the PlayStation two. My white whale. This is the best selling video game
console of all time. And ironically, me being a big videogame nerd,
I've never actually owned one of these. I mean, until now. That is, obviously. I saw this
one pop up on a local online marketplace. And I figured, yeah, why not? I can buy
a little piece of video game history. I can restore it,
and it'll be a fun little project. And then I went down the rabbit hole
and I realized there is an absolute ton of mods and other fun things
you can do to these old consoles. So today we are going to take
this little piece of video game history and we are going to completely
modernize it for 2023. the first thing I want to do
is tear down this console so that we can install some mods in it. But I wanted to point out really quickly
that this one actually already has a period correct
retro mod installed in it. the keen eyed among you may have noticed
that there is this top loading hatch here So the way this would work is you would insert a special disc
to boot your PlayStation two. That disc
would then bypass the copy protection. and then you could play burned games on it. So when I bought this thing, it came
with a bunch of burn games as well. Though by the time we're done with it,
we won't be needing those anymore. when it comes
to tearing down these old consoles. I can't think of a more useful tool
than my electric screwdriver. Not only is it a huge time saver
when you're removing dozens of screws, but it's also surprisingly cheap. So I'm going to include a link for that
along with all the other tools and materials
that I use throughout this project. Down in the video description, Once I had the main shell off,
I started removing all the stuff. We're going to be replacing The disk
drive was my first casualty. It's 2023 and there are much better ways
to store your games now. Next was this loud, dying fan. We're going to replace that and give
the whole cooling system a solid upgrade. And then the last thing
was the original power supply. Not only is this big and bulky,
but it also dumps a ton of heat inside the PS2. So I found a much more efficient
and compact system to replace it. With all that stuff done,
I removed the screws holding the steel mid-frame in place, flipped
the motherboard over, then carefully pried off the RF shielding that covers
that delicious retro hardware. Wow. So you look at how tiny this thing is
once you strip it all away. couple of things
that I'm noticing right off the bat. This motherboard is orders of magnitude more complex
than the motherboard of the Nintendo 64. And those two consoles were only released
like four years apart. So it just goes to show the crazy pace
of technological change during that era. Another thing here, we have the network
expansion port that we're actually going to utilize this to do a massive storage
upgrade to this PS2. But before we do that, I think I should give this whole board
a good thorough cleaning and then we are going to upgrade
the cooling. Using isopropyl alcohol. I cleaned off the remnants
of the original thermal pads and then scrubbed away
23 years of dirt and grime. I also took this opportunity
to replace this long since dead clock battery so that the PS2 can keep
track of time even when it's powered down. Then I cut some replacement
thermal pads that are made out of a much more efficient material. They're probably about twice
as thermally conductive, and that's not even taking into account
the age of the original pads. continuing right along with our
theme of cooling upgrades, I grabbed a 60mm Noctua fan to replace the original. Now, there is a voltage mismatch here. The original fan runs at seven volts,
and this new one runs at just five. So that will cause the fan to over
spin a little bit. This isn't the end of the world, but
it did create a few issues that we'll talk more about during the postmortem analysis
at the end of the video. With the factory
connector spliced onto the new fan, I was able to plug it
right into the PS2’s motherboard. So those are two easy mods that you can do
that will make your PS2 run quieter, cooler and theoretically
should also extend the life of the PS2 the next thing I want to do is well,
it's also going to make it run cooler, but it's also going to make it
more convenient to use the PS2 This is an RePS2 This replaces this
But I think we can go a little further. by chopping off the original barrel
plug connector and then replacing it
with this trigger board. We can power the PS2
with a Usb-C cable. by bridging these two contacts. I can configure this tiny chip
to request 12 volts of power from a standard Usb-C power
delivery adapter. Now, unfortunately, the power
delivery spec is a bit of a mess. so not every adapter will supply 12 volts. But it My experience. Most of the good name brand adapters will. with everything, solder together
and connected back to the wall. I tested with a multimeter to make sure
that I was getting the correct voltage. So the next thing I want to do
is upgrade the graphics of the PS2. But this next part is going to strain the limits
of what I can do with my own body. Inside this box. I have the retro gem from Pixel Effects. This is basically an HDMI mod. It takes the image signal
coming off the PS2, and makes it available
for output via HDMI, which is really handy if you want to connect the PS2
to a more modern display. So why did I say
this is beyond the limit of my body? Well, the PS2’s motherboard
is really, really small. So I got a little bit of help. This guy is a digital microscope. There's a camera down here,
a screen up here, and it provides up to a thousand times
magnification. So yeah, still not super sure myself,
but wish me luck. As a warm up, I started with the easy
stuff, like bridging these contact pads on the retro gem,
removing the optical audio port and removing a number of components on the motherboard
that were going to be in my way. Other components like this crystal
oscillator, couldn’t be removed entirely. So I relocated it
a few inches to the side using some wire. All of this was in an effort
to give me better access to the pins on the motherboard that are responsible
for transmitting both audio and visual signals inside the PS2.
the next step was attaching surrounded with metaphorical landmines
in the form of exposed contacts. So as an added layer of protection,
I painted on the layer of solder mask, which you can think of like
an electrically insulating paint that gets carried in place
with a UV flashlight. The next step was stealing
those aforementioned signals and rerouting them to the retro gem with a specially designed ribbon cable. And if you didn't get a sense of scale
before, I think my fingertips in frame here should show you just how fine
this work was. Using kapton tape I secured the ribbon exactly
where I wanted it, laid out some flux, and then proceeded to completely botch
the first three sets of pins. *sad noises The nice thing about solder
is that you can almost always fix these types of mistakes with solder wick
and a healthy helping of patients. Eventually I got it looking pretty decent and thankfully the rest of the install
went a lot smoother. The flux I'm using here is key
to making this kind of work possible. It cleans oxidation
off your contact points and allows the solder to flow on to them
much more easily. It's actually kind of magic
when you get it working right. The solder just seems to know
where you want it to go and slides right into position. And also keeping the tip of your iron
clean is key for managing the solder. If it gets a layer of oxidation over it,
the solder won't stick to it and it makes pushing and pulling
the solder around a lot more difficult. I learned a lot doing this project
and it was only my second time ever micro soldering. So it's not some crazy skill
that you need two years of practice to do, And also the microscope helps a lot. That being said,
I was still pretty nervous when it came time to plug everything in
and take this thing for a test spin. Here we go. Come on... Fan! Hey, look at that. It works. that is fantastic. Now, let's talk about games. you know how I said earlier that we wouldn't
be needing this DVD drive anymore? Well, that's because we are going to be
replacing it with this, a one terabyte SSD. With this, we should be able to store
somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 PS2 games. That way I won't have to keep
any physical DVDs around the house. I won't have to switch disks
for different games. And because this drive is significantly
faster, well games will load quicker too. but you can't just plug it right into the PS2
because this thing was made 20 years ago. You might not remember this, but the PlayStation two could play
a limited number of titles online. And in order to do that,
you needed a network adapter and because some of those titles needed
patches and upgrades over time. The network adapters came with a little
port for installing a small hard drive. So this is actually a modified
reproduction network adapter. The original ones had an IDE interface for the hard drives. But this one has been updated
to have a more modern SATA interface. So this just plugs right in here. And then this plugs in here. obviously Sony saw this coming. So by default, you can't just
play games off the hard drive. You need one other piece of the puzzle. This memory card
has been flashed with the free mcboot soft mod. by plugging this into
one of the front memory ports It allows you to boot games
off of the hard drive, play region locked content as well as a whole
slew of other functions. It's basically a mod chip
where you don't have to do any soldering. Now, even though all of these parts would
have fit back inside the original case, I wanted to give the PlayStation two
a facelift for 2023. So over the course of the next few days,
I meticulously measured mounting points, components and ports to create a 3D model
of a brand new case for it. There wasn't much I kept from the original design,
but I did want to retain one thing. The PlayStation two revolutionized
the aesthetics of modern day video game consoles by allowing users to run them
either horizontally or vertically, something you can't take for granted
even today. At first everything was going great,
but then when it came time to print my first prototype,
things took a bit of a turn. okay. So, unfortunately, I've run
into a little bit of a roadblock here. The PlayStation two is no small console. And in order to create a new shell for it,
I've actually exceeded the limits of what my 3D printers can do. The Bamboo Lab X1
carbon's have a maximum print volume of 256 by 256 and 256 millimeters. And I need like 270 milliliters. So I could print my shower multiple pieces
and then glue it somewhat together afterwards. Or I could just get a bigger 3D printer. This is the Creality. K1 Max And it can print 300 by 300 by 300 millimeters. it's also just a great 3D
printer in general. I've been using it
for the past couple of months now and I've been thoroughly impressed
by how user friendly it is and also how reliable it is. The only downside to it is that it doesn't have any sort
of multi-material system like the AMS, so it's just one filament at a time,
but it is saving my ass on this project, so I'll try not to complain about that
too much. As fast as the K1 Max is, these were still extremely large prints
that were going to take a while to finish. So. Well, it's printing. Let me tell you about an alternative. And the sponsor of today's video PCBWay, they offer a wide variety of prototyping
and production services, including but not limited to 3D printing, CNCing and custom PCB fabrication. So if you want to create a project
like this one at home but don't have the same tools that I do, well then you can just send them
the design files. They'll handle the fabrication for you
and send you back the finished parts. It's a really awesome service
and surprisingly affordable. I'm so excited
to have them on as a partner that I'm going to be making all the design files
for this project available for free. Down to the video description. That way you can follow along at home
regardless of what tools you have. All right. Now let's head to the shop
and keep going on this project. So while we're here. I would like to focus on
doing some cosmetic mods that are going to beautify this 20 year
old console. But first,
we got to trim a little bit of fat. The mid-frame from the PS2
has a whole bunch of mounting tabs for the original case. So by zipping those off
with an angle grinder, I was able to save space and make room
for some of the new cable runs. I filed down all the rough edges and then trimmed just a little bit
of plastic off of the controller port in order to allow it
to sit flush inside of my new case. Then it was time for some styling. I started by prepping for paint. The Mid-Frame is going to be visible
on my new case, so rather than have it
be this boring gray, I opted to repaint it in a satin black,
which I think looks much better. But if that isn't flashy enough for you. I went a completely different direction
for the RF shielding, which is going to end up
being a centerpiece of the new case. A few coats of this metallic gold
completely transformed its appearance. Now, obviously, I couldn't paint
the integrated Heatsinks as well, but I do think that this combination of gold
and silver ended up looking really good. So while we wait for those to dry,
the next thing that I want to do is cut some panels that we are
then going to insert into the case. And in order to do that,
we are going to utilize the CNC which I have behind me here. The first thing I cut was a side window. The material is cast acrylic, which
I found cuts very nicely on my CNC. This is what's going to allow you
to see all of those components. We just finished painted. The next piece
is a bit of shameless branding. I love re-imagining the logos
of these old consoles, so I found a recreation of the PS2’s font
and tried out a few different iterations. Eventually, I landed on the PSZ. After
that, I cut a decorative front panel and an exhaust grill that will slot
into the top of our new case. with all the pieces cut and sanded,
I applied a hard wax finish to seal the wood and also to bring out
that beautiful walnut grain. But I wasn't done just yet. oh man, that looks really cool. But you know what
I think we can actually do better, because if you remember, the original PS2
logo looked a little something like this. It actually had color to it. So in order to bring that color
back into my panel, I mixed up a little bit of everybody's
favorite woodworking material, epoxy. But don't worry, I'm
just going to use a bit to match the colors
from the original logo. I opened it up on my phone and then mixed in low key bumps of various
mica powders until I got the shades that I was looking for. Maybe a little darker. Then using a syringe, I mainlined the epoxy
right into my engravings. The tricky part here was getting the
two colors to blend together seamlessly. But with enough agitation,
I eventually got a nice smooth gradient. Finally, I sanded everything down
to remove the overfill, reapplied my finish, and then headed home
to check on the progress of my 3D prints. So while We were working away in the shop. The 3D printers have also been very busy,
and I think we now have everything
we need to put this whole system together. So this main piece right here
is, well, the main piece and everything is going to either go inside of it
or get grafted onto the outside of it. And it's printed in Creality's hyper PLA,
which is basically just their PLA that's been alloyed
with a couple of other plastics that make it stronger, more flexible,
and also allow it to print faster. Now, before we can start putting stuff in here, we have to
introduce a couple of other little pieces. This is the power switch bracket, and it just gives me a convenient place
to mount the original power reset switch. This clips on here
and then screws in here. Next is the fan bracket. This suspends
our noctua fan perfectly in place so that it can cool
both the heatsink and the power supply and it just screws
right here on the mid-frame. And then finally, we've got this bracket
which supports the controller ports. So now let's put it all together. First, the Usb-C power port goes here. Then the retro gem get screwed into place
right over here. And the wifi antenna gets mounted
to this little platform. Then we can lower the motherboard in
and secure it in place. And now we're ready
for the network adapter, which I remade in order to make it more compact. It just slides back in here
and then get screwed to the back of the case so that I can easily remove it
if I want to add more games in the future. Now let's break out the glue
and add all of those little accent pieces. The first one drops in here
and dresses up the front face. The PSZ panel goes
on the backside of the case, I also added some little feet for what it is
standing vertically. The exhaust grille slots in here and then the acrylic panel slots
perfectly into this frame to attach the side panel to the main case. I added a series of magnets to both sides
and then the whole thing just clicks in place,
assisted by a couple locator pins. Now, before we get into the testing,
I've got one last little cherry that I want to add on top of this project. You guys know me,
and I am not a fan of corded controllers. So I went and picked up
this wireless adapter from 8BitDo. And the fun thing about this
is that it allows you to run first party Sony controllers with your PS2. And yeah, I know what you're thinking. Sony never made a wireless controller
for the PS2, but they did for the PS3, PS4 and PS5. So this allows you to use one of these
with the PS2. All right, let's get this thing booted
up and see what we can do. So here's the Free McBoot interface. And it's basically just a modified version
of the normal boot interface with a lot more options added here. You can load up homebrew software,
you can playback media, also has some diagnostic software
built into it and a whole bunch of other fun tools that let you probe
deeper into the way that the PS2 works. But I know most of
you guys are probably very interested to see what these upscaled games look like
and what the retrogem can do. So let's boot up a game
We'll start with Gran Turismo four, because this is going to show the absolute
best of what the system can do. by tapping these buttons right here. we can bring up the retrogem menu and here we can adjust everything from the resolution which by the way, goes all the way up to 1440P you can also adjust the aspect ratio as well as the magnification you can also inject HDR into the image which to my eye, looks really good at least in the Hybrid Log Gamma Mode it looks pretty trash in HDR10 now I bet a bunch of you are probably saying oh my god, look at all the jaggies on screen the aliasing is so bad in 4k and that is why there’s a smoothing layer built into the retrogem so this gives you a light layer of anti aliasing across the entire image So here are
what my preferred settings look like. And here's what the original RCA output
looks like. as you can see,
the difference is kind of insane. Not only do
you have a more detailed image, but the colors are also more vibrant. You've got brighter brights, deeper
blacks, and a whole host of other image improvements
So that is a best case scenario because Gran Turismo four supports
a 480P progressive output mode. However, most PlayStation two titles
are limited to a 480i resolution. I won't go into too much depth here,
but basically the way old TVs worked is they would only render
every other line of pixels for each frame and then they would alternate those lines
between frames. This is called interlacing. However, modern displays
like this one here don't do this. They just display all the lines,
all the time and that can make the video output from the PS2 look kind of weird. So I've got Final Fantasy ten loaded up
here, and at first it looks pretty normal. That's because the retrogem
has that built in the de-interlacer If we go through the menus here, we can actually change the algorithm
that it's using to various results. So. Well, the image is still
it looks really good, but, once you start to move around a bit, well,
then things start to fall apart. You get these interlacing artifacts. At first, I was pretty bummed about this
But as it turns out, we can actually fix that. if we go back to the main menu. There's this program here called GSM. And here we can actually force
the PlayStation two to output a 480p image. Regardless of whether or not
the game was coded to support it. and then if we go back into Final Fantasy
ten, everything looks so much nicer. This doesn't work with every game, but it does work
with the vast majority of titles. So that is my modernized PlayStation two. And well,
I love how this thing turned out. I still think that I could have done it
better. So let's talk postmortem analysis. First up, I missed a good opportunity to replace
all the capacitors on the Mainboard. Those have a tendency to die
in the 20 to 40 year range. So its good preventative maintenance to do if you've already got the machine
all disassembled. Second,
running this five volt fan at seven volts kind of ruins the whole point
of using a noctua fan. The higher voltage is causing it to over spin and run a lot louder
than it normally would. So what I'm going to do is replace this with a 12 volt fan
that will then run slower and quieter. And then finally, I kind of wish I resin
3D printed this whole case, and would have made the final result
just look so much more professional. unfortunately for me though,
there is no way this thing would have fit on my resin
3D printer. So if any of you guys in
the comments happened to know of a good jumbo sized resin 3D printer,
I am all ears. And on that note, I'm done. I'll see you guys in the next video, peace Wait, hold that thought. I have one
last thing I want to show you guys. I salvaged the rotating PlayStation logo
from the original PS2, so no matter which orientation
I have the system in, I can put the PlayStation logo
facing the right way. All right. See you for real.
