N00b needing advice regarding my options with a new SCPH-90004.

I've just got myself a SCPH-90004 and I've tried to do some research as for what I can do with it. I'm only interested in playing PS2/PSX game backups.

What I THINK I can do:

Get Swap Magic Coder 3.8
Use Swap Magic to install uLaunch and ESR on my PS2 via a USB HDD or a memory card.
Patch backup ISOs with ESR and burn them with IMGburn.
Pop the burnt disc into my PS2 and play without any further Swap Magic use.

Is that all I need to do?

And as far as I know, always using solely Swap Magic to play games would tear on some parts and eventually break them.
Or using a USB HDD for games will cause increased load times and stuttering FMVs due to lower speed than using burnt discs.

Is that also correct?

You can't install ULE or ESR unless your console's date code is 8A or 8B . For 8C and later you can launch apps with Swap Magic . For ESR you swap discs every time , for OPL you don't have to. But if you also want PSX games then better install a modchip

Alright. I can't seem to deduce the date code from anywhere on the box. But I assume it would be 8C since I just bought it in a store today. I've yet to open it in case I decide to return it.

Missing out on PSX games is not a big deal.

But if I have to swap discs every time with ESR, then I don't get the difference between that and just using solely Swap Magic, which I assume still works fine if I have 8C?
Is there any other option with Swap Magic that would take the strain off the tray assuming I have an 8C model?

You would be able to run homebrew on SwapMagic.

You could then use OPL to run games off a usb hard drive or off smb network.
You'd only need ESR if the game were not compatible with OPL.

Okay, thanks for the info.

I think I'll try both the Swap Magic and OPL+HDD methods to see which I prefer.

If they're both too awkward I guess I'll just send it in to get it chipped.

What's so awkward about installing your games to a HDD? You won't void your warranty, you'll be able to run a still-developing program, compatibility with many games (not all, but the developers are slowly starting to make more games compatible) and it's customizable.

I'd say read the OPL threads and see what I'm talking about. I'd also like to ask dlanor to come in and explain the benefits further since I know he is running this setup on one of his consoles.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TehJawknee

What's so awkward about installing your games to a HDD?

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My worries about that are what I addressed in my first post, increased load times and stuttering FMV.
Sound like that could be quite annoying in FMV-heavy games like Final Fantasy.
Bear in mind that I'm only going on what I've heard, I've never used a PS2 with any of these mods/etc myself.

Though it's true that there is stutter on most videos using SMB, most games via usb have worked okay. As for video heavy games, I'm sure OPL eventually will have better support since it is being worked on.

I wouldn't recommend it for older programs, but for one still in development the option is there. I'm just telling you because with as much stuff available for the PS2, modchips are just about obsolete.

The only reason you would get a modchip is to play PS1 backups. If you really want to use discs, you use ESR. All you do is launch uLE from Swap Magic and launch ESR. You won't scratch up your original games, you won't screw up your console because of swapping while the disc is spinning, and you have the option of running your other games via usb or smb.

As I said, the modchip is only an option if you really want to just spend more money. Hell, if I had known about FMCB when I was going to get my console modified, I'd have just asked for the HDD expansion and not the chip.

Edit: I don't know about running PS1 backups, but I think there's a PSX loader elf that allows you to do that, too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TehJawknee

If you really want to use discs, you use ESR. All you do is launch uLE from Swap Magic and launch ESR. You won't scratch up your original games, you won't screw up your console because of swapping while the disc is spinning, and you have the option of running your other games via usb or smb.

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flo pointed out that I won't be able to use uLaunch or ESR with an 8C or later model, which I'm guessing I'm stuck with.

I don't really see either how further development would fix the video stutter.
As far as I know this is purely a hardware issue. The old USB standard doesn't support a high enough speed to compare to the disc reading speed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DangerMouse

flo pointed out that I won't be able to use uLaunch or ESR with an 8C or later model, which I'm guessing I'm stuck with.

I don't really see either how further development would fix the video stutter.
As far as I know this is purely a hardware issue. The old USB standard doesn't support a high enough speed to compare to the disc reading speed.

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No, what he meant is you won't be able to use FMCB, which is a PS2 softmod that allows users with older models to run these applications off a memory card. You can still run homebrew via swap magic, just not FMCB. This is why I want dlanor to come by and explain this, he has a newer model and uses Swap magic, I think, to run uLE which lets you launch other apps.

As for video stutter, the developers are working on a way to fix it so you can play the games from smb (samba share network instead of usb) with little to no stutter. It's just as fast as the dvd, but since they're still working on function, the video has to wait for now.