It loads MUCH faster with it, it can end up lowering your time by alot. I bought a SCPH-70012 and the change was immediately noticeable. Hope this helps!

Like actual, in-control gameplay when the camera angle switches? Or like when it's loading the next room during a door opening sequence? Does it totally freeze to where you have to reset or you mean it just drags ass a little bit?

It has yet to freeze or lag on me when I'm actually in control of the character, although sometimes depending on which room I'm entering it'll sorta pause a second or two on black-screen before it comes on, but still, it's nowhere NEAR as long as it did sometimes on my old, fat PS2. I swear it would sometimes be loading the next room for 3-4 seconds, literally. And until I got a slim PS2 with FDS I thought that was unavoidable and just had to be tolerated...lol. It's insane how playing on a slim PS2 is essentially non-negotiable if you want your times to be at all competitive.

True, but I mean you essentially need perfect play to even come close to those anyways! Lol. When I said "be competitive" I just meant to crack top 8 in general. As most of us are using a PS2 with FDS.

Edit: Actually I just looked and I have the same model that Carci used to set his Leon A WR, SCPH 70012, with the 1.11 driver. So thats good news lol :)