This article is mainly focused on telling you which specific versions of different consoles is the most ideal.

Pricing: This is roughly based on my local area in Colorado, but the prices shouldn’t vary a ton. These are also based on CONSOLES ALONE, maybe a controller or two included but no games. Check how much you can resell games for here: https://www.pricecharting.com/

Some of these consoles, the version choice is based on whether you plan on modding it for RGB or not.

Nintendo

There don’t seem to be any particular versions better than the other

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Many people recommend the ‘1-Chip’ models, but they actually aren’t perfect. They do have the most sharp video image out of the box, but this actually causes graphical issues in some games. 1-Chip models are often quite overpriced as they’re rare and many people consider them the most desirable. The 1-Chip versions have slightly less clear audio than the SHVC-CPU-01 version.

To find a 1-Chip, look for a SN that starts with UN3, but not all UN3s are a 1-Chip. https://www.retrorgb.com/1chipsnes.html

The early models of the 2-3 Chip SNES have slightly better audio with a The early models of the 2-3 Chip SNES have slightly better audio with a SHVC sound board. I believe most SNs that start with UN1 have the “SHVC-CPU-01” motherboard.

The SHVC-CPU-01 motherboard with the “Edge Enhancer” from Voultar is my best recommended model…

Backups: Flashcart/Everdrive

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Pricing: ~$80

Price depends highly on it having an expansion pack (red top) instead of jumper pack, games you can resell, amount of controllers and their condition,

Backups: Flashcart/Everdrive

Serial # starts with “NS1”
(“NS2” is fine, the only difference is how much it costs to RGB mod the console.)

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Nintendo DS (2004)

NDS, DSi, 2DS, 3DS

Pricing: $20-40

DS Lite or 2DS XL

2DS XL: 2DS CAN PLAY 3DS GAMES! The screen is bigger than the DS Lite but I think it looks worse, more pixelated.
3DS is just overpriced for what you get unless you very specifically want to play 3DS games IN 3D and I don’t like the XL version of 3DS either.

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Wii (2006)

Pricing: $20-40 depending on controllers/accessories included

original white
(the black slim/family edition is shit)

Backups: Soft mod the wii with an SD card and play games off an external USB HDD/SSD.

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Wii U (2012)

Pricing: $100-150
32GB Black version with Gamepad
(white version doesn’t usually have 32GB?)

Backups: Soft mod the WiiU with an SD card and play games off an external USB HDD/SSD. You can install games with Nusplii, and if you don’t want to deal with external storage, you can fit several games on the internal 32GB and remove as you finish them.

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SEGA

Backups: Flashcart/Everdrive

Genesis Model 2

$30-50
VA3 motherboard is best.

The Genesis Model 2 has better video quality than the Model 1 and native stereo audio from the AV port. The audio isn’t as clean as some Model 1 Genesis though, and the video quality still isn’t perfect.

You have to look through the vents on the bottom, if it’s a VA3 or a VA4, the heat shielding will not cover all the vents. To know if it’s VA3 or VA4, you have to take the shell off and read the text on the motherboard.

https://segaretro.org/Sega_Mega_Drive/Hardware_revisions

Genesis Model 1

$30-50
This needs to say “High Definition Graphics” in a semicircle above the cartridge slot and the back of the console has the ext port.

All Model 1 Genesis have MONO audio coming out the back, and if you want Stereo audio, you have to use the headphones jack on the front. Some companies make aftermarket cables with a 3.5mm jack to grab audio from the front instead of the back.

Sega CD

If you buy either the Mega Everdrive PRO or the MegaSD, you don’t need a Sega CD. The Sega CD base also increases some consoles audio quality!

• $200 Mega Everdrive PRO
• $290 MegaSD
• $100 Sega CD (plus the cost of blank CDs and a CD Burner if you don’t have one)

Genesis arcade sticks

~$30 for 6 button version
~$10 for 3 button version

Triple Bypass Mod

This mod is recommended for all

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Dreamcast (1998)

$50-80

The version doesn’t seem to matter much. Many have dying disc drives, but you should replace it with a GDEMU.

Backups: GDEMU, v1.6? to play backups off an SD card. Really cheap on Aliexpress

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Microsoft:

V1. 1
These are a little complicated to identify, it’s based on SN, date and location of manufacture. A new website just released like 5 days ago that isn’t perfectly accurate yet but helps a ton: https://xbrev.com/

v1.0-v1.4 seem generally more desirable than v1.5

Units manufactured in Mexico seem to be more desirable than China

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Sony

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_models#Comparison_of_models

The ‘best’ version is a bit subjective.

PS3 (2006)

PS4 (2013)