Looking for "cheap" xbox & SWBFI/II

[tirpider]

Oh and how much will tax and shipping add to $90.95? It's all coming from GameStop online.

that, I don't know

Add about 10% tax, and who-knows for shipping.

[Kit Fisto]

Ok well thanks for all your help Tirpider and others! I'll sure be happy to play Endor with no lag!   

[deadmeow]

What kind of TV will u be playing it on?  If you have a old CRT television, standard composite cable is okay (yellow video cable), red and white for audio.  If you have an LCD television, composite cable will make it look faded and washed out.

For an LCD television, the best picture is with a component cable, which has a red, blue, and green cable for (for each basic color), plus audio out.  Component cables probably run from 5 to 10 dollars on ebay, maybe a little more from a store.

Component cable picture is very close to VGA clearness and quality.  I have my PS2 hooked up to my LCD tv with a component cable, and my Dreamcast hooked up to the LCD via the VGA port, and the PS2 picture is nearly as good as the dreamcast, but not quite.

[Helios]

Fun Fact Xbox 720 is a hoak *gasp* *faint*

[Kit Fisto]

What kind of TV will u be playing it on?  If you have a old CRT television, standard composite cable is okay (yellow video cable), red and white for audio.  If you have an LCD television, composite cable will make it look faded and washed out.

For an LCD television, the best picture is with a component cable, which has a red, blue, and green cable for (for each basic color), plus audio out.  Component cables probably run from 5 to 10 dollars on ebay, maybe a little more from a store.

Component cable picture is very close to VGA clearness and quality.  I have my PS2 hooked up to my LCD tv with a component cable, and my Dreamcast hooked up to the LCD via the VGA port, and the PS2 picture is nearly as good as the dreamcast, but not quite.

Hmm, I do have an HD capable TV but I don't know exactly, should I get a link to what my TV is? Like a link to the product?

[deadmeow]

I believe all HD tv's have component inputs.  You should see 3 RCA jacks, colored red/blue/green, somewhere on it.  In later years even all old fashioned CRT televisions had these. 

The difference in picture is amazing.  For example if you have ever seen a NES or SNES hooked up to an LCD television via regular composite or coaxial cable, it looks sort of faded and dull.  But if you play NES or SNES on an emulator via a computer hooked up to the LCD televison or monitor, it has bright colors and perfect picture.  The component cable will give you nearly the same crisp picture.

Go ahead and link your television if you want, lets see exactly what you are working with.

[Kit Fisto]

Ok well I couldn't find the actual product but I can tell you that the TV is about 23 inches tall and 13 inches wide. It's HD capable. So do I need that special adaptor thing? Will it PLAY fine? I just don't want to spend money when I don't have to.
What screen do you other PS2 players play on? Is it bigger/smaller than mine? Do you use the adaptor thing? 

[tirpider]

32" CRT with RGB video and toslink fiber for audio.
(I refuse to buy another TV till the wheels fall off of this one.)

The Dolby surround audio is neato, but I wouldn't spend extra for it though.  (for games. now music is a different kind of investment)
I just had the fiber laying around.
I actually play SWBF with the sound turned way down.

I can't tell the difference between the component and composite.  (I probably have a crappy television.)

In ascending order of quality
- RF modulator (Atari 2600 Hi Tech)
- Composite
- S-Video
- RGB Component
- YP_BP_R(component)
- Super duper HD stuff that I am not sure is even made for the ps2.... HDMI, ect..

(I think SCART fits in with RGB component.. but I could never afford any devices with SCART connectors, so I don't know how they work.)


-edit... my 2 cents..
Since you are economizing, go for the baseline connectivity.
Then when you have some extra cash, get the fancy stuff and relive the excitement of seeing the quality improve. 

[{PLA}gdh92]

I've got my PS2 on a 47inch LCD and it looks pretty good (although nowhere near my PC) with the standard RCA connection.

[deadmeow]

Kit Fisto assuming you have an HD TV, plan on buying a component cable so you will enjoy it more.  No matter what, you can most likely play the PS2 on your television with the standard cheap cable that comes with it, you just want the best quality, and for a 10 bucks, thats a no brainer (component cable).

CRT's are old technology, but they have nice pictures.  The old 8 and 16 bit systems look great on CRT's, but lack on LCD's when you hook them up with coaxial and composite cables.  You can get some of the classic systems modded to RGB, and then they look great on LCD's, but this usually requires a small investment.

[Kit Fisto]

Ok well I've gone with not getting the cable for now. If it looks fine and is playable then I'll just stick with that. Thanks for the suggestions!
I might care about quality down the line but honestly, the quality of my SWBF ( on my GMA 950 chip ) can't get any worse.
Lol Tirpider, I didn't understand half those acronyms!!!

[tirpider]

Lol Tirpider, I didn't understand half those acronyms!!!

heh, I get that a lot.

[Kit Fisto]

I almost forgot about the memory card! Here are the product details, does it include a memory card with the PS2? I can't really tell becuase I don't understand half those acronyms!
[spoiler]

Product Details:
This is a refurbished Sony PlayStation 2 console. It is guaranteed to work. A controller is included with purchase, but may not be a Sony brand controller. PlayStation 2's 300 Mhz processor delivers enhanced clarity and mesmerizing graphics. What's more, the PlayStation 2 doubles as a CD/DVD player. It also plays most of the original PlayStation games. Step into the 128-bit universe brought to you by PlayStation 2. You'll enjoy the look, sound, and feel of unbelievable, near-cinematic realism as you play. PlayStation 2 offers the most advanced games across every genre, DVD video playback as a standard feature, Dolby Digital 5.1 theater-quality sound, and the ability to play the immense catalog of PlayStation games. So, what are you waiting for?

The 128-Bit Emotion Engine is the first chip of its kind. No other mass-market computer technology on the market comes close to its power. In the PlayStation2, this chip is used as the workhorse of the console. It processes all physics and math calculations.

The PlayStation2 has a 128-Bit Emotion Engine. The 128-Bit part of the title means that this chipset both processes information and sends it over a 128-Bit bus (A Bus is the pathway between chips on a circuit board. A wide bus carries more bits of information and is thus faster than a narrower bus).

You may think that your PC has a faster processor, but remember that the Emotion Engine has inherently faster 128-Bit processing and it is just a part of the overall PlayStation2 power.

A small note for the really detail oriented: The reason that the speed is 294.912 MHz, is that it must be a multiple of a required processor speed that supports the DVD ROM operations.
* Dimensions: 301mm (W) x 178mm (H) x 78mm (D), (12" x 7" x 3").

* Weight: 2.1 kg (4 lbs. 10 oz.).

* Media: PlayStation2 CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and PlayStation CD-ROM, CD Audio
This means your PlayStation 2 will basically play all your old PlayStation games (but not make them look any better), all music CDs and all North American DVDs.

* Interfaces: Controller Port (2)
These are the same as the controller ports on the current PlayStation.

* Interfaces: Memory Card Slot (2)
These slots are very similar to the ones on the original PlayStation, except they support the new, faster transfer rate.

* Interfaces: AV Multi Cable Output (1)
This is where you plug the cord that goes to the back of your television.

* Interfaces: Optical Digital Output (1)
This port will let you send data directly to a digital receiver. This is perfect if you plan to plug your PlayStation into a DTS or Dolby receiver and get perfect sound.
If you don't use digital output, your data will be converted to an analog signal and then be converted back to digital at the receiver.

* Interfaces: USB Port (2)
USB enables you to connect any number of devices to your system with a high-speed data link.

* Interfaces: I.Link (IEEE1394) (1)
The IEEE139 port is known by two names: I.Link and for Mac owners, FireWire - there are some minor differences between the two. This high-data transfer port has the advantage of supplying (some) power to devices that are connected. You can expect that an enormous number of hardware devices will use this port including speakers, printers, and other like devices.

* Interfaces: Type III PCMCIA Card Slot.
This slot is a lot like a laptop's add-in slot. Here you will be able to plug in a modem and eventually the connection for Sony's planned broadband network and hard drive.

Here are the IMPORTANT DETAILS of the page

Important Information:
Pre-Owned PS2 System Contains:

1 - PS2 System - color may vary.
1 - Controller - style may vary
1 - AC cable
1 - Standard AV cable

[/spoiler]

Do I have to buy a memory card?!

[tirpider]

Looks like it does not come with one.

Any basic card will do.
The retail PS2 came with 1, 8mb card.

You can usually find them in packs of 2 for pretty cheap.

[Kit Fisto]

Just any memory card? Like the kind you stick in your computer? I'm confused...again.