hardware and accessories

Sony did not just make this horizontal stand for aesthetic purposes. And like many people stated, it lends no physical support whatsoever to the console. But what it does do is save you the heartache and pain I went through. The PS2 is not supposed to be placed directly on carpet, in entertainment centers and should be raised somewhat when placed in bookshelves. Static electricity can be a problem, as it was with me because I did not have a stand. I had to get my console repaired/replaced because of some kind of a short due to the fact the console was not sufficiently isolated from the ground. Further, if the circulation around your PS2 is not really good, you need to raise it up off the surface to allow air to pass over, under and past it. This allows it to cool better and may help prevent accumulation of dust. Both of which can destroy the unit.

The only problem I have with this thing is that if a stand is essential for the PS2 to work (as they say in the users manual) why not put it in the box with the console, or build the unit so it is raised higher off the ground and better insulated? I think I know the an$wer....

Contrary to what a lot of people have said, the purpose of the horizontal stand is not to provide cooling for the PS2, if you follow the directions on the box. The directions say to remove the rubber feet from the bottom of your PS2, which causes the horizontal stand "pegs" to go up into the PS2 where the rubber feet were, causing the stand to be completely flush against the entire bottom of the PS2. Thus, it appears the stand is designed specifically for looks.

However, I was interested in the aspect of having a space gap between the console and the stand, for cooling purposes, so I just left the rubber feet on the console and set it on the stand like that, so there's about a quarter of an inch space below the PS2. It's not according to the instructions, but it works just fine like that, and it does it's job of providing a high cool factor, too.

I bought the horizontal stand for my PS2 thinking that it would be better than the vertical one. I was afraid that it would be hard to load games with the vertical stand. But it turns out that it is just as easy to load games with the PS2 standing vertically and also the system looks a lot cooler standing vertically. The horizontal stand does not serve any purpose. I sudjest that you save your ten dollars or that you buy the vertical stand.