In a post I wrote a few years ago, I stated I had purchased from a friend a beautiful SEGA Dreamcast console along with a few games with both original discs and indeed a few that were burned backup CDs. The Dreamcast of course was noted for sadly being the last gaming console SEGA ever released way back in 1999. Regardless, it is an extraordinary machine, with a PowerVR2 chip for the 2D and 3D graphics and a unique memory device (known as a VMU) due to its built-in LCD display.
Many of the games from the Dreamcast have been ported to more recent consoles, but for the full experience, the original hardware still remains a quality option, especially with the stunning VGA output available with the correct cable. Personally, I use a Dreamcast compatible VGA cable plugged into an OSSC (Open Source Scan Converter) and combined the display quality is still worthy of admiration.
After a fair bit of use though, it was easy to notice that the original GD-ROM drive was starting to struggle with a few of the discs. It was progressively getting slower and slower, not helped by some of the titles I had were burned CDs or backup copies putting extra pressure on the drive’s laser. It was at this point I knew it was time for a few carefully chosen upgrades.
The good news is that of the many consoles I have now worked on, the SEGA Dreamcast is one of the easiest to modify or upgrade, so this is a good starting point for any modding newcomer who wishes to dabble. No soldering iron work needed either!
Loading SEGA Dreamcast Games from an SD Card
The GDEMU is a board that completely replaces the original GD-ROM drive. The Dreamcast GDEMU installation instead allows you to load GDI or CDI images from an SD or Micro SD card with an SD Card adapter. This also gives the benefit of quicker loading times, especially compared to any burned backups loaded from a CD.
Taking out the original GD-ROM drive is simple, just three screws to remove and the whole unit just pops out with a careful lift. I am using a clone board shipped from China, which is working perfectly in my use so far and this unit slots right where the original GD-ROM drive rested. I asked a friend to print a few optional 3D parts for me, which surrounds the GDEMU preventing anything dropping into the unit that might be then difficult to retrieve and also provides storage slots for additional SD cards if needed.
The GDEMU came with a couple of heatsinks you can apply, although I am not sure if they are actually needed. Regardless, I had to remove one of them as the 3D printed parts I used sit very close to one of the main chips. I am sure it will be fine.
SEGA Dreamcast GDI or CDI Images?
Before explaining the differences here, it is important to understand the format the SEGA Dreamcast originally used on their own game discs. The GD-ROM (Gigabyte Disc Read-Only Memory) format was unique to the Dreamcast and allowed for more data to be stored on a disc, up to an impressive 1.2GB (gigabytes) instead of a traditional 700MB (megabytes) found on a standard CD.
Many games used this extra space for videos, music and game data. Even with this extra space, there are a number of games that came on multiple discs including classic titles like the popular Shemnue. The GD-ROM format was meant to help prevent piracy as the format was unique to the Dreamcast at launch, however of course hackers found ways around this and even within the consoleโs active lifespan.
SEGA Dreamcast rips often come in two variations, either GDI
or CDI
formats…
- GDI is an exact copy of the original GD-ROM disc, so what you would have had on the original retail disc is present within the image
- CDI is designed to fit on the smaller storage of a traditional CD as really there are no GD-ROM writable drives available for creating your own GD-ROM discs
Although back in the day in particular, the CDI rip was handy for creating your own CD discs for use on the Dreamcast for playing backup games, there were quite a few sacrifices with this method…
Letโs take one of my favourite Dreamcast titles, Soul Calibur as an excellent example…
This well beloved 3D fighting game is full of content including multiple fighting environments, mission modes, a wide selection of characters to choose from and a large number of music tracks. To fit all this content on the smaller capacity of a CD, one key area was sacrificed that is very noticeable as you play the game. The music tracks on the CDI format are greatly reduced in audio quality, resulting in a crushed audio experience where much of the life and sparkle of the music tracks are lost. You are left with a low bitrate version that crushes the audio detail and although itโs not terrible, itโs far from brilliant either.
To take one last example, SEGA Rally 2 also has notable reductions within the CDI format, losing all of the in-game music. Other titles can also experience heavily compressed videos to help the content fit within the smaller size of a traditional CD or content even removed entirely.
Therefore with devices like the GDEMU, you should instead use the exact copy of the GD-ROM disc with the GDI format, so you have every bit of content including all of the audio and video in their original state without any loss of detail. It is as if you are playing the original retail disc.
Creating your GDEMU SD Card with your Backup Games
In theory, you can create the folder and file structure manually for the GDEMU to understand the games available on the SD Card, but in truth it is a bit of a faff. Instead, I recommend using GD Menu Card Manager software. This does a lot of the heavy lifting for you and often all you have to do is drag and drop your backup images to the software window and save the setup.
The software comes with two options to create the interface you will see when using your Dreamcast to select the title you wish to load. One is GD Menu and the other is Open Menu. Open Menu has quite a slick visual presentation for selecting from your backup library of games, although in the end I went back to GD Menu.
GD Menu was far more reliable with forcing all of the Dreamcast games to use the VGA output. There are a number of Dreamcast titles that didnโt support the VGA output and instead you would have to fallback on SCART, RF or other output options to be able to play the game. With GD Menu, I have been able to force VGA output even on non-compatible titles and so far all of the games I have played that originally didnโt support this have been fine.
GD EMU Overheating PSU
It would appear that PAL region consoles (UK for example) are prone to the power supply unit getting very hot when the GDEMU is installed. This isnโt a problem with the GDEMU itself, but rather that by removing the original GD-ROM drive, the Dreamcast doesnโt actually need to use as much power, so the extra power left available results in overheating around the PSU.
Online, there are a few approaches to resolve this, including adding a resistor, but instead I preferred to just change the PSU for a modern alternativeโฆ
DreamPSU Alternative Power Supply
I have heard many mixed reviews of this alternative power supply board, yet with my setup it has so far been working absolutely fine. It really is a very small board and in my experience at least, with none of the overheating / heat issues of the original PSU when the GDEMU is installed. As cool as a cucumber one might say.
Installation is again a nice simple process. Removing a couple of screws on the original PSU, detaching the cable from the power switch and then carefully lifting off from the pins from the motherboard. The DreamPSU slots in its place, one screw to re-use and then reconnecting the cable for the power-on and off button.
There is also a 3D printed part included that is used to house the new power connector, so you will also need a new power plug as your existing one is a different connector.
It is important to note however, I did have one poor experience with the DreamPSU. At the start, I used a universal plug where you could select the voltage output needed for the DreamPSU, however this resulted in a noticeably bad distortion on the VGA output which was very distracting. Replacing this universal plug with one that featured a fixed 12V, 2A and center positive output solved the issue.
Noctua Replacement Dreamcast Fan
Now the new Dreamcast PSU upgrade is in with DreamPSU, which is indeed super cool in terms of heat or lack thereof, there was actually no need to replace the original Dreamcast fan in this regard, but it is certainly a very noisy part within the console that is worth replacing for this reason alone.
A popular mod has been to replace the original fan with a Noctua branded one and with a few 3D printed parts supplied with a separate accessory kit specifically designed for the Dreamcast, you can fit this slightly larger fan within your Dreamcast.
There is a 3D printed housing for the fan and it also includes a replacement console lid component as the one under the lid that allows you to raise the lid of the Dreamcast with a touch of a button is actually a little too large for the Noctua fan to be inside, so this is replaced with a slightly smaller variant. There is also a cable adapter in the accessory kit, so you can connect the Noctua’s own cable to the Dreamcast fan connector with ease.
Again, a nice and simple mod with just a few screws and a spring to remove and re-add for the console lid mechanism.
Note the Noctua fan is installed with the airflow heading out of the Dreamcast. I have viewed a few YouTube videos telling you to point the arrow on the Noctua fan towards the inside of the console, but this is not how the original fan was designed. Instead, point the arrow outwards.
Final Thoughts
The SEGA Dreamcast is a wonderful retro gaming machine, with bargains to be had for acquiring the consoles, controllers and memory cards. The selection of modifications and upgrades available also allow you to add meaningful โquality of lifeโ improvements so you can experience the very best the SEGA Dreamcast has to offer.
It may have been overshadowed by the later release of the Sony PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast’s own demise as SEGAโs last console, but as Soul Calibur would sayโฆ
โThe legend will never die!!โ.