Hardware Which OEM PS3 controller should I buy ? A1 vs A2

[L3gi0n0fh311]

I want to buy a couple of used OEM Sony controllers off of eBay...Should I buy an A1 or A2 ? Whats the best model ?

Many Thanks

 

[CoolMe]

There are many motherboard revisions for the PS3 controllers, and there's a Wiki page somewhere that you can use to compare the insides as each is different from the other, unlike PS2 controllers. The fake controllers can imitate the outside pretty well of a genuine OEM ones, and you'll have a hard time comparing, you need to get either high quality pics from the seller of the controller, to see if the imperfections show if it is a fake, or inspect it physically clicking the L3/R3 if it makes a loud sound...etc If you test it with your PS3, use Sixaxis supported game like Journey to test if the motion control work, if not then it's definitely a fake.

 

[Blakejansen]

There are many motherboard revisions for the PS3 controllers, and there's a Wiki page somewhere that you can use to compare the insides as each is different from the other, unlike PS2 controllers. The fake controllers can imitate the outside pretty well of a genuine OEM ones, and you'll have a hard time comparing, you need to get either high quality pics from the seller of the controller, to see if the imperfections show if it is a fake, or inspect it physically clicking the L3/R3 if it makes a loud sound...etc If you test it with your PS3, use Sixaxis supported game like Journey to test if the motion control work, if not then it's definitely a fake.

So fake controllers aren't recommended for ps3?

 

[L3gi0n0fh311]

There are many motherboard revisions for the PS3 controllers, and there's a Wiki page somewhere that you can use to compare the insides as each is different from the other, unlike PS2 controllers. The fake controllers can imitate the outside pretty well of a genuine OEM ones, and you'll have a hard time comparing, you need to get either high quality pics from the seller of the controller, to see if the imperfections show if it is a fake, or inspect it physically clicking the L3/R3 if it makes a loud sound...etc If you test it with your PS3, use Sixaxis supported game like Journey to test if the motion control work, if not then it's definitely a fake.

But which model is the best ? Should I buy an A1 or A2 ? Does it even matter ?

There are basically 3 models that I can choose from:

ZC2U
ZC2U A1
ZC2U A2

 

[CoolMe]

IIRC, A1's are the first ones and the A2 are the last ones. Like i said numbers don't matter if you buy a fake controller, make sure it's an OEM first (don't trust sellers), then choose whatever.

 

[L3gi0n0fh311]

So fake controllers aren't recommended for ps3?

The fake ones have 3 problems:

(1) They are not durable.
(2) Some of them do not have Sixaxis.
(3) Some do not have pressure sensitive buttons.

 

[CoolMe]

OEMs are harder to find these days, you can find ones on the wild or in video-game store. Now since Sony stopped making them around 2014-15, if a seller says he has a batch or something it's most likely to be fake.

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There are also some region exclusives controllers that have different letters at the end from the rest, and are OEM, some of the Chinese ones i think end H2 or something (stands for Hong Kong)..

 

[Blakejansen]

The fake ones have 3 problems:

(1) They are not durable.
(2) Some of them do not have Sixaxis.
(3) Some do not have pressure sensitive buttons.

So where are we supposed to get controllers? Are we forced to use old ones that may or may not work?