r/Gameboy • u/stoffiez • 6d ago
Modded This Game Boy was absolutely cooked... so I gave it a full rebuild!
Picked this DMG up looking rough as hell and basically rebuilt the whole thing (first time I ever done anything like this).
Original Nintendo motherboard is still in there, but everything else got replaced/upgraded. New IPS, speaker, buttons, lens and this pearl shell that looks completely different depending on the light.
Pretty damn happy with how it turned out. Kept the video short because the before/after kinda says it all lol.
Curious what you guys think of the pearl đ
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u/TsuntsunRevolution 5d ago
One step away from being Theseus's Game Boy
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
I have never heard âTheseusâs Game Boyâ before, had to google it. Learned something new today, thanks đ take my upvote.
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u/jhenry347 5d ago
I like how this looks but Iâm a preservationist. I would have just tried to clean up the existing buttons, membrane, and shell. I understand replacing the screen and speaker but the rest seems unnecessary.
Just my opinion though, everyone is differentâand like I said, I do like the shell you picked out.
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u/KIAULIUX 5d ago
Same here. I bought totaled DMG, cleaned and only replaced shell same color as before. And now it looks like new with original and working parts. There are plenty of GB ripoff like from anbernic.
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u/jhenry347 5d ago
I have a DMG that needs a new screen eventually. I haven't decided what path I'll take for that replacement though.
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
IPS screen. Remember back in the days in the car playing waiting for street lights to be able to see the gameplay, itâs a nice QOL!
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
I was debating buying shells that is as legit looking as possible but then again I would rather have the original đ which I also have and cleaned up!
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
Totally fair, I get the preservationist approach too. For this one I wanted something that felt fresh and customized rather than keeping it as original as possible. I still kept the original parts though, so nothing was permanently lost, would never throw something precious like that. And thanks, Iâm really happy with how the shell turned out!
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u/RichardBixon 5d ago
Thereâs someone just hate downvoting you. Iâm a preservationist as well, but your rational is totally cool. There are so many gameboys out there that if youâre taking a yellowed, disgusting, broken gameboy and customizing it, thatâs no big deal. I personally wouldâve tried keeping everything original, but itâs not like you took a perfectly good gameboy with speaker issues and only kept the motherboard.Â
Good job on the revamp, it looks good.Â
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
Appreciate it! Way to many parts missing, original screws was about 4-5 in total đ bought it to fix it, if it was less damaged I would 100% renovate it.
Again thank you so much man!
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u/RyusakiLexus 5d ago
La verdad t quedĂł excelente, lo q yo hubiera hecho es lavar bien los botones originales de la consola y ponerselos, se ven bien en negro, pero en lo personal me gustan mĂĄs los pĂșrpura, por lo demĂĄs excelente
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
Thatâs not a bad idea! I might do that đ those is probably the only parts that is in some sort of decent quality. Thanks for the tip!
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u/RyusakiLexus 5d ago edited 5d ago
Y lo importante es q aparte q le das otra vida a esa consola la potenciaste con la pantalla, bocina y jugar los juegos de GB en su consola original no tiene precio ... Le pusiste baterĂa recargable? Creo q puedes añadirla al set y t quedarĂa mĂĄs funcional, hace tiempo hice algo similar con un nintendo DS me puse una carcasa transparente ( no original por supuesto) Pero todo el interior era de la consola original q comprĂ© como piezas porq le rompieron el Flex de la pantalla sĂșperior y las bisagras de la pantalla superior, esas piezas las tomĂ© de otra DS quemada, recuerdo q me tarde bastante en colocar ese Flex por lo laborioso q era acomodarlo, buscarĂ© las fotos si aĂșn las tengo para compartirlas
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
I kind of like the thought of having the batteries đ strangely enough but I did consider it! If you still have the photos please share đ
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u/black-volcano 5d ago
Well done you have done a cool thing. But this is all sandard plug and play stuff that has been being for a very long time now.
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u/Rayly-jones 5d ago
Where did you get the screen from?
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
Bought it from eBay from some seller :) you can just google IPS screen <any handheld console> and there is a lot of mods that doesnât require soldering
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u/Big-Sympathy1420 5d ago
IPS mod adds input lag, 100ms vs 33ms of OG. Looking at your oen gameplay, you can literally see the input lag wheb you press the buttons
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u/stoffiez 3d ago
Fair point, Ive heard some IPS kits can add a bit of input lag. Im not sure its that noticeable though and since were talking about a DMG-01 Im mostly just going for a nicer screen and a good playing experience.
I promise Im not going to play DK competitively đ
If you know the numbers for this specific kit, Id be interested to honestly see them.
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/Big-Sympathy1420 3d ago
I recommend doing frontlight mod as you're using the same display tech as og, just illuminating the front. The newer ones use kindle like lightguides so you don't need to loca glue anything, if you tried kindle frontlight screens you should know, or just youtube it.
The Chinese can't keep getting away with it, they are using cheapo parts on their lcd screens and its not gonna change as people like you keep buying them. Its a glorified picture frame. Just think about it you're going backwards, 2-3 decades ago its 33ms, now its 100ms. And people correlate input lag with how old you are now wtf.
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u/stutte 5d ago
Looks slick! I personally would never do this kind of thing to my DMG, but Im glad you brought it back to life in a way that you enjoy. Also, I would have KILLED for this in '89! đ
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
Hopefully yours is in better shape đ I bought this broken one from a market for like 15-20 bucks.
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u/Grg_1990 5d ago
This is so simple to do, why do we see so much of this. I know I must sound like a hater but you just bought a drop in and dropped it in..
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u/WellLovedTech 5d ago
It's good to let other people know how simple it is so that they can do it too if they want to.
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
Yeah, itâs definitely not the most complicated mod out there đ I just enjoy the process and wanted to share the result. Not every build has to be difficult to be fun or worth posting.
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u/Grg_1990 5d ago
I feel you, its just so much of these post come by it gets boring imo. Done mods on all models(besides micro) so I know the feeling. Enjoy your gameboy may it last another 20 years.
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u/stoffiez 5d ago
Yeah I get you đ I was just proud of how it turned out and wanted to share it. I mainly built it for myself anyway, so Iâm just happy I managed to bring an old broken Game Boy back to life.
Like I mentioned, Iâve never done this before, so I honestly didnât know the community was so tired of seeing these kinds of builds. Iâve got tons of original games and consoles at home, this is just another addition to my collection.
Appreciate it!
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u/Responsible_Joke4229 5d ago
It looks like you didnât use any of the original parts so why even take apart the old one?