Hardware Slim Vs Phat, differences other than screen and battery life?

[shtonkalot]

I'm looking to get a Vita very soon. I have some questions on the differences between phat and slim that I haven't found a good answer to.

Charge cable connection, how does the phat charge connector and cable fair against the micro usb? I've had plenty of devices with micro USB faults and wonder if the phat connector is sturdier? Are 3rd party phat connector to USB charge cables reliable?

Buttons, are they the same? I remember slim PSP buttons having less press travel than the original. I preferred the phat PSP buttons. Is it the same sort of thing on Vitas?

I hear often the phat feels sturdier, is it? Do people break or scratch a slim more easily?

Any other notable differences?

 

[Tikker]

phat is a fair bit heavier

the grips for the slim seem more common and cheaper

I think the screen is a LOT nicer on the phat, but really, either one is fine.

the connector on the phat is definitely more sturdy, but proprietary

 

[masenko]

the slim has 1gb internal memory so for hacking purposes you don't need a official memory card like with the original.

 

[goober]

Connector is fine. Not super delicate but I'd say it would fail before your standard micro usb. However, I'd never say it'd fail with anyone who knows how to plug in connectors. It's not like you need to baby it.
Buttons feel the exact same to me and use similar designs underneath.
Phat is sturdier. It could take a fall better simply because it's reinforced more and stuff isn't packed in.
Phat with 3G will have even worse battery life (5-10%). I'd recommend removing that module since you still lose it faster even in airplane mode. It pulls out easy and you only get a hardware error nag on full reboots which doesn't affect anything or any software. (On the plus side you do get the option to put in a sd reader in its place if you wanted to)
Phat has more internal memory for hacking purposes but I wouldn't say it's extremely beneficial unless you're a bit OCD

The biggest and most important difference is the screen, really. The original vita screen looks a heck of a lot better and whatever gains the slim makes, it loses on its screen. Whereas the oroginal psp vs its successors had much bigger gains in various hardware tweaks, there really aren't any with the vita. the only point of the vita slim was so Sony could use a smaller screen. Not much had to be done to slim it, in reality, since the original had a lot of empty space in it already.

 

[theguyver]

i have both, phat feels more premium due to glass, slim has plastic shell. Slim is lighter and too me it feels better with a grip. My preference is the phat due to the screen.

 

[Hayato213]

If you gonna get the phat model get the 3G one that way you can use a PSVSD with it. Phat does have the better screen out of the two. OLED beat LCD. Slim has better battery life though. As for charger, stay away from third party.

 

[shtonkalot]

Thank you all for your opinions.

I'm definitely looking at phat models as a preference.
As far as phat charge cables go what are the best options? I'd prefer to charge from a USB port or other 5v DC source, otherwise 12v DC adapter options would be good to know of. To answer any questions, I live off grid from 12v DC power and don't run an inverter or generator unless necessary. No mains AC power in easy reach.
I'm quite willing to hack together charge solutions for my DC power needs. If I do should I be cutting ends off of official sony charger cables?

I would like to get a 3G model and do the 3G to SD hack at some point. Availability and price will dictate whether I get the 3G model or not.

Bonus question for Australians, anyone had success with EB games pre-owned units having low firmware? They are $150 for either phat model and that is the low end of pricing for these units 2nd hand in Australia, with walk in replacement warranty if the hardware stuffs up.
I used to work there but it was long ago now. We didn't really have to worry about firmware upgrades for 2nd hand gameboys back then Not sure if they do a real refurb or not these days and if that includes a system update.

 

[duwen]

Firmware shouldn't really be a concern now, as all models are exploitable. The only way it makes a difference is if you must have the cold boot enso exploit, in which case you'll need lower than 3.65. I'm more than happy to not have the enso cold boot - as an SD2Vita user the coldboot makes the continued usage of legit gamecards somewhat awkward.

As for charging, I bought my oled phat 2nd hand and it only came with the official usb charge cable (no mains adapter) and it charges fine from a 5v usb.

To add to some of the above comments:
If you get a 3G model you can disable the module via homebrew without removing it (but as mentioned by someone else the PSVSD device can easily be fitted to replace it).
Another thing I've found is that using an SD2Vita adapter seems to drain the battery considerably quicker than 'legitimate' usage does.

 

[shtonkalot]

...if you must have the cold boot enso exploit, in which case you'll need lower than 3.65.

I must Well I like the idea, I may well drain the battery somewhat regularly. Do I not require 3.60 official firmware or below? I'm sure that used to be the case.

as an SD2Vita user the coldboot makes the continued usage of legit gamecards somewhat awkward.

Can you elaborate on what makes for awkwardness? I'm not sure what you mean.

the official usb charge cable (no mains adapter) and it charges fine from a 5v usb.

I wasn't aware there even was an official USB charger option. Thank you.

 

[duwen]

Can you elaborate on what makes for awkwardness? I'm not sure what you mean.

No problem. It's to do with what storage you set as your ux0 and ur0 (where the system is looking for it's data/configs/etc from). If you're using the sd2vita as your main internal storage it has to be set as ux0; therefor gamecard=ux0. If you still want to use legit gamecards you need to configure the storage settings to default back to the sony memcard being ux0 if the sd2vita isn't inserted. If you've got dlc for legit gamecards this will need to be on your sony memcard.
To configure all this correctly sort of requires that you have separate h-encore configs for sd2vita and memcard usage. I opted for a simpler method of not bothering with h-encore on the memcard so I can use gamecards in a legit manner... which means I have no homebrew/hax available when I opt to run legit gamecards. Essentially, I just don't launch h-encore when I have an actual gamecard inserted.

I remember it being a confusing nightmare trying to set up sd2vita so I'd still have the option of running legit gamecards. There may be a simpler way that I missed, but the method I used works for me... however, if at any point I want to use 'non legit' dlc with a legit gamecard I may have to rethink my setup.

 

[shtonkalot]

While I have your attention duwen, can you let me know about the 3.65 or lower firmware requirement for the cold boot enso exploit?
I was under the impression you needed to be on 3.60 or lower to get the exploit to install. Is this not the case? Can you direct me to a handy guide? I've read a few but am a little bewildered by all the info and could use a known good up to date resource for the info to install all the fun stuff.

 

[duwen]

While I have your attention duwen, can you let me know about the 3.65 or lower firmware requirement for the cold boot enso exploit?
I was under the impression you needed to be on 3.60 or lower to get the exploit to install. Is this not the case? Can you direct me to a handy guide? I've read a few but am a little bewildered by all the info and could use a known good up to date resource for the info to install all the fun stuff.

I'll help if I can, but my Vita was on 3.67 when I got it (and still is), so I may not have a wholly accurate understanding of anything relating to lower firmwares.
I believe that (until h-encore) henkaku could only be applied to 3.60 and below, but the exploit that allowed for enso wasn't patched out until 3.65.
If I'm wrong I hope someone more knowledgeable will correct me.
As far as guides; I found the Skullator youtube channel a good place to start.

 

[Megadriver94]

Okay, so Phat has better screen, charger port, and overall sturdiness. Vita Slim has better memory(it has actual internal memory of up to 1GB), and battery life. But what about the touch pad and analog sticks? Which of the two models have it made in those areas?

 

[duwen]

But what about the touch pad and analog sticks? Which of the two models have it made in those areas?

There's nothing in it, by all accounts. I've never heard anyone say one is better than the other in those regards - it just comes down to screen and general build quality vs battery life and internal storage.