Does anyone know what was intended for the left side of the Dreamcast? It looks like Sega intended to have something there, but removed it. The outline is also on the opposite side, which made me think it could have been for extra vents, but the proximity to the PSU tells me otherwise. Curious as to what it was intended to be, and whether it's on every Dreamcast.
I noticed that the other day on one of my Dreamcasts. Out of the two I checked I found it on both though I have no idea what it was for if anything.
One of my DC units has what seems to be a removed section filled in as well. Could they have planned to have the modem on that side originally?
Maybe it would help to look at the motherboard on that side to see what might be on that side. Ofcourse who knows when they made the plastic molds so there might not even be any hints to be found on a current motherboard.
It's right up to the edge, and you never really do that with vents. I think it was mould repair, cnc out the bad bit, fill it in again.
All 5 of my DC's have that and I'd bet money on my 6th I bought off APE will have it too. It has it on both sides but the fan side the vent isnt as big as the mark - I reckon it was caused by something gripping it in the moulding process or when it was cooling. If you look closely at the back of your top half there is a larger one surrounding from above the AC in right the way up to the modem.
But wouldn't the injection sprues be on the inside of the case, like most consumer stuff ? DOH!, brainfart .. of course they are. Ok , wouldnt a piece of consumer electronics be handled more carefully if the cases were trimmed by machine ? Maybe injection moulds be created with flush fitting removable blanks ?
Knowing Sega they might have considered an addon port at some point, then regret it and just slightly modified the molds to save money. Unused vents doesnt sounds that crazy, wasnt the PowerVR downclocked or something because it had some temp issues? I recall someone mentioning it really affected the overall performance of it. Maybe those extra vents were meant to solve the problem, but didn't work so the engineers decided to get rid of 'em.
It does, in fact the one I sent you is the one I first noticed it on. As for the mobo hypothesis the PSU sits in the case against the side where this is. Obviously the PSU could have switched sides at some point but then you'd have to relocate the G2 bus connector on the board and on the case itself.
I've noticed this before and never really given it much thought until now, but I have a feeling it's the leftover from a last-minute casing redesign. I know the Dreamcast's graphics processor was underclocked because of heating issues, and also there was the early prototype console with a few minor styling differences. Wasn't the controller start button originally round in the first-released hardware shots and early public events, such as the second New Challenge Conference? Also, I seem to recall the actual system's disc drive lid originally being flat - this was changed because of problems closing the it, which is why nearer the back of the machine it's not flush (compared with the front). Sega was definitely still making small adjustments right up to the point they revealed the Dreamcast, with some minor alterations being made after the unveiling and prior to its retail launch. My guess is the filled-in panel was probably either for a second vent or cooling fan, possibly a solution prior to the addition of a pipe containing water in early models. Whatever the reality, I hear there were plans for even more revisions that never saw the light of day, including a fix to the known random resetting problem that can be solved by tipping over and hitting the console quite hard underneath... now this particular issue drives me mad as it happens quite a lot! In the end, the only thing Sega did was disable MIL-CD support, though I have a feeling a cheaper "Mark 2" was perhaps too expensive for the rapidly-depleting company's funds.
Aren't there debug/address checker consoles with switches/ports where that cut away bit is? I've noticed this on every DC I've had too.
If you look at the very first DC models shown they look slightly bigger and have a very nice glass triangle where the retail version is plastic. That system was just a solid case though. You couldn't even open the lid.
I thought about this too along time ago cause I use to own a launch dreamcast. But the address checker theory might be true.
Is this the one? It looks like a pre-production mock up - there are no gaps around the lid, as though it's part of the top case, and the logo looks as if it's been directly printed as opposed to the inset sticker. The bba/modem adaptor is in it's usual place, but vents are missing from where they usually are. Weird. NTSC version is much the same, except the Windows CE text is missing:
Yes, that's the one although I've never seen a PAL version before. I had a much better picture of it taken from a display case that showed the top more clearly. The system looked so classy then. just like the original Champaign silver Saturn and what did they release? A dirty dish water grey system :crying: yakumo
IIRC thats the earliest pic of a PAL system, I remember we all wonder why the hell did Sega decide to make the logo blue Someone else over there had registered a orange swirl? Anyways, really white plastic was kinda expensive then, which is why most white electronics from then are kinda yellow/beige these days. Paint could've been an option, but then it would dent and look even worse.
