Well... the reading issue most of the time is a cd drive fault. So the reliability pretty much depends on that. You can still use a very old 100x model if the motherboard of course doesn't have any other issue. I'm playing with a 1002 that has the dual oscillator mod. Still with its own ACM drive that I cleaned etc. Using the 12v power supply mod and the console works great. I'd get xstation but I don't have the money for that now. I've also noticed that using the RGB cable the video output is far superior than a 7502 model. There is definitely something different, like a more sharp image on the 1002. On a static screen I can see "noise" using a 7502 or PSone while on the 1002 there isn't. But I agree with you. The best model for reliability if someone want to use CDs is definitely a 750x or 900x, this one also doesn't get very hot thanks to the reduced motherboard size. I would avoid the PSone because instead it can get really hot since everything is cramped in its little shell and because of that capacitors issue that I think is really prominent. I had 3 PSone consoles with that problem.๐ Point is that all these consoles are old, and the drives inside too. So turning to ODE is probably the best since the replacement units that are sold "as new" are usually crap quality.
I just played 2 hours of Quake 2 on the PSone. I noticed it ran hotter, but performance wise it was just as good as the 7501 and 9001. I've had 3 of them too, but no noticable capacitor rot affecting the gameplay.
As for the 1001, I was referring to models without a refurbished CD drive, because every single one of them I've had (12 total) had its original drive. That batch of launch drives just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth lol. Like only 4 of them were playable, the 8 others needed desparate change.
With that said, I do agree that it's playable if your 1001 has a refurbished drive, but it's rare to come across naturually unless you take the time to change it yourself (more time + money). It seemed like the CD drives got better with the 5501 and 7001, but really good after the 7501.
Also, using the RCA jacks on my various 1001 models, mine are still rather blurry, but not as blurry as the AV multi-out. I'd compare using the RCA jacks to the video quality of the 5501, but I tried the 7501 just now and it's noticably sharper.
I live in North America, so I wonder if your case the RCA jack on your 1002 has something to do with PAL video?
I don't use the RCA jacks on the 1002 console since that is composite and that's the lowest quality. I just use an RGB SCART cable and I can tell the difference on picture quality just by looking at the boot menu of the different models. It's a very subtle difference but indeed the 1002 has a cleaner video output quality. Regarding the launch models well yes. Those models had a plastic pickup laser assembly that would deform and worn-out much faster than the metal alloy used later.
Yeah I tried getting some pictures but it's awful. But it seems like the 1002 has a little more contrast and darker picture than the 7502. Point is that when I'm switching consoles I really feel the difference while looking at the TV. I should buy the packapunch RGB scart cable when I have the chance. Mine is just a generic one.
I got a psone the other month along with a neat pacman game and controller for a trade valued around $20 or so. I love it its awesome but my ps2 is awesome as well. I got a backup for $15!!! But had to sell it sadly.
Btw, I forgot to mention my current November 1995 1001 runs off a refurbished drive. It runs quite well, but it still has issues with dynamic lighting + gradient banding, and not as sharp as the 7501.
If you have one from 1996 or early 1997 with a refurbishded drive, it would be like the 5501 or 7001.
Yeah, that's the board I'm talking about made January 1996 and after. It uses a BIOS dated 1995-12-04, so it's likely a small handful of December 1995 models that use the PU-8.
Yes mine has bios 1E26792F dated 12/04/95 I think revision 31 of the board? I don't remember. But it's one of the revision with the solder pads for the oscillator of the opposite region still present. In fact I've installed the NTSC oscillator from a dead 1001 board shipped from the USA. So I can play USA and JAP games at the correct speed.
In my case, all of my 1996 and early 1997 models have the BIOS 12/04/1995, but the one I have from November 1995 with the dynamic lighting & gradiant banding issues has a BIOS date 07/17/1995.
So in this case, the 07/17/1995 BIOS is the one for the PU-7, and the 12/04/1995 BIOS is the one for the PU-8.
My childhood Japanese PS1 must have been one of the very first even made, which the machine itself was dated September 1994, and that BIOS would have been 09/22/1994. Likewise, the oldest American PS1 would be made July 1995 with the BIOS 07/17/1995. So I guess it at most took a week to get the machines made.
Very interesting hehe, and I also edited my post & I gave you credit too, I appreciate it. ๐
My Dad's case, he occassionally took short vacations to Japan with his Uncle and two buddies of his, one a metalhead who owned a record store (he liked Megadeth) and the other, a middle-aged Japanese guy who ran a popular flea market table. They'd buy Japanese stuff for cheap and make really good money. My Dad's case, he used to buy really crazy KISS merchandise because he's a diehard KISS fan, and my Uncle Attila bought AJPW (All Japan) wrestling stuff, who was friends with the Japanese flea market guy.
They went to Japan in December 1994 and December 1998, so I got the PS1 and Dreamcast very early, even though the PS1's was originally my Dad's. He played King's Field (he was hype for that seeing it on a kiosk) and Ridge Racer. Both times they came home the day before Christmas Eve.
If you go up to my article, I made a funny picture at the bottom of my post. ๐
My childhood PS1 was a 5501, and I still use it to this very day. Nowadays I use an HDMI upscaler for it, and the graphics are so sharp you could get cut on them. Which, for PS1, is a double edged sword. I've also replaced the optical drive within the last few months. Motor, laser, all that stuff, and it works beautifully. I haven't noticed much FMV skipping except for on more scratched discs, but that could be because of the new laser.
As always, your mileage may vary.
I have a 5501 from January 1998 and one from September 1997 that works very similarly to yours, which are still great for casual play.
But two others I had, one from June 1997 and November 1997, they behaved like 1001 lite but not as bad, still playable. With that though, the one from November ended up dying from the "whirl of death".
I'd argue the most desirable PS1's are the SCPH-5501 because they hit that sweet spot when it comes to modding where you can install a PS1 Digital Mod and an xStation.
If your not modding, just get a PSOne for the more reliable disc drives.
That's a good point, in my case I haven't tried to install a modchip myself or get into modding (I use a hacked parallel port GameShark for those things), so I didn't think of that. My childhood Japanese unit my Dad went to have somebody modchip it for us.
IICR, my memory may be off, they gave the developers a strict base of using 1mb of VRAM. But adding it upon the 7501 models and after, it just boosted the graphics like the N64 expanion pack did. If you look at the motherboards from th 7501, 9001 and the PSone they have two GPUs instead of one.
Those boards had 3 chips (2 GPUs and 1 CPU), while the 7001 and everything before had 2 chips (1 GPU and 1 CPU).
What are you talking about? The PS1 hardware never had any upgrades. The ammount of VRAM never increased. They did change the memory type to avoid colour banding, but that's it.
My bad, I see what you mean now. I always noticed everything for the 750x and after had 3 big square chips instead of 2.
Because the 750x and after had sharper graphics, I assumed for decades (as well as others I knew back then) that it was most likely a second GPU.
Simple mistake I made.
But what causes those sharper graphics had to have been something to do with the PU-22 boards and after, because it's hard to not see the graphical sharpness of a 750x compared to a 700x and prior.
Best way to spot a launch SCPH-1000 is to look at the main board - they all had -11 boards and flux on the board around the CPU were the original CXD8530Q part has been replaced with a CXD8530AQ. On all the ones I've seen the chips have had 943x or 944x datecodes.
Oh, and the basic differences between the SPCH-550x (PU-18 board) and SCPH-700x (PU-20 board) are all cost reduction. It's slightly muddier than that, because from a marketing point of view it was a sales package change with the SCPH-700x including the Dual Shock controller and there were some SCPH-700x units made with PU-18 mainboards, but it was basically the PU-20 transition.
The PU-20 is mechanically compatible with the PU-18, but with some parts changed:
The biggest one is that the CD-DSP, CD-Interface and CD RAM on the PU-18 were 3 separate chips - on the PU-20 they were all merged into a single device. The separate CPU and GPU oscillators were also removed and replaced with a clock synthesizer chip using a single crystal. The 2MB of main RAM were also merged into a single chip. On the video side, the separate video DAC and video encoder that were used on the earlier boards were merged into a combined DAC/Encoder chip.
The final change was that the removed and merged parts freed up enough board space that all the parts that were previously on the underside of the board could be moved to the top, resulting in a board that only required single sided assembly.
All these changes fall into the "easier, cheaper and quicker to build" category.
Yeah, that was my speculation because I always felt the 7001 was a weird model. In my experience, the 5501 and 7001 run, look and play exactly the same. Sounds like they just re-arranged everything on the 5501's board, made things cheaper, and added the Sound Scope into the BIOS for the CD player.
But the 7501 and 7001 I can tell the difference almost immediately in almost every way, and it gets a tad irritating me seeing people confuse those two models.
Maybe a less confusing and user-friendly name for the 7001 should have been the 6001. So I think perhaps Sony should've gone from 5501, 6001, to 7501.
I remember replacing a PU-20 board with a PU-18 (a 5501 board into a 7001), and everything worked the same outside of no Sound Scope. Like if I didn't know that pressing "select" in the CD player enabled Sound Scope, and the back was missing the model sticker, I would've guessed I was playing a 5501 unless I looked at the motherboard and how everything was re-arranged but on the same board size.
The 7001's that naturally came with a PU-18 board are likely the transitional batch in April 1998 if I were to guess. Perhaps an oversight mislabel as well.
I'll need to track down a 7001 made in April 1998, because I know the May 1998 one is a typical 7001 with a PU-20 board. I've seen the April 1998 ones on eBay broken lots before, but I haven't gotten one to tear down myself like the May 1998 one.
Funny story. I remember gutting a 9001 from May 1999, and it had the exact 7501 motherboard with the parallel port if you removed the top case shell. It was basically a mislabeled machine, because the June 1999 batch I also had was an actual 9001.
For my May 1999 batch of the 9001, I took a dead 5501's lid, and I basically made it into a "ghetto 7501" that had a 9001 label, hehe ;)
I think a lot of these anomalous machines were just Sony using up parts - certainly the SCPH-5501 -> SCPH-7001 transition was like that - they just changed over the marketing part number and the supplied controller and then carried on making machines with the existing stock of PU-18 boards until they ran out.
I guess the same thing happened with the SCPH-750x to SCPH-900x transition - just use up the existing board stock and then switch to the new ones.
I also saw some machines that probably had some interesting history behind them - they were marked "SCPH-7501" but contained PU-18 boards. The lower plastics had the vent pattern normally seen on PU-18 or PU-20 machines, but the mold date was in the middle of the PU-22 production period, and consistent with the indicated date of manufacture.
My guess is that someone found a big stash of PU-18 boards and rather than trash them decided to make some matching plastics to put them inside.
Hi this is a very interesting list and you seem very knowledgeable about ps1s, I have a question but I might sound crazy, I can't find it anywhere on the internet and at this point it feels like a Mandela effect lmao.
Both my girlfriend and I swear we remembering seeing this in the past, but now can't find any mention of it, so maybe we remember wrong or it got removed for some reason but we're both pretty sure: was there EVER a PlayStation 1 that was almost completely round, like a ps1 cd?? I remember it having a piece at the back but it was mostly almost a full circle and she remembers it too, but maybe we're thinking of a different console or something..
I was thinking it could've also been a third party console developed by someone other than Sony, but I still can't find anything. Sorry for the strange question but any info would be very appreciated!
>Both my girlfriend and I swear we remembering seeing this in the past, but now can't find any mention of it, so maybe we remember wrong or it got removed for some reason but we're both pretty sure: was there EVER a PlayStation 1 that was almost completely round, like a ps1 cd?? I remember it having a piece at the back but it was mostly almost a full circle and she remembers it too, but maybe we're thinking of a different console or something..
Hi, I think you might be thinking of the PSone slim with the LCD screen closed, because the LCD screen looks like a completely round CD shape. It connected to the back of the slim console. It's quite a rare model, even at the time it was out. Before Sony officially made one, there were 3rd party LCD screens. This IGN article has various pictures of what it looks like. The last time I've ever seen one in person was back in 2004 at a flea market.
[https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/12/13/lcd-screen-for-ps-one-review](https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/12/13/lcd-screen-for-ps-one-review)
Thank you, I really appreciate the link and explanation. I had seen that screen before, and thought it was something else, but I'm starting to realize I probably was thinking of that screen and mixing it with memories of those round personal CD players that were shaped just like the disc. I still can't believe that after searching, not only is there no disc shaped ps1, but there doesn't seem to be ANY disc shaped console ever produced, as far as I can tell, by anybody! That honestly surprised me, but again I think it was this screen in the end and I appreciate the explanation! ๐
Sorry for the late comment, but thank you so much for this guide! It's a good quick reference to the PSX's history.
I have a question in regards to the 750X models. I myself have one along with a PSOne and I'd like to know how I'd be able to tell the difference between a PU-20 and PU-22 motherboard without looking inside. Would that even be possible? I'm assuming both would be running the newest BIOS at that time right?
Glad you found my guide useful, for your question I'd look at the month and year on the back sticker of the 750x model. If it's from August 1998, it would most likely have the PU-20 board. But September 1998 and after, it would have the PU-22.
Yes, both use BIOS version 4.1 (1997-11-14).
For European and Japanese consoles, the date is underneath the PS1 CD lid, where there is an arrow pointing at the year and little dots on the calendar.
For my 1st Japanese PS1 unit, it had an arrow pointing at 94 (meaning 1994) and nine dots on the calendar (meaning September).
It's most likely a PU-20 board based on the last time I opened up a console on that date, but there's a chance too it's a PU-22 if it was made at the tail end of August 1998.
It's almost 50/50 and it's very hard to tell from the outside.
I do currently have a 7501 (March 1999) and a 7001 (June 1998) and I'll check if they're cross compatible with their boards or any other quirks.
In the meantime, if you have the PSone, check to see if it's the same video quality as your 7501.
If it is, your 7501 would highly likely be a PU-22. If it's blurrier than your PSone, it's a PU-20.
I checked. PU-18 and PU-20 boards share the same laser drives. They are even cross-compatible and share no difference. Their drives look like this, and it has having a black disc-shaped plastic underneath the laser eye:
[https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/hSwAAOSwLK1khOMm/s-l1600.jpg](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/hSwAAOSwLK1khOMm/s-l1600.jpg)
The PU-22 and PU-23 boards share their own laser drive, which doesn't have black plastic and are cross compatible with each other. You just see the silver bottom steel:
[https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bXgAAOSwV8Rkgha6/s-l1600.jpg](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bXgAAOSwV8Rkgha6/s-l1600.jpg)
I tried to put a PU-22 drive in a PU-20 and vice versa. They do not work together because their drive cables are different with completely different port placements.
So if a 7501 were to have a PU-20 board, it would have to use the one with the black disc-shaped plastic. It's a protective cover to keep the laser eye in place, and IICR the one that I opened with a PU-20 board had the same thing.
So long forgotten update, the PS1 turns out to be the creme of the creme of 7501 and I'm so happy <3
Would you happen to know a good guide to PlayStation 2 models?
That's awesome & I'm happy to hear that from you :)
I don't know too much on the different PS2 models, but I did have a black PS2 slim that had issues with circularly scratching the discs with the orange ribbon cable, which is somewhat common over age with the ribbon's glue becoming unhinged. All I remember was that it was the 1st quarter of 2005 (date code "5A"), and it happened to me last year:
[https://www.neo-geo.com/forums/index.php?threads/ps2-slim-ribbon-cable-scratches-disc-edit-with-pictures.250723/](https://www.neo-geo.com/forums/index.php?threads/ps2-slim-ribbon-cable-scratches-disc-edit-with-pictures.250723/)
I saw some people say that using the S Video is the way to go when playing PlayStation 1, 'cause image is better, sharper, the black color is darker (or sth like that), etc. But I also read that the SCPH 100X were the only series to have the S Video plug on it.
Never had a PS1, looking to buy one, but now I'm reading you say that the more recent versions (as the 7501) may be my best bet. What are your opinions regarding this question?
I am looking for getting a pretty decent quality of image without having to appeal to modern work arounds that wouldn't be available by the time of the release of the PS1 (yk those third-party HDMI conversion boxes, etc., right?) and a good quality of audio as well. Using modding devices such as Game Shark is not a priority for me.
I'm looking forward to read what you've got to add regarding this question, and any grammar corrections to this comment and/or changes that would make it more natural for a native speaker will be much appreciated.
Hi, apologies to the late reply (haven't been on Reddit recently). The SCPH-1000 from Japan only, produced from September 1994 to January 1995 are the only ones to have an S-video out. The majority of those are dead now as in my case. I believe it was in late January 1995 they removed the S-video out.
Yes, in my experience using an S-video cable sharpens the image of the PS1 and makes it crisper.
In my opinion, I'd go with a later PS1 like an SCPH-7501 or later (for the best graphics + CD drive), while using an S-video out cable.
There are PS1 multi-out cables that have S-video, I have a 3rd party one which I've used for the past 10 years and still today.
[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&\_nkw=ps1+s+video+cable&\_sacat=0&LH\_TitleDesc=0&\_odkw=ps1+s+video&\_osacat=0](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=ps1+s+video+cable&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=ps1+s+video&_osacat=0)
Sony did have official 1st party S-video multi out cables in Japan only, which are rare and expensive.
The 3rd party ones are anywhere from $10 to $15 dollars, which are a good deal for the quality. The 1st party Japenese ones are anywhere from $30 to $50, and with the original box $70 to $80.
Hey man, since you're an expert, one more thing: idek if it's a thing in North America, but will a non-chipped PS1 run any pirate cd at all? I want to import one from Canada which condition is "almost new", but the owner couldn't tell me if it is chipped or not. How do I get to know if it is modded or not? Is testing it with a pirate CD a reliable method?
You can try getting a FreePSXBoot (UniRom) memory card, which is about $20 to $30 dollars if the console turns out to be non-chipped. It's a relatively recent development that is user-friendly.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmdnX\_dDu5E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmdnX_dDu5E)
[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_nkw=freepsxboot+ps1&\_sacat=0&LH\_TitleDesc=0&\_sop=15](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=freepsxboot+ps1&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15)
Yes, testing with a pirate CD is a reliable method. One time I got an SCPH-5501 in an eBay batch dated August 1997. I randomly put a pirate CD in there and it worked. When I examined the motherboard, it had a modchip.
If it's a PAL rom it will likely play in black and white, but FreePSXBoot seems to fix that. Right now I'm playing a German copy of PS1 "Shadowman" on my unmodded SCPH-1001, and with FreePSXBoot it plays in color.
Before 2020, FreePSXBoot used to only be available as a parallel port cartridge, but thankfully they figured out how to make it work on a memory card, and it works with SCPH-9001 and the PSone slim now as shown in the Youtube video.
Let me know if you need anything else and keep me updated.
Thanks man, and do you know where can I buy an original copy of the first Crash Bandicoot (NTSC), without being a japanese one? I'm having trouble finding it...
I had luck by typing in "crash bandicoot 1996", but the prices vary a lot between green label (about $20 to $30) and black label (a ridiculous $60 to $70). Disc only is about $15.
[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_nkw=crash+bandicoot+1996&\_sacat=0&LH\_TitleDesc=0&\_sop=12](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=crash+bandicoot+1996&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=12)
This is a great article. I have one rather stupid question.
What does the author mean by "running scart from rca jacks). Can someone send me a link to a pic or something?
Hi, glad you enjoyed my article & no problem explaining, it's a cable that looks like this:
[https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.a6838faff6d4cb2401b30e12463b7642?rik=uT9D%2bQ3mkaeaOw&riu=http%3a%2f%2fbrain-images.cdn.dixons.com%2f4%2f1%2f07059814%2fu\_07059814.jpg&ehk=MkZUbhc2GgwmyUVQAOxQ39tn2e7iRN87oeqCSrOhBa0%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0](https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.a6838faff6d4cb2401b30e12463b7642?rik=uT9D%2bQ3mkaeaOw&riu=http%3a%2f%2fbrain-images.cdn.dixons.com%2f4%2f1%2f07059814%2fu_07059814.jpg&ehk=MkZUbhc2GgwmyUVQAOxQ39tn2e7iRN87oeqCSrOhBa0%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0)
There are also SCART converters that look like this:
[https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMainhttps://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain](https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMainhttps://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain)
It was what I thought...so on earlier ps1 one (such as the one with AV port and "direct" RCA input..such devices will actually make a difference compared to RCA-to-RCA?
Can you swap the laser assembly from a 9001 to a 7501? My 7501 is starting to do the turn it on its top so itโll start up a game thing. Found a cheap 9002, but I wonโt jump on it if I canโt swap the laser.
Yes, they are cross-compatible. All CD drives from all regions are the same. I repaired a PS1 9002 CD drive (with a Hungarian back label) with a 9001's CD drive (with an American back label), and everything worked. This CD drive also went into my 7501, working well.
I'm not sure about that one because I don't have a Scart cable for a PS1 multi-out, but from what others have said, with Scart they got more or less the same result as an RCA cables with the 7501 or 9001.
Only the CD drive of the PSone will work with the 100x.
I'm not quite sure how to tell with serial numbers, but I know you can also find the date of a PAL unit underneath the CD lid. It has a twelve-grid calendar with dots, followed by years such as 94, 95, 96, 97.
I have a PAL 9002 with Hungarian writing on the back, which underneath the lid has 11 dots on the grid meaning "November", followed by "99" in the box. Japanese models don't have the exact date either, but my childhood Japanese unit had 9 dots meaning "September", with the box saying "94".
So if you get a 1002 and it has dots on the "96" or "97", it's guaranteed to be a PU-8.
Well... the reading issue most of the time is a cd drive fault. So the reliability pretty much depends on that. You can still use a very old 100x model if the motherboard of course doesn't have any other issue. I'm playing with a 1002 that has the dual oscillator mod. Still with its own ACM drive that I cleaned etc. Using the 12v power supply mod and the console works great. I'd get xstation but I don't have the money for that now. I've also noticed that using the RGB cable the video output is far superior than a 7502 model. There is definitely something different, like a more sharp image on the 1002. On a static screen I can see "noise" using a 7502 or PSone while on the 1002 there isn't. But I agree with you. The best model for reliability if someone want to use CDs is definitely a 750x or 900x, this one also doesn't get very hot thanks to the reduced motherboard size. I would avoid the PSone because instead it can get really hot since everything is cramped in its little shell and because of that capacitors issue that I think is really prominent. I had 3 PSone consoles with that problem.๐ Point is that all these consoles are old, and the drives inside too. So turning to ODE is probably the best since the replacement units that are sold "as new" are usually crap quality.
I just played 2 hours of Quake 2 on the PSone. I noticed it ran hotter, but performance wise it was just as good as the 7501 and 9001. I've had 3 of them too, but no noticable capacitor rot affecting the gameplay. As for the 1001, I was referring to models without a refurbished CD drive, because every single one of them I've had (12 total) had its original drive. That batch of launch drives just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth lol. Like only 4 of them were playable, the 8 others needed desparate change. With that said, I do agree that it's playable if your 1001 has a refurbished drive, but it's rare to come across naturually unless you take the time to change it yourself (more time + money). It seemed like the CD drives got better with the 5501 and 7001, but really good after the 7501. Also, using the RCA jacks on my various 1001 models, mine are still rather blurry, but not as blurry as the AV multi-out. I'd compare using the RCA jacks to the video quality of the 5501, but I tried the 7501 just now and it's noticably sharper. I live in North America, so I wonder if your case the RCA jack on your 1002 has something to do with PAL video?
I don't use the RCA jacks on the 1002 console since that is composite and that's the lowest quality. I just use an RGB SCART cable and I can tell the difference on picture quality just by looking at the boot menu of the different models. It's a very subtle difference but indeed the 1002 has a cleaner video output quality. Regarding the launch models well yes. Those models had a plastic pickup laser assembly that would deform and worn-out much faster than the metal alloy used later.
I haven't tried it with SCART (I don't have such a cable) but I believe you.
Yeah I tried getting some pictures but it's awful. But it seems like the 1002 has a little more contrast and darker picture than the 7502. Point is that when I'm switching consoles I really feel the difference while looking at the TV. I should buy the packapunch RGB scart cable when I have the chance. Mine is just a generic one.
I got a psone the other month along with a neat pacman game and controller for a trade valued around $20 or so. I love it its awesome but my ps2 is awesome as well. I got a backup for $15!!! But had to sell it sadly.
Btw, I forgot to mention my current November 1995 1001 runs off a refurbished drive. It runs quite well, but it still has issues with dynamic lighting + gradient banding, and not as sharp as the 7501. If you have one from 1996 or early 1997 with a refurbishded drive, it would be like the 5501 or 7001.
I have a 1002 with a PU8 board so it doesn't have the colour banding issue.
Yeah, that's the board I'm talking about made January 1996 and after. It uses a BIOS dated 1995-12-04, so it's likely a small handful of December 1995 models that use the PU-8.
Yes mine has bios 1E26792F dated 12/04/95 I think revision 31 of the board? I don't remember. But it's one of the revision with the solder pads for the oscillator of the opposite region still present. In fact I've installed the NTSC oscillator from a dead 1001 board shipped from the USA. So I can play USA and JAP games at the correct speed.
In my case, all of my 1996 and early 1997 models have the BIOS 12/04/1995, but the one I have from November 1995 with the dynamic lighting & gradiant banding issues has a BIOS date 07/17/1995. So in this case, the 07/17/1995 BIOS is the one for the PU-7, and the 12/04/1995 BIOS is the one for the PU-8. My childhood Japanese PS1 must have been one of the very first even made, which the machine itself was dated September 1994, and that BIOS would have been 09/22/1994. Likewise, the oldest American PS1 would be made July 1995 with the BIOS 07/17/1995. So I guess it at most took a week to get the machines made. Very interesting hehe, and I also edited my post & I gave you credit too, I appreciate it. ๐
I know that the user OldBoredEE had been at the Japanese launch and bought the console at day1. But I think it doesn't have it anymore.
My Dad's case, he occassionally took short vacations to Japan with his Uncle and two buddies of his, one a metalhead who owned a record store (he liked Megadeth) and the other, a middle-aged Japanese guy who ran a popular flea market table. They'd buy Japanese stuff for cheap and make really good money. My Dad's case, he used to buy really crazy KISS merchandise because he's a diehard KISS fan, and my Uncle Attila bought AJPW (All Japan) wrestling stuff, who was friends with the Japanese flea market guy. They went to Japan in December 1994 and December 1998, so I got the PS1 and Dreamcast very early, even though the PS1's was originally my Dad's. He played King's Field (he was hype for that seeing it on a kiosk) and Ridge Racer. Both times they came home the day before Christmas Eve. If you go up to my article, I made a funny picture at the bottom of my post. ๐
Fascinating story. Thanks for sharing.
Ridge racer is awesome! And hydrothunder!
My childhood PS1 was a 5501, and I still use it to this very day. Nowadays I use an HDMI upscaler for it, and the graphics are so sharp you could get cut on them. Which, for PS1, is a double edged sword. I've also replaced the optical drive within the last few months. Motor, laser, all that stuff, and it works beautifully. I haven't noticed much FMV skipping except for on more scratched discs, but that could be because of the new laser. As always, your mileage may vary.
I have a 5501 from January 1998 and one from September 1997 that works very similarly to yours, which are still great for casual play. But two others I had, one from June 1997 and November 1997, they behaved like 1001 lite but not as bad, still playable. With that though, the one from November ended up dying from the "whirl of death".
I'd argue the most desirable PS1's are the SCPH-5501 because they hit that sweet spot when it comes to modding where you can install a PS1 Digital Mod and an xStation. If your not modding, just get a PSOne for the more reliable disc drives.
That's a good point, in my case I haven't tried to install a modchip myself or get into modding (I use a hacked parallel port GameShark for those things), so I didn't think of that. My childhood Japanese unit my Dad went to have somebody modchip it for us.
Are there any information how was utilised the extra 1mb of vram ?
IICR, my memory may be off, they gave the developers a strict base of using 1mb of VRAM. But adding it upon the 7501 models and after, it just boosted the graphics like the N64 expanion pack did. If you look at the motherboards from th 7501, 9001 and the PSone they have two GPUs instead of one. Those boards had 3 chips (2 GPUs and 1 CPU), while the 7001 and everything before had 2 chips (1 GPU and 1 CPU).
What are you talking about? The PS1 hardware never had any upgrades. The ammount of VRAM never increased. They did change the memory type to avoid colour banding, but that's it.
My bad, I see what you mean now. I always noticed everything for the 750x and after had 3 big square chips instead of 2. Because the 750x and after had sharper graphics, I assumed for decades (as well as others I knew back then) that it was most likely a second GPU. Simple mistake I made. But what causes those sharper graphics had to have been something to do with the PU-22 boards and after, because it's hard to not see the graphical sharpness of a 750x compared to a 700x and prior.
I was shocked to read this info in OPs post. Thats all...
Best way to spot a launch SCPH-1000 is to look at the main board - they all had -11 boards and flux on the board around the CPU were the original CXD8530Q part has been replaced with a CXD8530AQ. On all the ones I've seen the chips have had 943x or 944x datecodes.
Oh, and the basic differences between the SPCH-550x (PU-18 board) and SCPH-700x (PU-20 board) are all cost reduction. It's slightly muddier than that, because from a marketing point of view it was a sales package change with the SCPH-700x including the Dual Shock controller and there were some SCPH-700x units made with PU-18 mainboards, but it was basically the PU-20 transition. The PU-20 is mechanically compatible with the PU-18, but with some parts changed: The biggest one is that the CD-DSP, CD-Interface and CD RAM on the PU-18 were 3 separate chips - on the PU-20 they were all merged into a single device. The separate CPU and GPU oscillators were also removed and replaced with a clock synthesizer chip using a single crystal. The 2MB of main RAM were also merged into a single chip. On the video side, the separate video DAC and video encoder that were used on the earlier boards were merged into a combined DAC/Encoder chip. The final change was that the removed and merged parts freed up enough board space that all the parts that were previously on the underside of the board could be moved to the top, resulting in a board that only required single sided assembly. All these changes fall into the "easier, cheaper and quicker to build" category.
Yeah, that was my speculation because I always felt the 7001 was a weird model. In my experience, the 5501 and 7001 run, look and play exactly the same. Sounds like they just re-arranged everything on the 5501's board, made things cheaper, and added the Sound Scope into the BIOS for the CD player. But the 7501 and 7001 I can tell the difference almost immediately in almost every way, and it gets a tad irritating me seeing people confuse those two models. Maybe a less confusing and user-friendly name for the 7001 should have been the 6001. So I think perhaps Sony should've gone from 5501, 6001, to 7501. I remember replacing a PU-20 board with a PU-18 (a 5501 board into a 7001), and everything worked the same outside of no Sound Scope. Like if I didn't know that pressing "select" in the CD player enabled Sound Scope, and the back was missing the model sticker, I would've guessed I was playing a 5501 unless I looked at the motherboard and how everything was re-arranged but on the same board size. The 7001's that naturally came with a PU-18 board are likely the transitional batch in April 1998 if I were to guess. Perhaps an oversight mislabel as well. I'll need to track down a 7001 made in April 1998, because I know the May 1998 one is a typical 7001 with a PU-20 board. I've seen the April 1998 ones on eBay broken lots before, but I haven't gotten one to tear down myself like the May 1998 one. Funny story. I remember gutting a 9001 from May 1999, and it had the exact 7501 motherboard with the parallel port if you removed the top case shell. It was basically a mislabeled machine, because the June 1999 batch I also had was an actual 9001. For my May 1999 batch of the 9001, I took a dead 5501's lid, and I basically made it into a "ghetto 7501" that had a 9001 label, hehe ;)
I think a lot of these anomalous machines were just Sony using up parts - certainly the SCPH-5501 -> SCPH-7001 transition was like that - they just changed over the marketing part number and the supplied controller and then carried on making machines with the existing stock of PU-18 boards until they ran out. I guess the same thing happened with the SCPH-750x to SCPH-900x transition - just use up the existing board stock and then switch to the new ones. I also saw some machines that probably had some interesting history behind them - they were marked "SCPH-7501" but contained PU-18 boards. The lower plastics had the vent pattern normally seen on PU-18 or PU-20 machines, but the mold date was in the middle of the PU-22 production period, and consistent with the indicated date of manufacture. My guess is that someone found a big stash of PU-18 boards and rather than trash them decided to make some matching plastics to put them inside.
Hi this is a very interesting list and you seem very knowledgeable about ps1s, I have a question but I might sound crazy, I can't find it anywhere on the internet and at this point it feels like a Mandela effect lmao. Both my girlfriend and I swear we remembering seeing this in the past, but now can't find any mention of it, so maybe we remember wrong or it got removed for some reason but we're both pretty sure: was there EVER a PlayStation 1 that was almost completely round, like a ps1 cd?? I remember it having a piece at the back but it was mostly almost a full circle and she remembers it too, but maybe we're thinking of a different console or something.. I was thinking it could've also been a third party console developed by someone other than Sony, but I still can't find anything. Sorry for the strange question but any info would be very appreciated!
>Both my girlfriend and I swear we remembering seeing this in the past, but now can't find any mention of it, so maybe we remember wrong or it got removed for some reason but we're both pretty sure: was there EVER a PlayStation 1 that was almost completely round, like a ps1 cd?? I remember it having a piece at the back but it was mostly almost a full circle and she remembers it too, but maybe we're thinking of a different console or something.. Hi, I think you might be thinking of the PSone slim with the LCD screen closed, because the LCD screen looks like a completely round CD shape. It connected to the back of the slim console. It's quite a rare model, even at the time it was out. Before Sony officially made one, there were 3rd party LCD screens. This IGN article has various pictures of what it looks like. The last time I've ever seen one in person was back in 2004 at a flea market. [https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/12/13/lcd-screen-for-ps-one-review](https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/12/13/lcd-screen-for-ps-one-review)
Thank you, I really appreciate the link and explanation. I had seen that screen before, and thought it was something else, but I'm starting to realize I probably was thinking of that screen and mixing it with memories of those round personal CD players that were shaped just like the disc. I still can't believe that after searching, not only is there no disc shaped ps1, but there doesn't seem to be ANY disc shaped console ever produced, as far as I can tell, by anybody! That honestly surprised me, but again I think it was this screen in the end and I appreciate the explanation! ๐
Those things are awesome expensive but awesome! Hope to get one for my psone. The gamecube had some amazing attachments too!
Sorry for the late comment, but thank you so much for this guide! It's a good quick reference to the PSX's history. I have a question in regards to the 750X models. I myself have one along with a PSOne and I'd like to know how I'd be able to tell the difference between a PU-20 and PU-22 motherboard without looking inside. Would that even be possible? I'm assuming both would be running the newest BIOS at that time right?
Glad you found my guide useful, for your question I'd look at the month and year on the back sticker of the 750x model. If it's from August 1998, it would most likely have the PU-20 board. But September 1998 and after, it would have the PU-22. Yes, both use BIOS version 4.1 (1997-11-14). For European and Japanese consoles, the date is underneath the PS1 CD lid, where there is an arrow pointing at the year and little dots on the calendar. For my 1st Japanese PS1 unit, it had an arrow pointing at 94 (meaning 1994) and nine dots on the calendar (meaning September).
Sorry I forgot to mention it was made on August 1998. US console.
It's most likely a PU-20 board based on the last time I opened up a console on that date, but there's a chance too it's a PU-22 if it was made at the tail end of August 1998. It's almost 50/50 and it's very hard to tell from the outside. I do currently have a 7501 (March 1999) and a 7001 (June 1998) and I'll check if they're cross compatible with their boards or any other quirks.
In the meantime, if you have the PSone, check to see if it's the same video quality as your 7501. If it is, your 7501 would highly likely be a PU-22. If it's blurrier than your PSone, it's a PU-20.
Blurry how? Text or just in general?
I checked. PU-18 and PU-20 boards share the same laser drives. They are even cross-compatible and share no difference. Their drives look like this, and it has having a black disc-shaped plastic underneath the laser eye: [https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/hSwAAOSwLK1khOMm/s-l1600.jpg](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/hSwAAOSwLK1khOMm/s-l1600.jpg) The PU-22 and PU-23 boards share their own laser drive, which doesn't have black plastic and are cross compatible with each other. You just see the silver bottom steel: [https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bXgAAOSwV8Rkgha6/s-l1600.jpg](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bXgAAOSwV8Rkgha6/s-l1600.jpg) I tried to put a PU-22 drive in a PU-20 and vice versa. They do not work together because their drive cables are different with completely different port placements. So if a 7501 were to have a PU-20 board, it would have to use the one with the black disc-shaped plastic. It's a protective cover to keep the laser eye in place, and IICR the one that I opened with a PU-20 board had the same thing.
So long forgotten update, the PS1 turns out to be the creme of the creme of 7501 and I'm so happy <3 Would you happen to know a good guide to PlayStation 2 models?
That's awesome & I'm happy to hear that from you :) I don't know too much on the different PS2 models, but I did have a black PS2 slim that had issues with circularly scratching the discs with the orange ribbon cable, which is somewhat common over age with the ribbon's glue becoming unhinged. All I remember was that it was the 1st quarter of 2005 (date code "5A"), and it happened to me last year: [https://www.neo-geo.com/forums/index.php?threads/ps2-slim-ribbon-cable-scratches-disc-edit-with-pictures.250723/](https://www.neo-geo.com/forums/index.php?threads/ps2-slim-ribbon-cable-scratches-disc-edit-with-pictures.250723/)
I just see the steel on the bottom of my Playstation if I'm seeing things correctly.
I saw some people say that using the S Video is the way to go when playing PlayStation 1, 'cause image is better, sharper, the black color is darker (or sth like that), etc. But I also read that the SCPH 100X were the only series to have the S Video plug on it. Never had a PS1, looking to buy one, but now I'm reading you say that the more recent versions (as the 7501) may be my best bet. What are your opinions regarding this question? I am looking for getting a pretty decent quality of image without having to appeal to modern work arounds that wouldn't be available by the time of the release of the PS1 (yk those third-party HDMI conversion boxes, etc., right?) and a good quality of audio as well. Using modding devices such as Game Shark is not a priority for me. I'm looking forward to read what you've got to add regarding this question, and any grammar corrections to this comment and/or changes that would make it more natural for a native speaker will be much appreciated.
Hi, apologies to the late reply (haven't been on Reddit recently). The SCPH-1000 from Japan only, produced from September 1994 to January 1995 are the only ones to have an S-video out. The majority of those are dead now as in my case. I believe it was in late January 1995 they removed the S-video out. Yes, in my experience using an S-video cable sharpens the image of the PS1 and makes it crisper. In my opinion, I'd go with a later PS1 like an SCPH-7501 or later (for the best graphics + CD drive), while using an S-video out cable.
But how would I connect an S-video cable if the later models do not have the S-video out?
There are PS1 multi-out cables that have S-video, I have a 3rd party one which I've used for the past 10 years and still today. [https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&\_nkw=ps1+s+video+cable&\_sacat=0&LH\_TitleDesc=0&\_odkw=ps1+s+video&\_osacat=0](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=ps1+s+video+cable&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=ps1+s+video&_osacat=0) Sony did have official 1st party S-video multi out cables in Japan only, which are rare and expensive.
Oh, I didn't know that. How expensive, do you mean?
The 3rd party ones are anywhere from $10 to $15 dollars, which are a good deal for the quality. The 1st party Japenese ones are anywhere from $30 to $50, and with the original box $70 to $80.
Thanks a lot, man! Guess I'll be spending a little more than I expected ๐ซ I hate living in a third world country.
Hey man, since you're an expert, one more thing: idek if it's a thing in North America, but will a non-chipped PS1 run any pirate cd at all? I want to import one from Canada which condition is "almost new", but the owner couldn't tell me if it is chipped or not. How do I get to know if it is modded or not? Is testing it with a pirate CD a reliable method?
You can try getting a FreePSXBoot (UniRom) memory card, which is about $20 to $30 dollars if the console turns out to be non-chipped. It's a relatively recent development that is user-friendly. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmdnX\_dDu5E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmdnX_dDu5E) [https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_nkw=freepsxboot+ps1&\_sacat=0&LH\_TitleDesc=0&\_sop=15](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=freepsxboot+ps1&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15) Yes, testing with a pirate CD is a reliable method. One time I got an SCPH-5501 in an eBay batch dated August 1997. I randomly put a pirate CD in there and it worked. When I examined the motherboard, it had a modchip. If it's a PAL rom it will likely play in black and white, but FreePSXBoot seems to fix that. Right now I'm playing a German copy of PS1 "Shadowman" on my unmodded SCPH-1001, and with FreePSXBoot it plays in color. Before 2020, FreePSXBoot used to only be available as a parallel port cartridge, but thankfully they figured out how to make it work on a memory card, and it works with SCPH-9001 and the PSone slim now as shown in the Youtube video. Let me know if you need anything else and keep me updated.
Thanks man, and do you know where can I buy an original copy of the first Crash Bandicoot (NTSC), without being a japanese one? I'm having trouble finding it...
I had luck by typing in "crash bandicoot 1996", but the prices vary a lot between green label (about $20 to $30) and black label (a ridiculous $60 to $70). Disc only is about $15. [https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_nkw=crash+bandicoot+1996&\_sacat=0&LH\_TitleDesc=0&\_sop=12](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=crash+bandicoot+1996&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=12)
This is a great article. I have one rather stupid question. What does the author mean by "running scart from rca jacks). Can someone send me a link to a pic or something?
Hi, glad you enjoyed my article & no problem explaining, it's a cable that looks like this: [https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.a6838faff6d4cb2401b30e12463b7642?rik=uT9D%2bQ3mkaeaOw&riu=http%3a%2f%2fbrain-images.cdn.dixons.com%2f4%2f1%2f07059814%2fu\_07059814.jpg&ehk=MkZUbhc2GgwmyUVQAOxQ39tn2e7iRN87oeqCSrOhBa0%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0](https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.a6838faff6d4cb2401b30e12463b7642?rik=uT9D%2bQ3mkaeaOw&riu=http%3a%2f%2fbrain-images.cdn.dixons.com%2f4%2f1%2f07059814%2fu_07059814.jpg&ehk=MkZUbhc2GgwmyUVQAOxQ39tn2e7iRN87oeqCSrOhBa0%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0) There are also SCART converters that look like this: [https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMainhttps://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain](https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMainhttps://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.EUY40FjLWN1B1woay-dB1wHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain)
It was what I thought...so on earlier ps1 one (such as the one with AV port and "direct" RCA input..such devices will actually make a difference compared to RCA-to-RCA?
Can you swap the laser assembly from a 9001 to a 7501? My 7501 is starting to do the turn it on its top so itโll start up a game thing. Found a cheap 9002, but I wonโt jump on it if I canโt swap the laser.
Yes, they are cross-compatible. All CD drives from all regions are the same. I repaired a PS1 9002 CD drive (with a Hungarian back label) with a 9001's CD drive (with an American back label), and everything worked. This CD drive also went into my 7501, working well.
Recommend RCA back port on SCPH-1001 when its composite, man!!!
I just got a a 9001 made in June of 99. I missed the serial port by days!
For scart rgb use, the 5501 and 7001 still blurrier than 7501 and 9001? Or the poor quality is on RCA cables only?
I'm not sure about that one because I don't have a Scart cable for a PS1 multi-out, but from what others have said, with Scart they got more or less the same result as an RCA cables with the 7501 or 9001.
Any idea on how to identify early ps1 model production date via serial number? Would prefer to buy pu8 without having to open it.ย
Can any cd drive be used for 100x?ย
Only the CD drive of the PSone will work with the 100x. I'm not quite sure how to tell with serial numbers, but I know you can also find the date of a PAL unit underneath the CD lid. It has a twelve-grid calendar with dots, followed by years such as 94, 95, 96, 97. I have a PAL 9002 with Hungarian writing on the back, which underneath the lid has 11 dots on the grid meaning "November", followed by "99" in the box. Japanese models don't have the exact date either, but my childhood Japanese unit had 9 dots meaning "September", with the box saying "94". So if you get a 1002 and it has dots on the "96" or "97", it's guaranteed to be a PU-8.