I did the CPU overclock many years ago. I remember it messed up game timng. Games ran too fast. It is tricky to mod because you work with two leads on the CPU. When removing the mod I broke a lead off. Oops. 😀

That CPU mod doesn't look too hard (if you're willing to invest $300 in soldering gear...)

The RGB mod can be done to certain NTSC consoles with the VDC-NUS encoder chip. I remember using this guide when I was looking for a compatible one at flea markets and such.

There's also this replacement video DAC to get RGB from any revision console.

jwt27 wrote:

That CPU mod doesn't look too hard (if you're willing to invest $300 in soldering gear...)

I'm planning on apprenticing to become an electrician sometime soon, so that's an investment I may very well be willing to make. 😉

133MHz wrote:

The RGB mod can be done to certain NTSC consoles with the VDC-NUS encoder chip. I remember using this guide when I was looking for a compatible one at flea markets and such.

There's also this replacement video DAC to get RGB from any revision console.

Now THAT is one tricky-looking mod. 🤣 I wonder, once I install the replacement video encoder, how would I hook it up to something like a computer monitor or an HDTV? I don't think CRT TVs with RGB inputs are common at all on my side of the pond.

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

jwt27 wrote:

That CPU mod doesn't look too hard (if you're willing to invest $300 in soldering gear...)

I'm planning on apprenticing to become an electrician sometime soon, so that's an investment I may very well be willing to make. 😉

In that case, I can recommend the Weller WS-81 (or any of the professional (blue) Weller series). I heard Hakko and JBC produce quality stations as well, though I have no experience with them myself.

Keep in mind that electrician's work is quite different from soldering electronics. In electronics, a fine, short pencil and accurate temperature control are crucial. Even more so for SMD. For an electrician these things are not so important. You may need to purchase different tips or even different pencils for both jobs. I even doubt many electricians use soldering these days as electrical wiring is often connected through screw terminals or wire nuts.

There's a lot of oilfield work where I live, so I might become an instrument mechanic instead depending on what's available. Apparently, oilfield instrument mechanics work a lot more with smaller electronics.

I had an N64 that was suitable for RGB modding that I sold a few weeks ago. I had the realization that there weren't enough N64 games I would want to play again to justify keeping it. For US consoles it's suppose to be only that the serial number starts with NS-1 but I'm not sure about Canadian systems. It didn't look like it was too involved though, an RGB amplifier and soldering 8 wires total.

I did do an RGB mod to an SNES Jr. and it looks much better than a first revision SNES did on my Sony PVM so it was well worth it.

If it's like Nintendo's other systems, the N64s sold here should be identical to the ones sold in the US.