Should I get a SNES 1Chip or SNES Mini with RGB mod?

[Mad_Hatter]

Been thinking about this for a while. So I thought I'd just get some input here...


I'm not even going to ask an eBay and Amazon sellers to open up their SNESs and check to board and see if it says 1Chip on it, lol. So I would have to buy one that is listed as a 1Chip, which usually go for 60-70 dollars, just for the console.

An SNES mini usually goes for 45-60 when I shop around. How much does a RGB mod cost for it (materials and labor, I don't know how to mod and have no materials)?

The regular SNES has a cooler design. But a SNES mini has better RGB. And I don't mind the redesign tbh. It looks pretty good.

I'm leaning toward a SNES mini with RGB mod as of right now.


Lastly, I know the 1Chip can't use Game Genie (or something like that). Do these 2 designs have any other limitations? I plan on using a SD2SNES.

[Ziggy]

I can't speak for how much the mod would cost in labor, but I'm sure others will chime in (there's a few members on the forum that actively advertise console mods). The materials are dirt cheap, though. Like $5 cheap.

I'm not a big fan of the mini. No LED power indicator, although if you're having it modified for RGB you can have that added as well. They DO make it easier to get the 1chip, but the aesthetics of the original design are much better IMO.

Why exactly are you after a 1chip? Better RGB? It's a much sharper and brighter image for sure, but that's not necessarily a good thing. I own a 1chip, a mini, and various older revisions. Personally, I find that which is better is relative. I keep switching between the 1chip and the separate PPU/CPU model whenever the circumstances change. What kind of TV will you be using this on anyway?

[Mad_Hatter]

Yea. I heard the 1Chip RGB is the best so I thought id shoot for that.

I'm going to be playing on both a HDTV CRT (composite) and a CRT SDTV (RGB to Component)

also, what do you mean by this:

"They DO make it easier to get the 1chip,".

Sent using Tapatalk

[Ziggy]

I'm going to be playing on both a HDTV CRT (composite) and a CRT SDTV (RGB to Component)

Does neither TV have S-Video?

also, what do you mean by this:

"They DO make it easier to get the 1chip,".

I just meant that, if you want to get a 1chip revision, getting the mini makes it easier since all minis use the 1chip.

[suprmonky73]

While I can't speak for the difference between the RGB quality of the 1chip and the mini.... i RGB modded my 1chip for use on my Sony PVM and i am totally happy with it. It's just as good quality wise as my RGB Genesis.

I think the mod was a lot easier for the 1 chip than the Mini because the pins you have to solder on the 1chip are larger than the mini...less chance for a mistake

hopefully this link works...im lazy

[ninjainspandex]

I'm confused why did you mod your regular model SNES don't they all output RGB? I thought just minis had to be modded.

[suprmonky73]

I'm confused why did you mod your regular model SNES don't they all output RGB? I thought just minis had to be modded.

You're right, this might be a little confusing.

I modded my 1 chip because 1) I was bored and wanted to tinker with it and b) i didn't want to buy another scart cable for it.
I have the really nice scart adapter/genesis cable for my genesis from the guy in the UK. quality is top notch, but i didn't want to have to buy another one for snes. This way i can just use a regular RCA cable

[ApolloBoy]

I think the mod was a lot easier for the 1 chip than the Mini because the pins you have to solder on the 1chip are larger than the mini...less chance for a mistake

Huh? The 1chip consoles and the mini use the same video encoder and hence the pins are the same size.

[suprmonky73]

I think the mod was a lot easier for the 1 chip than the Mini because the pins you have to solder on the 1chip are larger than the mini...less chance for a mistake

Huh? The 1chip consoles and the mini use the same video encoder and hence the pins are the same size.

I pulled the video from the pins where the AV out is instead of directly from the video encoder.
Sorry - not trying to detract from the topic, just my experience is that the 1chip serves just fine for RGB quality.

[suprmonky73]

also according to this site , which ive used for all my RGB research, the Snes Mini has better RGB quality than the 1chip. But again, the 1chip is pretty solid for my purposes

http://retrorgb.com/snesversioncompare.html