1CHIP vs older boards

1CHIP vs older boards

The single most important distinction for video quality is whether your console uses a 1CHIP board or an older multi-chip revision. This affects how good the picture looks before you mod anything.

Older multi-chip boards

Early SNES revisions split the CPU and the two PPU video chips across separate packages. Their native RGB output is softer and noisier, often described as blurry. These boards benefit most from an RGB bypass amp, which cleans and sharpens the signal.

1CHIP boards

The later SNS-CPU-1CHIP revision integrates those chips together and outputs noticeably cleaner, sharper native RGB with less blur. Many enthusiasts seek these out specifically for the picture, and they often need no video mod at all.

Telling them apart

• Open the console and read the silkscreen on the main board; a 1CHIP is marked accordingly.
• The SNES Jr (SNS-101) and Super Famicom Jr also use clean single-chip designs.