Possible clone question

[RIUM+]

So, I purchased a new PS2 for Christmas 2006. Silver slimline, came with a modchip already installed. Haven't bothered to check what V it is, but I'll be doing that tonight. The place I purchased it from offers three different kinds of modchips depending on the quality - "clone", "midrange", and "Hi Quality with flashable Bios". Having had a bad run-in with a cheap modchip before, I was willing to fork out the extra money to get the highest quality mod. (The cost of this PS2 was nearly double the normal retail price, given shipping, the modchip, installation fee and 6-month warranty that comes with the hi quality chip).

I never asked specifically what modchip they put in. I know, that was a mistake of mine. It identifies itself on bootup as the Matrix Infinity, running firmware v1.4. The menu's accessible, but if you make any changes it shows a red screen of you not having inserted a valid CD/DVD/game. As such, I'm beginning to suspect they put a clone chip in there instead of the real deal. I'd like to flash it to something newer than 1.4 if it's really a Matrix Infinity, but I'm hesitating in case it's a clone. First thing I'm doing tonight is opening it up and inspecting the chip itself and taking some pictures to put on here, though. :P

So, my question is this. They advertise their chips as clone, midrange and hi quality, implying that the midrange and hi quality mods aren't clones. I purchased the hi quality one. I have a 6-month warranty with just under 5 months left. The hi quality chip they sell is advertised as having a flashable bios, but I was under the impression that clones don't have a flashable bios to reduce costs.

In the case that I open it up and find that I do have a clone and not the real deal, do I have enough of an argument to get my modchip replaced by them with an actual Matrix Infinity, or is it my fault for not inquiring as to what chip they installed originally?

Or should I just act like it's a real MI, flash it, and _then_ complain to them if/when it doesn't flash properly because it's still under their warranty?

[CrystalChip]

If you can live without your PS2 for a while, I would try flashing it then bitch if/when it dies. While technically they don't say it's an original, it should be safe to assume that they mean an original chip. If they offer a warranty, they may be cool about replacing it.

It's a shame that MI has so many problems with clones. Too bad they didn't spend more effort utilizing the ProAsic Plus hardware or it would have been impossible for there to be these types of clones since you can't clone a PAP with a cheap CPLD/ASIC.

[kl1k]

Well if you paid for a hi quality chip and it reads as a MI when it boots up, I'd assume its a original MI. I'd go with flashing it and if it falls over complain like hell.

[tester3000]

After you make the changes try putting the ps2 into standy by holding reset, then turning it off from the back switch then turning it on again.