New PSP buyer needs help!

[TeeJay]

Hello everyone,
This is such a great site. I'm glad I found it. I am hoping to get some help from the experienced PSP users here.

Over the next several months, I will be doing a large amount of business travel. I need some entertainment, and I have decided to purchase a PSP. I am a PC gamer, so consoles (especially mobile ones) I don't have all that much experience with. I have planned to spend a few hundred dollars, whatever it takes really, so please keep that in mind if you are going to offer some advice. I love to save money as much as the next guy, but I am not afraid to spend for this purchase because this looks to be quite a fun device (and my sanity may depend heavily on it for the next few months )

Here is what I would like:
1. PSP Slim due out in a few weeks
2. Big memory card
3. the longest life battery pack I can find
4. USB cable to PC
5. Car charger
6. A very nice and safe/protective carrying case
7. Some sort of protection thing/cover to use while playing (not so sure if I really need this?)
8. Something to clean the PSP with?
9. Good set of headphones

Here is what I have found so far:
PSP Slim
Memory card
This kit (includes items 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9… but I am not sure of the quality of these??)

My concerns:
1. I have not found a high-capacity battery pack. Can someone provide a link to one? Will the PSP Slim even be able to use a bigger battery pack since it is supposedly smaller?
2. I have a library of PlayStation 1 games that I would love to play on my PSP. Is this even possible? I have read the thread regarding emulators, but didn’t see one for the PS1. The games I would like to play mostly are of the Final Fantasy series, which are multi-disc games, will that be a problem?

Thanks a lot for reading.

[Kernel Kev]

I would get a playgear pocket, as a carry case. It acts as a stand aswell for those long flights that you want to watch a movie. There is a case in Game (UK) that holds two extra memory cards, think its rather cool.

A MUST, is new headphones...guys can you say which ones to get, i dont really know... i used my original headphones on a plane, and spent 2 hours pushing them into my ears to drown out the roar of the 20ft Jet sitting next to me.

As for your PS1 games, you will need to downgrade (check my thread in the homebrew section) and then go to custom firmware (i suggest 3.40 OE-A) to play your PS1 games.

Memory card is a good choice. If your looking for PS1 game playing then i suggest getting 2. I have 9gigs in total.

Umm, that kit looks ok, most of the essentials really. And about the battery, im not too sure if the standard PSP battery attachments would work, being higher power and what not.

EDIT: Oh yeah, welcome to the forum. My names Kernel Kev, but you can call me Kev! lol



Kev

[VAMP]

I didn't click the link with the kit because I'm lazy, but I agree with everything Kev suggested, and would add a screen protector if it's not in the kit. Hori makes really good ones.

Welcome BTW.

[Monkey Business]

Hi and welcome to the forum

This case here i recommend Brand New Logitech Playgear Pocket Case for Sony PSP BK - (eBay item 150155759179 end time Aug-31-07 04:00:00 PDT)
I got this one and having dropped my PSP in the case numerous times there is no damage done to the case nor PSP.
The PSP console will already come with earphones but you can get better ones.
To play PS1 games you will need CF or 1.5, you can currently do this on the current PSP but the slim is yet to be hacked but i think it will be in a matter of weeks after release.

[Kernel Kev]

Yep, they will do another pandora's battery if the current one dosent work.



Kev

[TeeJay]

So after cruising the forums a little more, I am seeing the term "Brick" or "Bricking" mentioned a lot. This is apparently a bad thing. Can someone give me a brief explanation of what this is?

It is silly to me why Sony hasn't made playing PS1 games on the PSP easier. It's not like I'm doing anything illegal here, I own the actual PS1 discs. Changing firmware on my PSP kind of makes me uncomfortable, but I think I will still give it a shot. What is the next step after that? From what I have gathered from Ashley R, I need to convert my PS1 discs to a .BIN or .CUE format. What software do I need for this?

Thanks for the help on the case. I will be getting the Playgear Pocket, since it seems so popular.

So what about the battery? Anyone know if a bigger capacity battery will fit in the PSP Slim?

[Kernel Kev]

A brick is when a file in your firmware gets corrupted or deleted, so it breaks the chain, if one goes, the rest dont work.

For example, take the chain off a motorbike, its still a motorbike, but without the chain its just a useless lump of metal that looks good.

Except before pandoras battery, there was no way of unbricking a psp, but now it can be done, the psp community are one step closer to ultimate victory!

As for the PS1 games, i dont really know, i never done any of that.



Kev

[Monkey Business]

He term bricking sure is bad, it means that the PSP is dead.
You can fix this with a new motherboard/modchip and of course the recently released pandoras battery. Sony have made PS1 downloads on the PSN on the PS3 so you can download it off the PS3 on to your PSP however they are the only games that are legal.
The battery that you will get on the PSP slim will last between 5-6 hours however if you put the old battery in the PSP slim playtime will lats 8-10 hours but you will need a bigger battery cover because the slim one is to small.

Hope this helps