Which PSP is the "good" one?

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:29 pm

I know there are like 4 or 5 versions of the PSP out there, just wondering which one is the one to get?

From my reading, I'd probably go for the 2000 series, as it's the 'slim' version with the TV out option, because apparently the newer screen in the 3000 has some issues? I've never seen the 3000 so if someone has one can tell me "nah it's not bad at all the screen is way better" then probably the 3000 would be the best one.

The GO doesn't interest me at all because it looks uncomfortable to hold/play, and the E1000 is PAL region only and doesn't have WiFi? Or a UMD drive? How the hell do you get games on it ... ?

blizzz · Post by **blizzz** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:42 pm

I've got a PSP2000 and the screen is horrible. The picture really smears badly with every movement. I never played with it again after about a month because it's so much worse than on any other device I had before. But other people seem to have a better screen, or just don't care about it.

I've got a PSPgo which has a way better screen and I really love that it's so small and portable. There's also a charging station for it with video out and you can connect a Dualshock controller which makes for a great home console too.

ZellSF · Post by **ZellSF** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:50 pm

e1000 is a cheap inferior version of the 2000, it has a UMD drive and you can transfer games from a PC or PS3.

No one can really tell you definitely which screen you would prefer. The 3000 has really horrible looking motion artifacts, but the 2000 has really dull colors and ghosting (which of course, is more accurate towards what the games were designed for).

You really can't find someone who owns a PSP 3000 you can try? You'll see if the motion artifacts are annoying to you and you can disable wide color space to see what you'll be giving up if you choose a 2000.

I have a 3000 and a Go (I actually just ordered a second 3000) and can tell you that ergonomic concerns with the Go are very valid, playing basically anything feels more uncomfortable, and I'm actually doing worse in some games because of it. And the screen might seem only "slightly" smaller, but if you consider the distance you have to hold the system and compare with a 3000, then you'll realize the screen is much smaller.

Edit: have you seriously considered a Vita? Its PSP compatibility isn't very good (practically region locked, no way to play UMD exclusive titles), but depending on what you want to play it might not be a problem, and its screen quality is way better than any PSP.

Op Intensify · Post by **Op Intensify** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:39 am

Go with the 3000. It's kind of flimsy, so you won't want to make heavy use of it as a portable system, but the screen and D-Pad are so much better. In fact I would say it has the best D-Pad of any first-party Playstation controller ever. Plus it plays UMDs, which is a feature lacking from the Go and Vita. Treat the UMD drive gingerly, the sliding latch mechanism is easy to break.

The Go's screen technically looks the best out of all the PSP models, but it's a good bit smaller.

I couldn't recommend the Vita for playing PSP games. A huge amount of stuff either isn't on PSN or isn't Vita-compatible. And games regularly get removed, due to publishers losing the rights or going under.

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:13 pm

Yeah the Vita is way out of my price range.

EB sells a "recharged" 3000 kit for $80, seems like a good deal? Comes with a couple of bits and a warranty, and basically the same prices I'm seeing on eBay.

RGB32E · Post by **RGB32E** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:18 pm

shmuppyLove wrote:Yeah the Vita is way out of my price range.

FFIV plays on the Vita... and it looks gorgeous!

There are quite a few PSP games availabe for purchase on PSN. Since the Vita's screen is 4x rez, you can choose between pixel doubling and bilinear filtering... speaking of, why don't they have scanline emulation!

But yeah, Vita price and weight are the two cons compared to the 2000 and 3000. I have a 3000 and the main issue I had with it is that sony used a vertically aligned display (just as nintendo did with the DSi). So, instead of RGB being aligned left to right, they're aligned top to bottom, so you get artifacts on drop shadows, ect. The PSP2000 is the regular horizontal configuration, but the screens I've seen don't look as good as the 3000 overall.

ZellSF · Post by **ZellSF** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:51 pm

Go with the 3000. It's kind of flimsy, so you won't want to make heavy use of it as a portable system

I dropped my 3000 on the floor lots of times. And the only visible damage on it are some screen scratches. There's tons of accessories to protect your PSP if you don't even want that though... But they're all discontinued by now, and for some reason, pretty difficult to find (I wanted a Logitech Playgear Slim, but I couldn't find it where.).

Plus it plays UMDs, which is a feature lacking from the Go and Vita. Treat the UMD drive gingerly, the sliding latch mechanism is easy to break.

Just rip them to a memory stick? I imagine that should be legal in most places. If you had both a 3000 and a Go, you could rip UMD games with the 3000 and play them on the Go without ever touching a piracy site. I still don't think getting a Go would be worth it.

brentsg · Post by **brentsg** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:10 pm

The 1000 is easy to hack, it's built like a tank, the buttons suck, and the screen isn't as good as later models.

The 2000 has a better screen and buttons, but isn't as vibrant as the 3000. It doesn't have the screen tearing issues though.

The 3000 is cheap and flimsy feeling, has a vibrant screen, and has issues with screen interlacing/tearing type of effect.

ZellSF · Post by **ZellSF** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:20 pm

A 2000, 3000 or Go is as easy to hack as a 1000.

DJ Incompetent · Post by **DJ Incompetent** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:55 pm

I'll vouch for the Go. The analog placement is the most comfortable I've experienced of the four systems, but the dpad hand cramping does occur.

The pocket size, bluetooth, and max 28GB space are invaluable.

Fudoh · Post by **Fudoh** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:26 pm

By now all PSPs are easy to hack, including the Go.

I had a 1000 when it was released a long time ago. I then upgraded to a 2000 for the component video output. The 2000 is much lighter than the 1000 and the display's quite ok. Never had the 3000 or the new cheap 1004 though. I also have a Go. The Go's display is better than the PSP-2000's, but the controller under the screen is awkward. I use a PS3 controller on the Go to play on the TV. For gaming-on-the-go I would probably use the 2000 instead.

ZellSF · Post by **ZellSF** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:46 pm

Right, I keep forgetting to mention this:

1000/e1000 has no TV output.
2000 has a 480p only component output (PSX rescaling is blurry).
3000/Go supports 480i for PSP titles and 240p for PSX titles over composite or component. (it also supports 480p of course)

and max 28GB space are invaluable.

You can get 28 GB on a PSP. A bit expensive, but if you want it cheaper there are microSD adapters, which will make the XMB take a few extra seconds to load them, but they're fine for playing games. I've heard about people trying to use two "32GB" cards in one of the adapters that accepts two cards to get "64GB", but I haven't heard enough to tell if it works or not.

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:17 pm

Ok so 3000 definitely sounds like the way to go -- I do have component in on my SD CRT, but it's obviously not progressive.

And as I understand it, if the UMD slot isn't working, that's not necessarily a deal breaker?

ZellSF · Post by **ZellSF** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:33 pm

It's not really worth bothering with the PSP's video out on a CRT, it has the wrong aspect ratio and you'll only be playing in a small letterbox.

Unless you want it for the PSX games, they don't have the same problems, but aren't real PSX consoles really cheap?

And as I understand it, if the UMD slot isn't working, that's not necessarily a deal breaker?

Well legally you would be limited to PSN only titles, and if you choose that I'll make an argument for why you should spend the extra money for the Vita.

There are ways to play UMD-exclusive games without a UMD drive of course, but they all include going to piracy sites (or ripping the game yourself with a PSP that does have a working UMD drive).

Op Intensify · Post by **Op Intensify** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:38 pm

It's not really worth bothering with the PSP's video out on a CRT, it has the wrong aspect ratio and you'll only be playing in a small letterbox.

Agreed about the CRT, but you can greatly improve the size by using an HDTV's zoom feature.

I'll mention that the Vita doesn't have video out.

Ji-L87 · Post by **Ji-L87** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:59 am

shmuppyLove wrote:And as I understand it, if the UMD slot isn't working, that's not necessarily a deal breaker?

I would say that it is a deal breaker. Actually, why wouldn't you want a working UMD drive? While having games on a memory card is practical and drains less battery, you should be able to find at least most of the games you want at a cheaper price as UMDs rather than digital downloads.
Also, physical media is sweet, yes?

I can't comment on the 3000 as I haven't played with my friend's one that much, but the 2000 is mostly decent. The screen does blur & smear but it's far from unplayable and from what I've seen it's a definitive improvement over the old PSP.

Edit:
And yes, the PSP d-pad is the best PlayStation d-pad. Oddly enough.

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 11:26 am

Woo, managed to score the one with broken UMD drive for C$53.09

And it's GREEN

Domino · Post by **Domino** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:45 pm

BUMP!

I'm going to be in the market for a PSP. I'm planning to get a new PSP 3000 in the future but I just need to know how easy it is to hack it for homebrew and if it can play imports just fine?

I want to play the Konami shooting game and the Star Soldier collection on the PSP.

Fudoh · Post by **Fudoh** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:49 pm

dead easy to install a custom firmware and imports run just fine.

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:58 pm

I'll second that, it was really simple.

Put a couple files on a MSPD, run it, done.

If for some reason it reverts (battery pulled, dies), there's a "Fast Recovery" that re-enables it.

Domino · Post by **Domino** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 pm

shmuppyLove wrote:I'll second that, it was really simple.

Put a couple files on a MSPD, run it, done.

If for some reason it reverts (battery pulled, dies), there's a "Fast Recovery" that re-enables it.

What's a MSPD?

Fudoh · Post by **Fudoh** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:15 pm

memory stick....

Op Intensify · Post by **Op Intensify** » Fri Aug 31, 2012 11:25 pm

It used to be you needed a Pandora battery to install CFW. I guess there's hacks now that don't require that.

And yeah, system's completely region free for UMDs, though you will need to switch back and forth between accounts to run PSN games from different regions.

ZellSF · Post by **ZellSF** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 2:57 pm

You can always just use available tools to decrypt both PSN games and DLC (I had to do that once since I wanted to use DLC from two different regions without reactivating my PSP with Sony all the time).

I'll second that, it was really simple.

Put a couple files on a MSPD, run it, done.

If for some reason it reverts (battery pulled, dies), there's a "Fast Recovery" that re-enables it.

Or if you turn off your PSP.

Not sure why anyone would ever want to do that, with PSP's sleep mode draining almost no power at all, but it's commonly cited as a disadvantage with current CFW methods.

If you want permanent CFW that won't disappear no matter what, it is possible on all PSPs (just downgrade to 6.20 and use PRO permanent patch), but it sounds needlessly risky to me.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:37 am

The PSP-1000 and the PSP-1001 were/are notorious for draining a fully charged 2000mAh Li-Ion battery slowly even if it's on sleep mode. They're quite known as a "battery juice sipper" at best. I keep a few PSP 2000 mAh battery packs on hand just for that occassion.

You can pick up the cool official PSP camera accesory on the cheap brand new from your local Target store for a mere $11.97 USD right now, comes as a pack-in with the PSP game of Invisianimals game set. It'd be located in the bargin rack section of the Electronics department section.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

zaphod · Post by **zaphod** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 4:20 am

I think a hackable psp 2000 is probably the best bet.

Totally hackable on current OFW, and the CFW stays even after loss of power. No pandora battery needed.

And it has the good buttons. I have not seen the ghosting/dull colors. It looks plenty bright to me.

If you just want homebrew, then you can actually get signed homebrew that will run on ANY PSP, because the keys weres stolen from a haxx0red ps3.

So unless you plan to be a pirate, ergonomics and the drive are really the only valid concerns. I'm happy with my 2000.

Also, note that it's worth ripping your own UMDs (not piracy as long as you keep the discs) to save battery power.

Tigershark · Post by **Tigershark** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:28 pm

I have the PSP Go.

Easy to install CFW.

Most of the time I play emulated Mega Drive and SNES shooters which run fantastically on it.

PS1 games lag so for PS1 shooters it's not great but not too bad. If you want to play TATE then PSP GO is not for you. I would have thought the earlier systems are better.

I have to say that after the initial disappointment of how bad the on-line shop was for the PSP I've really grown to love my Go for the emulation scene.

Op Intensify · Post by **Op Intensify** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 4:01 am

The PSP Go has fantastically shitty controls, how do you deal with those?

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 7:10 pm

Tigershark wrote:I have the PSP Go.

Easy to install CFW.

Most of the time I play emulated Mega Drive and SNES shooters which run fantastically on it.

PS1 games lag so for PS1 shooters it's not great but not too bad. If you want to play TATE then PSP GO is not for you. I would have thought the earlier systems are better.

I have to say that after the initial disappointment of how bad the on-line shop was for the PSP I've really grown to love my Go for the emulation scene.

I haven't noticed any lag playing PS1 games on the PSP.

You might be thinking of doing it through Remote Play? But there is a way to natively run PS1 games, and let me tell you, it's fantastic.

Fudoh · Post by **Fudoh** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 7:38 pm

The PSP Go has fantastically shitty controls, how do you deal with those?

use a Dualshock3 controller. Silly on the go of course, but really nice at home.

shmups.system11.org

Which PSP is the "good" one?

Which PSP is the "good" one?

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