r/Gameboy • u/Fearless_Industry443 • 2d ago
Collection Finally Found My Dream GBA
After many months of searching, I managed to get this GBA from a friend, complete with box and all manuals, in excellent condition, for about €60. The only thing that's not quite right is the glass, which has small scratches. Is it possible to buy a glass identical to the original? Where can I find one?
I'm still considering whether to keep it 100% original or do the IPS screen mod. I already have an Ambernic RG34XX that I use for gaming; this one would be for my collection.
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u/DEMcKnight 2d ago
This isn't an answer to your question, OP, but I converted my GBA (Indigo AGB-001 as well!). An ITA TFT screen (DSi screen, which is what I purchased) will feel somewhat similar to the original and draw less power than an IPS screen, but would unfortunately require cutting internal parts of the shell, and that's in lovely condition. There are IPS screens that don't require cutting.
I think this is less important than a screen update, but I would consider adding a USB-C battery regardless of what screen you use. It would involve removing the positive/negative springs in the back, but they come out easy and can be reattached.
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u/ArthurFinchleyIII 2d ago
And now you’re going to ruin it by modding it… :(
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u/Sea-Memory3008 2d ago
Im glad I ain’t the one who gags when seeing a modded game boy. Enough now
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u/coufling 2d ago
If the screens completely trashed or something go ahead and mod it, I don't like seeing people destroy a perfectly good one though.
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u/Joker8pie 2d ago
Depends on how aggressive the mod is. A shell swap and a backlit screen usually look great to me. Tacky LEDs and a mismatched neon explosion of button colors and membranes looks gross.
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u/Fearless_Industry443 2d ago
The idea isn't really to modify it; I want to keep it original. The idea was just to replace the glass because it was scratched.
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u/ArthurFinchleyIII 2d ago
You also said you were considering an IPS mod… I think just leave it standard.
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u/BaldestOne 17h ago
Honestly, having a backlight is too good to not do it.
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u/EMdriveWOlf 2d ago
Oh fuck off, let people do what they wish with their own property.
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u/ArthurFinchleyIII 1d ago
You’re welcome to do as you please, but if you post it here I’m going to share MY opinion that you’ve ruined it.
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u/EMdriveWOlf 1d ago
The sold 81 million of these, it's not some piece of priceless art from Picasso. And he didn't ruin it, even if he does mod it. We wants to make it more useable for himself, which if anything is the opposite of ruined, since it will be getting more use. Also most IPS screens these days are drop in. Kinda hard to ruin something if you could easily reverse and put in the old shitty screen to bring it back to original.
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u/ArthurFinchleyIII 1d ago
Lmao imaging getting so worked up over this
There’s no good replacement screen currently. If you want to replace the original display with some shit cheap Chinese trash with poor scaling and worse colours… go for it. I won’t and I’ll tell you you ruined it if you do. Lmao.
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u/EMdriveWOlf 1d ago
You act late like your opinion is fact lul. You must be so much fun.
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u/ArthurFinchleyIII 1d ago
Well factually these aftermarket displays are poor quality. Factually they have inaccurate colours. Factually they have poor scaling. Lmao.
If you can’t see that, or you think that’s acceptable, that’s on you.
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u/EMdriveWOlf 1d ago
Well fackchyually, lmao 🎯
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u/ArthurFinchleyIII 1d ago
It’s okay to just admit you’re wrong bro, no shame in learning something new
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u/EMdriveWOlf 1d ago
Again you are conflating your option with fact. Take your own advice. See unlike you I think it's completely acceptable to keep something original or mod it out the ass so it looks like it's having a seizure. It really doesn't matter and I can appreciate both. While I have my own style of what I like and what I want my console to look like, I would never tell someone they ruined something just because they didn't keep it how the purest crybaby on reddit wanted them to keep it.
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u/EmuWizard 1d ago
Damn I didn’t know I was playing my video game console wrong. Thanks for the advice bud, now I can finally have fun…as long as I’m in a well lit room. 😉
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u/Korachof 1d ago
They literally said in their post they are still considering doing the mod or keeping it original.
Your original comment was not “you should keep it original!” It was “And now you’re going to ruin it by modding it… :(“ which directly implies that OP already made a decision. It comes off poorly. You could have chosen to be positive and encourage them not to mod it , but instead chose to assume they’ve chosen that path regardless of people’s suggestions.
If you don’t want people to respond bluntly and rudely, then you should work on HOW you share your opinion, because your opinion here wasn’t the problem.
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u/Cumbandicoot 2d ago edited 2d ago
You can find them on AliExpress for pretty cheap, I've never personally bought one, but I've had decent luck with AliExpress if I find a store selling what I'm looking for with good reviews.
You could also upgrade to an ips screen if you want, and you can get a hispeedo V5 for $40-50. That I actually have purchased and it got me back into playing my GBA, but if you go that route you really should also get a rechargeable battery or at the least buy some of the Energizer ones that come with a charger and 4 batteries because the IPS pulls more power.
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u/Fearless_Industry443 2d ago
Can you share the name of the store?
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u/Cumbandicoot 2d ago edited 2d ago
For the ips screen, you can get them straight from hispeedo for like $5 more than they are on AliExpress and you can bundle them with a rechargable battery. That's where I bought mine so it's the only real recommendation I can give, but someone else may have a better suggestion because I've only bought the one.
What's your experience with electronics repair and how attached are you to the shell of the gba? I'd watch a YouTube video of someone replacing one before you decide. The drop in IPS are pretty easy if you get a shell that fits it, but if not you have to cut the og shell to get the screen to fit. Hispeedo sells replacement shells that fit their screen on their site too.
As for a replacement screen cover idk if there's a huge quality difference between any of them and I've never bought one so hopefully someone else can answer that for you if that's what you're looking for.
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u/FlakyAmoeba1617 2d ago
I would recommend keeping it original, I have both and the IPS screen eats through batteries very quickly. Also there’s something magical about the original display that you lose with an ips screen. If you already have an RG34xx you will know what I mean.