This $60 chip fixes a longstanding Super Nintendo flaw

Nintendo sold implicit 49 cardinal Super Nintendo consoles, but not each of them were created equal. A aboriginal hardware revision improved the prime of the SNES’ video output, and implicit 3 decades later, 1 modder has travel up with a mode to bring those aforesaid improvements to astir each Super Nintendo ever released.

Zach Henson, a console modder who besides goes by the sanction Voultar, has created a DIY modification kit for older Super Nintendo consoles called the Edge Enhancer. Expected to merchantability for astir $60, the mod kit upgrades the console’s video output, making graphics look overmuch sharper and colors much saturated.

Although Nintendo made galore revisions to the Super Nintendo’s hardware during the console’s accumulation run, for retro gamers, determination are fundamentally 2 versions of the SNES that matter. The original, which is present referred to arsenic the SHVC oregon 2 spot model, and an upgraded mentation that came later, known arsenic the 1CHIP exemplary based connected however Nintendo labeled its motherboard.

The 2 spot SNES featured a video integer to analog converter successful its representation processing portion (PPU) that gamers person since discovered wasn’t capable to rapidly modulation betwixt antithetic colors. This resulted successful video output that tended to look brushed oregon blurred due to the fact that the graphics appeared to person a halo oregon shadiness astir them.

The occupation wasn’t arsenic noticeable successful the ‘90s erstwhile everyone played connected CRT TVs, but with a Super Nintendo connected to a modern display, the differences are much prominent.

For the aboriginal 1CHIP mentation of the Super Nintendo, the institution merged the original’s 2 video chips and CPU into a azygous chip. It was a cost-cutting determination to marque it cheaper to manufacture the console, but the caller components besides resulted successful video output that was overmuch sharper with noticeably improved colors.

For retro gamers who similar to play connected archetypal hardware, the 1CHIP Super Nintendo consoles are present precise overmuch sought aft and tin merchantability for good implicit $200. But request could soon beryllium waning acknowledgment to this caller upgrade kit.

Installing Voultar’s Edge Enhancer mod isn’t for beginners, arsenic Tito Perez from YouTube’s Macho Nacho Productions precocious demonstrated successful a video. Not lone does the SNES person to beryllium wholly dismantled, but there’s rather a spot of soldering required, and you person to region the archetypal transistors, capacitors, and resistors from the console’s motherboard.

A batch could spell incorrect erstwhile installing the assorted components needed for the mod. So portion Voultar plans to yet merchantability a DIY Edge Enhancer kit erstwhile the documentation and tutorials are finalized, it volition initially lone beryllium disposable arsenic portion of a much costly installation work that volition guarantee the upgrades are done correctly.

Pricing hasn’t been revealed conscionable yet, but fixed that 1CHIP Super Nintendo consoles are becoming progressively rare, the Edge Enhancer mod could inactive beryllium overmuch cheaper, adjacent with the outgo of shipping a Super Nintendo’s motherboard disconnected to beryllium upgraded.