Indicators that your Super Nintendo Console is a Rare 1-CHIP Model 

The very first Super Nintendo system was released in 1991 in North America. The Super Nintendo console delighted video game enthusiasts with its improved sound, visuals, and accompanying game library.

Although even the first Super Nintendo was groundbreaking in these areas, a later model released around 1995 called the "1-CHIP" SNES was especially pioneering. The motherboard design of the 1-CHIP SNES enables it to output better graphics than earlier revisions of this Nintendo system. The 1-CHIP is highly sought after by collectors because it offers some of the best gameplay visuals you can get on a Super Nintendo. It is also somewhat rare to find, which makes treasure hunting for it even more thrilling!

Prior to the year 1995 or so, Nintendo designed their Super Nintendo console motherboards so that they used 3 chips for graphics and central processing. These three chips are called the CPU, PPU1, and PPU2. When Nintendo revised the SNES motherboard around 1995, all 3 of these chips were combined into one single chip called the S-CPUN. This hardware change is what gave this model of the SNES more graphics processing power.

How do I know if my SNES is a 1-CHIP version?

1. Look at the serial number.

The serial number barcode is printed on a sticker located on the bottom of the console beneath a barcode.

One obvious indicator that you may have a SNES with a 1-CHIP motherboard design is if the console's serial number begins with "UN3". A 1-CHIP SNES serial number will always start with a UN3. However, not all Super Nintendo consoles whose serial numbers start with UN3 will have a 1-CHIP board inside of them. Unfortunately, Nintendo did not issue serial numbers differently when they made internal revisions to the motherboard. The timeline just so happens to fit such that all 1CHIP board revisions were made during the time that UN3 serial numbers were being issued. So, if the serial number starts with a UN1 or UN2, this will not be the 1-chip version of the SNES console. 

See the photo below for reference to where the serial number is located on the SNES:

2. Disassemble your Super Nintendo if Step 1 went well.

If your SNES starts with a UN3 model number, then the next step is to take that bad boy apart! You will need a 4.5mm Nintendo bit screwdriver for the bottom screws and a Phillips #1 screwdriver for interior screws. 

After removing all 6 of the 4.5mm screws on the bottom of the system, now it is time to remove a few other things in place to access the motherboard. We recommend watching a YouTube video to see how to fully disassemble and reassemble the system.

Once you can fully view the motherboard, look for the board's model or revision number. The number will be printed in white text. In our picture example below, you will see the board revision number is SNS-CPU-1CHIP-01 and is located in lower right corner of the board.