Dreamer of the year (Arcade Edition)

Retr0gamer · 20-09-2012 4:52pm

TBH the DS lite is probably the best way to play GBA games and it's also hard to find ones in good condition since the screens are usually scratched and practically every DS Lite on ebay is a chinese knock off. I'd rather a DS Lite than the region locked DSi that doesn't allow you to play GBA games. Price is still way too high!

Myrddin · 20-09-2012 4:53pm

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Someone's watching, it's been taken down.

The A&R forum: Singlehandedly shaming Adverts into decency.

Surely Retr0 has an alt account

Retr0gamer wrote: »

TBH the DS lite is probably the best way to play GBA games and it's also hard to find ones in good condition since the screens are usually scratched and practically every DS Lite on ebay is a chinese knock off. I'd rather a DS Lite than the region locked DSi that doesn't allow you to play GBA games. Price is still way too high!

OwaynOTT · 20-09-2012 4:56pm

See what the 3DS XL has started, now it's seen as acceptable by people to not include a means of powering the device.

'Ah the new iFridge XL, wait the motor doesn't come pre-installed and my old motor won't fit the new iFridge XL!'

Myrddin · 20-09-2012 5:03pm

Its back, game & charger now included. Seems a much better price given its in good nick as Retr0 says

CathalDublin · 20-09-2012 7:59pm

That was a crazy price as it €145 new here

CiDeRmAn · 20-09-2012 10:03pm

A good quality DS lite is an essential, NSMB belongs in the cart slot like Tetris lives in my GB Pocket.
The DSi and now 3DS clutters up the place with extended functionality, cameras, media players, sound recorders, note pads etc.
Also, aside from the vulnerable hinges, the DS lite is a lovely design.

Retr0gamer · 20-09-2012 10:59pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

A good quality DS lite is an essential, NSMB belongs in the cart slot

Ah come on. There's much better platformers let alone games on the DS than that boring old guff.

CiDeRmAn · 21-09-2012 7:20pm

Nope, it's a lovely lovely game and the first one to really show off that screen.
Problem is not with the game but the shameless reproduction of the game, again and again, for every other format Nintendo has currently, and one that's not even out yet.

There may be better games, but NSMB is a perfect jewel, imho.
Like SMB or SMW, you will have finished it but there is some comfort playing those levels again and enjoying the craft that went into making it.

Of course, you should probably have Soul Bubbles and Space Invaders Extreme 2, maybe even Bangai-O, in reserve!

Retr0gamer · 21-09-2012 8:29pm

Found the DS game to be horribly bland with really uninteresting levels. The Wii game was a big improvement. NSMB DS was pretty much the worst mario platformer since... Hotel Mario. Where I expect mario games to be head and shoulders above all other platform games at the time, a lofty and unrealistic expectation but one that has been proven mostly true, NSMB surprised me with how bored it made me when I played it.

CosmicSmash · 25-09-2012 7:37pm

xbox360 & 53 games a snip a 900 euro:pac:
http://www.adverts.ie/2129924

Retr0gamer · 25-09-2012 7:39pm

What a collection of classics. :rolleyes:

CosmicSmash · 25-09-2012 7:43pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

What a collection of classics. :rolleyes:

Yeah, Kung Fu Panda is top of my want list:pac:

Jack burton · 25-09-2012 7:52pm

well the hard drive is full of demos of games

Thats where the real value is, that would cost hundreds in bandwidth to get yourself!

CosmicSmash · 25-09-2012 8:12pm

Bought few years ago brand new, Console never been opened or modified.

But will be quite soon :pac:

CiDeRmAn · 25-09-2012 8:45pm

Usually, I find, if you ask one of these original spec 360 owners/potential sellers about the history of their machine and ask straight out about if it's been repaired due to rrod they will get all evasive, unless they just lie.
360's and PS3's, risky things to buy preowned on Adverts or anywhere else without a warranty of some kind.

CosmicSmash · 25-09-2012 8:58pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Usually, I find, if you ask one of these original spec 360 owners/potential sellers about the history of their machine and ask straight out about if it's been repaired due to rrod they will get all evasive, unless they just lie.
360's and PS3's, risky things to buy preowned on Adverts or anywhere else without a warranty of some kind.

I'm on my third now, this is a slim and I don't know what the failure rate on them is compared to the older ones. It certainly runs a lot cooler. I would add laptops to that pair you have mentioned as things to avoid on Adverts. I repaired my last 360 that died myself and got about two months out of it, it's just more of a temporary fix than anything else and once it red rings it's curtains for it sooner or later.

Retr0gamer · 25-09-2012 10:11pm

If all you are doing is the heat gun fix them of course it will break again. To fix it properly you need some one with reballing equipment to replace the solder. The solder that MS and Sony uses is lead free muck that's environmentally friendly but useless. Getting it reballing could potentially make the console a lot more durable.

CathalDublin · 25-09-2012 11:45pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

If all you are doing is the heat gun fix them of course it will break again. To fix it properly you need some one with reballing equipment to replace the solder. The solder that MS and Sony uses is lead free muck that's environmentally friendly but useless. Getting it reballing could potentially make the console a lot more durable.

I wonder how many of the repairers advertising in the country actually have rework/reball equipment, I seriously doubt very many as its very pricey.

I'm still on an original xbox360 from the launch and never had the RROD:eek:
Touch wood

CosmicSmash · 25-09-2012 11:58pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

If all you are doing is the heat gun fix them of course it will break again. To fix it properly you need some one with reballing equipment to replace the solder. The solder that MS and Sony uses is lead free muck that's environmentally friendly but useless. Getting it reballing could potentially make the console a lot more durable.

The first box let go after about a year and a half and I brought it back to Harvey Norman and they exchanged it for a brand new one without any hassle after I told them that I would not accept a repair. That failed after about three and a half years, that's the one that was repaired. I went without one for nearly a year because of the failure rate. I ended up buying a slim with a bigger hard drive and some generic fps that was on offer for 200 euro. Sold them game for 40 and had an extra controller from buying the new box sold that for 25 so it stood me 135 in the end. So when it's all broken down 135 for a new box with a warranty versus say even 50 euro for a reball as I'm not sure of the exact price that you may not even get a warranty with I still think it was the better option. The new box runs a lot quieter and cooler as well so that's the story of the slim.

Steve X2 · 26-09-2012 12:15am

I think my brother must hold some sort of record for replacement 360's. He's on number 11 or 12 at the moment and he once had 3 replacements in 3 months.
Pretty sure he's not making sure they have decent ventilation.

CiDeRmAn · 26-09-2012 8:04am

I've said it here and elsewhere, unless 360 and PS3 emulators become really good really fast within a decade it'll be a challenge to find a system to play your collections on.
Your Megadrive, PC Engine and DS will live on but anything with moving parts or poor solder choices, never mind poor design from the outset, those consoles will be history.

Myrddin · 26-09-2012 9:03am

My Jtag, which was a repaired RROD I bought from ebay years ago, hasn't had a thing go wrong. The secret? Turning up the fan speed. Sure it becomes noisier, a fair bit noisier, but if it prolongs the life I can live with that.

The problem with the 360 & PS3 is bargain bin quality thermal paste & solder are used in their construction. Couple that with cooling systems that are barely adequate and you get what we have here today...consoles failing all over the place.

I'm going to do the mod on the PS3 that lets you adjust the internal fan speed manually, should ensure its cooled much better.

Casey120 · 26-09-2012 9:13am

I have put a PC fan controller on my launch 360, changed the chewing gum for arctic silver and put a passive heatsink on the scaler chip to prevent E47 .

It still RROD last year :pac:

Andrew76 · 26-09-2012 9:18am

EnterNow wrote: »

My Jtag, which was a repaired RROD I bought from ebay years ago, hasn't had a thing go wrong. The secret? Turning up the fan speed. Sure it becomes noisier, a fair bit noisier, but if it prolongs the life I can live with that.

The problem with the 360 & PS3 is bargain bin quality thermal paste & solder are used in their construction. Couple that with cooling systems that are barely adequate and you get what we have here today...consoles failing all over the place.

I'm going to do the mod on the PS3 that lets you adjust the internal fan speed manually, should ensure its cooled much better.

Reminded me of..."which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it...." :cool:

Myrddin · 26-09-2012 9:18am

Casey120 wrote: »

I have put a PC fan controller on my launch 360, changed the chewing gum for arctic silver and put a passive heatsink on the scaler chip to prevent E47 .

It still RROD last year :pac:

Ouch, though I suspect the pc fan controller still wasn't putting enough juice through it. If it doesn't sound like a vacuum cleaner then its not set high enough

For anyone with a jtag & FSD, set your fans to at least 70% & watch the displayed temps for ram, cpu, gfx & case...you'll see them all drop

Myrddin · 26-09-2012 9:18am

Andrew76 wrote: »

Reminded me of..."which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it...." :cool:

Some men you just can't reach

Casey120 · 26-09-2012 9:42am

EnterNow wrote: »

Ouch, though I suspect the pc fan controller still wasn't putting enough juice through it. If it doesn't sound like a vacuum cleaner then its not set high enough

For anyone with a jtag & FSD, set your fans to at least 70% & watch the displayed temps for ram, cpu, gfx & case...you'll see them all drop

I always had it about 75% and it sounded like a jet .
Even build better airflow with cardboard and duck tape making a nice air tunnel for the chip set .
I did the same on my Jasper Jtag but now with the new Freestyle dash you can monitor temps and control fan speed anyway .
A friend has a Jtag Falcon but to get the temps under 60 C he has to put the fans on full speed , my Jasper with extra mods CPU is well under 50 C at 75% then , I can imagine that old Zephyr with fans full speed still be hitting 75 to 80 C so six years wasn't that bad .

We also tested a Nyko ad on fan he always had on there and it did actually work , one full degree was lowered .

Myrddin · 26-09-2012 9:48am

Casey120 wrote: »

I always had it about 75% and it sounded like a jet .
Even build better airflow with cardboard and duck tape making a nice air tunnel for the chip set .
I did the same on my Jasper Jtag but now with the new Freestyle dash you can monitor temps and control fan speed anyway .
A friend has a Jtag Falcon but to get the temps under 60 C he has to put the fans on full speed , my Jasper with extra mods CPU is well under 50 C at 75% then , I can imagine that old Zephyr with fans full speed still be hitting 75 to 80 C so six years wasn't that bad .

We also tested a Nyko ad on fan he always had on there and it did actually work , one full degree was lowered .

True re the older chipsets, they were far more inefficient & ran too hot. My main jtag is a Falcon, fans up high, cradboard & duct tape mod done, dvd drive removed, 1TB 3.5" SATA drive in its place, three small ram coolers on the gpu...runs fine.

I've a Jasper here too but its very rarely used so thats stock apart from being jtagged

26-09-2012 11:13am

EnterNow wrote: »

Couple that with cooling systems that are barely adequate and you get what we have here today...

A failure to communicate..??..;)

docentore · 26-09-2012 12:45pm

CathalDublin wrote: »

I wonder how many of the repairers advertising in the country actually have rework/reball equipment, I seriously doubt very many as its very pricey.

I'm still on an original xbox360 from the launch and never had the RROD:eek:
Touch wood

not so pricey, whole setup (basic) can be obtain for ~€300 or even less if you shop around. The problem is that you need a lot experience to perform reballing, make sure that you have every of 900 balls of solder is in right place.

If the repairer gives you 6 months or more of warranty on the service - there is a big chance he knows what he's doing.

Look at console modding forum, few of folks does reballing, or did (I tried few times and failed, missed one or two balls probably :P)

johnny_ultimate · 26-09-2012 12:51pm

Can't imagine turning up the fan on my 360. Sounds like an out of control hairdryer at the best of times! Wanted to watch a film on it last night (Irish Netflix), but the fan was so loud I had to turn it off as I'd have woken up everyone in the house with the volume I'd have to have had the sound at :pac:

the groutch · 26-09-2012 12:57pm

docentore wrote: »

(I tried few times and failed, missed one or two balls probably :P)

the one you bought off me a couple of years back was my only ever RROD experience, the replacement arcade one we got (and stuck the original 20gb drive into) in is still going strong. bit of luck of the draw.

CiDeRmAn · 26-09-2012 3:25pm

Is there a case to be made for de casing the 360 and building something custom to keep it cool?

docentore · 26-09-2012 5:21pm

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Is there a case to be made for de casing the 360 and building something custom to keep it cool?

there was, together with watercooling should prolong life of fat xbox for few extra years

80s Synth Pop · 26-09-2012 6:21pm

JTAG 360 running at 100% fans - runs cool but it's very very loud. Especially when compared to the silent slim next to it. I did a little research about silent fans but came up empty (whisper silent 3rd party fans were not so silent after all).
Is there anything that can be done?

Crazy that I'm more concerned about this modern console failing than I am about the ancient old NES, Megadrive, SNES etc. sitting beside it under the TV.

Steve X2 · 26-09-2012 6:27pm

80s Synth Pop wrote: »

JTAG 360 running at 100% fans - runs cool but it's very very loud. Especially when compared to the silent slim next to it. I did a little research about silent fans but came up empty (whisper silent 3rd party fans were not so silent after all).
Is there anything that can be done?

Crazy that I'm more concerned about this modern console failing than I am about the ancient old NES, Megadrive, SNES etc. sitting beside it under the TV.

Not sure about what fans work in the 360 but near silent fans do exist.
I've a selection of fans in my pc that are pretty silent unless I'm doing some rendering or something like that then I have to crank them up a bit.

When I built my main pc I built it with the intention of keeping the noise levels as low as possible. So the fans exist but you will pay a lot more for them.
What size and type of fans does the 360 use?

Myrddin · 26-09-2012 7:33pm

Decasing it would mess up the airflow, you'd have to create ducts etc if decased.

They're very loud when fans are turned up, but if a stock one is loud enough to distract from a film then you'd have to wonder if its on the way out

Steve X2 · 26-09-2012 7:36pm

EnterNow wrote: »

Decasing it would mess up the airflow, you'd have to create ducts etc if decased.

They're very loud when fans are turned up, but if a stock one is loud enough to distract from a film then you'd have to wonder if its on the way out

It's very easy to liquid cool a PC these days with some very small and simple all in one systems.
I wonder could you get one to work on the 360?

Something like this or a similar one maybe that might be rigged to the 360?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2262

The Last Bandit · 26-09-2012 8:02pm

Stick it in a bucket of oil, that'll keep it cool.

Steve X2 · 26-09-2012 8:08pm

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Stick it in a bucket of oil, that'll keep it cool.

I've always wanted to do it to a machine but never had the guts to submerge a couple of grands worth of tech in the oil

The Last Bandit · 26-09-2012 9:11pm

Used to do it with welders before never done them much harm

Myrddin · 27-09-2012 2:17pm

Steve SI wrote: »

It's very easy to liquid cool a PC these days with some very small and simple all in one systems.
I wonder could you get one to work on the 360?

Something like this or a similar one maybe that might be rigged to the 360?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2262

Solder God (Touching Virus) has been talking about water cooling a 360 for a while now...it can definitely be done alright

CiDeRmAn · 27-09-2012 3:09pm

There needs to be a routine way to keep these machines alive, into the future.
I don't want to have to replace any more 360's!
This is my 4th!

Actually, I have a toasted one from my brother in law, I think it's an old one, Manufactured in 06, no HDMI, but rrod'd.
Any ideas what positive use I can put it to?

ahyeahok · 02-10-2012 9:15pm

http://www.adverts.ie/nintendo/nintendo-ds-lite-game-boy-game-brand-new-and-sealed/2155280

Seen this game in Poundland in Enniskillen a couple weeks ago. On sale on adverts for €8

May suit any boxed Gameboy collectors/addicts, if ya happen to be up north.

L1m1tless · 02-10-2012 11:40pm

ahyeahok wrote: »

http://www.adverts.ie/nintendo/nintendo-ds-lite-game-boy-game-brand-new-and-sealed/2155280

Seen this game in Poundland in Enniskillen a couple weeks ago. On sale on adverts for €8

May suit any boxed Gameboy collectors/addicts, if ya happen to be up north.

These are in the Dealz shops also for €1.49 plus a few others they came from igamez.co.uk

ahyeahok · 02-10-2012 11:45pm

CowboyDreams wrote: »

These are in the Dealz shops also for €1.49 plus a few others they came from igamez.co.uk

I didn't realise dealz & poundland are the same crowd, none in the west yet though.

Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy · 03-10-2012 12:41am

Saw this on adverts Ultra rare Pokemon game perla (not pearl)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-qRBoBO6MU

Mr.Saturn · 03-10-2012 9:03am

Why do cart-dumpers always go for the barely-started fan-hacks? I suppose they're not paying all that much attention to what they're nicking, but really, Bulbapedia have a fairly comprehensive list of well-received fan-hacks, that takes all of about two minutes to google.

I mean, it's a ****ty practice to profiteer off hobbyists, but for every one cart-dump of proper, finished, full fan-hacked games like Shiny Gold, there's bajillions of the likes of Perla and whatnot, with basic edits that only reach into about the first 10 minutes of gameplay, or whatever point the fan-hacker lost interest at, and just return to being the original game thereafter.

Myrddin · 12-10-2012 12:09pm

Look at this sh1te, $40 to post a cart - http://www.ebay.com/itm/SNES-Super-Star-Wars-game-cartridge-Super-Nintendo-Entertainment-System-/221138421034?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item337ce0852a

o1s1n · 13-10-2012 2:03am

WTF is this meant to be?? 10 available???

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/eXtreme-gamer-Arcade-Cabinet-for-Mame-Xbox-Playstation-PS3-PS2-/320921441208?pt=UK_Video_Games_Coin_Operated_MJ&hash=item4ab86893b8&_uhb=1#ht_2822wt_1186

Dreamer of the year (Arcade Edition)

Comments