Playstation 2 mod chip question

[RedBeard]

I have a PS2 v7 that has seen very little use. Never modded or opened. I know that is might be the best forum to post but at least most of us are semi-adults.

I would like to get a sony network adapter, slap a hdd in there, and play my backuped games.

I don't plan on installing the chip myself. I can solder but after looking at a couple install pics there is no way in hell I can do that quality of work. I figured I would go here:

http://teammodders.com/install/ps2/
or
http://www.norcalmods.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=23

Any recommendations? Which chip should I get?

 

[Quasmo]

I dont think we're allowed to talk about such things on the forum.

EDIT: my mistake, I'm thinking about ROMs and emulators.

 

[RedBeard]

People sell modded consoles in FS/FT, why wouldn't a question be allowed?

This isn't about piracy, this is about extending the functionality of my console.

 

[Runes911]

Save money on the soldering job and get a GREAT chip:

DMS's Official US distributer

100% SOLDERLESS: 0 wires to solder on V5-V15 consoles

I have the DMS3 (solder version) that my friend and I soldered ourselves. He did/does soldering for a living and STILL had a hard time with the very small contacts. Save for the one time that a connection came lose on one of the solder points, its been a great chip.

I would defintely recommend the DMS4 it has alot of support for HDD loaded games.

 

[RedBeard]

I heard that soldless ones have problems too. I play on moving the console around alot, and the last thing I want is for the chip to disconnect.

Also, the soldless ones are more expensive. So after you pay for installation they come out to be close anyway. At least that is what I read.

 

[Runes911]

Originally posted by: RedBeard
I heard that soldless ones have problems too. I play on moving the console around alot, and the last thing I want is for the chip to disconnect.

Also, the soldless ones are more expensive. So after you pay for installation they come out to be close anyway. At least that is what I read.

They may have been when they were first released, but not now. A solder job is $60-$80 plus the chip $40-$60. As for the moving can't comment on that one, no idea.

 

[RedBeard]

Both those places mentioned only charge 35 bucks.

Aside from that, anyone know which chip is better?
From what I understand, the DMS team doesn't do much anymore. Whereas the Crystal team is pretty active.

 

[RedBeard]

*heave ho*

 

[RichieZ]

What ever happened to the Messiah team? I had a Messiah 2.0 pro and it was the shiet

 

[RedBeard]

hmmm, not sure. Don't they make xbox chips?

I know that the crystal chip gives the PS2 a nice dashboard

 

[MrWizzard]

You should contact RaiderJ
on this forum. He does the whole PS2 modding thing. He seems to know a lot.

 

[RaiderJ]

I've done a few PS2 mods (some pictures in my sig).

My advice - never, never, never, never, EVER, go with a solderless chip. You'll have a better chance of frying your system rather than having it work. If you look at some of my pictures, you'll see a big chip on the motherboard that has really small pins. Imagine how hard those are to solder to. Now, imagine how precise you'd have to be with a clip so that it wouldn't bridge any points. If they do get bridged, goodbye PS2.

For getting a chip soldered in, NorCal or Team Modders do excellent work, and you'd be hard pressed to get a better mod anywhere else. I like to think my work is good, but it's still not as good as theirs.

For chips, there are three I'd recommend: DMS4 SE Pro, Crystal Chip, and Matrix Infinity.

The DMS4 chip with the Toxic OS installed is probably the most user-friendly, but development is for the most part non-existent. Don't expect any updates.

Crystal Chip is the most actively updated right now, and probably what I would recommend. I talked a bit with one of their developers and they definitely are willing to support their product. He even gave out some tips on how to replace the memory on the chip (to go from 1MB up to 4MB or so).

The Matrix Infinity chip is another good one, still getting updates, and I believe can do automatic patching if you want to play games online.

Any chip will allow you to run HD Loader, which lets you play games from the hard drive (which is a big plus). If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.