WTB Modded PS2 System

[+wongojack]

I'm looking for one preferably with a SATA HD and all the goodies

[Tea Party]

Where are you located?

 

I’m in the UK and sold off all of my retro consoles and computers just before the lockdown. However I pulled my listing for my personal PS2 as I’d sold everything else that I wanted to and decided to stop shipping stuff. 

It’s a SCPH50003 in great condition with a genuine Sony HDD adapter with SATA conversion and a 250GB SSD (for lack of noise and moving parts)

 

Here’s a paste from my eBay listing:

 

PS2 console. SCPH-500003.

Fully working and in excellent condition.

250GB SSD drive

Genuine Sony PS2 HDD / network adapter with IDE to SATA conversion.

USB > SATA adapter to connect the HDD to your PC to add more games.

Official Dualshock II controller.

Official composite video cable.

3rd party RGB SCART cable.

PS2 to HDMI adapter & power cable.

Official 8MB memory card.

FMCB on official 8MB Sony card. (I recommend you keep this as-is and don't save on it. It's very handy to have if you mess up anything on the SSD)

Power cable.

 

[+wongojack]

 

Thanks for the reply, but I think the UK is a bit far for this

[+save2600]

What are you looking to pay? Have a mint/like new CIB system with the Free McBoot suite, HD Loader, etc. on an official memory card. Network adapter, hard drive... all the goodies. Would have to check the size, but I *think* it's somewhere between 120gb-320gb.

[+wongojack]

Not sure, $200ish?

 

I've done only the slightest amount of research in this area, so I don't know all the details, but I do know there is a way to mod it now so that you can just plug the thing in via usb to add games as opposed to an older way that was a bit harder.  Seems like we've also gotten to a point where like 99% of the games work off the HDD which wasn't always the case.

[skaredmask]

SATA? last I check Ps2's only used IDE types.....

 

While I'll be damned

https://www.ebay.com/itm/372772136533

 

Never realized it used SATA..

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by skaredmask

[emerson]

The original ones do use IDE. You have to be careful with those new pre-built sata adapters because on some of them the ethernet port is just for show and is non-functional. In my opinion, your best bet is to get the bare mod pcb and install it in an original adapter. Either that, or like the OP is doing, buy one that's already complete and tested.

[Tea Party]

There’s basically 3 ways do do it. I’ve used all 3 methods on my PS2’s. 

External USB drive - slowest and has some stuttering issues in some games as USB1.1 isn’t as fast enough but it’s easy to manage adding new games. 

 

SMB network share from computer / NAS which works a lot better than USB but a little fiddly to set up initially and relies on the computer / NAS being available and wired up. The PS2 slim has a built in ethernet port. The PS2 fat only has one with a genuine Sony HDD adapter. 
 

Internal hard drive on PS2 fat works the best, you can install FMCB / OPL directly to the hard drive & don’t need to run it from a memory card. You can’t install a HDD in a slim (well you can but it involves a lot of hacking / soldering).

I’ve found the 3rd party (Gamestar) SATA adapters are buggy - games freeze and some don’t load at all. The original Sony HDD adapter with IDE drive or a SATA conversion kit works best of all. 
However to add new games you need to remove the HDD from the PS2 and connect it to your PC. I use WinHiip to manage games on mine. 

 

 

[+wongojack]

2 hours ago, Tea Party said:

There’s basically 3 ways do do it. I’ve used all 3 methods on my PS2’s. 

External USB drive - slowest and has some stuttering issues in some games as USB1.1 isn’t as fast enough but it’s easy to manage adding new games. 

 

SMB network share from computer / NAS which works a lot better than USB but a little fiddly to set up initially and relies on the computer / NAS being available and wired up. The PS2 slim has a built in ethernet port. The PS2 fat only has one with a genuine Sony HDD adapter. 
 

Internal hard drive on PS2 fat works the best, you can install FMCB / OPL directly to the hard drive & don’t need to run it from a memory card. You can’t install a HDD in a slim (well you can but it involves a lot of hacking / soldering).

I’ve found the 3rd party (Gamestar) SATA adapters are buggy - games freeze and some don’t load at all. The original Sony HDD adapter with IDE drive or a SATA conversion kit works best of all. 
However to add new games you need to remove the HDD from the PS2 and connect it to your PC. I use WinHiip to manage games on mine. 

 

 

Excellent, thank you for the breakdown.

[+wongojack]

TBH, there's a lot of value in someone else just copying files onto the thing.  Learning how to do the mod isn't the part I'm interested in avoiding, its more like the 3 days of finding and copying files.