Dreamcast users? What to look for buying a 2nd hand unit?


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So my stay in the EvilDragon's lair has nurtured my retro gaming spirit in wanting something to game on besides my Pandora.


I found a Dreamcast with 4 games, 2 controllers with memory, and all the plugs. $50


Problem is I never owned one of these units, but after playing in Germany and way back in the late 1990s, I have some interest.


What should I be looking for and concerned about when going to look at a used Dreamcast tomorrow afternoon?


Thanks in advance for input!
 
Fire it up and check for any dodgy noises, make sure the motor isn't knackered, find out if it a pre November 2000 model (worth more if it is as it is able to run homebrew and emulators).


Check if it the standard 56kbps modem or the broadband adaptor (worth much more), control connections, video and power.


Check if it has a VGA adaptor on the back (worth more, if it's an early model with this is may be a sign it's be modified)


Finally the hinge and case, check the seams for pry marks, another sign of tampering.


Hope this helps, that is everything I check for when I brought my replacement dreamcast.


Also, if the memory is a VMU (official memory cards with the screen) check they fit the controller snug and check any dead pixels, may need a replacement battery, very cheap and easy to find these days.


What games are with it? Out of interest.
 
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Rainbow Six, Rumble Boxing, Crazy Taxi, & Rippin Riders Snowboarding.


Thanks for the reply. Do they make it easy and put a date of manufacture somewhere?
 
I bloody love crazy taxi :)


On the bottom of the console should be a large sticker with alternating black/silver panels, one of those will have an MFR date, this is the date of manufacture and is usually in a 'June 2000' format.
 
Crazy Taxi is awesome. ready 2 Rumble 1 was good, but could have done with a bit more speed. Don;t know about the others. If you can get everything for $50 and all is in good working order then that's an excellent deal.


With so many great Dreamcast games available, your retro-gaming itch shouldn't need scratching for quite some time :)
 
I'm unsure as to whether this only affected PAL units or not, but another thing worth keeping an eye out for is the resetting problem. Dreamcast units (I'm unsure if it was some or all, but it seemed to be incredibly common with PAL units - it happened repeatedly to several belonging to friends and relatives both in and out of warranty, to the point that they got sick of fixing it/getting it fixed and eventually just gave up entirely) have a tendency to overheat and slightly melt a certain set of pins, which will then touch each other as they move and cause a short which leads to random rebooting (the "RRoD" of its time, perhaps?).


The trouble is, it can be a bit tricky to spot, as sometimes it can happen after an hour or two, but other times it will occur within minutes.


I gather that it's not a difficult fix, though - someone even posted a video tutorial about it in another thread, recently.
 
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Agreed with the comments so far. Finding an older model is the general recomendation with Dreamcasts. I can't remember off the top of my head now if there is a sturdier fan or some kind of additional heat shielding in there, but the general point is that they last a bit better.


Some other points. I'd just try and find a really nice console unit rather than worrying about controllers and memory units as such. These items can still readily be purchased brand new and on the cheap. All PAL systems can play homebrew, backups etc. While not a completely accurate guide, but a general rule of thumb, avoid the HKT-3030 NTSC model. It is generally accepted that this is the unit that can't play backups and homebrew. The other systems will play anything without the need for modchips etc. If you're interested in looking online for backups of your purchased games, you'll want to download 'selfboot' images. Simply burn to CD using Discjuggler, pop it in an unmodded Dreamcast and it will boot up. These selfbooting versions are region free etc.


My biggest tip with the Dreamcast is to pick up a VGA Box. I run my Dreamcasts into my 52inch Plasma's 'PC input' (just a standard VGA port). The games look amazing on it.


This is a photo of my TV playing a Dreamcast game plugged in via VGA.


c422628e.jpg
 
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KK25 said:
I can't remember off the top of my head now if there is a sturdier fan or some kind of additional heat shielding in there, but the general point is that they last a bit better.
Click to expand...
My own was a launch-day unit, and it also had the problem (I never cared to fix it, though, as it occurred out-of-warranty, and the system had turned out to have no software of interest to me at all and never got any later, either :p ). Just pointing it out, because it can very much occur in any unit, regardless of when it was manufactured - though again, I don't know if it was a PAL-only thing or not.
 
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The thought was niggling in my mind, so I had a look to remind myself of the supposedly better component... It is the 'Heatpipes' found attached to the processors in the earlier models. I have four relatively early Dreamcasts. One is a UK PAL, another is AUS PAL and the other two are Japanese NTSC models. Only my NTSC models have the heatpipes. I don't actually think that they are exclusive to NTSC versions though...


Anyway, I'm not 100% sure of any specifc issues across models. It was just a thought lingering in my mind. Take it as you will :)
 
^ That is interesting, and would explain why I've thus far only heard of it in PAL units. :p But I'm getting off-track, so I'll leave it there. :lol:
 
My day 1 PAL Dreamcast is still going strong; never had a problem with it resetting. The only annoying thing for me is the beeping of the official VMUs when the battery is low/dead! Thankfully I've also got a 3rd part one (without screen) that doesn't beep. :p
 
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It's possible to play homebrew on all dreamcasts using the Utopia disc (afaik), like said above though the peripherals are far less important than the console in that they are easily replaceable.


Today I sold a light gun, keyboard, 3 controllers, fission fishing controller and 2 rumble paks ready for my big move, all easily replaceable but the console is coming with me.


I don't know about you guys but i really do think the DreamCast was one of the best looking consoles ever :)
 
Powerstone is all you need :D


I wish I could find a reasonably priced VGA box for my Dreamcasts, I barely get them out anymore because the picture looks like complete ass on everything I own.


I have a healthy collection of Dreamcast games, but definitely missing some notable ones. No Seaman, for example.
 
Never had to with a pal dc in the us before, I have a ps2 and a multimega as well running fine without any step ups.


Most machines have a power supply of 110v~240v, and work without problems almost anywhere in the world.
 
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