[cpuwhiz22]

Argon 2 Review: Part 1 - Hardware Part 2 of the review will be coming soon, and it will cover the Argon Channel, and the other software features of the Argon 2. This portion is dealing solely with the Argon 2's hardware and capabilities. The standard Argon 2 kit includes the Argon 2 chip, a short 32 pin cable, a long 32 pin cable (for wire installs), and a serial number sticker on the back of the chip. The samples we received however did not include the long 32 pin cable, so this made testing the software features of the chip challenging with wires. It was possible to do a wire install using the short cable, but it was awkward and it was only done for testing purposes. The first thing to notice with the Argon 2 is the packaging of the chip itself. It comes in a nice foam packaging unlike most chips on the market which come in static bags on sheets. This packaging is designed to fit the chip perfectly, and protect it during shipping. One drawback to this however is that for re-sellers who will be purchasing a lot of them they will find that this packaging will take up slightly more storage space than that of rolls/sheets of 1000 Wiikey 2 chips for example. Not much more space, but it is something worth noting. Here are some photos of the components... Original Wii-Clip Bottom Original Wii-Clip Top 32 Pin Bus Cable DIP Switches From that point, another thing that jumped out at me was the thickness of the PCB of the Argon 2. It is extremely thin. This could potentially be a problem because it has a built in clip, and inexperienced users may break the chip by applying to much pressure to the clip, and breaking the PCB. This is just an observation however, and it may not actually be an issue. You will notice in the photo that the PCB of the Argon 2 is about 1/3 of the thickness of a D2Pro (thanks to my fiance for the hand modeling!). We first installed the chip (with the clip) on a D2B drive, then on a D2C, and then on a D2E. The only issue we had using the clip was that it was initially not working with the D2E, but after some trial and error we found that the jumper setting for the D2E was incorrect in the manual. After contacting the Argon Team they confirmed this and they have already corrected this in the most recent version of the owners manual. After this we were able to have both sample chips reading backups and originals on all three drives. We also confirmed that the bus cable does not need to be connected in order to read backups. This was what we had expected, but we wanted to personally confirm this so we could find out whether we could install it with wires without the long 32 pin cable. This means that you can install the chip without the bus cable connected if you are not planning on using the Argon Channel. We did tests with originals and backups with the chip wired as well as clipped. We tested the same drives with clipped Wiikey2s and clipped D2Pros as well. The Argon 2 performed identical to the Wiikey2 and D2Pro running backups and originals. From our testing there weren't any eject issues, but that doesn't mean that there won't be any. The eject issues that plague the existing 6/9 wire chips do not affect all drives, and they do not affect all chips. For this reason, we cannot conclude whether or not there will be any chances of eject issues with the Argon 2, but we can attest that we did not experience any with the drives and chips that we used. D2C: D2E: One thing to note about the wire installation is that due to the clip onboard, and the 32 pin connectors, mounting it securely can be awkward. I tried a different approach with the D2E as you can see in the picture. The placement of the chip on the D2E board in the photo is much more secure and seems more logical (to me at least), but it can only be mounted this way if you are using the chip only to play backups, and not using the Argon channel. This is because you will not be able to connect the 32 pin cable with it mounted as it is on the D2E board in the picture. Overall, I feel that the Argon 2 as a modchip is a feature packed chip for a low cost. Exact prices are not known at this point, but we have been told that the retail price of the Argon 2 will not be much more than that of the Wiikey 2. In comparison to the Wiikey 2 and chips on the market there are many value adding features with the Argon 2, but without much added cost. The fact that there is an original Wii-clip built in is a major perk to Wii-clip users because the cost of a clip alone can be $10-20 USD. The Argon 2 will offer a solderless solution for many users without the added cost of a Wii-Clip, and without the need to solder a chip into a clip. Because the chip also supports wire installation it offers the same reliability as all other wire installations if you are experienced, but if not you can simply clip it on without any additional hardware or labor. The Argon 2 offers all of the features of the existing chips, and in addition it offers 2 methods of installation for experienced or inexperienced installers, and additional features with the Argon Channel. All of these additional features are also provided with little increase in cost relative to the existing chips. If you are only planning to play backups, the Argon 2 will offer you the same features of the competeing chips with the addition of a built in clip at a similar cost of the competing chips without clips, or a possibly lower cost of a competing chip presoldered into a clip. It will also give you the option of running the Argon Channel if you choose to do so with no extra cost.