Hardware Upgrades, Experiences and Tips

[zzip]

50 minutes ago, CPUWIZ said:

 

I'd say so, I have never done anything to my PS4 Pro, just plugged it in, setup account info and go.  I'd be bitching, if I had to buy extra components, to even make it halfway worth it.

 

No idea, where a $5000 PC came from, as that was not part of the question.  I don't play games on a PC, so I am not sure what kind of machine you need to play the latest games, that may be available.

My PS4 came with 500gb, which doesn't last long given the size of modern games.   I upgraded it to 2Tb, which cost $100 give or take because it's a mechanical hard drive.

 

PS5 though,  has something like 825gb of extremely fast SSD,  and since games have only gotten bigger over the years, that really isn't going to be enough.   PS5 games can only be run on SSD, and Sony has a minimum requirement for disk speed.   This means the PS5 will only work with the fastest of the fast consumer-grade SSDs, right now a PS5 compatible 2Tb SSD costs $449 - as much as the console itself!  

Edited January 11, 2021 by zzip

[justclaws]

18 minutes ago, CPUWIZ said:

 

I'd say so, I have never done anything to my PS4 Pro, just plugged it in, setup account info and go.  I'd be bitching, if I had to buy extra components, to even make it halfway worth it.

 

No idea, where a $5000 PC came from, as that was not part of the question.  I don't play games on a PC, so I am not sure what kind of machine you need to play the latest games, that may be available.

That's exactly the point I was making...
The VCS runs the games from the VCS store, no problems.
I've not upgraded my VCS, and I'm not planning to, any time soon. It does what it's sold for. Lots of people are happy.

It runs Windows 10, or Ubuntu, or Android-X86, or ChromeOS, off an external disk, or USB stick, if I want to. (Easily.)
It runs the games I had already bought from Steam for Windows or Linux for my desktop/laptop, better than they do.

Meanwhile, gamers with less of a budget can re-use wireless Xbox, Wii-U, PS4, or generic cheapo cabled USB joypads,
and be happy with the base machine. There are a lot of people for whom an 8GB mini-eco-PC can be a massive upgrade!

[CPUWIZ]

7 minutes ago, justclaws said:

It does what it's sold for. Lots of people are happy.

 

And that is great, doesn't matter what anyone else says.

 

But since this is an upgrade thread, I was just wondering, it obviously exists because people feel the need to do it.

 

As per the HDD size in the PS4, mine came with 1TB, when I run out of room, I delete games.  They stay in the library anyway and most of the time, I don't want to play games more than once or twice anyway.

[justclaws]

43 minutes ago, CPUWIZ said:

But since this is an upgrade thread, I was just wondering, it obviously exists because people feel the need to do it.

Some people saw the need to upgrade to 32GB RAM, yes, but there's no real use for that at the moment. 
Some people see the need to add a 1TB SSD, or a 5TB disk drive, to store a library, but for the majority of people, no need.

I think it's more that a lot of new VCS owners, being first-adopters, are also tinkerers, and they want to know what's possible.
I totally understand that, and I'd not criticise anybody for taking up an opportunity. It's why it's there. It's a unique option. ?
It doesn't mean it's even useful for everyone, but for people who have the cash to hand, it's a fun exercise, and it's interesting.

AtariAge isn't full of average gamers, but gaming enthusiasts, IMHO. (I know ordinary gamers too. "AtariAge? Atari WHAT?")
We're special. Ha ha. That doesn't mean better.  

I understand your thinking, but as we know, there are also people who will upgrade anything to the max. The same with cars!
It's fun to do if one has the money, but it's certainly not a necessity if one bought the VCS to use as a console/PC, on a budget.

[zzip]

20 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

 

And that is great, doesn't matter what anyone else says.

 

But since this is an upgrade thread, I was just wondering, it obviously exists because people feel the need to do it.

A lot of people max out memory because they can.  I think 8gb will be enough for most users for this machine.   Storage-  depends what you're doing with it.  

 

20 hours ago, CPUWIZ said:

As per the HDD size in the PS4, mine came with 1TB, when I run out of room, I delete games.  They stay in the library anyway and most of the time, I don't want to play games more than once or twice anyway.

And that's a perfectly fine way of managing your disk space too.   I didn't cross the 1Tb line until I got VR.   But now that Comcast is putting data caps on us,  I'm inclined to not delete stuff unless I'm really sure I'm not going to want to play again.

[CPUWIZ]

5 minutes ago, zzip said:

A lot of people max out memory because they can.  I think 8gb will be enough for most users for this machine.   Storage-  depends what you're doing with it.

 

Right, I am just going back to a whole lot of people saying (over and over), you just need to take it out of the box and bam.  No dicking around, like you do with a rPI.  Seems like that isn't really the case, considering many people trying to make it 'better' and it being kind of a pain in the ass (don't break the antenna!!!!).  Whatever floats your boat, but using that as an argument of why the VCS is better than any other mini-PC, is a bit far fetched.

 

It all doesn't really matter, it is what it is and people will enjoy it and some hate it so much, they sell it or smash it on video for 'likes' and some pennies from advertisers.  Just like every other system, rabid fanboys exist (you claw know who you are) and like every other system, they get made fun of.  Feel free to make fun of me for liking Apple and Sony, not going to lose sleep over it, or go on a report rampage over every post I don't like (not that I need to, since I'd be reporting to myself).

 

If people get high blood pressure over a piece of plastic, because somebody said something to you on the internet, you need to log off and take a breather.

 

Now excuse me, I need to go to an Ouya forum and argue about why it failed.

 

 

 

 

[Atlan]

Hey,

i got my VCS 800 yesterday. Everythings fine so far but there is one thing that annoys the hell out of me right now. The fan is absurdly loud. I mean im not someone who gets annoyed by fan sound easily but the fan in the VCS makes way too much noise. Anyone else experienced this and is it possible to replace the existing fan? I would assume they used a standard size fan? I really would like to put in a Fan from bequiet. I have those in my PC and they make no sound at all.

Edited January 13, 2021 by Atlan

[Atari Nut]

1 hour ago, Atlan said:

Hey,

i got my VCS 800 yesterday. Everythings fine so far but there is one thing that annoys the hell out of me right now. The fan is absurdly loud. I mean im not someone who gets annoyed by fan sound easily but the fan in the VCS makes way too much noise. Anyone else experienced this and is it possible to replace the existing fan? I would assume they used a standard size fan? I really would like to put in a Fan from bequiet. I have those in my PC and they make no sound at all.

Mine's loud when the CPU usage is high but once it goes back to normal it's fine.

[justclaws]

1 hour ago, Atlan said:

i got my VCS 800 yesterday. Everythings fine so far but there is one thing that annoys the hell out of me right now. The fan is absurdly loud. I mean im not someone who gets annoyed by fan sound easily but the fan in the VCS makes way too much noise. Anyone else experienced this and is it possible to replace the existing fan? I would assume they used a standard size fan? I really would like to put in a Fan from bequiet. I have those in my PC and they make no sound at all.

For now, you might be well advised to wait. Atari have said it's set to "super safe" mode, and it's being monitored.
AMD said it's not necessary to have a fan, but they agreed with Atari that they wanted to be super cautious. Yay!
It's great that AMD and Atari are partners on this.
AMD are the ones supplying new BIOS updates, apparently, and Atari have said fan behaviour is expected to evolve.

It might be that if the fan is a swap-in replacement, you could do this, if warranty isn't important to you, but there
may be a BIOS update in the upcoming AtariOS update, and things could change. (I've no inside information, just
what has been written to date, either informally or on the various atarivcs.medium.com "development" news feed.

If you do make a swap, I'm sure we're all interested to know how it goes.

[Atlan]

Quote

For now, you might be well advised to wait. Atari have said it's set to "super safe" mode, and it's being monitored.
AMD said it's not necessary to have a fan, but they agreed with Atari that they wanted to be super cautious. Yay!
It's great that AMD and Atari are partners on this.
AMD are the ones supplying new BIOS updates, apparently, and Atari have said fan behaviour is expected to evolve.

It might be that if the fan is a swap-in replacement, you could do this, if warranty isn't important to you, but there
may be a BIOS update in the upcoming AtariOS update, and things could change. (I've no inside information, just
what has been written to date, either informally or on the various atarivcs.medium.com "development" news feed.

If you do make a swap, I'm sure we're all interested to know how it goes.

 

Well ill have to open the Atari on Friday anyways to put in a SSD and RAM. So ill have a look and see whats what. I always build PCs myself and last year i build a Arcade Cabinet from Scratch so im sure i wont fuck up things too badly. ?

Edited January 13, 2021 by Atlan

[CPUWIZ]

4 hours ago, justclaws said:

Atari have said fan behaviour is expected to evolve.

 

So, if you are a fan of the VCS, you are expected to evolve into a super fan?

[Atlan]

I just finished my Upgrade without any Problems. I had a look at the Fan too. It should be simple to put in another one. You just have to loosen the two Screws (bottom left and top right) and unplug the power cord (bottom right), put in a fan of your choosing and done. The Power Cord is a standard one as in any normal PC and the size of the Fan is standard too. So i see no Problem in changing it. But as always when you do it you do it at your own Risk.

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by Atlan

[justclaws]

Here is another video showing the VCS being dismantled and the hardware.
(The Italian author also has a lot of other interesting Atari videos he's uploaded.)
 

 

[justclaws]

Here is a tear-down video of the VCS.
New to me, also a tear-down of the classic controller and the modern controller.
 

 

[KingSmed]

On 1/19/2021 at 12:41 PM, justclaws said:

Here is a tear-down video of the VCS.
 

 

 

Early in the video he's complaining that the charging ports on the controllers are not USB-C. I see this complaint a lot, with MANY different products. Why are so many people uptight about this? Aside from not looking at which way the cable is oriented, is there really any advantage to USB-C over other cables? It's not as if you have to go digging for a compatible cable, they included them in the box. Or is it just a matter of appearances, of looking modern?

 

Though I did find it funny that after complaining about the port, he opens the joystick and disconnects the battery by PULLING ON THE WIRES instead of gripping the plug. Wonder how many times he repairs something to find the battery (or some other internal component) no longer works?

 

(Sorry to be snippy, it's actually a good video, I'm just prone to nitpicking.)

[zzip]

1 hour ago, KingSmed said:

Early in the video he's complaining that the charging ports on the controllers are not USB-C. I see this complaint a lot, with MANY different products. Why are so many people uptight about this? Aside from not looking at which way the cable is oriented, is there really any advantage to USB-C over other cables? It's not as if you have to go digging for a compatible cable, they included them in the box. Or is it just a matter of appearances, of looking modern?

I've encountered this.  I questioned someone about it and the response was along the lines of  "USB-C is going to unify USB!".   I laughed.  To me it is yet another USB connector type that will make USB even less unified.   Because you are still going to need USB-C to USB mini-a, micro-a to connect some devices,  and USB-A to mini USB-C, etc.    So I envision owning a bunch of new cables so legacy devices play well with USB-C.   I'm sure by the time we've retired all the legacy USB connectors, they will have introduced new USB ports ?

[justclaws]

Another in-detail tear-down of the VCS, and detailed reassembly.
It's really detailed, and he's slow and methodical. It will be very useful to many.
 

 

[justclaws]

...and another maximum upgrade video from "MadLittlePixel". That's shopping!
 

 

[justclaws]

This video is a revisit to the VCS, with some upgrades, and new benchmarks.
Surprisingly enough, it had quite a different to performance for some activities!
 

 

[AlecRob]

The PDF links in first post are dead for me.

[justclaws]

14 minutes ago, AlecRob said:

The PDF links in first post are dead for me.

Ah, yes, they moved. ?
I can't edit them any more, because it's past the 30 days, but I will ask a moderator to edit them! 
The documents can be found from this page now. ?
https://atari.gamecentergroup.com/index.php?/VCS/Knowledgebase/List/Index/80/atari-vcs

 

[Bad Login]

I just upgraded my VCS to 32 GB of GSkill Ripjaws memory and 2 TB of WD Blue Storage. I think this'll give me enough space to install a couple of OSs and give more space for the Atari OS to be moved off of the eMMC memory and onto the faster SSD. My YouTube upgrade video is here: 

 

 

[justclaws]

You THINK 2TB will be enough to move AtariOS and install a couple of other O/S?
Ha ha. I realise you're saying that "tongue in cheek", sarcastically, but not all will.

There are people who really don't understand how much RAM and disk is needed
for normal usage of Linux or Windows, and so buy unnecessary costly upgrades.
(Also, I think using Atari's logo as your avatar is also a bit dubious, as a result.)

[Charles Darwin]

5 hours ago, Bad Login said:

I just upgraded my VCS to 32 GB of GSkill Ripjaws memory and 2 TB of WD Blue Storage. I think this'll give me enough space to install a couple of OSs and give more space for the Atari OS to be moved off of the eMMC memory and onto the faster SSD. My YouTube upgrade video is here: 

 

 

So now...you just have to replace the CPU/GPU, the motherboard, the fan...

This is a mini PC!!! ?

[Bad Login]

9 hours ago, justclaws said:

You THINK 2TB will be enough to move AtariOS and install a couple of other O/S?
Ha ha. I realise you're saying that "tongue in cheek", sarcastically, but not all will.

I'm not planning on using it as my main computer, so having it totally decked out is more for academic purposes. I mostly went with the 2 TB storage to see if it could take it since I saw documentation originally that stated a 1 TB limit, but then a later one by Atari that said there was none. I fell on the (expensive) sword to see if it could work so that others could learn about this. If it turns out that putting other O/Ss on here isn't really all that practical, then I can certainly use the storage for something else. It's not a waste then. I already knew that I needed more storage when I saw the size of some of the games that are available. the 32 GB was going to be too little of space, and it's pretty slow compared to an SSD. I realize that the games in the store will be designed for that speed in mind, but I thought it might make the experience a little nicer if it was a little more expedient in loading content.

 

What would you have recommended for memory and storage? Would you even bother putting an alternative O/S on it or would you just leave it like it is and only use it as the Atari VCS? Would you leave the Atari O/S on the eMMC or would you transfer it to an SSD if you had the space? Just curious to know for contrast of your purpose for using the VCS.