Neo Geo:Chip Replacements

Some chips on Neo Geo motherboards or cartridges can go bad. Luckily, furrtek created some drop-in replacements for these chips.

NEO-BUF
NEO-BUF replacement chip.


 * Random reboots during gameplay, particularly on a 161-in-1 cart.
 * Green screen on boot, and it's not a typical calendar error.

NEO-ZMC2
NEO-ZMC2 replacement chip.


 * Vertical stripes to appear on sprites.
 * Completely missing audio on MVS systems

NEO-257
NEO-257 replacement chip.

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NEO-273
NEO-273 replacement chip.

Graphics (sprites and text) glitches.

NEO-D0
NEO-D0 replacement chip.

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NEO-E0
NEO-E0 replacement chip.

A faulty NEO-E0 chip prevents the system or specific slots (on multi-slot systems) from booting.

NEO-G0
NEO-G0 replacement chip.

?

PCM Chip (Game Cartridge)
PCM Chip replacement chip.

A faulty PCM chip may cause audio issues on a single game cartrige.

Installation

 * 1) Remove the faulty chip with hot air.
 * 2) Remove the remaining solder on the PCB pads with solder braid if the surface isn't perfectly flat.
 * 3) Clean up the eventual flux residue with IPA.
 * 4) Place the NEO-BUF replacement board in the right orientation (see pin 1 mark), align it precisely, and solder the 4 corners using a generous amount of flux.
 * 5) Drag-solder all the sides or solder each pin individually. The small castellated contacts will "attract" solder by capillary action. Make sure none of the contacts are bridged.