9 times out of 10 the way a modchip breaks a Playstation 2, is by the person burning a hole in the mainboard trying to get all 20 wires soldered onto tiny little IC legs 😀 . Playstation 2 modchips are by far the hardest to install.
Personally I think the talk about PS2 lasers being crappy is exaggerated. Gamecubes and Xbox lasers malfunction too (albeit less than 10% as often 😛 ). But the reason for all the complaining about it is because Sony mass-produces the hell out of the machine and it isn't durable enough for some abusive consumers that leave it on the floor in their dusty-ass house, where they smoke 8 packs of cigarettes a day and their dog occasionally walks up to it and sheds a pound of hair all over it.
Personally I think the talk about PS2 lasers being crappy is exaggerated. Gamecubes and Xbox lasers malfunction too (albeit less than 10% as often 😛 ). But the reason for all the complaining about it is because Sony mass-produces the hell out of the machine and it isn't durable enough for some abusive consumers that leave it on the floor in their dusty-ass house, where they smoke 8 packs of cigarettes a day and their dog occasionally walks up to it and sheds a pound of hair all over it.