BitBuilt forum member and contributor Wesk has created a very cool project that makes the PlayStation 2 a little over half the size of the slim model. This is accomplished primarily by removing the optical drive and putting the motherboard into a smaller custom designed shell.
Now, without the optical drive, how does the PS2 load games? Well, Wesk thought of that and incorporated MX4SIO functionality internally without the need of a separate dedicated memory card. Games load direct from a micro SD card inserted into the console.
The mod does require you to trim the already very small motherboard. Thankfully, It’s nothing too crazy. You just need to remove the part of the PCB holding the second USB port. Once it’s removed you end up with a relatively square motherboard that fits very nicely into Wesk’s custom Ultra Slim Shell.
The Shell is what makes this mod really shine. Wesk retained a lot of the design cues of the slim model PS2 making it look very much like a Sony product. The shell I used was printed using a transparent resin with a clear varnish finish that looks really awesome (check out the video)!
Unfortunately, you cannot convert just any slim model PS2 into the Ultra Slim. This mod requires a SCPH-790XX model because of it’s uniquely small motherboard. All other slim model PS2’s have a larger motherboard that is not compatible with this project.
Another really cool feature of this mod is that Wesk repurposed the disc door detection switch into the power/reset switch. This is really ingenious because we don’t have to worry about wiring in a separate power/reset button which would further complicate the mod. One of Wesk’s goals with this project was to make this mod as simple as possible without the need to purchase a bunch of addition components, and I think he definitely succeeded!
Wesk has made this project complete open source and all 3D models required to make the Ultra Slim PS2 is available on his thread found here.
