Please Read Before Ordering/Installing Your Chip

[FahadSaid]

For first time installers and general inquiries on picking a chip or installing it, please read this post:

What Chip to Get

There are three tiers to chip quality: top, medium, and crap.

Top Tier Chips

These chips are the highest quality and offer virtually no problems during their run. They have lots of information on them and are updated regularly.

Crystal Chip - $30 (1.2), $40 (2.0)
Matrix Infinity - $40

Medium Tier Chips

These chips are average in quality, sometimes have problems and have less support than top tier chips.

DMS4 Solder (not EZI) - $55
Mars - $15
Magic ICE - $15
Newer Matrix Infinity clones (FW 1.82+) - $15

Crap Chips

These chips are the lowest quality of all, used in an extreme case if you can get it working or if you're dirt cheap. Expect problems if installed incorrectly or if you get an extremely poor quality chip.

DMS4 EZI - $70
Duo Chips (Magic ICE based) - $15
Older Matrix Infinity Clones (FW 1.39-1.54) - $8
Modbo 4.0 Pro (clone of DMS4 Lite) - price unknown

Good Installation Practices

There are some general guidelines when it comes to PS2 modchip installs:

1. Insulate your chip, top AND bottom. Some people think the plastic shield between the shield and motherboard is enough. It isn't most of the time.

2. Use the proper wire length and type. 30AWG Kynar is necessary for all points but power and ground. 24AWG Kynar is for power and ground points. Length should be kept to a minimum to prevent any interference. Don't think you can get away with a crap install; it'll come back to haunt you later.

3. Have the proper tools. BEFORE opening your PS2, have a #0, #1 and #2 Phillips screwdriver. #2 may be extra, but sometimes it's helpful with big screws. Solder should be roughly thicker than 0.7mm pencil lead. Your soldering iron is the most important tool, without it, you have no hope of doing a good job, or even the job. A Radioshack/The Source Pencil Iron will do if you file it down to a fine point. Any iron/station not exceeding 25 watts is fine, otherwise you risk damaging the traces/pads. Desoldering braid is a must for BIOS legs. Magnification is not helpful in most cases because you tend to lose hand eye coordination. A multimeter is a godsend in some situations, but might not be needed on an install if you know what you're doing.

4. You must have experience. Having the latest soldering equipment but no skill is useless. Practice makes perfect; try soldering, botching and fixing a spare PCB laying around. Once you are confident, you can go ahead and start on your PS2.

5. Safety is a must in anything, soldering is no exception. Have an organized desk, tools in the right place and screws in the order you removed them. If you lose track of what screw goes where, you can take a picture of each stage of the disassembly on a digital camera with the type of screw you removed visible in the photo. When you work on the system, try not to get distracted, stay focused. It's all right if you got burned once in an install, we're all human. Getting burned repeatedly on the same job means you're not doing something right. Also, wash your hands thoroughly after soldering and wear some sort of ventilator mask. Flux fumes aren't fun. I wear disposable gloves and have a charcoal filter mask, but that's being safe.

6. Common sense. Sometimes a manual isn't the most accurate guide. If you're reassembling your PS2 and something doesn't fit right, odds are you misplaced a part. Work backwards and find what you did wrong.

7. Keep it simple. If you find a point on a chip that seems to difficult, don't try it! Remember Murphy's law, "what can go wrong will go wrong if you give it a chance." Try to consult various diagrams to see if they have a common point, and if there's an alternate. A multimeter may help to find an alternate point. Remember that soldering to a pad or via is less prone to problems than a chip leg if done properly.

8. If something goes wrong, don't panic. If you think the chip is at fault, bring the system back to normal without a chip. If it doesn't work then, there may be some solder splashes or bridges. Always post pictures (please, not blurry) of your botchery no matter how bad, we're here to help.

Proper Installation Procedure

- Test the system
- Disassemble
- Solder P,O,N,M,Q,T,U,V,R,W,PWR,GND
- Test the system (ex. disable chip, logo)
- If all good, continue. If not, check your points
- Solder B,G,I,A,H,SCEX,RST/TO,Y/HA
- Test the system with PS1, PS2 CD, PS2 DVD backups
- If all good, reassemble. If not, check points.

Laser Protection

summ0ne's resistor fix - Protects the against overload, but starves the laser for power.
Diode "fix" - Barely does anything to help. Not even worth the two cents it costs to make.
Subzero fix - Great for protecting the laser. Only thing better are PIC fixes.
PIC/Comsoft fix - The best protection available. Nice to know it works because it shuts down the system.

Troubleshooting

Black Screen Of Death (BSOD): Check BIOS points
Red Screen Of Death (RSOD/Insert PS1/PS2 Disc) or Burned discs do not boot: Check CD & DVD and SCEX points
Chip works only on first startup: Check RST point
System acts as if there's no chip: Check PWR, GND and BIOS points. If available, try the install with another chip.
System works when semi-assembled, but not when completely together: Check for pressure on wires/chip

Soldering Checklist

- The connection should be semi-shiny
- Very little exposed wire
- Connection can resist three light tugs
- The iron has no oxide and is semi-shiny
- No visible shorts/bridges
- The iron melts solder fairly instantaneously.

Where to Buy

Foundmy
Mod-Chip.com
Divineo
If possible, locally or in person

[Bootlegninja]

Very nice. I wish I had this when I was installing my chip.

[FahadSaid]

Originally Posted by Bootlegninja

Very nice. I wish I had this when I was installing my chip.

Thanks. I'm constantly updating it every day. I'll add some more stuff later.

[jenko]

The DMS Ezi isnt exactly budget lol it cost like 3x more than the top chips.

[CrystalChip]

Originally Posted by jenko

The DMS Ezi isnt exactly budget lol it cost like 3x more than the top chips.

I think he's suggesting more that DMS4 is a piece of crap rather than cheap, though I agree that this could be a bit more clear. Perhaps breaking them up into quality categories would be more appropriate and listing approximations on prices?

[FahadSaid]

Originally Posted by CrystalChip

I think he's suggesting more that DMS4 is a piece of crap rather than cheap, though I agree that this could be a bit more clear. Perhaps breaking them up into quality categories would be more appropriate and listing approximations on prices?

Already taken care of.

[CrystalChip]

Originally Posted by FahadSaid

Already taken care of.

I love the categories!

[gamecubesuxs]

I thought the duo3 gold was descent, dunno why its in the crap section

[FahadSaid]

Originally Posted by gamecubesuxs

I thought the duo3 gold was descent, dunno why its in the crap section

It's believed to be a MI clone, but a new one, so it's average. I'm talking about the Magic ICE based Duo chips.

[gamecubesuxs]

Originally Posted by FahadSaid

It's believed to be a MI clone, but a new one, so it's average. I'm talking about the Magic ICE based Duo chips.

yes but you have magic ice chips in the medium section though, and to me the duo2 and duos are the same thing and worked the same.

[masterchris16]

Perfect guide FahadSaid, just the one my bother needed before installing a Matrix infinity.

[FahadSaid]

Originally Posted by gamecubesuxs

yes but you have magic ice chips in the medium section though, and to me the duo2 and duos are the same thing and worked the same.

Duo's are Magic ICE based, meaning they derived the chip from it. They have no DEV1.

[spedmetal]

Originally Posted by FahadSaid

Duo's are Magic ICE based, meaning they derived the chip from it. They have no DEV1.

Well if you are basing your methods on this, then would the Duo3 Gold be a medium tier chip? It is a MI clone (unconfirmed but very likely) with Dev1 only.

A lot of your guide is very good and accurate I disagree with this part though.

Proper Installation Procedure

- Test the system
- Disassemble
- Solder P,O,N,M,Q,T,U,V,R,W,PWR,GND
- Test the system (ex. disable chip, logo)
- If all good, continue. If not, check your points
- Solder B,G,I,A,H,SCEX,RST/TO,Y/HA
- Test the system with PS1, PS2 CD, PS2 DVD backups
- If all good, reassemble. If not, check points.

I guess for a beginner it is a good idea to break up the install into segments. Nice work overall.

[moto620]

lol @ duo = crap chips. I've installed hundereds of them for years and not one of them has died or given anyone any problems. They're great chips.