How to get the BEST PlayStation 2 in 2022
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▶The Great PS2 AIO Guide: www.psx-place.com/threads/tut...
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▶Open PS2 Loader: github.com/ps2homebrew/Open-P...
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▶MechaDump (contains fascinating info about how the Mechacon was exploited): github.com/Myriachan/mechadump
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▶Features the following videos
"FreeDVDBoot - PlayStation 2 exploit demo" - CTurt
• FreeDVDBoot - PlayStat...
"How to Patch PS2 Games for ESR | Backup Games on FreeMCBoot" - MrMario2011
• How to Patch PS2 Games...
"The Original Xbox Debug Kit - How console games were developed in 2001" - Modern Vintage Gamer
• The Original Xbox Debu... - เกม
Around 2012-2014, my father's friend gave me & my siblings his PS2 Slim as a gift, since we're very close with him and he probably didn't need it at the time. But sadly during 2014, he passed away in a car accident as he drove fast because he was late for work, in which he overshot a turn, fell off a short ledge and hit a tree. I was very dismayed as I was only 9 years old and formed a 'foster father' bond as he treats me like his own son. As I saw this video, it reminded me about the PS2, now broken and dusty. I'll find a way in the future to restore the PS2 and cherish it as much as I can as now I am a tech enthusiast and appreciate tech better than before.
oh wow thanks for sharing mate
@@ObiektTestowy Really appreciate it.😃
Sorry for your loss
@@dogzdontzbarkz6540 Thanks for caring.💗
Good luck with the restoration man and sorry about your loss. Restoring old consoles and electronics is a great hobby.
Here in Brazil we LOVE the ps2. Even today, q lot of people still play the ps2, mainly a PES mod called BOMBA PATCH, which updates almost every week, keeping the teams and players just like they are irl. I also have a ps2 and I use an 120gb hdd to play my games.
Ha! Didn't know that but I'm not nearly as surprised as I should be. I heard about the modding scene on that dragon ball game on ps2, seems pretty huge too. I'm not surprised those modders are able to do it with football though, those games have barely been updated by the "real" devs since the ps2 days
@@goeland4585 yeah, the last official game was the fifa 14 i think. I remember buying it in 2013 and thinking i was super good bc i made 23x2 in a super easy game 😂
@@JoaoPedroRomao damn, it's still incredible to me each time someone frome around the world just, instantly can answer some comment I make haha. Hello from Belgium!
@@goeland4585 thx man, have a good day (or night, in Belgium it is probably night now lol)
@@JoaoPedroRomao it's the middle of the day haha. Good day/night to you too! (It's morning right? 😁)
I personally use the Network Storage method of playing my backups, since it works for my particular setup. I actually did mod my network adapter for my "Fat" PS2 to be able to both use SATA HDDs and Network capabilities simultaneously, but I quickly realized how much more convenient Network Storage was. It essentially cut out the middle man of having to pull out my hdd every time I wanted to load it with a new game. With Network Storage, all I have to do is rip my PS2 disc directly to a folder on my PC, and bam! The game instantly appears in OPL. I don't have to restart the PS2 or anything, just press Select in OPL to refresh the menu. Sure, Network storage isn't technically as good as the internal hdd, and some FMVs still skip a little here and there, but the convenience of adding new games on the fly is unmatched. It's also probably the best way to play backups on a slim PS2 without having to resort to either complicated soldering, or burning 50 DVDs and wearing out the disc drive. (Not to mention the Slim model's tendency to destroy discs over time.)
Technically it should be possible for OPL to download discs from the net onto the internal hdd. Dunno if that's a feature tho
How do you play "dlc" discs like for dynasty warriors? To to it legit you have to put the "dlc" disc in the switch to the regular disck when it asked and then switch back to the "dlc".
The only downside really is that OPL still uses SMB1 protocol which is vulnerable and was a big attack actor in the past years, so its not exactly secure to have it enabled on your network, without maybe jumping some additional hoops. Most people probably won't care, but its still possible today to get hit by something that uses smb1 as an attact vector, if its enabled on the network... and OPL/PS2SDK progress at adapting smb2 and 3... its being worked on, but it drags on for years now...
What is the speed, is it 10 or 100Mbps?
@@Tepiloxtl PC connected to a WiFi and corded up to PS2 will work well securing network I guess
2:04 he’s a genius! why do we say double-u-double-u-double-u-dot? triple double u saves an entire 5 syllables!
why stop there? why not "sextouple-u"?
The true speedrunner method just involves you saying "WWWWWWWWWW" like a demonic microwave
World wide web is 3 times shorter than www
PS2 GANG RISE UP
The vid was uploaded 16 seconds ago wtf
Here 1 year late
@@killagamez4619 same, just freemcbooted my ps2 and it's great. Somehow my ps2 with a broken dvd drive loaded up freedvdboot, weird
Here in Brazil, the grey market was basically the only way to have a ps2, so almost, if not all of them, have modchips installed by default. Gaming is hella expensive here, so piracy is a staple. Good to know about the ps1 thing, i'll try to play some games in my ps2 eventually.
I'd say most PS2s have been modded by now. It seems like a very rich American thing to not have a modded Xbox and PS2.
PS2 here in the Balkans was by far the most popular way to play games. First thing you did when you got one was to take it to your local console modder and have it chipped. As a result, I'm having trouble finding any original PS1 and PS2 games locally, only really the guys who burned the games would have bought original copies to rip.
You forgot to mention the other new method which is still in the works for slims, which is the MX4SIO method, which is basically using a microSD card over the memory card bus, which is about 50% faster than the PS2's USB ports, and solves the stutter issue on a number of games. It's still a work in progress, hence it's not for all games yet, and you only have to mod a memory card.
THX for mentioning MX4SIO! ;)
Was going to say the same.
Is there size limitations for the games? Like how you can't run games bigger than a certain amount of data?
@@calladus123 Games bigger than 4GB obviously need to be split, but why should the size affect if a game is compatible? It doesn't!
@@tnaplastic2182 i was just curious if they still had to be split or not still for using the sd method.
I was surprised you didn’t mention all the devices designed with Swap Magic in mind. The flip top on the OG PS2 was the “soft mod” of 2003. They’re super rare now but were the easiest way to play burned games.
I had a swap disc back in the day and constantly had to make new swap cards to open the drive because my parents wouldn't let me order the flip top case. 😂
Available on eBay for $9
In all my years of modding consoles I don't know if I've ever seen a guide that breaks down exactly how the mods achieve the desired end result that was as detailed as this. Holy smokes and thank you!
Funnily enough, finding my old PS2 and looking into OPL is what has started me on my journey of modding my old consoles, which is what eventually lead me to your channel! Now i have multiple Everdrives, and a Dreamcast with a GDEmu (which i think would be a good one for your channel, such an easy ODE to install!) and have ordered an Xbox so i can mod it. Anyway, love your stuff!
Which model Xbox did you target and why? Which models / features / layouts on original Xbox's would you avoid?
I have a ps2 fat model that isn't modded and it can't read CDs and I am dying to play it😭
Do you know any video that can help to mod or fix it to play for the last time ever 😢
I had a ps2 with hdd. But I sold it because running ps2 games from hdd is too troublesome unlike og xbox, gc loader, xstation etc. I'm really counting on proper ODE solution for ps2.
Have fun with the OG Xbox modding. I had a great time modding mine. It was more work that other mods, but very fun and liberating.
the ultimate gamer to have these 3 consoles modded
For the record, there is another method for playing backup/import PS1 discs without a modchip, some PS1 hotswap discs (like the Breaker Pro) still work on PS2, or were modified to do so
Hot swapping shouldn't really be a consideration considering how easy they are to mod imo, you'll inevitably just destroy your disk drive
Thats a lot of work to play the PS2 version of Sonic Heroes
Justifiable work just to play the greatest game of all time
Yeah, doesn't seem worth it
Especially when you already have the Ultimate windows 98 gaming PC do play the PC version of Heroes.
@@rynobehnke8289 the only blessed response
I love your vids man keep up the great work and great content.
EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeE
@@SilverBirb EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeE
@@SilverBirb
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@@SilverBirb EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeE
@「Silver AB2」 EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeE
A little tip regarding the FAT HDD bay. I did this a few years ago, but I installed a cheap IDE to SD card converter from aliexpress instead of a HDD. Also I put in a SD card extension cable, so I can just slot in the SD card from the front of the console. It worked like a dream. Looks clean, is dead silent, and it's super fast too. I think both items cost me less than $10 back then.
Runs cooler too. Its the ideal setup imo
Almost forgot about those. Are there card capacity limits in what can be read by the adaptation and any other effects on performance?
@@That_Handle I use a 128GB SD card. And loading times are blazing fast. I would imagine it is the fastest way to load data.
@@Sevapcici ,
As long as I can have it formatted correctly I can go as large of an SD card that I want within OPL limits, I would imagine ... ? Turns into a card reliability-quality as well as cost per Gig consideration after that ...
How stablized was the flange provided on the card-end of the extender? (perusing options vs total cost now for a PS2 LAN+iLink setup)
Where on the PS2 did you find enough purchase to confidently screw / mount the card slot at the end of the extender?
What was the extender length of the unit you bought?
Has anyone ever thought of doing a raid setup of SD cards or is that beyond OPL?
This in fact not the fastest way to load data on a PS2. Most SD cards are actually really slow compared to other flash memory and even most modern 3.5" hard drives. SD card mods don't even max out the IDE or SCSI bus on retro computers, though the low power draw and less noise are still desirable.
However, the DVD drive is really slow at about 5MB/s on a good day so even if you've got a slow SD card which allows only 10 MB/s, you're still gonna get much faster load times.
The fastest way would probably be loading games over ethernet since it's 10/100. Or you can get a cheap 120GB SSD and it should go as fast as the IDE interface allows.
ya know, a lot of videos don't get me excited anymore these days but this is the most intrigued and excited I've been in a couple of months. I love your uploads and always look forward to the next.
Key thing to note about mechapwn though : From what i've found, while setting a console as Debug will bypass region checks and play imports, the game's video output will be determined based on the patch region you chose. What it means : If you play a PAL PS1 game on as NTSC-patched debug console, the game will play too fast and not display properly. The other way around, an NTSC game played ona PAL-Patched debug will make the game play slower and appear squished on screen. (Tested on the last PS2 Slim model : SCPH-9000X)
PS2 Slims are still great to use. On the latest slim models (SCPH-9000X, with the integrated power supply), you can get OpenTuna on the memory card to lauch OPL or LaunchElf. For network storage, you can use a decent size USB Stick to store the games, and combine it with a Wireless Router with a USB Plug that can act as a filesharing server.
I don't have any issues with NTSC FF Tactics (PS1 USA game) on a original PAL 79003 model patched to a debug 79001 model (USA), maybe the issue only appears for certain games?
Great overview. I really needed something like this. Sources of this kind of information are out there, but it's hard to sift through it all and I've been wanting a convenient overview of everything that's possible. Well done!
Just don't use winhiip!
I remember a hot swap method to boot burned ISOs back in like 2008 for the PS2. You basically had a modded save file on your memory card that was set to trigger based on a specific PS1 game. Once you got the splash screen for that specific PS1 game, you would jam a credit card into the disc drive and eject it without the PS2 knowing. Then you'd quickly swap the disc for your burned ISO and slam the tray back into the machine and it would boot.
The grind is real. Good on you man. Great video.
I softmodded mine and installed an HDD on it about 3 months ago, it's basically a new console and I'm loving it
Never knew about your channel till now. Glad I found it
ayo i was literally just watching a mattkc video and got the notification for this right at the end! what a pleasant surprise/coincidence!
This was exactly what I wanted! Fantastic work again Matt!
YESSS A NEW MATTKC VIDEO all my fav youtubers be uploading this week
I always love how you use those cracktros chiptune music, it gives your video that '90s BBS or early internet scene vibe.
There's one thing that I saw recently where you can use a sacrificial memory cards (PS1 or PS2) and solder up a SD card adapter to run games from a SD card from memory card slot 2.
im glad you are making more videos now
You are so real for putting that Ico save music cover in the back at the start
This video was super interesting and its nice learning new things, I recently got into buying and refurbishing my own backwards compatible PS3 but I know very little about PS2 emulation and modding.
Speaking from experience on the PS3 stuff you mentioned you were not kidding and I had the unfortunate of getting a PS3 that was all fine and dandy but needs a replacement blu ray drive and it YLOD after about 40 mins even after a refurb. The one I'm using rn is my second CechA01 and works amazingly but I have the downside of this model no longer being able to accept CMOS batteries. When I opened it up it looked like a a capacitor near the Cmos battery plug had exploded but for the life of me could not find anything about it online so my PS3 is forever doomed to not be able to tell the time once its unplugged for a little bit and having to constantly reset everytime I turn it back on or when I connect to PSN to sync my trophies.
I used a ps2 with an after market noctua fan, as damn the old PS2 was noisy.
I also highly recommend something like GBS-Control if you are connecting a PS2 to non-CRT TV, to deal with interlacing.
Just about any modern retro focused upscaler will do the job very well since motion adaptive deinterlacing is being pushed. GBS-Control is the cheapest option but it works great! It was my exclusive PS2 upscaler for a while until I got a retrotink 5X, now I just use my OSSC as a companion for my VGA CRT, and use the Retrotink for modern displays/capture.
@@tyisafk Retrotink 5X is the best but it is $300 and while international shipping is an option customs + postage really adds to the cost.
On the other hand, if you can solder some stuff, the GBS-Control is about $40ish internationally.
To myself it was really hard to justify the price difference.
I like the pricing of that GBS esp. when multiples add up total bill quick among LAN'd PS2s here running, typically, all NTSC PS2 resolutions and, on occasion, a handful of PAL titles at the moment....
🔴 Is it known whether the noctua fan draws more power off the PS2? I am using my PS2 consoles in a scenario where I could find myself plugging in 4 Dualshock controllers if not devices in the USB ports, possibly with a POWERED USB expander for more jacks and I want to make sure the power supply isn't going to dip its power output from too much total draw... If unknown, maybe I should swap the fan for a diode-equipped back-EMF protected relay act as a high-power switch to control a secondary power source soldered in parallel to the mains rocker-switch inside to supply exclusive power for the fan, isolating its power needs from the PS2's requirements?
@@That_Handle The noctua fan would draw more power, if it could, but the fan header limits the the fan power intake. This does mean the fan runs slower than it could, but it's still more than enough to cool a PS2.
My main concern with using a noctua fan, is they they are thicker than the stock PS2, with the wrong fan plug, so case modding is needed and you need to rewire the plug.
I love the videos and have been watching for years, already know this will be a banger big man.
Just found your channel, love the vids!
MechaPwn has a unique benefit when paired with a modchip. A lot of PS2 modchips struggle or fail PS1 AntiMod tests which makes games like Spyro 3 not run.
Solution is simple. Either set the MECHACON region to Europe (DTL) which skips AntiMod checks or desolder SX.
Europe region will force menu to be PAL but with component cables most TVs won’t care. PS1VMODENEG is required to launch NTSC games as NTSC60 however.
The SX solder point is where the license data is sent from the modchips and that trips AntiMod on some games. SX is no longer needed since the MECHACON is MechaPwn’d now and doesn’t need license data anymore.
This allows for modchip autoboot of all PS1 and PS2 discs without tripping AntiMod on PS1 so best of both worlds.
I also noticed you did not mention that MechaPwn only works on 5000X series or newer PS2s which are the fat models without the FireWire port and newer. This is due to the fact that MechaPwn relies on the a new ARM based MECHACON called “Dragon” that this exploit targets.
Love my modded PS2. Your suggestion was actually what I did a few years ago haha, found an untested Fat PS2 at a thrift store for $5 that had the disc drive broken, got the network/SSD adapter going, a cheap 250g SSD, I elected to buy a FreeMCBoot Memory card to get myself started, then lots of back and forth using all the apps you mentioned. My only reservations is the native PS1 playability (nothing to be done about that unfortunately) and its video out. I have HDMI solutions for the gamecube, wii, SNES (analogue), and PS1 but the PS2 is my only old console that is using component. You're absolutely right about the games library though, lots of bangers!
I had a ps2 with hdd. But I sold it because running ps2 games from hdd is too troublesome unlike og xbox, gc loader, xstation etc. I'm really counting on proper ODE solution for ps2.
The Pound PS2 HDMI cable works really well in my experience, looks almost like an emulator.
Been binging your vids 👍🏽
I have seen two of your videos, and I loved them, I will subscribe ❤️
You forgot to mention the PS3 memory card adapter for PS2 cards. This easily let people run MCboot but was expensive in the day due to said exploit. It shot up to 4x retail but now has dropped due to time and alternative exploits.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that network storage was faster than the HDD, but I might be making that up, I can see why you argue its more inconvenient though... buuuut at 11:08 you say PS2 is best for speedrunners, acccttuuuaallllyy PSTV is faster for PS1 games (and better for casual too IMO) but not every games community has figured this out yet and a lot more people have PS2s
Opl loads a hefty game list faster via smb than off a hdd, but it's still slower than the DVD drive. Some network protocols are faster than others though so this may change in the future.
Plus, the opl devs are working on increasing performance on the 7500x deckard Slim models. Right now OPL can't take advantage of the Decakrd's chip extra functionality and power.
PS2 uses UDMA mode 2, I think? Which has a transfer rate of 33 MB/s. A 100 Mbit network interface can do 12.5 MB/s. either of them is significantly faster than the PS2 DVD drive, which could do 5.5 MB/s.
oh hey thanks
Doesn't the PSTV have pretty bad input lag for PS1 games? I swear I remember hearing something about how the input lag was bad for Spyro and so most runners just stuck with a 9000 model PS2.
@@alicev1500 Possibly? I ran Crash Team Racing on it and didn't notice but I wasn't checking for it myself
Binge watched your content all day yesterday - wake up to a new video today.
Legend. ❤️
It makes me so happy Matt has been uploading so much! I love his videos!
Just speaking from experience playing on both fat and slim PS2s, regarding loading from USB via OPL it seems loading times are better on later slimlines with the new IOP without much stutter in FMVs. Loading times are still noticeably long, but not as long as loading from USB on a fat unit.
Same here. I did not experienced stutters when playing on my ps2 slim from USB. Also You can play Ps1 games from USB and it works fine. Beaten Fear Effect 1 and 2 this way.
You only see load time issues and stuttering in FMV heavy games like FFX. The pre-rendered videos stream directly from the DVD and the PS2 has a 4x drive. The speed on a 4x drive is 5.5 MB/s while the USB 1.1 is 1.5 MB/s at most.
Interesting, I still have my modded PS2 with the network adapter and HDD. But the exploit mine is setup from is waaaay old, it required using a specific PS1 disc and then being able to load a save with the Disc number encoded on it onto your ps2 memory card.
Then once you booted it up into PS1 mode it would launch the launch elf menu where I could run HDD loader. It would be interesting to be able to setup the FHDB method instead but I'd have to get all the games off the old drive first.
Also I don't have any way to hook it up to a modern tv either so thats the main thing. Being able to use a modern controller with it sounds great tho.
Finally, faster regular uploads
The best video explaining PS2 modding and architecture!
Bought one modded for 24 euros with some burned dvds already, just burned 10 more and im done for some classic gaming.
Oh and its the slim model with one controller in very good shape.
matt got a sponsor!
man im so happy for you
from 10k subs to almost 300k
i hope you hit 1M by the end of this year
I always look forward to your videos
Thank you my good sir, For some reason ps2 modding seems more confusing than others and your video really helped me wrap my brain around some of the terminology.
I still have my Swap Magic 3 (Plus version) Coder CD and DVD. The only mod I had to do was change the case to a flip-top. Of course, you have to have the network adaptor and I have a loaded 250 Gig IDE HD attached. It really was an easy solution in the early 2000's to having a menu to click on which game you wanted to play from the HD. It was beneficial back in the Blockbuster Video days when you could just rent and rip.
Next Doom game? "Doom: Rent and Rip"
GameFly was still in its infancy in that time, so that was a huge help for me. I believe they had a distribution center in Pittsburgh (as did Netflix), so those of us in PA knew we’d always have a quick turnaround.
(And yes, there was a time when being near a Netflix distribution center was a huge deal)
For those who still have a PS2 slim, there's MC2SIO which is better that using a USB drive in loading games.
So it's recommended to use it.
I remember your channel after many months and exactly when I entered your channel there is a new video :D
thanks brotha for lettin me understand
Is hard drive compatibility something to worry about, looking to do this with a fat ps2 myself and everything online seems conflicting
yes.. and no? My ps2s have had this stupid issue were randomly itll decide not to read it anymore. Reads fine in the softwares on PC and i can add more games, but OPL and ULE are like "nope not detected".
lol ps2 loading is certainly a much larger beast than aaany other console, and info online is very contradicting and mostly outdated.
*I would say try whatever you have as long as its not larger than 2tb, load like 3 games on it and see how your ps2 handles it after a week.
@@SithlordSigma HDD compatibility is pretty close to 100% compared to the other methods, and games load faster too. You just need to be careful when connecting or disconnecting it from the PS2 and PC to avoid corruptions
@@davidoli Yeah i think my problem comes down to how the PS2 shuts down/lets the drive spin down after exiting a game, though i've been doing IGR+returning to the ps2 bios then shutting down, so i'm unsure how my latest failure could even happen if thats the safe procedure. Otherwise HDD loading is the best.
@@SithlordSigma I think you should try setting the IGR returning ELF to OPL, and then open the menu and select shut down and see if it helps. Might be an incompatible or aging HDD too, are you using an old IDE drive or a SATA one?
@@davidoli IDE to Sata conversion over a genuine HDD adapter, my OPL IGR was set to OPL itself though it seemed to boot straight back to the PS2 launch menu, I'll have to try that again so it boots to OPL and do shut down from there.
Reason i gave the OP a 50/50 response on the HDD question is i've tried both drives listed on the compatiblity lists, and some not listed;
WD 1tb HDD
WD 1TB SSD
Seagate Baracuda 1tb
Toshiba 2tb 2.5''
Samsung 1tb SSD
Every one seemed to come down with this issue except the seagate, which was the only drive i couldn't get loaded despite it being listed as working, current drive is that toshiba 2tb which ironically seems to work as well as any of the others, but has this issue as well. It could very well be that shutting down from OPL is the only safe option and the timing needs to be right.
Was it really the procedure that PS2 game developers needed to burn a whole disc in order to test their code? If so then mad respect to them as I can hardly write 10 lines of code without testing
This was exactly the video I needed to finally convince me to buy a hard drive adapter for both my fat PS2s. I have only wanted to buy one for years. I'll probably go with network booting, simply because i already have a NAS, so it's by far the most convenient way to load games
He keeps on putting new content I love it
A few things to mention.
OPL Requires every single game to be defragmented. This is a lengthy process to do and with a hdd, it requires you to fiddle with it every time. In addition, while usb is a poor choice, its gotten better with a very recent update. The stuttering is mostly in pre rendered stuff. Quite a lot of games, including all the cd based ps2 games will run fine. It would be the easiest to use a raspberry pie connected to a large portable hard drive or ssd and connect that as network storage. You can even do the de fragmenting from the pi and even rip games with it without a external computer. I recommend it as anything from a zero to a 4 can easily be used as network storage.
Easiest way to use an HDD is to format it and use HDL Batch, loading games is really quick with that method
What's the advice for a 39001 model-centric PS2 system-link MP LAN+iLink set-up as it pertains to defragmentation, (batch-) loading, adding additional straggler titles later to every system, the prep of file [and other] maintenance thereafter including a master hard drive that becomes the batch-load source if I ever have a drive that goes down or I add another PS2 to the LAN / ethernet switched modem and I want it as quickly as possible with as little fuss?
.... I really want to cut down the tedium but not cut corners with good up-front decision-making when it comes to ease of the aforementioned and sharing among consoles/downloading+transferring game-saves -and NET-file settings.- while keeping OPL running smooth. i.e., a fully-unlocked GT3 save across all systems, when players aren't using their personal file(s), so all iLink drivers have the same full-access going into select a course/vehicle.
.... Edit: forgot that I can't save time copying the NET-file saves because they can't be copied since they are MAC-address/console-specific.
You're still not getting over the speed limitations. The PS2 has a 4x DVD drive. That drive is roughly 5 times faster than the USB 1.1 ports assuming they operate at Full Speed.
What, you'd never heard "triple-double-u" before?
It's pronounced "dubya dubya dubya".
Love the game QR code shirt!
I like the new intro bro!
I was hoping there would be some mention of the MX4SIO mod as it's basically soldering an SD card to the pins on a memory card and loading a custom version of OPL2 on another memory card, while I haven't tested it yet, I feel the interface would be more convenient rather than dealing with a hard drive.
Any method that involves soldering is going to be way less accessible and appealing to most people than a method that doesn't involve soldering.
This video is amazing and thank you for letting me know about MechaPwn, although here is a couple of things I would like to mention and it's kinda sad for me at least...
>It only supports 5000 units for the fat models (the later ones without Firewire... more on that in a second)
This could be an issue because there is a couple of games that ACTUALLY can take advantage of the firewire port, particularly Lightgun games such as Time Crisis 2 and 3, see, I'm a weirdo by doing this? Probably, but that port allows to have 2 CRTs, 2 PS2 and 2 Guncons, and you effectively have the entire Time Crisis 2 and 3 arcade machine, there is a couple of other older titles such as Armored Core or Gran Turismo 3 that have "LAN" party this way but that's really not a priority for me (Newer Armored Core games on PS2 support the LAN port, so, there is that)
The 5000 units removed this Firewire ports, so they are totally usable, I would personally recommend them over the slim any day, but if you are that weird nerd replicating a Lightgun arcade cabinet, then you have a problem, effectively only these 2 games are my reason to keep 3000 units (or lower).
Slim models could potentially use an MX4SIO solution too, where you solder an MicroSD to SD adapter inside a cheap chinese memory card (Please don't do this in an official one...), where it's much better than USB, still lower than HDD or even Network compatibility, but there is that, especially for me that I like keeping tournaments for still-well-played games on this console (Fighting games like Fate/Unlimited Codes, Kinnikuman Muscle GrandPrix 2, Hokuto no Ken, Gundam VS... etc)
Lastly, another very weird thing I like doing in my PS2... playing online!
See, not all games do support it, some might require a tunnel of the LAN mode (LONG LIVE LAN PLEASE INCLUDE LAN IN YOUR NEWER GAMES YOU STUPID NERD COMPANIES IS ESSENTIAL!), like Socom 2, Virtual-On, Jak-X, can be played either on a LAN party, or with XLink Kai.
OR
There is a couple of games with actually, properly working servers, in my case, the only one I have personally tested is "Gundam vs Z Gundam", albeit only the Japanese version supports it (And this is the reason why MechaPwn was so special for me when you mentioned it, the more I game, the more I'm geared toward Japanese versions...), and yes! It works! With your own profile with streaks, profile name, and all of that, is also a very niche thing to do nowadays, especially since you would need an official PS2 Adapter that probably has only IDE HDD support (I must admit it ain't that bad, I was able to get a 100gb HDD, and is able to hold a lot of games, especially because I play only the absolute still-PS2-only games like the aforementioned fighting games), with an arcade stick imported from Japan and all, this thing is legitimately a very good arcade experience, especially if we include the PS1 titles that can work on the system.
Lovely video, and I must admit most of your recommendations like "broken PS2 Drive + HDD = good" is some of the things I actually do recommend to people, although after MechaPwn, I might change that for 5000 units, the early trick can still work for older consoles.
greetings from Mexico, land of piracy
I just bought a network adapter for my old fat ps2 so I could finally mod it and this video told me everything I need to know. Keep up the great vids!
Before purchasing your mod kit, ensure that, if you need the ethernet jack to be functional, that the description states so.
Is it just me who finds his voice so pleasant I could fall asleep to him talking?
Keep up tte great work Matt!
Mx4sio it's the way to go for Ps2 slim. It uses the memory card bus to connect an SD card, the speed is far better that from USB 1.1, so no video skips.
I hadn't even heard of this, that's great news!
You can boot PS2 ISOs from a MicroSD card using MC2SIO (based on MX4SIO/SIO2SD). You can also go above the 256GB "limitation" by simply changing the cluster size to 64kb when formatting the mSD to FAT32.
I don’t know anything about this stuff but I find your videos relaxing 😌 I love to listen to your voice!
Amazing video, as always!
I understand the appeal for the original hardware and especially the great dualshock 2 but for playing PS2 games i've always gravitated towards the backwards compatible PS3 with CFW. Sure it's quite expensive now but the ease of connectivity with crispy HDMI, wireless controllers, virtual memory cards and CFW allowing you to copy ISOs to the internal HDD makes it excellent for playing PS2 games.
The main problem with those PS3 models is the heat and the noise, they consumed around 200W peak power and whilst the cooling fan and heatsink are beefy they are still a somewhat noisy machine, though they are as quiet as a mouse compared to the disc drive on a real PS2 when it's seeking data!
Fun fact: PCSX2's reference _software_ renderer runs at realtime speed on modern, powerful hardware, and it's A LOT more accurate than the OpenGL and DirectX hardware renderers... If your PC can handle it, it should fix a bunch of missing or glitched effects, at the expense of being unable to increase the internal resolution... But since this video is about real PS2 hardware, I suppose looking at NTSC/PAL standard resolutions isn't much of a problem. Just don't forget to enable edge antialiasing and increase the thread count. PCSX2 also disables Vsync on every startup, for some stupid reason. PCSX2's default configuration sucks, and is a leftover from a dark, hack-oriented past, but it can be made to be more accurate and rely on zero game hacks to work. Use the Safe (No Hacks) configuration preset instead of the default.
I don't know how, but it still didn't look nearly as accurate, i first realised it on GT Concept, were the cars just don't shine as much as on ps2
@@minignoux4566 Never said it was a perfect replica of the way the original hardware renders things, only that it is significantly more accurate compared to the PCSX2 hardware renderers.
@@3lH4ck3rC0mf0r7 If you have the specs to run the thing.
When the original Network adapters were quite expensive and the generic ones had some trouble working well, I used a generic NAS (an external HDD hooked to my router with OpenWRT) and my PS2 slim with FMCB on a memorycard. There I uploaded my backups and more (big thanks PBay :P) and enjoyed.
Some time later, I found a batch of SATA HDD adapters for the FAT PS2 that just worked and installed FHDB and transferred all my games to an 1TB laptop drive. And so, I use both whenever I want and is very convenient. Right now I am using FAT PS2.
I still have to try to see how works the memory card mod.
Wow, these videos have been coming out quick.
I was surprised how bad the PS2s image looked, even with component cables. There's a weird flicker pattern in the image.
You could also patch games to be widescreen, but unfortunately it won't be true widescreen, but rather the original video signal with black bars baked into the top and bottom of the image. This means you'll never be able to run those games at the natural resoluition of an HD tv, further deteriorating the image quality by letting the TV scale up the image to fit the screen.
Anyways with the good performance and compatibility of emulators nowadays I'd recommend emulators to play on modern screens with the best image quality. Those support widescreen patches (often automatically applied), internal upscaling and arbitrary output resolution.
Yeah, that's true. Although, after I got myself an aftermarket component, it looked much better than on original PS2 composite cable
i use Japanese PS3 Fat CECHB00 then i installed CFW and PS2 games with Widescreen hack then Woala its an PS2 Pro and it looks good via HDMI especially with Progressive ON i only use it for PS2 games since i have already a PS3 Slim for PS3 games
Ironically, over the years, I've managed to rack up 13 PS2's. It wasn't a conscious decision or anything. I just can't resist the urge to buy up cheap ones when I see them listed locally. Have 10 fat units of varying SCPH models, 5 genuined Sony HDD adapters, and 3 slim models.
PS2 is "the" system for me, as I was neck-deep in gaming during that era, and it plays PS1 games very well. What more you could ask for? XD
Nice overview video here as well. I believe there is a method to load games through memory card slot 2, with an adapted microSD card, to the PCB of a memory card. From what I've read, it loads much, much faster than USB. Never tried it myself though.
Wow, you can probably "flip" old PS2s by buying up the unused ones and modding them for a profit, if people buy them
Would you say any of the Gran Turismo Concept titles are worth their iLink/Firewire system-linking MP experiences - visuals, physics, force-feedback and content? I already have enough PS2s for 6-driver GT3 over firewire via a hub but I'm curious whether it's worth the trouble of getting the Gran Turismo Concept releases, loading them to run from OPL here after all that trouble on as many systems.
there's a homebrew that launches from the memory card that increases the output resolution using component cables, of course the games won't upscale like they do on emulators, but they'll look A LOT sharper, the console does the upscale way better than the TV does, the games always look blurry on modern screens
for people using modern TVs, it's almost a must, i'm surprised it wasn't mentioned on the video
The RPI network method can be altered to work as a wireless adapter so your scope isn't limited by wires. I use a RockPi-S for this.
I ended up using a IDE > small IDE > SD card apater for my original network adapter.
Way less annoying than a IDE hard drive, and cheaper than buying a chinese sata adapter in hope it works.
Also OPL now supports loading from firewire, which i'd love to try at some point.
The good old times, when there were new games and new ideas. Not like today with so many remakes, remaster and sequels
Cool, geeky stuff man. Great video.
Not mentioned, but a later modchip for PS2 (slim and fat) called SBOX used the usb port and one soldered wire. You enabled it with a switch and could remove it from the circuit to run official DVD or games. IIRC, it required Gameshark to bypass the boot DRM and worked like a charm
Didn't mention Jak and Daxter, unsubbed /j
Lol
Just use emulator, seriously.
Agreed
Yes, PCSX2's software rendering mode can be a nice alternative to a ps2.
Matt now I have to go get a fat ps2 I've known about OPL for ages but mechapwn has me pumped cause I can play imports
Thanks man!
Thank you for the content MattKC,
I’ve had a fat ps2 sitting around for months doing nothing I feel this video is a sign I need to finally mod it like I’ve been planning to
This guy has the best modding content
PLEASE KEEP MAKING VIDS LIKE THIS!
There have been some recent breakthroughs with PS2 Memory Cards that have an SD card adapter build into them. It beats every previous solution.
Wow. Very nice. I was very much into this scene back when it was in its heyday and I was surprised to learn many new things from this. I'll have to dig out my OG fat PS2 and revisit it soon. Thanks! =)
There's another way to load games, modded Memory Card. You can mod-in a SD/microSD adapter to a MC. It's slower than HDD/LAN but a bit faster than built-in USB 1.1. It's called MX4SIO or SIO2SD.
the ps2 was a favourite of mine, I currently own 3, a slim ntsc u/c and j and boxed phat network edition :D and I'm glad because the price is slowly going up for them
You just made me remembered that freemcboot exist and I have a Fan translated iso of PS2 Berserk lurking in one of my external hdd for months now ! Thanks lol !
I still have my PS2 although I haven't played it in yrs nor updated it but this is good
info to consider. Thanx MattKC.
Holly shit, I love your content, and love even more that you are uploading more frequently.
My dad gave me his old PS2 fat years ago, some time after getting the Xbox 360, and it took me until last month to buy the cables to connect it to the TV. I booted it up once, but was so confused by the UI and memory chip setup that I decided to leave it be for the moment. I was looking to buy some cheap low capacity usb sticks for it, but wanted to find out how to use it from the ground up. I ended up clicking this as I'm a sucker for modification, but I'm more confused and excited than ever. Thanks for starting me down the road of absurd PS2 modification and discovery
This is the perfect video for me. Ever since i've started watching your channel i've been wanting to restore my brothers PS2. He got the fat one straight from our uncle in US when it launched. There are two problems. We live in Europe meaning i can't play any game on it from outside the US, and problem two is that it's drive is busted. Back when it happened it was just better to get a new one so i've got a Slim PS2 from my uncle and it still runs, but i really want to get the old beefy one running. I really want to restore the drive and mod it so i can play any game on it. Thanks fro your videos man, they really mean a lot to a guy like me who in the early 2000s played GTA San Andreas in my brothers room on this wonderfull console. I want to re live these nostalgic memories and this is a big help for me!
I forgot Europe switched their standards from 50hz now so I got confused for a second 😆
@@berserker9689 The entire world uses 220Volts/50Hz except USA and Japan, their electrical distribution system is at 110Volts/60Hz.
Thanks for reminding me that I still have two modded PS2s around. Time to check on that PS 1 compatibility.. that actually flew under my radar. As I don´t have a PS1 anymore this comes in handy!
Love my modded PS2. Even got Popstarter working for PS1 games to play in 480p and widescreen. The best
I just watched a video of yours, woo!! Good luck 😃
Great video!