Gameboy Advance modding/upgrade questions.

Sir Dude · May 6, 2022

Hey all! Linus Tech Tips recently put out a video where Linus and Dan took apart their old gaming handhelds and did some repairs and upgrades, which made me bust out my old Gamebody Advance so I can try the same. I did some googling and it brought me to handheldlegend.com, where there's all kinds of parts I can get.

What I'm looking to get is a rechargeable battery, new screen, and an IPS display panel. The main thing though is the display panel. These are kind of expensive and I was wondering if there were a particular model people favored so I know I'm getting the right one.

I was also thinking on getting an audio amplifier and an HDMI converter kit, but I don't even know if they would fit and I'm curious one what you all think. I'd also like to keep the original shell if I can, can't have an old console without some well worn beat up plastic!

Needfuldoer · May 6, 2022

Is this an original GBA, or a clamshell SP?

I haven't done any GBA mods myself, but I have ordered parts for other consoles from Handheld Legend.

https://handheldlegend.com/

Maybe someday I'll bother putting an IPS screen in my original "glacier" GBA...

Sir Dude · May 6, 2022

2 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Is this an original GBA, or a clamshell SP?

I haven't done any GBA mods myself, but I have ordered parts for other consoles from Handheld Legend.

https://handheldlegend.com/

Original GBA. It's also the purple one that you see in all the ads for it so that's why I don't wanna replace the shell.

Osaka · May 8, 2022

On 5/6/2022 at 11:32 AM, Sir Dude said:

Original GBA. It's also the purple one that you see in all the ads for it so that's why I don't wanna replace the shell.

You can find aftermarket shells with the original colors and adapted to IPS screens, so i would spend a bit of extra money and do that.

For the IPS screen, go with the original Funnyplaying screens, unbranded/third party screens are usually badly color calibrated. You could take a look at My Life In Gaming's videos about the GBA IPS screens, they're always very illustrative.