Playstation 2 purchasing advice needed

[The Manimal]

I am aware of the fact that PS2 consoles tend to break a lot. However, with this new PStwo thing coming out later this month, it makes me wonder if I should pick up a PS2 (kind on the market right now) this month while I still can. I've always been told/read that you should buy PS2's NEW and NEW ONLY. Avoid used at all costs. So I'm taking these words into consideration. With the smaller PStwo coming out, prices will drop big-time on used PS2s, and it seems odd to want to rush out and pay $150 for something that is about to tank in price. Any advice? Dig up $150 this month for a PS2 before they are off the shelves or not? Thanks


Also on original Playstation. I own a PSone, but I still want to pick up an original style one. I want to avoid the originals with the A/V jacks altogether, and would like the expansion port in case I would use a Game Shark or something...which would be the second main type. But I don't think the 'dual shock' feature (which I DO want) was added until the third main revision which lost the expansion port.Was there a version that used both the dual shock feature AND had the expansion port on the back? If so, model number? Thanks

[mikeetler]

The dual shock has to do with the controller and the game and has nothing to do with the system itself.

As for the system configurations, the 1001 had RCA type AV ins and came with a digital controller.

The 5501 had no RCA AV ins, had the serial port and included a digital controller.

The 7X01 series had no RCA AV ins, had the serial port and included the dual shock controller

The 9001 had no RCA AV ins, no serial port and included the dual shock controller.

Pretty sure that's the pre-PSOne line-up.

-Mike

[omnedon]

The 50001 PS2's are one of the worst versions yet IMO (version 9). I can't see the PSTwo's possibly being any worse. The version 4 through 8's broke easy, but at least could be fixed.

[sabre2922]

I have a new PS2 50001 online combo pak ver and it works great its quite compared to the older models and plays all my games perfectly even the older scratched PSone games i have and has better DVD playback than the older models I think it to be the more reliable model especially compared with the first few models
I had a launch PS2 and it was still working and had no DRE even after 3 years until i sold it to a friend to get a newer model.

[omnedon]

Tell that to my parts pile.

I repair 10 PS2's a week.

[The Manimal]

So are the 50001's are the ones that are out right now? The ones with the yellow "corner" with the plus on the box?

[omnedon]

Those are them.

[Oobgarm]

What exactly is crap about them? I've had no problems with mine.

[butta]

What exactly is crap about them? I've had no problems with mine.

I'm assuming they're crap because people treat them like shit, and then are surprised they don't work anymore.

[Duncan]

What exactly is crap about them? I've had no problems with mine.

I'm assuming they're crap because people treat them like shit, and then are surprised they don't work anymore.

I'll second that. Mine (a 50k "plus" model with Network Adaptor) works great -- but then, I keep it clean and don't beat the piss out of it.

So does my brother's early-release model (from spring 2001) using the same treatment. It only has problems with certain rental games, which usually turn out -- surprise, surprise! -- to have been abused and beaten.

Amazing what proper care and common sense can do, huh?

[dethink]

so wait...leaving it on the carpet and letting the vents clog with carpet fuzz and dust bunnies is bad???

OH NOES!!!1!

(mine worked flawlessly from launch day up until i sold it a couple months ago)

[Duncan]

so wait...leaving it on the carpet and letting the vents clog with carpet fuzz and dust bunnies is bad???

Only if you don't clean it out with soap and water every couple of months.

[omnedon]

I'd wait for the new one. What do I know?

[Duncan]

I'd wait for the new one. What do I know?

Don't get me wrong, I'll agree that PS2s are crap where reliability is concerned. And your word, to me at least, is worth a lot.

I just think that taking care of something tends to make it work correctly for a lot longer. As another example, my NES dates to 1987 and has not yet needed a pin replacement thanks to semi-regular cleanings (though I'm gonna have to go more in-depth with it soon, methinks).

Omnedon, what tends to be the most common issue with the PS2s you see?

[omnedon]

Umm,

Dirty. Then that can cause slipping gears, misaligned lasers, slipping transport grips, failing eject, weakened spindle cap magnetism, it goes on and on.

Once people open them up themselves it gets even worse. Torn ribbon cables, destroyed ribbon cable snaps, blown IC's, burnt out lasers, broken eject mechanicals, and more.

I'd say your run of the mill DRE is often caused by one of at least 6 different common failures, sometimes more than one at a time. That's why they seem to fail so often, there are many different causes.

When a 50001 laser goes, the PS2 is done. Why they seem to die spontaneously in clean units after 6 months is beyond me.

[bargora]

You might want to look into whether the new PStwo units will have all of the iLink and USB ports that the PS2 has. I thought I had read that the PStwo would not have the iLink capability. That is, if you have any interest at all in setting up system link games.

[Ed Oscuro]

Dirty. Then that can cause slipping gears, misaligned lasers, slipping transport grips, failing eject, weakened spindle cap magnetism, it goes on and on.

Had a friend come over to contemplate buying my FFXI package on t3h cheap (walked out of that deal, which is alright by me since I have a HDD ready to go when I need it...one of these days...) and man, his PS2 was DIRTY on the inside. That's the problem with all these damn systems with fans inside...I can't wait until more systems come out with heatsinks integrated into the case itself (maybe the NeXtBox will finally get around to going full circle with the design concept and sprout booster rockets, too), or some sort of liquid cooled design. Yeah.

On the old PS2 units, which one seems best? O:

[omnedon]

Any PS2 with 8 screw caps total on it's underside (that also is not a 50001) is a decent version.

They all are failure prone though. The version 4 through 8's seem to be the best design, and the ones I prefer to buy to re-sell (and warranty).

[SoulBlazer]

Well, my PS2 has seen heavy use since I got it in early 2002, and I keep it clean and well taken care off, with no problems.

I agree they are prone to failue, but it seems if people actually CARED for their stuff we'd have less problems.

[Ed Oscuro]

Any PS2 with 8 screw caps total on it's underside (that also is not a 50001) is a decent version.

They all are failure prone though. The version 4 through 8's seem to be the best design, and the ones I prefer to buy to re-sell (and warranty).

Thanks! I'll be on the lookout :>