Today I just couldn’t help myself. I’ve pulled apart the PAL VA0 Dreamcast again to take a proper look at the internals, because I’m still rather curious about how this machine compares with the more common PAL VA1 models. I’ve got several VA1 boards to look at, but unfortunately I don’t have a Japanese or American VA0 handy for a direct comparison.

The markings certainly confirm what I’ve been saying about this console. There’s a zero inside the circle on the casing, and the motherboard itself is marked VA0. So there we have it, a PAL VA0 Dreamcast! They really do exist, even if they don’t seem to be particularly common.

What’s especially interesting is that this machine has an April 1999 shell date, well before the European Dreamcast launch on 14th October 1999. It also has a display-only label, which makes me wonder whether it was originally intended for some sort of demonstration or pre-launch use. I don’t know its full history, but I’d certainly like to find out.

While looking over the motherboard, I noticed a connector near the heatpipe arrangement that I couldn’t immediately identify. Perhaps it has something to do with temperature sensing, or perhaps it’s for something else entirely. I haven’t got another VA0 board to compare it with, so for now it’s another little mystery.

I also had a look around the bottom shielding, where somebody had already broken through part of the black felt to reach a couple of screws. Might as well have a poke around while I’m in here! There was an OAK marking on one of the chips too, which was a bit of a blast from the past. I didn’t manage to remove everything I wanted to inspect, but at least the video gives us a closer look at the board.

What I’d really like to know is how this PAL VA0 compares with the Japanese and American versions. If you’ve got a VA0 Dreamcast from either region and don’t mind having a look inside, let me know whether you can spot any differences. I’m particularly interested in the motherboard layout and those less familiar connectors.

And while we’re at it, how many PAL VA0 Dreamcasts are still out there? Probably not many! I’d love to hear from anyone else who’s managed to find one.

Sources