SCPH-101 PSone MM3 modchip installation (PM-41 NTSC board)

William Quade on April 30, 2017

There are several ways to play game backups on the original PlayStation. One common method involves swapping a genuine disc for a backup disc while the system is running. Another method is to install a modchip that allows the PlayStation to boot directly to backups. This is a guide for PSone MM3 modchip installation.

An MM3 modchip will allow you to play your game backups, as well as games from other regions. You can get an MM3 chip for fairly cheap at around $4-10, I got mine from a US seller on eBay preprogrammed and prewired for $8 shipped. [Read More]

SCPH-101 PSone project introduction

William Quade on April 30, 2017

In late 1995 Sony released their very first entry into the video game console market, the PlayStation. The PlayStation would go on to sell over 102 million units, making it one of the best selling video game consoles of all time, only being outsold by its successor, the PlayStation 2. At $299 the console was priced at $100 less than is main competitor at the time, the Sega Saturn. Later in late 2000 Sony began selling a slimmer version of the PS1 called the PSone, this is the start to a series of posts covering my SCPH-101 PSone project. [Read More]

Original Xbox TSOP flashing guide

William Quade on April 23, 2017

There are two types of mods you can do to run homebrew on your original Xbox. The first, and easiest method is a softmod. The second method is a hardmod, which requires a physical hardware modification. A softmod is useful, but doing things like replacing your hard drive is much more difficult than with a hardmodded system. This is a guide on how to hardmod an original Xbox through the Xbox TSOP flash chip.

The original Xbox has a small EEPROM chip on the motherboard in a TSOP package.This chip acts as the BIOS of the original Xbox. Basic hardware initialization code is executed from the BIOS every time the Xbox boots. By flashing the BIOS with an aftermarket BIOS you’ll be able to unlock additional functionality that the Xbox is capable of. Some features include booting from homebrew disks, using unlocked hard drives, and upgrading RAM. [Read More]

Installing a PC heatsink onto an Xbox 360

William Quade on April 10, 2017

In a previous post I wrote about the many heatsink options for the fat Xbox 360 consoles. I focused on the official heatsinks that Microsoft used. I was able to improve temperatures using newer heatsinks, but I still wanted to look into better cooling options. In this post I’ll be covering installing a PC heatsink onto an Xbox 360.

Things you’ll need

Here’s a list of items you’ll need for installing a PC heatsink onto an Xbox 360.

  • A spare Xenon Xbox 360 CPU heatsink
  • A spare Falcon Xbox 360 CPU heatsink
  • Arctic Alumina thermal adhesive
  • Dremel
  • Pliers
  • Clamp
  • Cooler Master Hyper TX3 heatsink
  • Thermal paste
  • Tape
  • 80mm fan
  • Soldering iron and solder

Those items are specifically for the final mod that I ended up with. I used the Xenon CPU heatsink for the mount of the new CPU heatsink, and the Hyper TX3 for the heatsink itself. You can make your own mount, or use any other PC heatsink as long as it fits. [Read More]

Xbox 360 heatsink options, cooling upgrades

William Quade on March 31, 2017

After making my fat PS3 nearly silent, I wanted to make my Xenon Xbox 360 as quiet as possible. Right now I’m in the process of attaching a computer heatsink to my console, but before I write about that, I should probably write about all of the Xbox 360 heatsink options.

Xbox 360 revisions, and their heatsinks

Microsoft’s first Xbox 360 revision was called Xenon. It featured a very short, but long and deep aluminum fin heatsink on top of the graphics chip. On the processor there was a beefier heatsink with a copper baseplate, heat pipes, and many aluminum fins. [Read More]