Sega Mega Drive/Hardware revisions
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Model 1
VA0 (JPN) | |
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Components:
Due to a last-minute issue with the VDP in H40 mode, additional clock circuitry had to be added during manufacturing. This circuitry is present on a daughterboard in the center of the PCB, and contains the master oscillator (53.6931 MHz, NTSC), a 74LS74 (dual D-type flip-flops), and two 74LS161s (4-bit counter). An issue in the hardware causes the RAM memory to not completely initialize when the game starts, causing crashes in Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou. | |
VA1 (JPN) | |
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VA2 (USA, High Definition Graphics) | |
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VA3 (USA, High Definition Graphics) | |
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VA4 (JPN) | |
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VA4 (PAL) | |
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VA5 (JPN) | |
VA6 (JPN) | |
The first Japanese revision with the TMSS. | |
VA6 (USA, High Definition Graphics) | |
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VA6.5 (PAL) | |
The unused female DE-9 port (used for the Mega Modem in Japan) is removed. | |
VA6.8 | |
VA7 (USA) | |
Components:
This revision is similar to the VA0 revision of the Model 2, in which it has a different M68K CPU and memory chips, as well as the main ASIC and audio amplifiers. The only difference is the Z80 CPU, which is in the same design used with the rest of the Model 1 revisions. A function on the VDP (integrated into the ASIC) has broken PAL 50Hz support. |
Model 2
VA0 (JPN) | |
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The YM2612 is now based on the YM3438, and is integrated into the main ASIC (the Sega 315-5487-10). | |
VA0 (PAL) | |
VA0 (USA) | |
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VA1 (USA) | |
VA1 (PAL) | |
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VA1.8 (USA) | |
PCB Printed by SKS
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VA1.8 (USA) | |
PCB Printed by CMK
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VA1.8 (PAL) | |
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VA1.8 (Asia) | |
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VA2 (USA) | |
Components:
This revision (along with the VA2.3) is the only Model 2 boards with a discrete YM2612 chip. Additional circuitry is present on the daughterboard located on the PCB, with model number 171-6961A. | |
VA2.3 (USA) | |
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This revision (along with the VA2) is the only Model 2 boards with a discrete YM2612 chip. | |
VA3 | |
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VA4 | |
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This is the first Mega Drive board without any discrete CPUs. Both the 68000 and Z80 are contained with the Sega 315-5960 ASIC, as well as the VDP, YM3438, and I/O controllers. |
Model 3
VA1 (USA) | |
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Components:
IC3 and IC4 markings are silkscreened but don't correspond to any physical ICs. | |
VA2 (USA) | |
Components:
The tas function of the M68K (which was broken in prior revisions) has been fixed in this revision, making some games such as Gargoyles unplayable. |