out of how many?

I agree totally m8, I havnt had a dead v9 since xmas! It was obviously a bad batch.

The v9 is quieter/faster & smoother, why would anybody want a v7?

got my v9 back today and rechipped with matrix working fine now hope it keeps on going :D

I agree with you both, I dont install near as many chips as you or Spedmetal but all the v9's i have done are doing well.

That is fine for some but personally down in oz one bad station is a big problem as we don't do as many stations as other regions

I used to think it was all down to installer error until it happened to me...

and it was one of my cleanest installs! :

http://www.cyber-mag.com/station/ins...eX-5_color.jpg

The V9 had a double wammy 3 weeks after the install - coil resistance down to 1.2 ohm and heat effects visible around the LA chip...

I tried in vain to add a couple of 2.2ohm resistors in series with the coil but that as expected it did sweet FA.

My fear is that even using the replacement BA trick I will have to buy a new laser as well and they are not cheap down here - and I also doubt the reliability of these so called "new" lasers...

lastly I hate to stuff customers around so I hate the fact that this issue has been dragging on a bit with my customer.

What do you mean the V9 is "faster and smoother" than the V7? I know the fan is louder, but does the laser move slower in reading the data? Are the loading times longer on the V7 when playing a game?

The V9 recognises the media type and boots to the logo in 1/10th of the time the older models do.

Sh!ettt, why did everyone tell me to get the V7 instead of the V9 then??

because the V9 is a double edged blade - on one hand it boots faster but the same chip that lets it boot faster is the cause of dead lasers and dead V9's!

V7's are just a safer option until this gets sorted...

I haven’t noticed any speed difference, but I have noticed EVERY SINGLE V9 I’ve had here do not read cheap media as good as the V7! I’ve had to adjust the cogs and pots in a few already, one V9 was not even reading a Ritek backup when I received it. Not to mention all the headaches with the Mods needing to be just right. And the fact my supplier doesn’t send proper wire to do the job right. I’d take a V7 over a V9 any day, absolutely!!

I keep a few low quality burns around to test how the PS2 lasers are handling media. Also I could not get a V9 to read a CDRW like I have with V7’s.

Thnx, wow great answer. But I still want to know, is the V9 faster loading scenes, levels etc. during gameplay as well? Or is it just faster during initial boot?

The V9/V10 from what I have noticed is much faster at loading all the way around, even better then any V7 I have modded. I have not experienced any of the problems with the lasers in the V9/V10 that ihaveanosebleed has spoke of.

However I do agree that the V7 is a rock solid machine that has proved it self over the years. I never saw a single V7 die at my hands. Can’t say that for the V9/V10.

Excellent and very informative responses, much appreciated! I guess I just need to learn to be more patient with my machine :D

Since I happen to have a V9 and a V7 here I did some loading tests with a backup. I picked Vice City because it has quite a long loading time after the second FMV.

Length of time for Playstation 2 logo to appear after pressing reset from standby,

V7 – 19 seconds, V9 – 12 seconds. Quite a difference here, never really noticed it before though.

Length of time from standby to first FMV starts,

V7 – 28 Seconds, V9 – 20 seconds. Again, mostly different because pre-logo booting.

Length of time loading data after 2nd FMV, stopping after loading bar disappears.

V7 – 68 Seconds, V9 – 66 Seconds. Not too different here, less than 3%, hardly noticeable if at all.


I also gave them both a shot at booting a CDRW backup. V7 booted fine, played FMV fine and loaded game. V9 would not boot, just lots of scary noise, “CLICK WHIZ” sounds.


Especially since I like to test homebrew wares and experiment with things, I really like the idea of being able to boot CDRW’s.. V7 is still my choice for best PS2.

For people who dont know...

With the dms3 chip you can skip the logo and go straight to the game when you turn it on.

You have to make sure you update the chip with the 1.8 dms cd first.


press select when u turn the ps2 on and straight to the game.


cheers to DMS