Look for sellers who have PSP's with broken UMD disc drives. I got a 1000 and a 2000 with non-functioning disc drives for $10 each from a local game store. May want to check ebay for some of these specimen.
Since homebrew-enabling a PSP no longer requires use of a game exploit, just a Memory Stick Pro Duo (or a microSD to memory stick adapter with a microSD card) and some signed eboot files, you might as well give the "crippled" models a look too.
Here are a few things I have learned since getting the 1000 and 2000:
- be careful about what kind of TV out cable you get for the 2000, one of them is only good for a few games, the other kind is compatible with all games and operations (read reviews on Amazon to know what's good)
- be mindful that despite the PSP 1000 being cheaper, the 2000 has a better screen, size, battery life, and more RAM (2x as much, big deal for Piggy). Try getting an OEM PSP 1000 battery and sticking it in a 2000 with a matching bigger battery cover. The 1000 battery is 1800mAH while the stock slim is 1200mAH. You get 50% more life, roughly. Stay away from the "extended life" battery kit, the lithium ion cells in those have not aged gracefully and have exploded in the 2 cases I own, as well as the ones new-in-box online. Avoid it, you will be shelling out for a garbage product.
- look into getting a PSP camera because it is really quite good and can be found for $10 or less. Convenient to have for recording sounds to use in Piggy or for the sake of having.
- the microSD-to-Memory-Stick-Pro-Duo adapter I have mentioned can be found in 2 flavors, one that accepts a single microSD card and one that accepts two cards at a time (there's a catch). Due to Sony keeping their foot on the gas with MS Pro Duo prices, look into these adapters especially if you have a spare microSD card or two. Be aware that the 2 card adapter likes to operate only when there are 2 cards in use and in their proper slots. It also helps to use cards whose sum of memory equals a power of 2 (8gb + 4gb isn't a good fit, 8gb + 8gb is, etc). Be wary of slightly slower transfer speeds and a slower loading XMB menu ( we are talking an extra 3 seconds at bootup) if you have tons (32 gb) of memory.
The PSP is a great songwriting tool, and it is very affordable to pimp it out with a better battery, video out, more storage, and plugins to make it more of a powerhouse than you would expect.
