Immune to DRAM crisis, the original PlayStation gets a massive 8x upgrade 30 years later
The iconic original PlayStation was released in 1994 with a modest 2MB of RAM, split across four 512KB chips on its motherboard. That was more than enough to run some of the best games of its generation, such as Resident Evil, Final Fantasy VII, and Metal Gear Solid. However, it turns out the PS1 could have done much more, as it has now been revealed that Sony’s first console was designed with support for 16MB of RAM.
This extra RAM support was included by Sony engineers for their arcade hardware but left unused in consumer home consoles. Now, thanks to dedicated modders, retro PS1s are being upgraded to 16MB.
In a recent video, Tito Perez of the Macho Nacho Productions YouTube channel showcased the 16MB upgrade on his own PS1. In the video, he said:
“Can you really upgrade the original PlayStation from just 2MB of RAM to 16MB of RAM?” In the video, he installed a 16 MB RAM mod with new traces created by TunerTom, explored how it worked, tested games on the hardware, and examined the new possibilities the mod could unlock on Sony’s original PS1.
The mod improves upon earlier RAM upgrades, such as an 8MB upgrade that was considered the practical ceiling for PS1 hardware upgrades. TunerTom studied Sony’s arcade boards, which used two sets of 8MB banks, and collaborated with the PSX.Dev Discord community to bring the mod to consumer PS1s.
The process involves removing the original four 512KB chips and replacing them with eight 2MB EDO RAM chips salvaged from old PC RAM modules. Four chips are installed in their normal positions, while the remaining four are carefully stacked and soldered.
To reroute the signals, a custom quick-solder QSB board is used, which involves technical trace-cutting, precision wiring, and installing a resistor to handle the dual 8MB RAM banks. The upgrade remains cleanly hidden under the RF shields except for the new wiring, and it works on almost all PS1 models, particularly SCPH-5500 models with PU-8 motherboards.
Even with the mod, some original PS1 games run fine, while others encounter boot issues due to how memory is configured in the new setup. However, things will become more interesting when the homebrew community steps into the picture and starts porting other retro titles and installing visual overhaul patches for original PS1 games, like improving LOD (level of detail. One notable example is a port of Super Mario 64 that can be loaded and run entirely from the PS1’s 16MB of RAM.
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