Ripper///GC v2.0 -Review-

Written by Brakken
July 2005

Introduction

Thanks to eXtreme Mods and the Ripper3 Team I've received some samples of Ripper's GameCube mod and have gotten around to installing it. I'd have to say I'm quite disappointed with it due to its lack of features when compared to the original Ripper///GC v1.0 chip. Due to the original chip using a hacked version of the Cobra v.04 BIOS it was limited with its features, but at least sported the onscreen menu, DVD loading and configuration screen. This review will briefly take you through the process of installing and operating the chip so keep on reading! If you're new to GameCube modding the process is quiet simple as the Cube is one of the most easiest consoles to take apart, solder, debug and reassemble.

Product Specifications

Only 7 wires to solder including power and ground
Special and unique chip disable feature
LED diode test feature for the proper chip functionality
Every chip delivered is 100% guarantied
Pb-free soldering process
We use Actel's low power, extreme secure, antifuse FPGA
3.3V Actel low power technology with 2.5V digital core
70ns 1Mb on board Flash memory. (Can be easily expanded to 4Mb)
Fully static, ground bounce free technology
Extremely good timings and logic levels on the high speed GC bus
Ripper///GC has an excellent setup menu
The Ripper///GC is tested and in general there is no need to reflash it
We give you a warranty that our products are bug free from the beginning

Installation

The chip itself is easy to install as are all of the current GameCube modchips with the exception of the NinjaMod. Compared to installing a chip into a PS2 which requires the soldering of many wires and a pesky de/reassembly process this was a walk in the park. The only drawback I found is that I had to remove the DVD lid sensor cable from underneath the assembly. The cable itself runs from underneath the DVD assembly (the thing that holds the DVD drive) to the trigger mounted on the back of the assembly which serves the purpose of detecting whether or not the GameCube's lid is open or shut. You have to do this as the Ripper interfaces with the reset button directly whereas other solutions come with a small plug.

After taking the Cube apart (removing the 4.5mm GameBit screws, removing the top case, the DVD assembly and then the heatsink) the first thing I did was take the DVD assemblies bottom shield off and remove the lid sensor cable then reassemble it. Next I removed the sensor switch itself and solder on the reset switch wire and the ground wire.

Following this I removed the heat sink which protects the processor from overheating by applying upward pressure on two of its corners with a flathead screwdriver from the motherboard. Next I soldered on the BIOS, power and data wires. Once these are soldered I put everything back together leaving the case off then mounted the chip in front of the controller assembly. Soldering was simple enough as only three wires needed to be fitted onto the BIOS chip with the others running from the solder pads below the BIOS and then one running from the reset switch. The BIOS chip in the Cube is a little complicated to solder onto, but much more easy then the PS2's BIOS chip is. A good method for soldering onto the BIOS leg would be to put some flux on the leg, some flux on the tip of your wire, put a very small amount of solder onto the wire, put more flux on the solder covered wire, touch the wire and BIOS leg together then apply the 15watt soldering iron to both of them until you see the solder melt and bond, remove the iron, let the solder cool then remove you hand from the wire.

Once this is done I grounded the chip to the case using a small stretch of solder. What I've done which is a good idea, was to put electrical tape around the chip itself so that it doesn't get shorted by any other metal components. Shorting your PS2 can ruin it, but 9/10 times if you short your Cube everything will be alright. A short is when two power conducting metal points touch each other.

So I checked the chip by turning on the Cube and saw the green LED light up so I knew I've at least soldered the power and ground connections properly. It is fine to leave the Cube's case off for testing purposes, but I had to make sure not to touch anything while the system was on as this could be lethal. If I would have turned the Cube on and no light would of turned on I would of needed to check the connections with a multi-meter.

Operating the Chip & BIOS

Here is where I have a problem with the chip itself, because there is no onscreen menu for the BIOS as mentioned on their homepage. I've emailed Ripper for help with this issue over ten times which is a reason why I haven't published this review for a while, but they have not responded.

I've emailed distributors and have talked with other owners of the v2.0 chip and they have no idea how to access any menu. One rumor was to put a memory card in slot 2 and turn the unit on holding 'Y', but this failed to accomplish anything. Being pretty sure after two months of research and trying three different chips I'm confident in my review, but of course if I find a method to access the reported menu I will update the text.

When you do turn on your Cube all you get is a booting screen which boots the current game in the unit, but it fails to let you browse ISO9600 (the most common file system used on writeable media) and Multi-Image burns (discs with two or more backups on them). These are the same results that [z]ygoat (ngcdev) and Hatrix (nintendo central) have gotten.

Conclusion

Due to it's heavy price tag and the fact all the chip does it boot games without the need to swap I would not recommend this product as there are cheaper solutions if all you want to do is boot backups.

Additionally I believe all of the resellers of this product should update their product specifications so that the misinformation contained in them is removed.

Links

www.ripper3.com
- Ripper's Homepage

modthatcube.pxn-os.com
- The Mod That Cube Online -FAQ-

-=[Ripper///GC v2.0 Modchip Review Discussion Thread]=-

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