Thinking of getting a PSP...any recommendations?

[Yoder]

Hey guys,

I've always thought PSPs were cool and the extra power over the DS has always piqued my curiosity. I think it can play PS1 games natively (after modiying them) and probably can actually emulate arcade games unlike my DS (even with a DSTwo card with the extra CPU).

Gamestop has a deal on a PSP3000 with a game and a movie for $130 and that seems like a good deal since they seem to sell for that much used on craigslist.

I'd be interested in hacking it to run homebrew, emulators, etc. Can you guys recommend a model? I understand that there is a hack for the 3000 now, but should I stick with an older model for what I want to do? A guy at the local game store told me that the 3000 adds very little to the 2000, so should I just find a used one of those or is this $130 PSP3000 deal too good to pass up?

Thanks!

[runback22]

If your intent it to run custom firmware, you will need the phat model or a 2000. I dont think the 3000 can run homebrew yet.

[Chilly Willy]

If the firmware isn't too new, there are HENs for the 3000. HEN = Homebrew ENabler... they let you play non-sanctioned software. The 3000 has the "hack-proof" OS, so the HEN works by taking advantage of a bug in software to get control, but it only lasts until the PSP is reset or turned off. The next time you run it, you have to rerun the HEN again, so it's not as convenient as the custom firmware you can install on the 2000 or 1000.

[Yoder]

Oh, OK, this is a pretty big deal. I heard about a battery hack from Datel...not sure if that's related to HEN or not. Looks like I have some research to do before I jump on the gamestop deal....or at least till I open the package ;-)

I'd really like to it be drama-free hacking. I'm not against software exploits...i soft modded one of my xboxes and it's awesome...but I wouldn't want to have to hack it every time I use it.

[Chilly Willy]

The Pandora battery is one thing you use to put custom firmware on a 2000/1000. It does nothing for a 3000. The Datel battery is just a Pandora battery.

If you don't want to run the HEN every time, you have to get the older 2000 or 1000. The last model 2000 and all 3000s can't be hacked to run custom firmware - they HAVE to use the HEN every time.

[Yoder]

Thank you. OK.

Yes, from what I read, plenty of later 2000s have the motherboard or firmware that's similar to the 3000s. Apparently certain models of the 2000 are safe (God of War, Daxter, etc).

Well, it will give me another project ;-) There was a 2000 for sale for a good price at a game store nearby...I need to see if I can figure out which version of ofw it has...it was a piano black one, so it may be one with later firmware.

[Chilly Willy]

I got the Daxter pack when I got my 2000 - it works well with PB/custom firmware. Then again, it WAS a launch 2000, so it's the first rev of the 2000 hardware.

[OldSchool]

Here I was thinking it'd be neat to get a 3000 for Christmas... and now I see Sony is working on a part 2.


fuck me... should I just wait until 2020 to get the 4th iteration... lol




Question, guys... does the PSP 'ever' Tear? Are all (100%) of the games using Locked V-Sync or do some of them Tear? Is AA a feature on any of the games?

[The Sports Guy]

I don't know much of anything about homebrewing on the PSP other than a lot of people do it, but I can recommend Star Wars: Force Unleashed, a few of the arcade game collections are fun and I have a good time with the EA Sports games, but I think I'm in the minority in that front. Burnout works VERY well on the PSP and I have spent many a hour on the Need for Speed: Underground series, though the first one is pretty limited as a launch or a very early title.

Don't waste your time on the Star Wars Battlefront game that was heavily advertised, that game is very short and not very fun.

[Yoder]

LOL, here comes the v-sync issue again ;-)

[Chilly Willy]

I've never noticed any tearing, but then again, it's not something I care about, so it's possible I just never noticed.