Saturn Chip Install

[E-Man]

Looking for someone here to do the Saturn chip install service for a good price. No, I don't have the chip so that's why I'm asking around if someone does these services still.

Please let me know.

[Ziggy]

1) Thread should be moved to the BST section. You should add "WTB" at the beginning of the thread title. I'm not saying this to be a jerk, this is just a suggestion which might get you better results.

2) There's an alternative to the Saturn mod chip. You can reflash the firmware on an Action Replay, GameShark or Memory Card Plus cart and use it to play burns and imports. This option will probably be a lot easier for you to do than finding someone to supply and install the chip for you.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47890

You can get either of the above mentioned carts new/used for $10-30, which is gonna be cheaper than the price of a mod chip and MUCH cheaper than the price of a mod chip plus the install service.

You can flash the cart yourself using the swap trick. Or, find someone with a mod chip already installed to flash the cart for you.

Pro and cons:

The mod chip can boot burns, but not imports. If you're using a mod chip and want to play an import, you have a few options. If it's a legit disc, you can use an Action Replay or GameShark cart to boot it. Otherwise you'd have to copy the disc, patch the image, and then use a burn. Or, there's a region free BIOS which makes the console truly region free, but requires heavy soldering to install. If you want to go the mod chip route, I would suggest asking the installer how much extra it would be to install the region free BIOS.

The reflashed cart can boot burns and imports, but you can no longer use it for cheat codes and game saves. Apparently these features are planned to be added back, but until then, if you want to use a cart to boot burns that means the cart slot will be in use. You wont be able to use cheat codes or a memory card, although you could always just save games to the system. If you reflash an Action Replay cart, the extra RAM will still function for the games that require it. So really, the only thing you'll lose is the ability to cheat and save to a cart instead of the system. Not a big deal IMO, especially if these features are eventually added back.

[zyrobs]

You can get either of the above mentioned carts new/used for $10-30, which is gonna be cheaper than the price of a mod chip and MUCH cheaper than the price of a mod chip plus the install service.

The Phantom modchip is actually cheaper than an action replay.

[Ziggy]

The Phantom modchip is actually cheaper than an action replay.

A re-flashed AR would still probably be cheaper, considering the cost of the install plus shipping.

[zyrobs]

The Phantom modchip is actually cheaper than an action replay.

A re-flashed AR would still probably be cheaper, considering the cost of the install plus shipping.

It's a 5 minute solder job to install a modchip...

[Ziggy]

I know, but most people are still gonna charge something to do it. And you have to pay to ship the console both ways. You can flash an AR cart yourself if you can do the swap trick. Even if you need someone with a chipped console to do it for you, most people would be willing to do it for free (much like installing FMCB on PS2 cards). Shipping an AR cart both ways will be a lot cheaper than shipping the console.

E-Man is free to do whatever he wants, I just offered up the alternative since his thread was sitting around for a while with no replies.

[zyrobs]

You can just grab a soldering iron and do it for yourself. I did my first console mods with a $10 soldering iron.

[ryanstein]

What you guys are forgetting is the different Saturn models. He doesn't mention which model he has, so it's harder to make a recommendation, but I have a Model 1 Saturn and the majority of the chips out there nowadays are for the Model 2. So, my options are to convert the chip, which requires a lot of soldering and modification, or just buy an AR and flash it. It's not just as easy as buying a chip and popping it in necessarily.

[SaturnHST]

The newest chips (Phantom or V3) works with any version and any region console, so it doesn't matter anymore.

I installed a V3 into a model 1 VA1 Saturn and it works fine. You just plug in the ribbon cables and solder 1 wire to the power supply.