what too look for in a psp

**Fr4665** · 11-20-2006, 03:46 AM

im sure thers some hardcore psp volks on here.

im in the market for one and have limited knowledge about it.
i hear that thers a 1.5 version of the firmware wich is needed to play emulators and all the other goodies.

any recomendation of what to look for in a psp ? i want some nice portable gaming would love to run a linux distro on it and surf the web via wifi. i know this is all possible. but dont know what version to buy

also any good deals on the psp's ? im in germany but can order from any where in North America no problem even if they dont have international shipping.

let me know id really appriciate it.

-fraggs

Tiber Septim · 11-20-2006, 05:54 AM

Hi.
Yes, it is possible to run a distro on you PSP, i have done it a couple times.
The problem is that the Homebrew Program/s that allow you to run that sort of content only works (currently) on v1.5 of the firmware. They do update it now and then but it has ben at 1.5 for a while.
Big problem here is that a lot of the newer games for the PSP REQUIRE that you update the firmware to be able to play (the firmware comes with the UMD).
It's a tradeoff really. With the updated firmware you can have extra features like Flash support for the web browser etc. and also play the latest games but you won't be able to use Homebrew, as the firmware blocks it.

I think the latest firmware is 2.70??? Correct me if i'm wrong.

**Fr4665** · 11-20-2006, 06:09 AM

´whats this homebrw thing ? what pros and cons do you get with having 1.5 besides that newer games dont work and flash based stuff.

Tiber Septim · 11-20-2006, 06:18 AM

Homebrew is basically the most popular platform currently being used.
Basically, people can make open source software for the PSP, but the PSP has no way of running it.
I'm no genius on the subject but there are certain programs that can fool the PSP into running these programs, anything from OS's to calculators to games etc. Homebrew is one of these.

There are no real drawback to using v1.5 other than what i mentioned. If your going to use it for all the newer games, you won't be able to use homebrew (unless you are a pretty good coder), so you can't use any of the cool open source stuff. On the other hand if you stick with v1.5 then it will no longer be a gaming machine, it basically becomes a PDA or, handheld PC, pocket PC, whatever you want to call it.

EDIT: homebrew is a platform that allows other programs to run on the PSP, i don't think i said it very clearly, it's all pretty confusing.

**Fr4665** · 11-20-2006, 06:30 AM

so for my purpose id have to get a psp with a firmware 1.5 cause i wana use it has a handheld pc mainly. can you downgrade firmware ? from like the latest to 1.5 ?

Tiber Septim · 11-20-2006, 06:40 AM

Nope, once you've upgraded it's stuck.
Alas, it is the curse of the PSP.

**Fr4665** · 11-20-2006, 06:42 AM

sounds fun. so for my purpose i need to find a psp with 1.5 ...

11-20-2006, 03:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	what too look for in a psp im sure thers some hardcore psp volks on here. im in the market for one and have limited knowledge about it. i hear that thers a 1.5 version of the firmware wich is needed to play emulators and all the other goodies. any recomendation of what to look for in a psp ? i want some nice portable gaming would love to run a linux distro on it and surf the web via wifi. i know this is all possible. but dont know what version to buy also any good deals on the psp's ? im in germany but can order from any where in North America no problem even if they dont have international shipping. let me know id really appriciate it. -fraggs __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

11-20-2006, 05:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,871 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Hi. Yes, it is possible to run a distro on you PSP, i have done it a couple times. The problem is that the Homebrew Program/s that allow you to run that sort of content only works (currently) on v1.5 of the firmware. They do update it now and then but it has ben at 1.5 for a while. Big problem here is that a lot of the newer games for the PSP REQUIRE that you update the firmware to be able to play (the firmware comes with the UMD). It's a tradeoff really. With the updated firmware you can have extra features like Flash support for the web browser etc. and also play the latest games but you won't be able to use Homebrew, as the firmware blocks it. I think the latest firmware is 2.70??? Correct me if i'm wrong. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.

11-20-2006, 06:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	´whats this homebrw thing ? what pros and cons do you get with having 1.5 besides that newer games dont work and flash based stuff. __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

11-20-2006, 06:18 AM	#4 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,871 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Homebrew is basically the most popular platform currently being used. Basically, people can make open source software for the PSP, but the PSP has no way of running it. I'm no genius on the subject but there are certain programs that can fool the PSP into running these programs, anything from OS's to calculators to games etc. Homebrew is one of these. There are no real drawback to using v1.5 other than what i mentioned. If your going to use it for all the newer games, you won't be able to use homebrew (unless you are a pretty good coder), so you can't use any of the cool open source stuff. On the other hand if you stick with v1.5 then it will no longer be a gaming machine, it basically becomes a PDA or, handheld PC, pocket PC, whatever you want to call it. EDIT: homebrew is a platform that allows other programs to run on the PSP, i don't think i said it very clearly, it's all pretty confusing. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness. Last edited by Tiber Septim; 11-20-2006 at 06:20 AM.

11-20-2006, 06:30 AM	#5 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	so for my purpose id have to get a psp with a firmware 1.5 cause i wana use it has a handheld pc mainly. can you downgrade firmware ? from like the latest to 1.5 ? __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game

11-20-2006, 06:40 AM	#6 (permalink)
Tiber Septim Asst Manager, Games Team Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 2,871 OS: Fedora 11 / Windows 7 My System Blog Entries: 5	Nope, once you've upgraded it's stuck. Alas, it is the curse of the PSP. __________________ First Steps - System Specs - SIW Help TSF beat Cancer and other serious Illness.

11-20-2006, 06:42 AM	#7 (permalink)
Fr4665 aka mr.fraggs Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA or Germany Posts: 2,965 OS: Win XP,Vista,Android My System	sounds fun. so for my purpose i need to find a psp with 1.5 ... __________________ I don't subscribe to threads please PM me if i miss a reply. ------- Everest SensorView Pro DriverCleaner how to fix your game