Advice on a PS2 with HD

[evil_ash_xero]

I was looking at this modded item, which is specifically: "Slim ps2 with DMS4 Pro and HDCombo"

OK, I don't know anything whatsoever about these PS2s with HDs. Would I be able to put my JP and US games on it, and save my laser the wear? Info please.

It's modded, so keep that in mind. No region protection crap with it.

[Endymion]

"HD Combo" is an add-on casing which attaches to the bottom of a slim PS2 in order to hold an ATA hard disk. It only works with v12 and v13 PS2s. The v12 is the slim which had both a modem (telephone) and RJ45 network jacks. The v13 has just an RJ45 network jack and no modem, however it uses the same chip as the v12, this is why those models work. All subsequent ones do not. The DMS4 is one of the better mod chips, however it is not very necessary in the modern age of PS2 softmods. HD Loader actually has more compatibility at this point, there are only a very small handful of titles which work via DMS4 Pro's "ToxicOS" but not via HD Loader or OpenPS2 Loader. ToxicOS uses its own format for the hard disk, but ToxicOS is compatible with both its own format as well as HD Loader's. Conversely, if you ever use HD Loader, any games formatted with ToxicOS format will not be read by the program, so you are better off using HD Loader and its format, which works with both.

So anyway, yeah, this would do what you describe, and it would be very versatile for it. I wouldn't put a lot of money into it though, because everything it does can be done already with other alternatives, free ones in fact. A variant of USB Loader has much more compatibility now than it did in previous years, and OpenPS2 Loader supports USB disk loading as well. More and more slim users who could not install HD Combo made this a necessity, and of course, the fat PS2s are all over the place, simple, easy and quick to softmod all on your own, so it isn't like you do not have a million options to do what you want to do.

[evil_ash_xero]

Are there many games that it would not be compatible with?

[Endymion]

HD Loader has improved over the course of the last four years. ToxicOS has not been updated since at least that long, but HD Loader and variants are continuing to update. So there are going to be games that one supports while the other doesn't. (Both ways.)

I have a DMS4 Pro in one of my PS2s (it's a fat model) so I've come into this before. Between using ToxicOS and the newest, patched HD Loader (or OpenPS2 Loader) you will have the most complete compatibility. But it's been a long, long time since I have resorted to using ToxicOS instead of the alternatives, so I do not remember what games ToxicOS supports which HD Loader/OPL does not. I would imagine the number of games that HDL/OPL support which ToxicOS does not is greater by now. Google around for compatibility lists if you are thinking of a specific game.

I just wouldn't blow a lot of money on any mod chip, or PS2 advertised with one when you can do the the same thing for free or even have better results. OPL even allows you to use images on your PC and load them over the network. There isn't a modchip in existence which does that, and none it would seem are forthcoming. It's painfully simple to patch a game for NTSC or region restriction, investigate ESR, loading it directly from your PC via OPL makes this simple process even more desirable.

[Specineff]

I've only had one game give me a hard time with my HDLoader, and that was Xenosaga Ep. 2. Everything else runs smoothly, save the occasional freeze or crash.

[speedlolita]

IIDX has timing issues, and KoFXI PAL used to crash.