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PSTwo: Swap Magic or Mod Chip?
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Ludikhris
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9. January 2005 @ 10:12 |
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If youre so worried wait until your 90 day warranty has expired. Then do whatever you want cause the warranty is gone anyways. I suggest SM 3.3 I bought them for my nephews (X2) and both of them worked flawlessly in the PS2. Just get them from consolesource.ca and ship them slowly. youll get them in a week or two. No need for the flip top just tape down the censors. NO GLUE!! Glue can hurt the PS2 and it shows you were messing with your PS2. In the even that Sony waives a repair fee in the future for you (the did mine), you cant have any modifications done to your PS2 that you cant undo if you ship it to them. My PS2 blew up after 6 months, warranty expired, warranty tape gone. They fixed it free of charge. If you want though you can remove the tape in the back easily with a really hot hair dryer and a little patience. If you use steady hands its no big deal, did one of my nephews PSTWO this way, cant tell the tape was removed hehe.
Ludikhris
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Member
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9. January 2005 @ 10:38 |
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Thanks man, I'll think about it. But I did hear that you can use the tape method w/o voiding the warranty. You're supposed to use the warranty sticker as a sort of "hinge".
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Ludikhris
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9. January 2005 @ 12:37 |
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Yeah its possible, but I think a good hair dryer is a better tactic. Just be carefule and make sure to get it pretty warm. just dont melt the plastic hehe.
Ludikhris
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Ludikhris
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9. January 2005 @ 12:37 |
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Yeah its possible, but I think a good hair dryer is a better tactic. Just be carefule and make sure to get it pretty warm. just dont melt the plastic hehe.
Ludikhris
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Ludikhris
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9. January 2005 @ 12:37 |
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Yeah its possible, but I think a good hair dryer is a better tactic. Just be carefule and make sure to get it pretty warm. just dont melt the plastic hehe.
Ludikhris
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Deimos218
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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9. January 2005 @ 14:30 |
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I got my both swap magic and fliptop case from www.swapnslide.com i defintely recommmend them because of there fast shipping and quality.if i remember right their price were a few dollars higher than other sites but you have to keep in mind you get what you pay for.As for the quality of swap magic whatever media they used its really good i havent had a single problem playing a burned game yet. Here is a list of the games i personally have burned and played with no problem using swapmagic GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS, METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER,SOCOM II,GHOST RECON 2,SPLINTER CELL: PANDORA TOMMOROW,NEED FOR SPEED UNDERGROUND 2,BIG GAME HUNTER 2005,BURNOUT 3,GHOST RECON JUNGLE STORM/ISLAND THUNDER,GRAND THEFT AUTO VICE CITY. i might be forgetting a few im not sure but most of those are top games and the market and probably what most people looking to burn ps2 games would like to work more than others. Well good luck with your purchasing.
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gorec9897
Member
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14. January 2005 @ 02:23 |
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swap magic pros:
1) Simple install, little technical knowledge required.
2) Boots your backups
3) Sony safe - warranty stays intact
swap magic cons:
1) Tedious swapping of discs
2) Doesn?t have many other features
3) TOC limited
4) Can't boot ps1 backups
new modchip pros:
1) Autoboot of backups - ps1 & ps2 (as if the chip wasn?t there, more like playing the real game - just pop in and play)
2) macrovision off
3) HDD auto-patch (use non-sony HD)
4) Many many more features then swap magic (depending on the modchip you choose - but all have more features then the swap magic)
new modchip cons:
1) You need some experience with electronics? and solding of components (not for a novice, installation requires some expertise).
2) Warranty is void (but if you can install the chip (its like a work of art), one would rather work on there own unit anyway then have someone else do it).
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. January 2005 @ 02:31
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fee
Newbie
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14. January 2005 @ 06:37 |
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great post, but i've also heard of a risk of damaging the laser on the ps2 with some mod chips.
fee
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gorec9897
Member
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14. January 2005 @ 15:27 |
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Quote:
great post, but i've also heard of a risk of damaging the laser on the ps2 with some mod chips.
Ok, first (fee) swap magic for the less technically inclined person is great. But I think you are missing the point.
The fact is swap magic has the same chance of blowing out your ps2 v9-v12 as any modchip would, simply put booting backups is one of the causes of the un-natural spikes in current and voltage swing on the coils.
Backups are hard on a poor quality laser, & having to constantly swap discs to play them with swap magic seems like it could only be tougher on the ps2 laser (the ps2 is not designed for this, swap magic is NOT approved by sony).
One thing that is missing in the ps2 v9-v12 units is the "syscon chip" which is a processor for power management; this integrated circuit is missing in all of the new units (v9-v12). Sony probably saved money, but in turn degraded the quality of the ps2 laser.
For those of you who own one of these version consoles, you should Get a diode fix if you have a v11 or v12 unit or get a refined LA6508 if you have a v9 or v10. Get it fixed with or without a modchip!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. January 2005 @ 15:32
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RemyK313
Member
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17. January 2005 @ 21:23 |
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I got a couple questions, someone mentioned a TOC limit with swap magic. I'm a bit of a newb, so does that refer to being unable to play CDR backups over 630 MB? What about DVDs?
Also, I've been hearing a lot about using the warranty sticker as a hinge, but never actually bothered to look at the back of my PSTwo. Since that thing is so small (both the sticker and the console), couldn't a blowdryer's heat potentially damage your console?
I don't know, as soon as my fliptop get here, I'm definitely going for the hinge method, as I'm neither patient or steady enough to do it any other way.
Oh, one more question, is that sticker stiff, or is it flexible?
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007PStwo
Member
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21. January 2005 @ 08:14 |
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all u need is tape. no warranty void, no modding anything. it works, you can close the lid.
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kyozetsu
Inactive
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21. January 2005 @ 11:19 |
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007PSTWo, your saying if you have the Swap Magic disks and you own a new slim ps2, that all you need to do is cover up that sensor with tape?
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007PStwo
Member
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21. January 2005 @ 14:08 |
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Im using a NEW slim ps2 for like 5 weeks now.
Swap magic "3.3" and tape on the 2 sencors.
you need to open the ps2 but the warrenty sticker doesnt have to be broken. can still open and close the lid.....
It works fine and i still have warranty.
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MysTNitE
Junior Member
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21. January 2005 @ 18:40 |
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oo, i know that mod. you have to put the tape directly over the sensors. i was looking for something that you dont have to open up the ps2 to do like these tools.
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bob364860
Newbie
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29. January 2005 @ 00:59 |
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First of all, I would like to say thank you for your contributions as they have been very useful.
Secondly, I have a new PS2 with a magic switch AND Swap Magic 3.3 discs (from www.memtechsolutionsltd.co.uk), AND an old PS2 which has been mod chipped (from a Chinese guy called Franz).
Having tested both, I can provide the following points:
The magic switch is incredibly easy to install. It is essentially 3 pieces of plastic no bigger than a centimetre (except for piece C which I found a bit difficult to install initially). It is designed to keep the 'flap lid' of the PS2 open while the PS2 laser tries to read the game. You can follow instructions from www.memtechsolutionsltd.co.uk, and combined with Swap disc (DVD), works perfectly with games which are DVD based.
Swap disc (CD) prompts the PS2 to go to the screen where it tries to recognise the disc, but once you press X it will be OK. I tried 5 different games that were burnt on CD and only 2 worked successfully, so the Swap Magic has a weakness when it comes to games burnt on CD. My other concern is that you SEE the PS2 laser read the DVD based game. The laser looks like the sort which is used as part of those 'laser pens' which and unintentionally blind people, so try not to focus on the laser. The other thing is, in the long term, you are going to keep the lid open as you will get used to it. After one night leaving the PS2 to rest, it does accumulate a lot of dust.
However, for £26.99, this represents excellent value for money and does not invalidate your warranty as the plastic parts are easily removable.
The mod chipped PS2 has worked perfectly with ALL GAMES which are CD and DVD based, except for Metal Gear Solid 3 on the 'Snake VS Monkey' level. This may be because the PS2 was chipped about 2-3 years ago, whereas recent developments have made these chips far more effective than the one we installed a long time ago.
Oddly enough, when I tried Metal Gear Solid 3 via the Swap Magic method on the new PS2, it worked perfectly!
Remember, that you PS2 is chipped by an expert with a knowledge of soldering or engineering and he can do it in front of you in 30 minutes. But this also means there is the potential for error on his part as he is interfering with the circuitry. So if he messes up (which is a low probability), your PS2 is dead.
The other concern is that it will cost anywhere between £80-£200 to get your PS2 chipped and it WILL INVALIDATE YOUR WARRANTY.
Overall, my brother prefers the chip method, but I prefer the Swap disc method, as it is cheap, doesnt invalidate your warranty, and as it doesn't work on all CDs, remember that 95% of all PS2 games released on the last 2-3 years are DVD based (which will include the 'big' releases which your cousins or nephews will want to play!)
If you think swapping discs becomes tiresome, you will get used to it at the 4th or 5th attempt, and like the chipped PS2, you can also play PAL as well as NTSC games.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 29. January 2005 @ 01:13
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Bradly
Newbie
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29. January 2005 @ 16:48 |
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meh get a mod chip who cares
cant see me
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MysTNitE
Junior Member
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29. January 2005 @ 18:13 |
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ide rather use swap magic, till they come out with some usb mod chip or something thats really easy to install, or solder-less or w/e. this is the most practical, easy, idiot-proof way to play your back ups so far.
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Ludikhris
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29. January 2005 @ 18:42 |
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DMS E.Z.I. look it up. Its what you are talking about.
Ludikhris
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MysTNitE
Junior Member
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29. January 2005 @ 19:18 |
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nah, im talking about much simplier then that. it requires a lot and even has to have a chip taped to the outside of the system. its really not all that different then a soldering mod chip. im talkin super simple, like plug into the usb, and thats it. something like the thing i got my psone, all i had to do what attach a gameshark lookin thing to the back of the psone and it booted up games. now thats what im talkin about when i mean easy.
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gorec9897
Member
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29. January 2005 @ 20:40 |
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well even with the psone attachment you have to swap. the problem with just plug & play modchips (without opening the system) is that it only tricks the system by putting a disc with the proper digital signatures and media flags in the drive and then swap with one that does not. what a internal modchip does is
The modchip will disable the data stream coming from the CD/dvd controller and will inject it's own string of code also The PS2 now executes this new code instead and the PS2 will think the software is always correclty signed and whatever else has been hacked into this "new BIOS code". The PS2 won't see that a copied disk is inserted by checking the media type.
If you are not technically inclined, the best solution is the swap magic.
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gorec9897
Member
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29. January 2005 @ 20:48 |
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its not possable to exicute new code into the system without some type of ground level connection to the motherboard.
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MysTNitE
Junior Member
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30. January 2005 @ 10:30 |
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now that you mention it, i did have to swap. i forgot about that cuz its been so long. it was still pretty convienent. and yea, i thought about how you cant really mod the ps2 without connecting straight to the mother board. just like you cant mess with a computer just using its usb port. ill just wait and see what these guys come up with next, until its simple enough, ill stick with swap magic.
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HaloPimp
Junior Member
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30. January 2005 @ 21:49 |
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there's another tool called the SLIMTOOL wich let's you use the swap magic 3.3 on the new slim PS2 with the lid closed. it works great and doesn't void the warranty in any way. you can get them at www.techwizad.com or www.slimtool.com
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MysTNitE
Junior Member
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31. January 2005 @ 10:09 |
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yea, thats what i ordered. slim tools + swap magic. ill let you guys know how it works out.
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Nox050
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12. February 2005 @ 18:39 |
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