Best Saturn SD Solution?

yagamikun

Art of Typing Wiz
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2000
Posts
2,343
Hey all - I want to install an SD solution in an extra Saturn I have. Which is the best to get - and what are some of the drawbacks you all have run into? I know of the Fenrir, Phoebe, the MODE, and the Satiator. Any others I'm missing? Just wanting to hear some opinions.
 

HornheaDD

Viewpoint Vigilante
Fagit of the Year
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Posts
4,272
Satiator - lulz not even worth it at the price point unless you are adamant that you want to keep the disc drive.
Phoebe/Rhea - just write it off because you'll never get one at cost unless you are religious in checking availability or are willing to spend 10X the price on eGay. Its file system is also archaic and has to literally have ALL games named "disc.img" or whatever extension. Each game has to be in a separate folder, and can be a pain to set up.
Fenrir - fairly cost effective solution, pretty good compatibility, easy to install, readily available for both M1 and M2 Saturns.
MODE: readily available (if I recall correcly), easy install best compatibility with Saturn, DC and PSX as well as file compatibility. Not that you are gonna get one and swap it between consoles constantly, but yeah.

Ive had all 3. Pheobe is nice, but a pain, Fenrir is less of a pain, MODE is my preferred way.

Only other issue with MODE is that if you want a clean install you need to get a bracket for it and it involves taking the saturn apart completely rather than just snapping shit in like Pheobe/Fenrir.

edit: My mode is just sitting in the cavity left by removing the drive, but the console stays closed 100% of the time unless Im changing shit, so its'not really that big of an issue for me.

Get a MODE.
 
Last edited:

herb

Vice's Love Slave
10 Year Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2014
Posts
2,160
You could always get a modded action replay so you can play cdr's
 

SignOfGoob

Butthurt Enthusiast
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Posts
2,857
Strictly speaking, you don’t need to mod anything or buy anything to play CD-R games on a Saturn. There is a swap trick that will work with any Saturn…or at least any early Saturn, I’m not sure about that. I’ve done it a bunch of times with my black oval button US model.

You do need to do something if you want to play games out of your region though…
 

Burning Fight!!

NIS America fan & Rent Free tenant
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Posts
4,336
IDK if the satiator has any negatives besides price and disc swap, it seems like the perfect plug and play solution. I don't own a saturn but I think it's kinda worth the extra investment unless I'm terribly wrong about it
 

Ajax

way more american than wyo, way more
15 Year Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2005
Posts
5,092
The swap trick is prettttttty fuckin' sketchy, to be fair. I've done it a fair number of times, and it's always dicey.

If you're still trying to play actual disc-based games, Satiator makes sense. Otherwise, Mode has been fine here. SAG sells this thing that allows you to use an m.2 drive in your saturn and to mount it in the disc bay. It's very, very nice. Once I installed this, I felt like my Saturn had finally fully come together.

 

SignOfGoob

Butthurt Enthusiast
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Posts
2,857
If you hack the door switch you can do the swap with no danger. You have to wait for the drive to time out and and swap the disc then.
 

HornheaDD

Viewpoint Vigilante
Fagit of the Year
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Posts
4,272
If you hack the door switch you can do the swap with no danger. You have to wait for the drive to time out and and swap the disc then.
Doing a swap trick on a 25+ year old disc drive isn't gonna help it no matter how finessed your fingeez are.
 

HornheaDD

Viewpoint Vigilante
Fagit of the Year
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Posts
4,272
The swap trick is prettttttty fuckin' sketchy, to be fair. I've done it a fair number of times, and it's always dicey.

If you're still trying to play actual disc-based games, Satiator makes sense. Otherwise, Mode has been fine here. SAG sells this thing that allows you to use an m.2 drive in your saturn and to mount it in the disc bay. It's very, very nice. Once I installed this, I felt like my Saturn had finally fully come together.

Oh shit that is RAD.

Deffo getting one of them shits.
 

ShootTheCore

Bead Banger
Joined
Feb 11, 2015
Posts
1,498
Phoebe/Rhea - just write it off because you'll never get one at cost unless you are religious in checking availability or are willing to spend 10X the price on eGay. Its file system is also archaic and has to literally have ALL games named "disc.img" or whatever extension. Each game has to be in a separate folder, and can be a pain to set up.

FWIW, there's an image you can download now that has all the US, JPN and fan translated Saturn games organized into folders for the Rhea & Phoebe, ready to go. Just write the image to an SD card, install the card in the Rhea & Phoebe, and power on. If anyone needs a download link, shoot me a PM.

Totally agree that they're a PITA to buy though.
 

GohanX

Horrible Goose
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Posts
12,490
I haven't used every solution, but I have a Satiator and it's fantastic. I can use it with any Saturn I want, no modding needed. I don't really see why people complain about the price, it's barely more expensive than the mode and the Rhea guy can go fuck himself until he has a decent ordering system. If the price is that much of a concern don't buy the other solutions and use herb's suggestion, it works.
 

SignOfGoob

Butthurt Enthusiast
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Posts
2,857
Doing a swap trick on a 25+ year old disc drive isn't gonna help it no matter how finessed your fingeez are.

The method I used is mechanically no different that changing discs the usual way. It’s not a swap of a spinning disc.

I can’t remember the details exactly but I think it’s…

(Door switch hacked to always read closed)

Start Saturn with “auto run” off and legit game disc in drive.
Wait until Saturn authenticates the game and changes that one icon to a Saturn logo.
Wait until the drive stops spinning…it takes several minutes…maybe 5-10, but it will stop).
Open door (door switch disabled)
Insert pirate-ass bullshit.
Hit the Reset button.
Saturn resets with game authentication retained from legit game.
Pirate game runs

I think that it. It’s very close to something like that. I haven’t done it since the 90s. It works but it’s enough of a PITA that once I booted a game, Lunar in my case, I’d just leave the Saturn on, maybe for a week. That same Saturn still works great, btw although I usually use a white one now. Obviously these days there are many other ways to jack shit and people aren’t even using discs at all anymore in many cases so this isn’t really that useful anymore. However if you find yourself trapped on an island with a binder of CD-Rs and nothing to mod your Saturn with but a screw driver and a piece of tape then this trick could be a lifesaver.
 

CORY

a.k.a. Mother Teresa
Staff member
Joined
Dec 10, 2001
Posts
5,666
Wait until the drive stops spinning…it takes several minutes…maybe 5-10, but it will stop
p19zECb.gif
 

Ajax

way more american than wyo, way more
15 Year Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2005
Posts
5,092
I looked up the Satiator, since I had never seen how it actually works. It looks pretty slick to me. I thought it was a lot of fun opening up the Saturn and installing the Mode, but I understand that's not the case for everybody. Satiator doesn't require any of that, and you can still play your original games.

There was already the fact that TO customer service fucking sucks hard, but after the thing with Krikzz, I would rather avoid them. If I was doing this now, I would get a Satiator, for whatever that's worth.
 

HornheaDD

Viewpoint Vigilante
Fagit of the Year
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Posts
4,272
I was gonna say, Zeta you lost me at 10 minutes.

Shit man I got my Satty connected to a smart plug, with the power button always on. I tell my hot Aussie Google to turn on the Saturn, grab my Retrobit controller and jam on a retrotink2x

All without getting off my fat ass.

10 minutes lol. Bitch you cray.
 

Jeneki

Enemy Chaser
Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Posts
1,164
Saturn really benefits from some kind of SD loader these days. And I'm not just talking about the prices of games; there's a fair number of fan translations that are really cool and worth playing.

I used the Rhea back in the day and have no complaints about it (as long as you go through the steps ensuring your Saturn is compatible with Rhea vs Pheobe before buying).

Later on I picked up one of the first runs of Satiator, mostly so I could bring it to buddy's places. Always fun watching their minds explode when I show them how it works. I've used it on 5 Saturns now.
 

Syn

There can be only one.
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Posts
9,079
I have a Satiator and would recommend it. I have a Mode, for when a laser dies, sitting on a shelf.
 

100proof

Insert Something Clever Here
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Posts
3,579
I'd definitely get a Fenrir at this point (good combination of price point, availability and not giving TO your fucking money). The Satiator is neat but it's only real benefit is being able to still play discs but... why would you? Rhea/Phoebe is totally fine but they're nigh impossible to get and fuck TO so don't bother with a MODE.
 

SignOfGoob

Butthurt Enthusiast
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Posts
2,857
I was gonna say, Zeta you lost me at 10 minutes.

Shit man I got my Satty connected to a smart plug, with the power button always on. I tell my hot Aussie Google to turn on the Saturn, grab my Retrobit controller and jam on a retrotink2x

All without getting off my fat ass.

10 minutes lol. Bitch you cray.
This was back when people actually played games. One at a time. It was worth 5-10 minutes to play a forty hour RPG you couldn’t find or afford otherwise.

Now it’s more about…what you said…overly contrived setups made from non-OEM garbage, hoarding ISOs that %85 of you’ll only play once, if that. Theoretical capabilities.
 

SignOfGoob

Butthurt Enthusiast
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Posts
2,857
Swap trick lol. I can't believe grown ass people still do that shit.

That's so 90's.

Yeah, it is 90s. That’s why I said “I haven’t done this since the 90s”. Are you illiterate?

Please do explain how what I described scratches a disc.

Are you guys actually retarded? I know the urge to gang pile is strong but you should make sense when you do it. I’ve already explained to you fuckheads that the information was for historical purposes, that it scratches no discs at all, and that likely nobody on Earth is still doing it. I only play originals these days, it’s been that way for twenty years.
 

yagamikun

Art of Typing Wiz
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2000
Posts
2,343
Lord god, I opened up a can here. Sounds like the Mode is the way to go, though, and looks to be still in stock no less. Thanks for the recommendations, all!

For all the "well actually, just do CDR" posts, I have an on/off switch modded Saturn since 1998 that can do all the things. 😉 Still works great. Play it all the time. Also, I don't play CDR's these days - only originals. The SD will just be a back-up of my physical library on a second console I have that doesn't have the most reliable CD drive. I want to put this console in a second location away from the main game room. May as well future proof it a bit if I'm out to fix it.
 
Last edited:

HornheaDD

Viewpoint Vigilante
Fagit of the Year
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Posts
4,272
This was back when people actually played games. One at a time. It was worth 5-10 minutes to play a forty hour RPG you couldn’t find or afford otherwise.

Now it’s more about…what you said…overly contrived setups made from non-OEM garbage, hoarding ISOs that %85 of you’ll only play once, if that. Theoretical capabilities.
So you're saying you haven't thought about setting up your Saturn this way, can't afford an ODE, and you're pissed about it. About sum that up?
 

100proof

Insert Something Clever Here
10 Year Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2014
Posts
3,579
Are you guys actually retarded? I know the urge to gang pile is strong but you should make sense when you do it. I’ve already explained to you fuckheads that the information was for historical purposes, that it scratches no discs at all, and that likely nobody on Earth is still doing it. I only play originals these days, it’s been that way for twenty years.

When someone asks "hey which ODE should I get?" and your response is "DONT FORGOT CDRS!", we're gonna call you a fucking moron. Guaranteed.
 
Last edited:
Top