The difference between chip revisions are not very well documented. To quote & paraphrase byuu, BSNES author:From what I know, we've only ever observed 1/1/1 and 2/1/3, although I seem to recall someone saying they've seen another... if so, it's exceptionally rare. And unfortunately the chip version numbers are no longer enough. Nintendo stopped incrementing the revision numbers after they eliminated the separate APU module. The 1-chip may well have minor differences from the 2-chip, but I do not know for certain if that is the case. What I do know is that the Super Famicom Jr / SNES Mini is listed as 2/1/3, but is honestly more of a clone system. There are "drastic" changes. Not so much stuff that's going to affect most games directly, but stuff that tells you the chip is radically different on the inside. Things like the SMP Timer Glitch vanishing, different behaviors of the TEST register, some DSP subtleties, the PPU being entirely different, and mid-scanline effects are totally different which affects games like A.S.P. Air Strike Patrol where the plane's shadow is almost invisible.
super famicom 1 chip serial number
Playtronic (Brazilian) Super NES unit, should be the same as a standard NTSC unit. Playtronic had their own serial code system. On the bottom of the PCB, the Playtronic serial code is PCI029955ASL. The PCB serial code is SNSM-CPU-GPM-02 (copyright 1993). Date stamps on the chips include: 9531, 9542, 9536. Sound chip is S-DSP A. Find detailed pictures on my website: =1017 - Evan_G
Being such a low serial number, mine has all of the initial release version items on it: 4-footer, silver SN sticker, silver FCC ID sticker, printed EJECT lettering, and cartridge lock. Mine is also in mint mint condition with absolutely no yellowing at all, thanks to me playing all my video games in my parent's basement when I was growing up. I also kept all the packaging, box, instructions/manuals, and most of the baggies and twist ties that came with the system. I'd say it's about 95% complete, with only a few baggies missing, and the large "how to connect your Super Nintendo System" poster currently missing. I believe I have it and just have to look for it in the box with all of the other paperwork for my other systems.
I got this console as a Christmas present in 1992. Purchased in Manitoba, and I am the original owner. Date stamp on the bottom of the console is "9202". It is a Canadian system and had Super Mario World as a pack-in. The PCB serial code is SHVC-CPU-01 with a copyright of 1990. Other date stamps on the chips include: 9139, 9149, 9148. The S-DSP chip came on a separate module. Lots of pictures of this SNES can be found on my website: =0828 (look at the bottom links for close-up pictures). - Evan_G
My name is Kaleb, I am the owner of this console. The special thing about this system is that its a 1:1 replica clone that I purchased from a guy in Russia. The system has a serial number on the bottom; UN17204041 just like you would find on a genuine NTSC SNES system. Whats also unique about this system is the strange looking heat sink on the motherboard, which by the way is labelled "S4". If you would like any photos of this system, feel free to contact me on my personal email address: nintendolandkw@hotmail.co.uk
The PCB serial is SNS-CPU-GPM-02 (dated 1993), and the ink stamp on the board reads 307-22AF. The board has an integrated APU with the S-DSP A chip. The RF module sticker reads A E210240 SNS 362819A-B. The date codes are: 9321 on the S-ENC chip, 9328 on the S-WRAM chip, and 9331 on the sticker on the bottom of the console.I found this console in a box of junk at a garage sale in 1999. It cost $5 and didn't come with any hookups. I bought it to replace my first SNES that got ruined when my cat peed on it.
This SNES is an early-model with separate sound module, CPU and PPUs are all first revisions, the RGB encoder is BA6592F. The only (and really) strange thing is the serial number, I haven't seen serial numbers starting with "WA" except this one, and I'm really curious about it. Talking about graphics, this SNES doesn't show ANY vertical line and picture via SCART RGB is very sharp (it looks as good as 1CHIP revision).
This SNES is a 1990/SHVC-CPU-01 revision with separate sound module, CPU and PPUs are all first revisions, RGB encoder is BA6592F. Serial number is really strange: it's on the same sticker like the "UN" but it starts with "WA", I haven't seen serial numbers starting with "WA" till I got this SNES. Talking about graphics, the picture via SCART RGB is very sharp (like the 1CHIP revision) and it doesn't show ANY vertical line at all.
Board serial: SNSP-CPU-02, Copyright 1992. In addition to the CPU, and PPU chips, there are also chips labeled S-DSP A and S-SMP. Bought in 2005 from an auction. The previous owner had done the frequency mod, and later I made the console region free. Works as expected. Some pictures on my website: =snes- Turambar
I purchased this PAL snes off someone from Quebec. This is a Netherlands/France region SNES, and had Super Mario All-Stars as a pack-in. The board's serial number is SNSP-CPU-02, with a copyright of 1992. The sound chip serial code is S-DSP A. There is no date stamp for the console manufacturing date, but I found the following date stamps on various chips: 9334, 9324, 9336, 9326, 9333. - Evan_G
Board serial: SNSP-CPU-02, Copyright 1992. In addition to the CPU, and PPU chips, there are also chips labeled S-DSP A and S-SMP. Bought new in late 1994 from Forssa, Finland. Ignoring the controllers, the console is in excellent condition, and works as expected. The colours have faded only slightly. Some pictures on my website: =snesTurambar
Finding one of these rarer 1-chip consoles is tricky. While certain serial numbers indicate a strong likelihood of a 1-chip lurking underneath, the only way to know for sure is to open a console and check. RetroRGB has an article here that delves into finding and identifying 1-chip consoles.
The final 3CHIP revision which now has most of the sound hardware consolidated to a single chip, the S-APU. Unfortunately, these have the worst RGB video quality which is caused by a poorly routed color subcarrier trace. Severing or rewiring the subcarrier trace tends to solve this issue, though severing it also means losing color via composite and the chroma signal. It appears that some of the first UN31 serial numbers were assigned to these revisions, but these are usually associated with 1CHIP revisions.
Each Nintendo game usually has a serial number printed somewhere on the cartridge. For your specific system, do some quick googling of where this is located. Some earlier carts (the NES black labels), these may not have the serial number printed on the label but from probably 1986 on, all Nintendo games should have these serial numbers. For our example, see #1 in the first image. Regardless, the serial numbers can be easily found online for any specific game. This serial number should be partially printed on the chip that holds the ROM data. It is laser etched on the chip after the game is flashed to the ROM chips. In my example, see the #2 annotations. On these flash chips, you see "NES-PY-0". Note, on the front of the game, the serial number was "NES-PY-USA". The reason is because the "NES" is the system identifier, the "PY" is the game identifier and the "USA" is the region identifier. For the sake of the chip in the cartridge, all that is needed is the system id, the game id and the "0" which represents the revision. Regardless, if the game identifier (e.g. the "PY") is correct, then the chip is legitimate. If this is not etched on the chip, it is a bootleg.
The order I have put the PCBs in the list below is in order of compatibility. That is, the second component of the second part of the serial code. Roughly, the order should correspond to: special chip, mapping, SRAM, decoder chip, number of chips, revision, manufacturer.
A rough detection can be made by looking at the serial number. Below 18,000,000 it it moste likely a two chip, above most likely a one chip. This is not guaranteed, as the switch didn't happen at once and in all production lines. Existing boards were used up, giving two chip above 18M and one chip below.
2013:I began looking for a better solution to make use of the new HDMI standard, and I learned there were devices called "upscalers" that would convert the old console video signal into HDMI so my big Sony display could handle them properly. Then I learned about "SCART" which was a cable standard that had long-since been used in Europe. Apparently these cables could in fact pull RGB from those older consoles, meanwhile we in North America were just left to do without because we're treated as "idiot consumers" by the suits that determined what kind of display technology we would have for decades. Not knowing what all SCART cables entailed, I ordered a SCART upscaler for $50 and a SCART cable for the Genesis and SNES. When everything arrived, I eagerly hooked up the SNES, and proceeded to be horribly disappointed. The image quality still looked like absolute crap! I thought to myself "Wow, is this the crap that's supposed to knock my socks off about SCART? I'm not impressed at all". So I tossed the SCART cables in the garbage and threw the upscalers I bought into the closet. While frequenting various emulation and general nostalgia gaming sites on the Internet, I learned of a modification that could be done with the video processing chip in some models of the SNES. By soldering a few wires to some pins on the video chip, you could get brilliantly clean component video from the SNES directly! I had to give this a try as my TV's component sockets were just begging to be used. Unfortunately I found my SNES was one of the newer revisions that didn't have the proper chip in it, so I had buy the correct SNES I needed off a member on Nintendo Age. Thankfully that worked out, and I was successfully able to wire up the component mod inside the console. The picture was indeed clean a beautiful, but still my TV could not handle properly displaying both fields of the 240p signal. It would turn out not to matter, as the SNES console developed graphical errors soon after, like bad scaling warpage and garbage on number displays. I threw it in the closet along with all my other failed attempts and had pretty much given up on the subject... 2ff7e9595c
Comments