PS2 fat vs slim: every model compared.

The SCPH-790XX slim for slims, because it is the only one with the ribbon-cable holders that prevent disc scratching. For fats, the SCPH-500XX, which added progressive-scan DVD playback, an infrared receiver and much quieter fans. Beyond the model number, condition matters more than anything: a console kept cool, clean and stationary outlasts a neglected one every time.

No. Every PS2 runs games at identical performance. Sony shrank the manufacturing process over the years — the later slims use a 65 nm Graphics Synthesizer and combine several chips into one package — but that reduced heat and power draw, not frame rates. No PS2 game runs better on any particular model.

An orange ribbon cable sits below the disc spindle and can flex upward into the spinning disc. Sony fixed this on the SCPH-790XX by adding small plastic holders, then removed them again on the SCPH-900XX. If your discs are coming out with fresh circular marks, stop using the console — each session damages another game.

Only the SCPH-700XX, and only unofficially — it retained the SPEED chip from the fat design even though Sony removed the physical expansion bay. Every slim from the SCPH-750XX onward lost that chip entirely, so hard drive support is genuinely gone. For a straightforward internal drive setup you want a fat model with the rear expansion bay.

No. The SCPH-700XX, 750XX, 770XX and 790XX all use an external brick specific to the slim. The final revision, the SCPH-900XX, moved the power supply back inside the console and takes an ordinary mains cable. This is worth checking before you buy a used console, since the proprietary bricks are easy to lose and annoying to replace.

Both do, but differently. Models up to and including the SCPH-700XX contain a real PlayStation processor and run PS1 discs on native hardware. From the SCPH-750XX onward Sony replaced it with a PowerPC chip that emulates it, which broke compatibility with a list of PS1 and PS2 titles. Later firmware recovered some of them. If PS1 games are your priority, buy a fat or a SCPH-700XX.

No — this is a long-running myth. The SCPH-390XX is simply the easiest revision to fit a modchip to, so modchip installers of the era pushed it heavily and the reputation stuck. It has no disc-reading advantage, and it was in fact the first fat revision vulnerable to the MechaCon crash.

On the label on the underside of the console, printed as SCPH- followed by five digits. The same label carries the chassis type, region code, datecode and manufacturer. Numbers starting 1, 3 or 5 are fat models; 7 or 9 are slims.

Reading CDs but not DVDs, or the reverse, is the classic signature of a laser losing calibration — the two formats use different wavelengths. Test several known-good discs first to rule out disc damage. If the pattern holds across multiple discs, it is the optical drive and it needs a bench diagnosis, not a settings change.

The library is one of the largest ever assembled and the hardware is genuinely repairable, which is more than can be said for most modern consoles. The caveat is age: every unit on the market is between eighteen and twenty-six years old, and the optical drive is a wear item. Buy from someone who will let you test it, bring two discs, and check for fresh scratches afterwards.