This Frankenstein PlayStation PCB reads games from microSD and outputs video over HDMI

We live in the golden age of retro console modding. If you have an old Game Boy Advance lying around, it’s possible to give it new life with replacement parts like an IPS screen and USB-C charging. But as amazing as these mods are, most still require an original GBA motherboard with a working CPU and RAM. That’s what makes YouTuber Secret Hobbyist’s PlayStation Hybrid so cool. Over the past two months, they’ve been working to design, prototype, and build the ultimate PlayStation PCB, which incorporates the best parts from the various model revisions while adding a few modern conveniences.

The specific motherboards Secret Hobbyist is pulling parts from are the PM-41 v2 and the PU18, the former being a PSOne board while the latter is from a “phat” model. The decision to incorporate parts from different PlayStation variants makes total sense if you know anything about the console’s history. Between the release of the PlayStation in 1994 and the smaller PSOne in 2000, Sony made several revisions to the original design to address hardware issues and save money.

One component you can find on older models, but not on the PSOne, is a digital-to-analog audio converter (DAC) made by Asahi Kasei. Over the years, this DAC gained cult status among audiophiles, with some early models like the SCPH-1000 and SCPH-3000 being particularly sought after as CD players because they also had RCA outputs, a feature that Sony later removed from later revisions. As for the PU18, it has a part that makes it compatible with the X Station, a CD replacement that allows a modded PlayStation to play games from a microSD card.

From the PSOne, Secret Hobbyist got the console’s GPU and CPU, which are more power efficient than those of its older siblings. Finally, they incorporated an FPGA chip from a Hispeedido mod kit to make their hybrid PlayStation capable of outputting video via HDMI.

The end result is a custom PCB even smaller than the PSOne’s PM-41 v2, which consumes less than two watts and works with modern displays. This power consumption means that the hybrid PlayStation could be designed to be a handheld. Secret Hobbyist hasn’t yet designed a case for their new Frankenstein console, but judging by the comments on their video, people can’t wait to see the final result. In the meantime, be sure to watch the full video to learn more about the project and witness some incredible welding work.