Atari VCS Teardown and Performance Upgrades, Bios, TDP, Ram Upgrade, M.2 SSD

I upgraded my ram to the same size shown in the video, and task manager says I have 27.5 GB available, but the memory speed is still 2400MHz and the ram dedicated to the GPU is still 2GB.

EDIT: I have found a solution. Due to a bad BIOS update from Atari a few years back changing BIOS settings messes with Windows and it won’t recognize there being any changes. You need to follow this guide, then go to Settings>Update & Security>Recovery>”Restart Now” under Advanced startup>(the console will reboot)>Troubleshoot>Advanced>UEFI Firmware Settings>Restart. This will boot you back into the BIOS settings. Press F9 to restore all default settings, then Save and Exit. Finally, boot back into BIOS using the same method as before and follow the video again to re-setup the custom BIOS settings. If all goes well the VCS should fully utilize all of the ram and be successfully overclocked

Muy interesante, muy bien explicado todo, gracias 🫂 Estoy por obtener un atari VCS bro

Can someone recommendations for ram and m.2 1tb that would be best? Thanks for the vid!

The sad part is that Atari does not sell its console in another country other than US.

oto jest komentarz nr.500 który zmieni OBLICZE tego świata

I just bought VCS the fan is so loud. Is there a way to turn down the fan or replace it with a better one.

Like always, awesome video! Did you ever made a video testing some the performance of games after the upgrade?

Can you update with gen 9 "console" games?

were are the links for the upgrades?

After you make these changes, could you add an external SSD at say one or two TB. Then add a launch box set up and MAME. Then run it as an multi-cade set up? I know it wouldn't be crazy. But you could run a lot of older arcade games from that sort of set up if it worked.

I installed Windows 11 on mine but that password is not working for the BIOS. How would I be able to find it then??

I'd like to see a mod that adds a cartridge slot to run old carts.

I'd imagine with some longer screws and 3d printing some pieces to make it taller wouldn't be to difficult and if done properly wouldn't take away from it's looks.

Thanks for the inspiration, I watched this before to see about installing a SSD. I now have new memory, SSD and thermal paste on my desk ready to go as I watch this again. The fan on mine always seemed like it was working hard. I'm installing Linux/Retropie after the upgrade. I think it will do that nicely. Cheers!

Will all this still work in 2023?

I used your video to upgrade my RAM, thank you so much! 32 gigs of RAM, 2666 mhZ, I didn't increase the memory speed, but it still runs amazing.

👍👍👍❤❤❤🕹🕹🕹/|\

Kinda funny running a bunch of apps and games on something that looks like this

Well I wish it were not true, but it appears that my efforts to perform the upgrade and the BIOS tweaks certainly went awry. My machine now turns on, the fan revs to top speed and stays there, no light to the front logo, and no output to the screen monitor. I suppose near the equivalent of not posting. I must be one of the unlucky few who bricked their machine by attempting the modification.

If you have seen or heard of this result before and know of any way out of it, I would love to save my VCS. All ears.

Hey ETA. Another amazing video! It's my 5th watch and I finally got a unit since Atari has them on sale right now. Do you know if we can go faster on the RAM than 3200? Atari has removed what little documentation they had and when I ask support about it, all they tell me is that RAM updates void the warranty.

Hey ETA Prime. I was about to upgrade my VCS with some new Ram (32GB kit - 2x16GB 3200MHz) and an M.2 drive for expanded memory with all the games on there now. I was wondering...
The faster Ram you get (3200MHz) and settings you adjust to run it better, do you think this would help me if I only use my VCS in Atari mode as a console, never as a PC in PC mode?

Did the ram help performance

Sorry I didn't mean to subscribe just checking it out

Helpful many thanks

What type of screw did use to screw in the SSD into the cvs

Like what size?

Yeah, mine isn’t taking that password. Any suggestions?

Have a quick question…. The RAM… when you go in the bios and change it, I have an actual 32 go 3200 mhz, how do I need to change that/max that in the settings???

Tried this on mine but the password didn’t work, idk if an update from atari changed it or if mine is a newer revision with a different password but was wondering if anyone knows what my BIOS password would be

using 54watts in system settings generates way too much heat i've tested especially for such a small computer , i wouldn't recommend anything above 45 watts( the default settings ) i watched the temps jump using a temp sensor app jumping an extra 10c or so just for a very small gain..others settings shown here definitely recommend

Hi, ETA Prime,I need some advice: I have a strange issue: I run Windows 10 on internal SSD and I want now to make it my regular boot device so I changed boot order to USB - SSD - EMMC. But when it boots, it displays a kind of error message on top of the Fuji logo: “Found update fwupd-12b99262-648c-4365-bafd-eb869fb7ebd47-0 WARNING: No updates to process. Called in error?” and it boots into Atari OS. When I changed boot order back to normal (USB - EMMC - SSD” then everything works without this error message and I also boot into Atari OS. So booting Windows is only possible when I intervene at startup. Any suggestions how I make boot oder working correctly with starting windows first? I cloned the Windows installation from the external USB SSD I used on the same VCS before that.

What if you changed the graphics to the 16GB that it shows as a option rather than 4GB you chose ?

Would you describe how you applied the thermal paste (never done it before)? Did you remove the thermal pad entirely and discard, or did you just clean the surface of the CPU before applying the paste?

Could you do a video for newer VCS owners about a different way to speed up the RAM ? Some videos say the piano pin# does NOT work . There's apparently a different pin#

Will the 32GB or 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL22 (or 2933MHz or 2666MHz) unit work? I have heard without the BIOS password you cannot increase the RAM speed above the native 2400MHz, so may be stuck with 32GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR4 2400 MHz CL17. Apparently, they changed the password and you can't get into the BIOS now. Is that true?
EDIT: Well, luckily, I did this on Jan 16, 2023 and the password was still the long than needed Atari celebrates 50th one, so fast and easy.😀

If it was sold as a raspberry pi case for 20 usd I would buy it. Don't really need that much power the retro games I play

Thanks man. I got mine done. Next, booting up Windows, then I'll settle into gaming. This is a nice system!

I picked up the VCS all-in speakerhat bundle from the Atari store for $189... just happened to be browsing their site and saw that price and jumped on it, then got an email notification about the sale the next morning. Apparently that deal was only good for the first 50 customers, so I lucked out!

I didn't realize how well-designed and upgradable this thing was! Will definitely enjoy tinkering with it at a sub-$200 price point for the full bundle. It's too bad the price couldn't have been this low from launch... it'd probably be a radically different ecosystem today if it had sold better. Thanks for the video!

​ @ETA PRIME As it is on sale for $160 with $5 shipping I purchased one. In the bios can you change the memory timings. So if you buy good ram for instance Mushkin Redlines are CAS 16 at 3200 can you make sure you can run them at CAS 16. Overclocking settings you showed wouldn't necessarily change CAS settings as the RAM modules I believe also use 1.35 volts instead of 1.2. So can you change voltage and CAS on the VCS or would it not benefit from any of that and just run them at standards speeds?

Watching ETA Prime's upgrade video 32GB ram at 3200mhz he also upped the GFX UMA Frame buffer size to 4GB is there any advantage or disadvantage to giving more say 8GB or even 16GB?

what about CAS timing setings for memory any more inprovements?

Think it's worth replacing 16GB 2666mhz memory with 3200mhz?

I think black Friday sales got this hyped again. Hope there is an update video.

It be really cool if you put an external GPU on it using it m.2 port

Thanks for showing me what I'll be running over with my truck tomorrow. ATARI VCS IS A GARBAGE CONSOLE AND BELONGS IN THE TRASH.

Am I missing the ram used link?

Are we at the point where we could install Steam OS on the Atari VCS? I feel like that pairing would be perfect

Hey would you upgrade my system for me?

I tried Piano18482 and it doesn’t work. Tried it three times and then the console said “failed three times. Reset console.”

Now I can’t get back there ever again now. When I hit delete on startup, it just has some gibberish in the top left corner. What happened to my system??

I followed the advice of your video and now it’s screwed up my console

I made these changes, and now my Atari just boots to a black screen with the fan running. :-/

I just picked this up for $99 from GameStop recently... followed your exact process upgrading to 16GB of DDR4-3200, 256GB SSD & re-pasted the cooler. The fan runs less often, the system overall is much more responsive... time to try some games!