The service was for the installation of a Modbo 5.0 modchip in a PS2 slim, as well as the installation of a Matrix PicFix
The console received and tested well, although PS1 games are slow to load and sometimes don’t load at all. All PS2 games tested worked fine with no issues. The console had been opened before, with the warranty sticker removed and possibly the battery and the fan replaced. On disassembly, a dead bug was found, although outside of the shield and probably never interfered with the operation of the console
The motherboard is a GH-032-11, which makes it a V13 and therefore doesn’t need a PicFix. This is explained in the listing for the service. Model numbers are duplicated between some consoles in V12 (which does need a PicFix) and V13 (which doesn’t), which can lead to confusion on the need of the PicFix without disassembling the console and looking at the board markings.
The modchip installation itself went without issues, and is relatively easy to positioned in the back of the motherboard. Higher gauge wires were used for power and ground to ensure proper operation. The DVD drive was cleaned and lubricated to try to improve the PS1 game playback without much success. The laser is likely to be failing on some of its range, as PS1 games are CD based (780nm wavelength) while PS2 games are DVD (650nm).
Worth to mention however is that the connector for the fan was not possible to remove, either because the fan is not the original one and the connector wasn’t a perfect fit or forced into the motherboard connector, or for some other unknown reason. While handling the fan during the installation of the modchip, one of the cables snapped off the connector. It is difficult to tell if it was previously damaged or this occured only due to my handling. In any case, I soldered the wire back and secured the cables to avoid any more issues. After this, the fan seems to work without issues even if its somewhat noisy (which is something I observed even after taking the console apart so was already present)
The console was tested with various PS1 and PS2 games, including japanese imports
PicFix wasn’t installed as it wasn’t required.