nesdev.org

As far as I know, there are different internal revisions of the Super Nintendo: One chip version, two chip version, version where something may freeze if a certain feature is used etc.

My questions:

Regarding the regular NTSC Super Nintendo (i.e. not stuff like the SNES Mini, but only the console in the standard casing):

What revisions are there? (Version numbers, properties.)
What are the differences?
How common are the various revisions?
Is it possible to identify the revision simply by looking at it, without having to open the casing?

On a completely random note, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest has a thingy in there that guesses the versions of your PPU and CPU. Press Start to go to the menu, then hold Start+Select during the fade. Haven't see it display anything other than "2 1 3" though. My own SNES, Snes9x, Higan, and screenshots on the Internet all display that.

DRW wrote:What revisions are there? (Version numbers, properties.)

CPU has three(?) revisions: separate & rev1, separate & rev2, 1chip
PPU1 has two revisions: separate & rev1, 1chip
PPU2 has four? revisions: separate & rev1, &c & rev2, &c & rev3, 1chip

1chip models can't trivially be identified; its ID registers also claim to be a 2/1/3.

What are the differences?

CPU rev1 has a bug in DMA, such that if DMA and HDMA would end at the same time, something (stack pointer? instruction pointer?) gets trashed and the SNES will crash.

PPU rev changes are unknown.

How common are the various revisions?

2/1/3 in separate ICs and 1chip are both the most common.

Tepples and I both have 1/1/1 models. Other people have documented having 2/1/1 and 2/1/2 models.

Is it possible to identify the revision simply by looking at it, without having to open the casing?

No. But software can uniquely identify models before 2/1/3.

byuu's forum has a thread that somewhat documents the different SNES/SFC models here. There's also a spreadsheet here documenting the serial numbers and models of several people's consoles.

lidnariq wrote:No. But software can uniquely identify models before 2/1/3.

I don't believe this is always the case, in terms of actual physical models. For example, most (all?) 1/1/1 consoles are the SHVC-CPU-01 model, but I also own the same model with a revision 2 CPU.

I tried to summarize the relevant differences that I read here and on external sites. Please tell me if I got everything right.
(The image was updated according to the below posts.)

Also, I'm curious: Is there a technical difference between GPM and RGB versions, apart from the black cartridge connector?

The 1 chip version outputs better picture quality. Is there also a visible quality change between GPM and RGB as well?

Is there an approximate timeline for the various versions? I assume 1/1/1 is 1991 while GPM and RGB are 1992-1994 with 1-chip in 1995. But when did GPM end and RGB start?

My 1/1/1 SNES has a silkscreened EJECT label, not a molded one...

According to byuu, the SNES Jr. has radically different PPU behaviour, as though it's a licensed clone rather than a real SNES. Not sure if this applies to normal 1CHIP units too.

The only difference I've seen mentioned is that the plane's shadow in Air Strike Patrol, which is drawn by setting the brightness register in an IRQ, is very faint on a SNES Jr.

lidnariq wrote:My 1/1/1 SNES has a silkscreened EJECT label, not a molded one...

O.k., maybe this information is wrong. It was a bit confusing and contradictory in several texts.

So, which version has the molded EJECT text? Do I simply need to switch it around? Or is it mixed up, like for example printed for the first, third and fourth version and molded for the second?

93143 wrote:According to byuu, the SNES Jr. has radically different PPU behaviour, as though it's a licensed clone rather than a real SNES. Not sure if this applies to normal 1CHIP units too.

As far as I read, the different PPU behavior does not appear on regular 1-chip versions, only on the SNES Mini, while both, the regular 1-chip version and the SNES mini have better general output quality from the older models.

DRW wrote:which version has the molded EJECT text?

My 2/1/3 SNES has the EJECT text molded.

Isn't every SNES besides the very first one and very rare exceptions version 2/1/3?
To identify yours, I'd need to know the serial number on the back (UN...) and maybe the information whether the cart connector is silver or black: Image taken from this link:
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/5035 ... encias.png

The serial number is UN309646152. The cartridge connector is black.

Seems to be the 1-chip version then.

I updated the information accordingly.

Dwedit wrote:On a completely random note, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest has a thingy in there that guesses the versions of your PPU and CPU. Press Start to go to the menu, then hold Start+Select during the fade.
[attachment]

Haven't seen it display anything other than "2 1 3" though. My own SNES, Snes9x, Higan, and screenshots on the Internet all display that.

Let's fix that.

Also, a less finicky way? Once in the menu, hold select and push start.

(Though I expect it doesn't guess so much as read the registers…)

So, what's the difference between GPM and RGB revisions? Do the boards look different? Is there any visible difference in output?

And is there an approximate time frame for all these revisions? 1CHIP started in 1995. What about GPM and RGB?

Picture of SNS-CPU-GPM-02 mainboard

Picture of SNS-CPU-RGB-01 mainboard

The only differences I see are:
• Part number, copyright date
• Metal-covered ("silver") vs bare plastic ("black") sides of cart slot
• Some capacitors have been moved
• One capacitor has been removed
• Capacitors have been renumbered
• Use of S-ENC B (BA6594AF) vs S-RGB (BA6595F) - see also http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3525.0