PS1/2 buying a ps2 for modifying

[aphexpusher]

There is so much information out there concerning the ps2 and modifying it however I thought maybe someone could just clarify a few questions I am having:
first I wanted to know if using an external HDD on a slim PS2 would be as good as a fat PS2 with an internal HDD installed. would there be significant slow down that I should seriously invest in a fat system? or is it only slight and in all actuality perfectly playable with a usb hdd?

my other question is if the softmod is just as good as a modchip. what disadvantages are there to using a softmod instead of a mod chip? is it in your opinion just as good as the softmod? or should I dish out the extra money for a chip modified system?

thanks!

 

[shadowkillerdrag]

From what i heard running off a usb has a noticable lag or something
soft modding is easier since u dont have soilder ( however u spell it ) the things
I recommend FreeMCboot althogh u have to patched iso's before usage its fairly easy to set up and use.

 

[Magsor]

The perfect setup is a FAT PS2 + Network Adapter + Bigger hard drive + Freemcboot.
Modchip is only worth it if youre gonna install it yourself...

 

[WiiPower]

The perfect setup is a FAT PS2 + Network Adapter + Bigger hard drive + Freemcboot.
Modchip is only worth it if youre gonna install it yourself...

+1

A good modchip is better under some circumstances, but usually internal HDD loading with Open PS2 Loader(which you can start via Free McBoot) is the best thing. A modchip would also allow playing ps1 games, which is so far only possible on V9/10 ps2s(maybe some slims, but i doubt it) + swap trick + retail ps1 game(has to be big). On the other hand ps2 lasers die really quickly, so if you are playing much, don't go modchip, ESR, swap trick or just anything that uses actual discs.

USB loading is much slower, because it's only usb 1.1, which is about about 1MB/s reading speed, while the dvd drive is a 4x drive(>5 MB/s). Network loading on a slim is a bit faster than usb loading, and what i'd recommend if you get a slim.