Hardware SD Cards & Homebrew, What Do I Need To Know?

[Mulsiphix]

I've been using a USB HD up to now for everything. I'd like to switch to using my USB HD just for Wii Games/EmuNAND and put all other apps onto an SD card. I've been searching the net and I'm finding a lot of conflicting information. I have a few questions.

1. I've heard mixed reports that a SD shouldn't go above X Gigs or it won't work with App X. How big can I go with most homebrew apps being compatible?
2. SDHC Class #: Does this matter concerning the Wii? If so, what class is the sweet spot regarding price vs performance?
3. Is it true that having a ton of files on an SD card can make it slow performing in the Wii? I currently have 8,100 files that I'd be transferring to a new card.
4. When using a USB HD and SD, is it possible to have HBC read the apps from both at the same time? So far mine only reads the USB if both SD and USB HD are connected.

 

[GerbilSoft]

1. Most homebrew software will work fine with any size SD card. SDHC tops out at 32 GB; anything larger is SDXC. SDXC cards usually work as long as they're formatted as FAT32. Some earlier Wii games, such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, only support SD cards (2GB or smaller), so if you want to use Smash Bros. mods, you'll need a smaller card.

2. The SD class number doesn't usually make a difference on Wii, since the slot's basically limited to 2 MB/s for both read and write. (The class number indicates the minimum guaranteed write speed; e.g. a Class 10 card is guaranteed to support writing at 10 MB/s or faster.) Wii U's SD slot might be faster.

3. FAT32 uses linear directories, so accessing a specific file in the directory requires parsing the entire directory to find it. If you have 8,100 files in a single directory, things can get really slow. If you have everything grouped into subdirectories, then it shouldn't be a problem.

4. HBC itself will only show one device at a time. To select the device, press 1 or X, then choose which device you want to use.

 

[Mulsiphix]

Thank you very much GerbilSoft!

The SD class number doesn't usually make a difference on Wii, since the slot's basically limited to 2 MB/s for both read and write.

Just out of curiosity, how do you know how fast the Wii's SD slot is capable of transferring? I've been looking for over an hour now and cannot find any tech specs or benchmarks performed that confirm the speed capabilities of this slot.

 

[GerbilSoft]

http://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/DIOS_MIOS_Lite_SD_Card_Speed_Test

Some of these tests show 2560 KB/s for sequential, so I guess the slot is somewhat faster than 2 MB/s, but not by much. This table includes Class 10 cards, which can't get over 2560 KB/s due to Wii hardware limitations.

 

[Mulsiphix]

http://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/DIOS_MIOS_Lite_SD_Card_Speed_Test

This is a phenomenal find. I searched the forums up and down and never came across this. Thank you very much for linking it .