swap magic & slide card or flip top?

[xhail]

After looking through various ways to mod a PS2, I think I've settled on getting swap magic just because everything else seems like a pain in the butt to install. (I suck at soldering or even being patient)

Now that I have decided on Swap Magic, I have to make a decision on using a slide card or a flip top. It is my understanding, in order to use the slide card, I would have to deattach the cd/dvd tray door. Could this cause any sorts of weird problems?

I am inclined to get a flip top, but I've read a bunch of people saying that the PS2 makes alot of noise when the disc starts to spin. Is this a very common occurence or is it a mistake on the installers part?

Which do you think is the better choice, fliptop or slide card?

Thanks!!

[Radiskull]

Well, I would recommend a flip top. I had used that method ever since they first came out, but have since moved on to the DMS4 EZI. Anyhoot, around the disk tray, you might have to fiddle with the right amount of tension with the case screws in that general area. I had noticed that the lids are not a 100% flat when closed, so putting something that has a little weight on it would help.

The slide card can and probably will lead to drive tray damage as it forces the drive tray open, possibly leading to gear wear and tear.

[WOWchamp]

Yea just to add to what Radi had to say,

Go with the Fliptop and who knows about your swap magic situation... I mean the flip top might fight perfectly and make no extra noise or if it does you can just put something like a small book on it to push it down a little which does no hard to the unit.

Personally before I got my DMS4 EZI PRO thats what I used and before i got mine I ordered and installed one for a friend of mine. When it got to my house i was so excited and couldnt wait the next day to get his ps2 so i put it on mine to try it out. It installed fine but it made noise and it needed to be weighed down. Next day i got his ps2 and installed it on his and it worked golden... no noise no nothing.

Overall it would be a better choice to go for a DMS4 (get a EZI if you dont like to solder) because backups require no patch's or anything else... plus i like the direct boot ability. But if you have your heart set on the swap magic and flip top set then go for it, its simpler but it has its setbacks.

[xhail]

Thank you very much for all recommendations and information.

Guess I will go with the fliptop solution for now and weigh it down with a text book if it makes any noise. I read up on the DMS4 EZI and the installation procedure for this chip and it seems simple enough, but I really don't want to risk damaging the PS2 at least for now

Thanks again!

[xhail]

Another quick question...

I keep reading about people saying that they are wearing out their laser or something to that effect. Is this a problem that the PS2's inherently have due to wear and tear? Or is this a by-product of using swap magic and backed-up games?

As of now, I play my PS2 only using original games.. will I have the same problem doing this?

Just for extra info, my PS2 is a version 9 or 10 (SPCH-50001) and it's about 2 years old I believe.. (I bought it when Soul Calibur 2 was released).

Thanks for helping this newbie out!

[Starlight]

V9 and v10 ps2`s were know to burn out the laser and LA chip when using backups due to backups put more strees on the laser than originals,just use good quality media and to do the romeo mod is suggested on these versions,this romeo mod procedure was to help protect the LA chip from overheating which is cause by the laser having to work harder when reading backups which would heat the laser coils up trying to focus when using backups which would heat the LA chip alot because of the coils working harder would draw more power from the LA chip and if it got to hot it would burn out and usually burn out the laser coils too,then you would have to replace both the laser and LA chip,not fun changing a LA chip, this is why the romeo mod was suggested to help keep the heat down and from burnout happening, here in this Post grab this pic V9_LA_protect1.rar to show you what the romeo mod is about. Hope this helps a little. :grin:

[xhail]

thank you once again!

[WOWchamp]

Yea dont use any backup disks without a romeo mod.

[HMaster92]

yeahb to add to the slide card wear ans tear thing I have been using the slide card for a while and now if I press the eject buton when the tray ejects it makes a wierd noise

[oblivion2k]

just to let you know there's a billion and a half other things that ''weird noise'' could have been when you use the eject button, I've fixed 3 of my friends pstwos and they had a grinding noise on heirs. It's a little gear thing tha tcontrols the movement of the laser, it basically tries to push it up farther then it can go and it grinds the gears. Stupid setup, but pretty easy to fix.