Online Gaming Consoles Wii

Lately a lot of people have been asking me about mod chips and if they can be detected or which ones are best. So I decided to review a few of the well know Wii mod chips so maybe this will give anyone who is interested a little insight on the subject then you can make your own opinion on if a mod chip would be the best way to go for you.

I have to say these Wii mod chips are something fierce. In earlier posts I've written about the pros and cons of modding your wii and as I've stated before the choice is yours to make, you mod at your own risk. With that being said Nintendo has not banned anyone from online play because you have a modded Wii but there are risks you take if you decide to do so. One of those is you void your warranty if you crack open your wii console to install mod chips but if a person is determined to have something that won't stop you from doing what you want, I mean you paid for it, it's yours to do what ever you want to do with it. The good news for Nintendo Wii gamers is that regardless of which Nintendo Wii mod chip you buy - you'll have all the basics with each one.

You will be able to play all Nintendo Wii Backup games (on DVD-R or DVD+R discs) and can use 8cm or 12cm DVD discs. You will also be able to play all Gamecube Backup games, import games as well as Gamecube Homebrew games. It really gets down to installation of the Nintendo Wii Mod chip and the features and functions, and future upgrade options of each Wii mod chip.What is even more surprising with these new Nintendo Wii Mod chips is the prices that they're being sold for.

I remember the days of the very first Playstation 2 mod chips, costing in excess of $90.00 US Dollars. It seems the Wii chips have opted instead for a lower entry price, in an effort to gain a greater piece of the Homebrew / Development / Modchip market. The prices range anywhere from $44.00 to just over $50.00, depending on the chip you decide to buy. I'm going to cover three of the most popular of the mod chips in the hopes of enabling you, the gamer, to make the buying decision that's right for you. And after reading this post, I honestly believe that your decision will be based solely on price, and perhaps the option of an upgrade (or lack of) for the Wii Mod Chips.

CycloWiz Nintendo Wii Mod Chips

Coined the first High-Quality mod for your Wii, the CycloWiz is perhaps the easiest modchip to install on any system. The CycloWiz actually does not require you to solder any wires to the Wii mainboard. In fact, you'll simply use Quick Solder pads which are strategically placed in the design of the CycloWiz to enable you to simply position the chip on the Nintendo Wii Mainboard, and gently put some solder onto the points. This will make the required connections, and the chip will simply be installed. The CycloWiz is also a fully upgradeable modchip, with promised firmware updates for the chip from the manufacturer. You should however like the idea that the chip will not be outdated should some new function or requirement become the norm. Also incorporates an optional off feature and LED to let you know when your CycloWiz is on or off.

Features

UNIVERSAL Works on all Wii's
Easy Install (5 solder points / no wires required)
Stealth Mode to keep chip from ever being detected from current wii firmware
Play Both Wii and GC backups
Play GC homebrew and Imports
Built In Audiofix for GC backups
Multidisc GC Game support
Support 8Cm and 12cm Discs
Opotional Disable feature to turn your chip on and off
Multipurpose LED to let you know that your chip is on and working, if it has an error, or if it is off
DVD Firmware Upgrades available

WiiKey Nintendo Wii Modchip

The WiiKey for Nintendo Wii is made by the famous xenoGC team, responsible for the xenoGC Gamecube line of mod chips. The WiiKey comes ready to use, and offers an almost wireless installation. When they say almost wireless, what this essentially means is that there are Quick Solder pads for the chip. This method enables you to simply position the chip in the correct place on the Mother board of the Wii, in order to then apply a little bit of solder with a soldering iron. The WiiKey mod chip was the first chip that boasted full upgradeability through DVD-R discs to which you can burn / backup the new firmware updates, put The DVD in to your Nintendo Wii, and it will run and update the chip. Once again, the WiiKey also supports loading of both Wii and Gamecube backup games and import backup games. Original import games can be played as well, with a simple, single swap methos. Gamecube Homebrew games are also supported.

Features

Direct boot of NTSC Wii imports on NTSC consoles (no patch needed)
Direct boot of PAL Wii imports on NTSC consoles (no patch needed, partial compatibility)
Direct boot of wii backups
Direct boot of GC backups
Direct boot of homebrew in GC mode
Supports all currently available console/drive versions
Supports D2B chipsets
Sophisticated (true) update mechanism via DVD
Direct boot of different NTSC region Wii games/backups on US and JAP consoles
Supports DVD-R / true DVD+R and +RW support (no bitsetting required!)
Stealth mode
Improved readsettings for recordable media
Recovery mode - Can recover from a bad flash

Nintendo Wii D2CKey Mod Chip

The D2CKey is the newest and only mod chip on the market that supports the new Nintendo Wii consoles with the D2C Chipset. It's made by the same people behind the WiiKey.Utilizing a high speed Actel FPGA running at 350 MHz this chip is capable of what is known as Intelligent Code Modification(ICM)which will enable you to be presented with flawless booting of your homebrew and backups and status is shown with two on board LEDs. It also sports a Region Override function allowing you to play import games from other countries. That being said the installation is not for the faint of heart. You need to be prepared to solder 30 wires and 2 jumpers to be up and running with the D2CKey,thus it isn't designed for people with no soldering experience. If you decide on this mod chip it would be safe to let some one else install the chip for you if you have no expierience soldering.
Features