Hardware Which PSP Should I Get?

[Kouen Hasuki]

Nice chart.
...Not positive, but I recall using a headset on the PSP 1000 with a socom game.

afaik PSP 1k doesn't have any mic input the additional pins are for remote only. its one of the larger reasons Sony never added Skype for the 1k

 

[GBA rocks]

I own a day-one(ish) psp 1000.

I hate glossy surfaces under my hands, I love matte.

I hate the seams of the UMD tray on the back, I'd like a seamless back.

I hate the black-silver-black "sandwich" design of 1000/2000/3000 PSPs and I hate transparent L/R triggers, I'd rather have an all black monolithic design.

I hate the ghosting on the 1000 (and 2000 too, if understand correctly) display.

That's all too say, there could be reasons for people to upgrade from a 1000 or 2000 to an E1000/street. But I've never held one in my hands, so I can't really know if it is a

Street (E1000)
Cheap piece of crap, avoid. Not only is it gimped even compared to the old 1000 model, but it's not built up to the same standards as the other models.

Is it really that cheaply built? What's with the hate all over the web? Maybe a lotof opinions are skewed by the lack of Wifi and word of mouth?

For the reason above I'd be more than happy to "upgrade" to an E1000 (and retire my 1000 to collectible status)...I just want to know if the ghosting it's gone (like it was gone on 3000 and Go) and if it's really that cheap (like "will-fall-apart-in-your-hands-cheap"?).

 

[Rydian]

The lack of Wifi and mono speakers are what's meant by "gimped", but people say it's built cheaply because it's not up to the standards of other PSPs. It's made of thinner plastic and flexes a bit, like you'd expect from cheap electronics. Everybody says it because it's a marked downslide.

I don't know if the ghosting is gone, I never got a hacked one in my hands to test something like original gameboy games (which show ghosting the worst).

 

[Foxi4]

Is it really that cheaply built? What's with the hate all over the web? Maybe a lotof opinions are skewed by the lack of Wifi and word of mouth?

For the reason above I'd be more than happy to "upgrade" to an E1000 (and retire my 1000 to collectible status)...I just want to know if the ghosting it's gone (like it was gone on 3000 and Go) and if it's really that cheap (like "will-fall-apart-in-your-hands-cheap"?).

The screen is definitely better than that of the PSP-1000, but pretty much everything these days has a better screen than that. I softmodded one myself and the device is horrible, and here's why in bulletpoints:

• The UMD tray feels like it's about to break any moment on a brand new unit - it's flimsy, it bends and it screeches when it's being opened. Each time I used it I was certain that I broke it, but no, that's how it operates.
• The Memory Stick slot is exposed, there's nothing covering it. Dust or moisture goes straight into the system - great idea!
• Albeit "pretty", the new Start, Select and Volume buttons need some getting used to.
• The plastic feels like it's straight from a Chinese knock-off factory - feel the cheapness!
• The speaker quality leaves a lot to be desired. Speaker - there's only one. Mono sound.
• Again, no WiFi.

Save up and get a PSP-3000, the PSP-E1000 is a collector's item, it's something you put on your shelf. I would not recommend it to anyone who actually wants to play on the system.

 

[trumpet-205]

Is it really that cheaply built? What's with the hate all over the web? Maybe a lotof opinions are skewed by the lack of Wifi and word of mouth?

For the reason above I'd be more than happy to "upgrade" to an E1000 (and retire my 1000 to collectible status)...I just want to know if the ghosting it's gone (like it was gone on 3000 and Go) and if it's really that cheap (like "will-fall-apart-in-your-hands-cheap"?).

Let's see,

* No WiFi
* No TV out
* Mono speaker (no stereo audio)
* No removable battery
* No built-in microphone
* Cheap plastic
* Memory card slot is exposed all the time
* No brightness button (can't adjust screen brightness during gaming, have to return to XMB)
* No music tone button (can't adjust music tone)
* Flat buttons just like regular 3DS, no tactile feeling

It is really bad and really cheap (just as bad as Wii Mini in a sense).

 

[Foxi4]

*Snip!*

Completely forgot about the microphone, TV-Out and tone and brightness buttons - yeah, those are huge downers too. Damn, this thing's a nasty...

 

[nukeboy95]

hmm i did not know i cud you my psp as a remote (move over wii u)

 

[GBA rocks]

thanks for all the answers

- lack of WiFi doesn't bother me (I never use it at home because my net is WPA2, and I don't care about local multiplayer, not anymore anyway)
- same for mono speaker (I always use headphones anyway)
- flush start/select without tactile "in the dark" feedback OK, that bothers me
- brightness, note, mic, removable battery, tv out = can live without (if I was serious about tv out I'd buy a Go and use it with a DS3, btw can it be charged and tv-out at the same time using the cradle?)
- I still don't get how really bad the plastic is...when I look at it, it looks like a (nice) PS3 slim matte sony plastic...anyway if you all say that it feels flimsy I have no reason to believe otherwise...it just doesn't show in videos..

you definitely skewed me towards a (used/refurb) flaming Radiant Red psp-3000....screw the interlacing artefacts, hello vibrant colors, no ghosting, integrated mic (whatevs..), etc.

dunno, if I find a used E1000 for like 40€ I could check one out anyway..

 

[Foxi4]

I still don't get how really bad the plastic is...when I look at it, it looks like a (nice) PS3 slim matte sony plastic...anyway if you all say that it feels flimsy I have no reason to believe otherwise...it just doesn't show in videos..

Okay, if you think you're fine without everything this model lacks, do yourself a favour. Go to any games store, ask to hold one and check for yourself. The plastic is nothing like the matte PS3 Slim's - it's really, really terrible and photos or videos do not do it justice. In good lighting, anything looks fine but in real life it really doesn't. If after using it yourself you're still okay with it, go for it - it's way cheaper.

 

[GBA rocks]

I'm not OK with everything, the flush start/select/home/volume buttons and the exposed MS slot bother me. I find the latter a REALLY stupid design decision.

Yes it's way cheaper and easily available brand new, smelling of just unboxed fresh gadget. Last weekend my regional amazon had it on sale for 69€ shipped, a steal. Now it's back at 79€.

I will try to get my hands on one in a store or something.

If it's terrible like you all say, well it's a shame, because I'm sure a lot of people drooled the first time they saw that sexy, grippy, skin-oil-free matte texture that is unique in the whole PSP line-up.

 

[Rydian]

Do you pick your girlfriends by rack size, ignoring personality and intelligence?

 

[GBA rocks]

Fact is, I've already got a fully functioning, perma-hacked, fully featured 1000 "wife". We've been married for 7 years now.
The e1000 would be more of a lover. And that grippy texture is a nice new trick the wife can't do.

 

[GBA rocks]

Ok, I got a psp street/e1004.

It has one tragic flaw, one none of you mentioned: the screen is crap.

How this is NOT mentioned in capital letters in every PSP Street review out there is beyond me. Maybe people are too busy pointing out the obvious ("it lacks wifi!!!").

The screen has a horrible, horrible vertical shift. You HAVE to hold it at a certain exact angle to see colors properly. Even then, it sucks when reproducing dark backgrounds or environments, and on the other hand very light colors (like white backgrounds and light colored XMB themes) feels painful and tiring to watch.

Compared to my old psp-1000, there is no ghosting (and OK, this is big) and it looks a bit sharper, but that's it. In every other way, the psp-1000 screen is better: no vertical shift (you can place a psp1k on a table and still be perfectly able to see the screen, whereas on the Street you only see shadows), better reproduction of very dark and very light backgrounds/game_areas.

So to recap
1000: ghosting
2000: still ghosting
3000: interlacing (barely noticeable and the lesser evil anyway)
Go: smaller
Street: vertical shift, horrible blacks and whites

So, based on this, "What PSP Should I Get?" ---> 3000 or Go, PERIOD. The other models' screens are subpar and painful to endure.

About the supposedly cheap plastic: it doesn't feel cheap to me. It's nice and it's the single best thing about the Street. Grippy matte goodness, monolithic black design. Buttons, triggers, D-pad and thumbstick are perfectly good and again, not cheap. What's cheap and is maybe mistakenly referred to as "flex" (but it's not) is the fact that the right half of the backcover is slightly loose and springy, in other words if you tap on it with your fingers you can "telegraph". That said, you have to purposely do it to notice or care. When you're playing, grabbing the psp with both hands, you won't notice it. Your brain will be already too busy trying to keep the screen at the perfect angle to prevent vertical shift.

Another reason for the supposed cheapness could be the fact that it feels hollow, being voluminous but light. Newsflash: that's a GOOD thing. The generous dimensions ensure a good grip but it's light so it's not fatiguing. Again, what's really tiring is trying to keep the screen at the right angle. Makes you wanna go back to a 1000 and tolerate ghosting.

 

[GBA rocks]

By the way, playing PSone Classics without ghosting is awesome.
Oh, and I love the new small AC charger.

 

[xist]

So to recap
1000: ghosting
2000: still ghosting
3000: interlacing (barely noticeable and the lesser evil anyway)
Go: smaller
Street: vertical shift, horrible blacks and whites

So, based on this, "What PSP Should I Get?" ---> 3000 or Go, PERIOD. The other models' screens are subpar and painful to endure.

Can you give me a specific game example where i can look for ghosting? Because i've got an early Japanese 1000, a first generation 2000, a latter day (still fully flashable) Limited Edition Crisis Core 2000 and a Go and there's never ever been an occasion where i've thought to myself "Oh the tragedy, the ghosting here is ruining the experience". On the other hand i've often shelved the Go because the controls are horrible and the screen smaller than i'd like.

Edit - and if you say Disgaea that's not good enough...that screen cap doing the rounds seems unrepresentative to me in real world testing.

 

[Rydian]

On my 2K models, ghosting is very evident in black-and-white things like gameboy games.

 

[xist]

On my 2K models, ghosting is very evident in black-and-white things like gameboy games.

Granted i've never emulated anything black and white, nor used the GB emu's but in general day to day use i think saying DON'T GET A 2000 BECAUSE OF GHOSTING is scaremongering until there's some sort of decent comparison made OTHER than that single Disgaea shot. Everyone who's owned a PSP is aware of the ghosting vs interlacing vs saturation issue but it's, in my experience, not something that really matters much.

I do most my PSPing these days on my 1000 and i can't think of anything i've played recently that's been bad (NP Vagrant Story)

 

[Rydian]

I mentioned gameboy games and black and white stuff because it's really bad there, anybody could spot the constant blurring. However in normal things like PSP games it's much less evident.

I'd do a recording and frame comparison, but I lack anything other than a 2K.

 

[xist]

If that fellow above actually provides a game where we can test for ourselves it'd allow us to compile a selection of screen caps across the PSP models. It's just very difficult to substantiate things unless it's demonstrable.​

 

[GBA rocks]

Can you give me a specific game example where i can look for ghosting? Because i've got an early Japanese 1000, a first generation 2000, a latter day (still fully flashable) Limited Edition Crisis Core 2000 and a Go and there's never ever been an occasion where i've thought to myself "Oh the tragedy, the ghosting here is ruining the experience". On the other hand i've often shelved the Go because the controls are horrible and the screen smaller than i'd like.

Edit - and if you say Disgaea that's not good enough...that screen cap doing the rounds seems unrepresentative to me in real world testing.

Tekken 3 (ripped from a ps1 disc)

Just made a direct comparison leaving the 2 PSPs in idle on tekken main menu until this started at the same time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9OViNqWFF6w

on the 1000, you could clearly see ghost trails of characters' arms and legs
on the E1000, not

Then I played some Street fighter alpha 3 max (psp game) on both, and again I could see something was wrong on the 1000.
And that can be said for pretty much any game, on the 1000 I always felt something was "wrong", you don't necessarily see actual trails but what you do always see are "weirdly softened" moving images. Everything is softened, instead of being sharp and "fast moving". Like playing a PC fps on a slow first gen LCD. Soft. Blurred. Fatiguing for the eyes. Is it enough to deem it "experience-ruining"? Yes for me. It's annoying to be able to notice it. Gadgets are not supposed to annoy me. And for everyone else, it's simply "worse than it could be" by just choosing a 3000/Go over a 1000/2000/Street.