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HackDaBox's Tutorials - What modchip should i buy ?
There are many chips on the market and they all have their own websites that try to steer you towards their chip and it can get a little confusing. So let's look at the different types and try to find one that best suits you.

Solderless Chips

These chips attract noobs becuase they think that it will be easy to install. No need to solder and still have the same benefits etc but the reality is somewhat different. Lets look at what the Spiderchip website says about the spiderchip.

Spiderchip.com says ...

Welcome to the first solderless modchip solution for Xbox V1.6
The Spider is the first chip to achieve what many thought was not possible:

Solderless installation on Xbox 'V1.6'.
It is also compatible (and solderless) with Xbox V1.0 to V1.5 Even better, it comes with a low price tag, lower than regular non-solderless chip.

Nevertheless Spider chip is produced with the highest standards of quality, and comes inside a metal box to ensure safe delivery from all our reseller. It is the first chip to include such safe packaging!

Product Features :
Easy installation - Full Solderless
Preflashed with the legal Cromwell Linux BIOS
Easily flashable using External Spider Programmer (USB Port)
Easily flashable with BIOS CD/DVD or from the HDD
External module includes LED to display mod enable/disable
Blue LEDs on mod chip
Supports 256k BIOS's
Chip can be easily disabled - Xbox Live Compatibility
Works on all models, regions (USA, JAP, PAL) versions 1.0 to 1.6b
Best regards from the Spider development team !

HackDaBox says ...

The spiderchip is the worst chip on the market, i was helping so many people with the installation and then flashing of the chip that i decided to make this website !

$29.99 US at divineo for the Spiderchip and another $18.49 US for the programmer. CHEAP !
Who are they kidding !

The legs often break off and then you need to solder them back on and soldering is the thing you were trying to avoid. Thats why they ship it in a metal case otherwise the legs would break off before you even got it.

The installation never goes without problems following the install guides from spiderchip.com and if you do manage to install the chip then flashing it using a cd allways caused hours or even days of frustration.

I have created guides on installing and flashing the spiderchip that has helped lots of people get their chip installed and flashed. Once there solderred in there as good as most cheap modchips but the spiders arn't cheap so you may as well of ordered a DuoX2. Some people can't solder and they have choosen to squeeze the chip in and they do work but not as reliable as a soldered chip.

Even now with all the information i have written on the spiderchips some people can't get them to work in V1.6 consoles without soldering and the reason is on some V1.6 motherboards there is laquer in the holes where the legs of the chip needs to go and the only way to remove it is by using a Xacto knife. This is dangerous and could destroy the motherboard if you are too rough, you need to gently twist the tip of the blade in the whole a small amount and then try to push the leg in. If it doesn't fit and make a good contact then you need to remove a little more laquer and try again. This is frustrating and dangerous !

Many spiderchip owners will be ordering the programmer because they can't get the chip to program from cd or they have flashed the wrong bios to their chip and since it only has 1 bios bank there is no inbuilt recovery system. The problem is the spiderchip programmer is even worse than the spiderchip ! it doesn't work at all ! the spiderchip website says to wrap the programmer in tin foil to reduce interference ! most people who have contacted me in regards to the programmer said it wasn't detected by their computer at all or if it was detected the flashing process went for hours and never finished and never flashed the chip ! A typical bios flash should be completed in seconds !

If you really want to get a solderless chip then the best one is the Xenium Spice $61.99 US at www.divineo.com you may still have trouble with the laquer on some V1.6 consoles but the chip itelf is of high quality.

LPC modchips

LPC modchips are the best soldered solution and are easy to install and are very reliable. Most of these chips are similar in design and all come under the title of cheapmods. Aladdin chips have been very popular for years and were a good stable chip. These chips are not 100% compatible with the new V1.6 consoles so i don't use them anymore. Theres alot of modchips out there that are just glorified aladin chips with a new name and in most cases these chips are fine.

At the other end of the market there are 3 big names, Team Xecuter, Team Xodus, Smart XX. These guys make very expensive and feature packed chips that do a great job but the most important task a modchip must do is load a hacked bios which all modchips do, and it's a good idea to have a built-in recovery system incase the chip gets flashed with the wrong bios file. Most other features that are build into the expensive modchips can be achieved by using free software programs that you can download from xbins.

So the BEST value for money modchip in my opinion is the DuoX2 modchip made by Team Omega and it is only around $30 (AUD) $23 US from www.robotpig.com, Thats a fraction of the price of the Solderless solutions and a lot cheaper than the Xecuter 3, Xodus or Smart XX chips !



So what features does the DuoX2 chip have ?

- One chip for v1-v1.6 Xbox
- Very easy to disable mod for Xbox Live
- LED blinks when it is in operation
- Dual bios feature ( 2 x 512KB)
- 9 solder points + 2 wire Installation or LPC port rebuild + 2 wire
- Plays original imports
- Plays Backups of originals
- Plays unsigned code
- Run Debug Executables
- No-patch hack 1
- No-patch hack 2
- IGR (dependent on bank selected)
- Eject trick hack
- DVD Reset
- EvoX HDD Patch
- Support for HDD greater than 137+gigs. (F + G drive)
- Auto detect EvoX Dashboard


The DuoX2 chip is a cheap and reliable one, it has a flashing RED led that tells you know the chip is working. It also has 2 bios banks and this is important becuase different xbox versions need different bioses. So if your modchip only has room for one bios then it will need to be flashed with a compatible bios.

Another great thing to do is flash the other bank with a working bios for your console so if you ever erase your bios or flash it with a incompatible bios you can simply flick the bank switch and boot. Then you can flash the bad bank with a good bios by flicking the bank switch just before you flash.

The DuoX2 chip really has everything you need and at a great price. If you are really cheap and want a cheaper chip you could get an Aladdin XT 4032 but i would get a DuoX2 Lite chip. They are similar to the DuoX2 but they do not have the flashing RED led and they do not have the bank switch, this means they only have 1 bios bank. These are great and reliable chips but they don't have the recovery bank that the DuoX2 has. If you flash them with a bad bios then you will need to hotswap it in order to fix it. If you are a noob i would not get the Lite, spend the extra couple of dollars and get the DuoX2.

If you are ready to order your modchip then you will want a safe, reliable modchip supplier that can handle small and large orders wordwide and thats where www.robotpig.com comes in.



If you know of a better mochip supplier then let me know !







Feel free to contact me at HackDaBox@Yahoo.com or PM me from the Xbox-Scene forums! If you find my website usefull then please make a small donation!