sony builds shitty optical drives!....?

i got 4 launch machines

launch psx
launch ps2

and for comparison

launch saturn
launch dreamcast

both playstations need a few tries before recognizing discs, but the sega consoles play like new. was i just unlucky with monday models or is this a general sony problem? i hope my ps3s optical drive will stay healthy for years to come...

 

This is a known issue. Sega was more concerned about quality than Sony from what I hear and is part of the reason their systems (atleast Saturn) cost more. Be aware you can get new drive parts or a whole new drive assembly if you need to do that. However next-gen systems like 360 have a habit of locking the optical drive to the motherboard making this less practical.

 

I personally think that is unfair as I've had Japanese launch PS, PS2 and PS3 and not one of them has had the drive replaced, I am on my 3rd Dreamcast because the stupid has had the drive break down. The Saturn has been bullet proof too.

 

I think it's common knowledge that Sony make or made crap quality laser components. NEC's PC Engine Duo consoles suffer really badly from dodgy drives these days and guess who's laser units they use? Yep, Sony. Saturn laser units are pretty rock solid. You can buy a first gen Saturn without any real worries concerning the laser. The Dreamcast depends upon whether you have a Yamaha Drive (Very quiet) or a Samsung drive (Very loud). The Samsung drives seem to be pretty dodgy at times. Mega CD 1 has a dodgy laser too now that I think about it and who makes the laser for that? Yep, right again.

Yakumo

 

Microsoft??????:lol:

 

Sony laser units are cheap and shitty? Say it ain't so.

 

Lots of kids these days didn't live through (or don't remember) the hey-day of the original PS1. Just about everyone I knew in with a launch unit had to flip the thing upside down to get it to load. And don't get me started on the PS2... I gave up on sony after my third PS2. Its a depressing feeling having to own something you can no longer stand, just because there are games for it you want to play.

 

in my experience:

my psx are perfect after years of extenuating use. i had issues on ps2 drive, but not the laser in per se but the tray. also the new psones are sturdy

the saturn is a rock, tought i haven't stressed it much. but the cart slot is weak.

dreamcasts had some problems with resistors and many had burned pad/ports.

360 sometimes freezes, i had a dead wireless adapter.

NES had problems with carts and console.

i can't think of a perfect console in reliance, beside the snes...

 

My Saturn has a weird problem. Play it for ten minutes, turn it off and reboot, and the screen has vertical, white scrolling lines, and the drive struggles and doesn't read a disc. Leave it a little while and it's fine again..

 

Karsten, it depends on your model or PS1 or PS2. When I got a PS1, it was a SCPH 7501. This was after they stopped making flawwed/shitty optical assemblies for PS1 and made something decent. Similarly with PS2 I got one and it was a SCPH 50001 which was at a point where the drives were actually worth a fuck.

So I never had issues with them. But before those model numbers I've seen tons of systems with laser issues.

My Saturns I've had never had any problems. Even when using cheap ass CD-R media for a quick burn of whatever.

My DreamCast worked like a champ until I found out that by leaving a CD wallet ontop of the system wore the lidswitch and fucked up the lid sensor. I "fixed" it later though.

My 360, well I'll just say I'm on my 3rd system.

My original NES I sold but it worked pretty good considering we never cleaned any cartridges really. My current NES works fine because I clean the cartridges.

The SNES actually has the same issue as any cartridge system. I had games that would have problems or would reset if the cartridge was bumped and it was because the contacts were dirty. Always clean your cartridges. I learned this when my Copier kept thinking my Killer Instinct cartridge was 24M when its 32M.

 

try the n64, takes the vote anyday

 

Do the N64s ever wear out?

 

true that! :clap:

 

Well, my PS2 is one of those decent quality ones. Got in 2002, and it came with a shitty modchip (plus badly installed). After some months, i replaced that for a Messiah. The shitty modchip was so bad it fried the BA (CD/DVD drive controller). Anyway, my friend Marcelo replaced it for me free of charge. And a couple years later, i replaced the Messiah for a Matrix Infinity.

Running fine to this date, with an 80GB HD that has HDLoader, SMS Player, Emulators, homebrew,...

The best PS2 models were 30001R (V5/V6, the one i have) and 39001 (V7, the GT3 Bundle model). Stay away from 50001 models. They replaced the CD/DVD drive controller for a cheap one made by Sanyo (the famous LA), the lens die easily because of dust,...

However, my PS1 died... in 2004! I still need to replace the whole drive/lens, but on the meantime i managed to get yet another SCPH-1001 that works flawless to this date.

 

Most cart systems are fairly solid; there's no moving parts to wear out so they don't tend to be as flaky. That said, the Saturn, Dreamcast, and Gamecube were all pretty solid in terms of build quality.

 

The Saturn's cart slot is pretty flaky from what Ive heard, the Dreamcast's controller ports die pretty often (Sure you can fix it, easily even, but still). The systems aren't perfect either (not that any are)

 

Yeah, you're right on both counts. I was thinking more about the laser units.

 

The Xbox has probably the worst drives in the history of man, the system itself is fairly bullet proof but the drives regardless of type fail too soon. I have a pile of 12 working Xboxs with failed drives.

The Xbox 360 is infamous for having crap build, the optical drives are better although out of 10 systems that play constantly one has had a failed drive.

The Dreamcast although okay, does suffer from drive failure I have at least 5 dead machines and all of them are non working due to drive faults, I sometimes hate the DC as it has a habit of going up in smoke as the optical drive board has an IC which burns out and normally catches fire briefly...

The Gamecube does suffer from optical drive failure, I do have 5 or 6 of them which fail to read discs anymore.

The N64 although a bullet proof machine the most common fault I have had with them is the PSU burning out.

Nintendo Wii, have had to send two machines back as the drives were not reading the disc and the machine was demanding I eject the disc and turn the machine off.

Playstation 3? Not a single issue.

Although most issues of drives not working can be fixed with a little compressed air, a cotton bud and some isopropyl alcohol.

 

Well, the Sony optical devices on the later, cheap PS2 units are provided by a third party supplier and not actually produced by Sony. The actually drives themselves go on forever. Motors are excellent, the mechanism are pretty rock solid. Just plonk in a cheap 3rd party laser and off you go!

The PS1 launch units had major issues, and I also remember having to flip mine over to get it to load. They changed the entire design of the drive, so you could argue that Sony took it seriously.

PS2, again had initial issues, ironed them out and as the damned things got cheaper and cheaper many of those issues reappeared.

The PS2 is a prime example of what Sony has been doing with all of it's products of late.

The PS3, I've seen early Japanese PS3's with loads of laser issues. Other than that they seem to be pretty reliable, but give it time and I bet we'll be in the same place as the units are made more cheaply.

However, if someone is trying to claim that the Dreamcast optical drive is rock solid, then sorry I don't accept it.

It was again notorious, especially for the spindle to slip and although your laser was perfectly good the disc would scrape on the inside of the unit, sounding awful, failing to load and often scratching it. Lost count of how many European DC units I have seen with bad drives.

However, they were more reliable than a number of the Sony devices.

My Saturn is still running - it wasn't originally mine, but my wife's and her two younger brothers maltreated it and it is stillllllll going!

The worst lasers must be on the Xbox, but because they used 3 different suppliers it was a case of opening the tray to check which drive had been fitted ;-)

 

^ Spoken like a true gamer