PSP Versions? What's the difference?

Cube623

I'm currently looking to buy a PSP looking at how good they are and also how small they are too. I've had a look around and in various descriptions i've seen different versions

1000K
1003K
1004K (I think I've seen this once and it bight have been my eyes or a misprint or both)

What's the difference between these versions of PSP? Does it matter?

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SFOSOK

Most likely bugs that have been worked out, heat issues, dead pixels. Also may depend on the firmware its shipped with. The lower the # probably the lower the firmware, they higher the newer firmware. If you plan on using homebrew mods I'd say stick with the lower, but overall I'd say get the higher because they have already cracked the newest firmware.

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*Warning* - Explicit Content Preceeding



METAL!!

EcPercy

A quick google produced the following results:

1000 - Japan
1001 - USA
1002 - EU
1003 - Australia (or is it 1004?)
1005 - Korea
1006 - HK
1007 - Taiwan

http://forums.maxconsole.net/archive...hp/t-8739.html

Tipstaff

You got it Percy. The first and second batch of PSPs (also known as 5A and 5B units.. this is printed underneath the battery, and is listed as "Date Code") were released with firmware 1.5. The way to tell which ones where which was by looking at the serial number printed on the side of the box. If it started with a PP1 or PP2 these were normally 5A or 5B units (at least as far as the US releases go), and were shipped with 1.5 firmware.

Cube, there is one aspect that you need to pay attention to: registering. If you buy your unit from another region you will get no support for that unit, nor will you be able to register it on yourpsp.com (the Euros official PSP site), which gets you access to exclusive Euro freebies (right now it's a UMD holder), downloads, and contests. When you register on the site you are asked to put in your serial number, and model number. As punishment for those in Europe that imported US PSPs they don't allow you to register PSP1001 US models. It may work with PSPs outside of the US ones, but I can't say for sure. In your case you want to purchase PSP1002 units unless the site/place you bought buy it from has an extended warranty/replacement service. If not, and your find that your PSP has a dead pixel, well, then your stuck with it.

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Cube623

Right now this seems to be the catch 22 situation

If i get an imported PSP from a country like Japan apparently they come with a "far superior" sharp LCD screen which is apparently brighter and more crisp and "sharp" but if i do it this way i will not be able to register with yourpsp.com

If i get a PSP from the EU i will be able to register with yourpsp.com but i wil have the not as good samsung? screen.

So which advantage is better? what exactly do you get when you register with yourpsp.com

And if i get a US one won't region differences affect what i can use? e.g. i cannot use a certain game as it is region 2 and the US is region 1?

and back onto version numbers i've been seeing people descriping the 1004K version as a new version but according to what Percy said this is just the Aus version. So are they right or are they trying to rip us off?

@ Tipstaff you mention about the 5A/5B units being shipped with the v1.5 firmware but i assume you can upgrade this by downloading the latest firmware (which i think is v2.5) or am i wrong?

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Tipstaff

The reason I mentioned the firmware and the 5A/5B listings was in respone to Green Deaths comment about running homebrew games/apps, and buying certain model numbers. Only the first 2 batches of PSPs (5A and 5B) had 1.5 firmware regardless of the model number.

In any case you can update the PSP to the latest firwmare, and in some cases you have to have a certain firmware in order to play certain games. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is one such game that requires at least firmware 2.0 and higher to run. However, for garuanteed homebrew use the lower the firmware the better. Of note, the lastest update is version 2.60.

As for region codes, all PSP games are region free. <THANK GOD!.. a-hem.. Sorry> UMD movies, on the other hand, are region protected. There have been rumors of a "couple" of games that were region protected, but then again, they are rumors, as nobody has actually mentioned the names for verification.

As for the PSP screen, when Sony released the US version of the PSP they released it with a screen which was from Samsung (same as the first gen Jap units). UK PSPs were also made with this screen as well. The new Jap releases use a screen from Sharp, and as you mentioned, are sharper, more crisp, and have less dead pixel issues than the Samsung ones. If you're not worried about the warranty, buy the Jap unit since it is the better PSP, but only if it is the newer version. Otherwise you'll get the same thing as the rest of us outside of Japan.

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EcPercy

My PSP has 5D under the battery cover and it came with 2.4 or 2.5 firmware... I can't remember for sure because the first chance I got I updated it to 2.6.

Also, my screen looks great and I have yet to notice any dead pixels. I did however, have to get mine exchanged. The one I got for christmas had 1.5 firmware and a dead UMD drive. The new one works great!

joffhall81@hotm

[color=black]it [/color][color=black]is the country of origin and region (for umd movie playback)[/color]
[color=black] [/color]

Cube623

cheers everyone this has cleared up everything. thanks alot

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