all that i ask for and is at a decent price. So should this be my pick? is their a better mod for me out their (own a model 7 btw). what site should i get it from? (so far i like this http://www.modchipoutlet.com/duo3.htm also i plan on buying the wire and solder kit for the extra $4). since i don't know how to solder to well i plan on having a friend who is experienced with soldering.

[Hatta]

I'd be interested in hearing this too. It would save the trouble of patching disks for ESR. Also, are there any mod chips out there that provide a soft-reset function? This is a feature the PS2 sorely lacks.

[wclem]

To be honest I thought about a mod-chip and realized there isnt much use for the extra expense or work. It is pretty easy to just swap or esr patch. Plus you can get a breaker pro to play PS1 games. Unless you are playing title after title after title. the few extra seconds to boot is not a big deal. If you want it to be easier you can get a flip top case, they are cheap over on the Bay. And if your PS2 dies you can just get another used one and drop in the old case. With a chip you would have to resolder and it gets risky.

Can you boot a PS1 back up with cogswap? Or you can get a big style PS1 with back port and get a gameshark that supports swapping.

Just my opinion, "for what its worth", any old geezers out there know who did that song?? LOL, oldtimers disease lurks like Bowser at the end of level 8.

[vlame]

dood, just get a modded ps1.

because there are incompatibilities with the ps2 on certain ps1 games.

[weasels]

i honestly don't want the complications that come with any swap methods or cd magic. I also plan on using hd loader for most of my games to save the lens as much as possible. ps1 isn't totally my primary concern with it. since i want to collect the real versions of ps1 more than just have a burnt copy.for the ps1 i can emulate on the pc without a problem anyways. there's just a few that i want on a back up. i also never liked swaping disks. plus swap magic is quite expensive last time i checked, while i found this mod-chip for $18 on a different site (with shiping). the main reason i want ps2 is for front mission 5 and a few other games i missed out on (aka digital devil saga 1+2).

[jfrost]

As vlame said, there will still be some incompatibilities with PS1 games. But overall you'll be able to play games smoothly.

The modchip I use is Thunder Pro II Gold. I don't know if it is sold in the U.S., but it definitely has the most features from the ones I've used. If you can get your hands on one, I would definitely recommend it. It has all those features from the DUO plus it can play PAL games and switch between 50hz or 60hz, upscales for HDTVs, boots from flash drives, etc. It costs about R$20,00, which is, uh, 10 dollars.

Another one that I think will be easier to find in the U.S. is Matrix Infinity. It has less features, but it is reliable; never seen anyone have any problems with it. In Brazil I can find it for R$12, which is about 6 dollars.

However, well, it seems to be pretty difficult to get your hands on those things over there, so you should weigh the convenience of getting a DUO instead of getting any other fancier chip.

[weasels]

Alittle update:
I have decided on the Duo. i ordered from a place called Foundmy.com. now i havent really gotten a shiping conformation yet only one saying what i bought. im now turning up mixed reviews...so im getting a bit worried its been a few days so im gonna email the owner and ask on the status. wish me good luck on the outcome. i will update once more to confirm that i got it and that it works so maybe someone will come across it...that is if i get it

[weasels]

Although i beieve no one cares about now im still gonna do the follow up. finally got the mod chip and was installed. the good news about it is that it runs nicely. the bad news is that if your not experenced with soldering and modding a ps2 then youll have a heck of a time getting it installed. There are many solder points and its not too fun. i have not regretted my decision except for the few close misses i had with installing it. if your looking for an easy method look for another method than this mod-chip. the site i got it from wasen't too great. id recomend that you buy your stuff elsewhere. the wires i bought from them were extreamly fragile but the chip came in without a scratch. Like i said i know no one is really listening but i figured that this post might help some person who had the same problem as me and happens to stumble upon it.

[Hatta]

Glad you had success. How well does the chip actually work? I take it it boots both PSX and PS2 burns without any sort of patching? USA and JPN? Does it give you a BIOS with any special features? How do you go about launching HDloader? Do you have it on a USB stick, a memory card, or disc?

I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, so that's not a concern. And I always use wire from a spare piece of Cat 5 when modding. That stuff is great.

[weasels]

Glad you had success. How well does the chip actually work? I take it it boots both PSX and PS2 burns without any sort of patching? USA and JPN? Does it give you a BIOS with any special features? How do you go about launching HDloader? Do you have it on a USB stick, a memory card, or disc?

I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, so that's not a concern. And I always use wire from a spare piece of Cat 5 when modding. That stuff is great.

the chip runs nicly as far as i can tell as long as you burn the disks right (i havent gotten a hang of the right speeds yet) . i haven't tried ps1 games yet due to lack of dvd-r and cd-r's. but ps2 boots just fine. i got the specks from anothersite but as far as i can tell myself it all works.

"New ON / OFF technology to deactivate the Modchip function
New low profile design for easy mounting and installation
Direct boot Imports / Backups without the swap method - just like Originals
Easy to use, no swapping required
Direct boot of PS2 originals / imports / backups
Direct boot of PSX originals / imports / backups
Compatible with DVD-R , DVD+R, CD-R
Compatible with DVD 9
Direct boot of original EA Sports imports/backups
Multi Disc ready
NTSC and PAL ready Does not effect your DVD player - all original features of the PlayStation 2 remain the same
ActionReplay MAX, ActionReplay 2 and GameShark2 ready (for all who use GS2 / AR2 cheatcodes)
Autodetect the PlayStation 2 version and region (NTSC ,PAL)
Boot programs from the Memory card (dev1 mode)
Boot programs from HDD (dev2 mode)"

the only thing im not absolutly sure with is dev 1 and dev 2 mode's because i havent gotten the chance to use them and the disable mode seems no different from the normal mode. i had hdloader on a cd-r but i must of not burned it correctly so i couldnt tell you. im gonna figure out some stuff today after work. i got japanese burns working and pal so i can only guess that imports work as stated. i have found decent comments on the chip and i give it my approval. please note that this is my first mod-chip so i dont know how it stacks up to others.