# Day 4: DS-X



## Sinkhead (Dec 4, 2007)

*This may seem a little long for an advent calendar intro, but it's from my upcoming article and it's too much work to type out a new one 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			



*

On August 10th 2006 at 04:44 PM GMT, GBAtemp announced the first major slot-1 flashcart, the DS-X. It seemed like a perfect solution (GBAtemp gave it 9/10 in their review, the score has since been altered). Many people didn't see the point in upgrading at that point in time, mainly because of the price, but it truly looked like DS-X was a revolution in DS piracy. In the first few months after it's release there were plenty of updates fixing both ROM and homebrew compatibility, as well as adding functionality. The skinning engine is the most complex I have seen in a flashcart, everything is customizable, and the LEDs are just cool. The built in media player has potential and although it was fairly slow at first it seems to have improved, so all in all the DS-X was a really good cart for it's era.

Shame it didn't last.

Firmware update  1.1.2 (third release) was the last one to ever see the light of day. Let's take a look through some of the DS-X Team's finest moments  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




*September 14th 2006 (12:54 AM)*
Costello, admin of GBAtemp, posted some shocking news about the DS-X Team's mischievous antics. Bear in mind that this is before the DS-X was even available to the general public.


			
				QUOTE said:
			
		

> *From a news post by Costello*
> Two members of the DS-X team have asked us to spin a rating of the NinjaDS which we are currently reviewing in an attempt to promote their product.
> 
> The review of the NinjaDS by MaxConsole, written by jpxdude, was originally a fairly non enthusiastic review of the product which is by no means a problem. *But* zeus, head of MaxConsole and Divineo - (yes, the online shop) modified the review later on in order to give a more negative image to the NinjaDS.
> ...



So, what's _your_ opinion on the DS-X?

[titlerevious days]
Day 1:  hrth
Day 2:  R4DS
Day 3:  WiiKey


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## Kaos (Dec 4, 2007)

I don't even have one and I hate it.

No-one can do that to their customers and expect to get away with it.

If the DS-X ever becomes better than the CycloDS or the R4DS then the world will probably end or something.


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## jelbo (Dec 4, 2007)

Unbelievable... those people are evil. I have owned a DS-Xtreme but sold it pretty quickly after my purchase. But wow, the things I read here, unbelievable and sad.


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## 4saken (Dec 4, 2007)

KILL ALL


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## shaunj66 (Dec 4, 2007)

My favourite! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







What? It makes a really good wedge to put under my un-even desk legs.


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## Dark-Mantis (Dec 4, 2007)

The DS-X was my first DS flash card, and I used to like it. However since the support pretty much died it's been going downhill. I got my Cyclo DS Evolution now and so far it's been an improvement on every aspect. 

Just to list the bad things I experienced recently with my DS-X 

1) About 50% of the new releases require the arm-7 fix to work.
2) Some games can't run on full speed 
3) It takes more than a minute to start playing music 
4) Absolutely no sign of any of the before mentioned issues being fixed. 

I don't think it'll take very long before this card is history.


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## Chotaz (Dec 4, 2007)

QUOTE(shaunj66 @ Dec 4 2007 said:


> My favourite!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



aw you stole my joke, bad bad man 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




anyways...

i hated ds-x since the first i saw it


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## JKR Firefox (Dec 4, 2007)

Having never owned a DS-X (Thank you Jebus 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




), I can't really say it's a bad cart.  However, the DS-X team's lack of customer support is amazing!  I still can't believe that retailers continue to sell this cart considering the reputation it has garnered over the past 6-7 months.

The DS-X is a joke and the team which created it and continue to lie and threaten their paying customers should never be allowed to make another.

- Fitzy


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## shakirmoledina (Dec 4, 2007)

it's a good ol' device but still lacks the power to win over others


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## shaunj66 (Dec 4, 2007)

The main thing that I don't understand is that the team could EASILY make this one of the best carts on the market with a real proper firmware/GUI update. Ok it may be lacking in space, but the hardware (powerful hardware I might add) is there. 

They really let themselves down more than anyone else, they had a fairly respectable name once. No one in their right mind would buy a new  DS-X Team product after all this.


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## Jaejae (Dec 4, 2007)

Hmm, I was considering getting one of the 2GB DS-X cards, I might have to rethink my purchase.


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## ZAFDeltaForce (Dec 4, 2007)

The first time I saw a DSX, I was like LOL and doubted it ever since.


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## robi (Dec 4, 2007)

QUOTE(shaunj66 @ Dec 4 2007 said:


> The main thing that I don't understand is that the team could EASILY make this one of the best carts on the market with a real proper firmware/GUI update. Ok it may be lacking in space, but the hardware (powerful hardware I might add) is there.
> 
> They really let themselves down more than anyone else, they had a fairly respectable name once. No one in their right mind would buy a newÂ DS-X Team product after all this.



I agree 100%, the DS-X has (had?) great potential, and with the proper firmware update it could be in the top 3 easily. That powerful hardware is the main reason it's more expensive then the other flashcarts out there...but it's hardly been put to good use.

The DS-X gets a lot of crap but I've had a good experience with it. It was my first DS flashcart, and I was part of the 2nd batch shipped. While most people upgraded I still use mine because it works well enough and I have enough games between it and legit cartridges.

Despite my good experiences with it I can't recommend it to anyone anymore, even if it was cheaper these days because if they were to have problems I don't have any confidence that they would be helped by the DS-X team.

However now I'm looking at either a CycloDS Evolution, R4, or whatever the next best thing is. The DS-X will just go to my sister. Only thing is that I've been saying that for awhile now, I just haven't found a huge need to switch for the moment. Of course, it could be because I'm a poor Uni student.


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## rest0re (Dec 4, 2007)

My favourite card that I don't own


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## thegame07 (Dec 4, 2007)

That comment about the support tracker being dead has annoyed me a little because Im one of the people who help out on it and I do tickets everyday (I can't do some tickets) However I put all my effort to reply to the people I can help!  Only on the odd occasion im not able to give at least 1 reply a day. I dont wish to give my opinion on the matter as I will get flamed.

ps Also im not responsible for any actions the ds-x team have decided to take so please don't aim problems you may have at me! thanks


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## stefer (Dec 4, 2007)

It is a great flashcart... if only there could be a good firmware to go with it.  I still have it but haven't booted it in a long time.  Last time i put it in my DS, it was to show a coworker the difference with an EZ-V.  He wanted to get one for his son.  What you think he ordered?  Thats right, a EZ-V.  I didn't have to point out the problems, just the slow loading made him go with EZ-V.
It takes less than half the time on my EZ-V.


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## kernelPANIC (Dec 4, 2007)

I got a DS-X mainly because of GBATemp's review (GBATemp gave it a 9.5, that's an awesome score no matter how you look at it).
While time has proven that it's not the best cart around, it DID provide me with some great moments as it allowed me to play the first 2 Phoenix Wright games, the first 2 Ouendan Games, Hotel Dusk, and a loooong etc.
I'm equally disappointed with both the DS-X team and GBATemp.


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## teonintyfive (Dec 4, 2007)

QUOTE(shaunj66 @ Dec 4 2007 said:


> My favourite!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## azotyp (Dec 4, 2007)

i think DS xtreme is great thing, only as someone said they dont have good firmware, but idea is great, i always wanted to have one of those, but since it is so expensive i'm gonna buy a mutation of that kind of thing and microsd flashcarts (acekard rpg)


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## Railgun (Dec 4, 2007)

dont like it, there are better solutions out.


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## HBK (Dec 4, 2007)

I have a DS-Xtreme, well, had, because it's my sister's now. It fulfills all her gaming needs, but I love my R4. It did in fact give me some happy times last year (the DS-X), but this year it disappointed a LOT. Therefore, I'll vote "It's OKAY".


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## leetdude_007 (Dec 4, 2007)

It was always too expensive for me, so I waited for an alternative or a price deduction. It was sad to see the support disappear from the public eye like that...


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## xalphax (Dec 4, 2007)

when the ds-x was first announced i thought it was a promising card with cool features.

but the high pricetag and (while waiting for the price to come down) lack of support killed it for me.

praise the lord for sending us the R4DS (and other good slot1 cards) to the rescue!


edit: if you think about it, its good that the pricetag was so high at first. otherwise even more people would have been stuck with a shitty flashcard now.


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## PuyoDead (Dec 4, 2007)

I also fell for the DS-X. It was my first DS flashcart, and at first, I was pretty happy about it. But, fast forward through all the crap, and when I got my R4, I was just floored at how much better it was. My thing is, is that it's amazing how slow the DS-X is. In a forum post of me explaining just how bad it is, I made this video:

DS-X load time

Looking back, I made some changes, and sped it up a bit, but it's still nowhere near the load times of the R4. All the other crap aside, that's why I don't use it anymore.


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## Twiffles (Dec 4, 2007)

I almost fell for the DS-X, until I decided against it. Hoorah.


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## hova1 (Dec 4, 2007)

i never owned a DS-X but i voted "do not like" simply because i feel bad for all the people who are stuck with it


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## NetShira (Dec 4, 2007)

I bought one, and got severly PO'd with who I bought it from.. as it took months to get the cart when it was promised in weeks.  After writing a rather scathing letter to the place I bought it from they appologized but said that it kept getting delayed because the manufacturer kept lying about their shipping dates.  Not sure who to believe I held this agains the distributer and filed it away.    I'd finally gotten my DSX and was pretty pleased with the hardware design and ease of the device.  It really is well made hardware comparing it to other cartridges... The only complaint I had (then) was there was no way to stop the bloody lights from flashing on startup.  It seemed to do everything I could've wanted until the 1.12 patch when compatibility kinda went downhill.   Writing to the DSX team soon showed that they were mainly focused on homebrew support and did not want to focus on compatibility.    This seemed the bent on their website until reading all of the bitching and moaning about DLDI, and the total bullstuff of the DSX team in claiming that they didn't need any DLDI because of course their hardware was perfect... it took quite a while for popular demand to make the DSX team put out a DLDI patch file and in the end there was a fix to DLDI required to make it work... the attitude of the DSX team during this exchange really really soured me as this was really the only "santioned" use of the cartidge from the observing the forums and here they were bitching that they had to do an "unneeded" DLDI patch just to satisfy us "whiners".     The lack of support from the DSX team (thegame07 has helped more than they ever have) and the completely non-existant updates forced me to look elsewhere and so I bought a G6 DS Real.  Oddly enough the G6 seems weak (having to put DLDI homebrew in the root of the cartridge is just lame imho) when it comes to homebrew but strong on compatibility, and easier to skin.   I bought 4 and we've had one we THOUGHT went bad... (during which my wife used the old DSX standby.. which was solid if limited in it's compatibility)... turns out the reader was bad and we tossed the reader, reformatted the cart and now it works well again.  So I voted "I don't like it" to the DSX despite that it has some uses still.


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## Anakir (Dec 4, 2007)

Bought one and sold it a week after I had it. Too much hassle with all its problems and updates. I got the R4 right after and never regret it even 'til now.


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## TGBoy (Dec 4, 2007)

Too expensive. Good thing i waited for better ones like R4DS


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## Sinkhead (Dec 4, 2007)

I think DS-X could turn into a religion in the end... You know how Christians are waiting for Jesus, and Muslims are waiting for that prophet (sorry, can't remember his name).

Well, some gullible people are still waiting for the DS-X firmware update  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




- Sam


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## Way_Star (Dec 4, 2007)

Well, i've owned a 2GB from the day it came out and have regretted buying it ever since! To be fair, it does have great potential and why they don't make the firmware open source now I don't know. It's either 2 things holding things back:

1 The development team have reached thier technical limits, cannot handle the hardware or make use of the FPGA which makes the thing so expensive in the first place. This is making it take forever and possibly the firmware will never be done.

2 The development team are pure perfectionists and will not release the firmware until every last feature of modern flash carts has been implemented and works.

I hope the second one is true, but i'm doubting it strongly!! I still use it regularly and it performs it's function albeit slowly and with annoying things like applying the arm7 fix to be done to most new games. I'd never buy one of these over other cards now.

I suppose the one positive thing is if you were stuck in a mass powercut at night, not only would you have some gaming to keep you busy, you'd have an excellent torch in the form of the LEDs!


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## SaltyDog (Dec 4, 2007)

After getting burned on my Flash2Advance GBA cart. I purchased a SuperCard SD as its replacement. Then they miraculously supported the DS. I then bought a NDS lite (really wanted that brighter screen) I was happy to know that the flood of Slot-1 cards at this point allowed for the R4. God forbid that I would have had a DS-X (for once I came out ahead YAY!)


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## jgu1994 (Dec 4, 2007)

I weird to see all the people not voting yes, like me, but this is still a solid cart imo.


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## onispawn (Dec 4, 2007)

It really isn't that bad. Sure it would be nice to get a fireware update to fix some issues, but I mean come on. I can still play all the games I want to with a quick arm fix.
Until I cant play the games I want to, I wont be buying a new card.


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## Rayder (Dec 4, 2007)

Well, I've never owned  a DS-X, but based on discussions I've read about how they treat people on their forums in regards to problems, I voted "Do Not Like".

I mean, they make a cart to play ROMs and then do an about-face and say, "No talking/complaining about ROMs!" And then they stop bothering to even release any updates.  Lame!


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## ZPE (Dec 4, 2007)

I don't think they can allow ROM discussions otherwise ESA or whoever they are get on their back and will close them down. Don't blame them for that but yeah the warranty thing is a bit over the top. Don't like the look of the card either.


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## Sinkhead (Dec 4, 2007)

QUOTE(tsimehC @ Dec 4 2007 said:


> I don't think they can allow ROM discussions otherwise ESA or whoever they are get on their back and will close them down. Don't blame them for that but yeah the warranty thing is a bit over the top. Don't like the look of the card either.


Talking about ROMs is _not_ illegal... Downloading them is.

- Sam


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## Mewgia (Dec 4, 2007)

I voted "Do not like" because of what I've read about them and the fact that the one I bought for my friend a while back died suddenly. So now he's stuck with a dead flashcart....lame.


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## Wanted (Dec 4, 2007)

I have a DS-X (and never used any other DS flashcart). I have to say the cart itself is cool but the dealings I had with the DS-X team ruin that. They are a joke. I had posts deleted when their firmware "update" stuffed it up and ended up having to fix it myself along with others that wanted support. It took over a couple of weeks and then when a known solution was finally developed they still didn't spread the fix to everyone that wanted help. In my opinion they were to busy counting the $'s they were expecting from the 16Gbit version or whatever it was. There's no way in hell they will ever see another cent from me and I feel like ordering an R4 or something right now talking about it.


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## JPH (Dec 4, 2007)

Too expenive and has too many problems.
R4, Cyclowiz are much better slot1 flashcarts and are less expensive...I'm sure everyone hates this shitty flashcart and the shitty company who makes them.


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## Magnuh (Dec 4, 2007)

I bought a DS-X pretty late (August of 07). I really loved it as the NDS and DS-X got me back into gaming.
Anyway, I messed up when I was upgrading to the 1.2 firmware and I thought it was ruined forever. 
But after joining your community and getting help from thegame07 it´s working again.
Now I enjoy the hell out of it. 
Haven´t had one problem. 
Love my DS-X!

Just hope that I can still use it for other good lineups in the future
(Especially FFTA2)


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## hollabackitsobi (Dec 4, 2007)

It's a terrible card. And I LOL when I see it STILL being sold in a 2GB variant at various flashcard sites, when you could get an R4+2GB MicroSD for half of that, or a Cyclo with a 4GB MicroSDHC for $30 less.


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## Deleted User (Dec 4, 2007)

It's a pretty nice card... it doesn't have the best homebrew compatability but it is till I nice card.


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## selamat.tingal (Dec 5, 2007)

It's an ok card.  The lack of upgrade simply makes it overpriced.  There are many better products out there.


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## Rankio (Dec 5, 2007)

QUOTE(PuyoDead @ Dec 4 2007 said:


> I also fell for the DS-X. It was my first DS flashcart, and at first, I was pretty happy about it. But, fast forward through all the crap, and when I got my R4, I was just floored at how much better it was. My thing is, is that it's amazing how slow the DS-X is. In a forum post of me explaining just how bad it is, I made this video:
> 
> DS-X load time
> 
> Looking back, I made some changes, and sped it up a bit, but it's still nowhere near the load times of the R4. All the other crap aside, that's why I don't use it anymore.



Your heavy breathing is a turn on.


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## Deadmon (Dec 5, 2007)

Do not like.
Can't believe I almost bought it.


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## PuyoDead (Dec 5, 2007)

QUOTE(Rankio @ Dec 4 2007 said:


> QUOTE(PuyoDead @ Dec 4 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > I also fell for the DS-X. It was my first DS flashcart, and at first, I was pretty happy about it. But, fast forward through all the crap, and when I got my R4, I was just floored at how much better it was. My thing is, is that it's amazing how slow the DS-X is. In a forum post of me explaining just how bad it is, I made this video:
> ...



Wow, I've never had the volume high enough to hear that. Kind of frightening, really.


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## science (Dec 5, 2007)

I laughed at my friend when he bought one of these in the summer for over $100


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## Nero (Dec 5, 2007)

QUOTE(Deadmon @ Dec 4 2007 said:


> *Do not like.
> Can't believe I almost bought it.*



Same here... I was actually gonna purchase it until I heard about the DS-X team.

I have my doubts on the next FW release. It will never come.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




I bought an R4, and have been happy ever since.

~Nero


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## Doggy124 (Dec 5, 2007)

The worst cart ever!!!


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## dib (Dec 5, 2007)

sinkhead said:
			
		

> I think DS-X could turn into a religion in the end... You know how Christians are waiting for Jesus, and Muslims are waiting for that prophet (sorry, can't remember his name).
> 
> Well, some gullible people are still waiting for the DS-X firmware update
> That made me laugh aloud.  Some two thousand years after DSGuru's gone, and some Jerry Falwell asshat going on about how any day he'll come back from the dead and update the firmware.  That same day Duke Nukem Forever will be released.
> ...


Yes, dead in the water as much as the development.  When's the last time any solution didn't involve linking that same old repair tool, or replacing the cart?  I stand by my evaluation.

The funny thing is that you should be more annoyed than anybody having to carry the tracker and forum while Guru flakes like usual.  What has he ever really done to make your life easier, other than replacing people's flashcarts when the repair tool fails and you can't figure out the issue?  Please, tell us all what it is that he is doing for the DS-X customers if it's not support and it's not development.  Where has the last year gone while people continue to have problems and are stuck with an outdated firmware that has left this product in the dust of every other competitor?  Because if you expect people to believe anything's being done, there'd better be something pretty spectacular to show for it.  And flopping out some sort of revision a couple months from now with two or three fixes is _not_ going to make up for it.

You're not making the decisions, but you are enabling Guru in further ripping off people while he still evades the fact that he isn't doing a damn thing.  By modding the forum and quelling dissent, all you do is help him put up a false front to convince people that the cart (I recommend renaming DS-X to DS Titanic) is sinking.  That way he can keep selling them, keep making money, and with no intention of EVER keeping the promises originally expressed.

The _smart_ thing to do would be wipe your hands of anything to do with him or DS-X.  I suppose we'll see.  Maybe if you open your eyes and read these posts like I just did, you'll realize the consensus is against it.  It was a great product with a lot of promise, but the guy at the helm might as well be deaf, blind, dumb, drunk, popping pills, with turrets and wearing an overfilled diaper.  Do you really want to be the guy propping him up?

No flame intended.  I dont know you, don't really care to.  All I know is in which capacity you're cooperating with the flakey guy responsible for ripping people off.  I don't need to personally insult you to criticize that fact, as a result of the product and support.


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## BoneMonkey (Dec 5, 2007)

ewwwwwwwww a ds - x 

now i gotta go take a bath


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## DarkAura (Dec 5, 2007)

DS-X.. meh, not really what I like...  but I clicked the wrong option and voted it's OK I guess.


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## donquixote (Dec 5, 2007)

Mine was in the first batch and it was my first Flash cart. Luckily my cart wasn't one of those plagued with production problems and it worked perfectly. The first 2 months were pure bliss. I got it because it promised drag-n-drop functionality for Macs and it delivered. But after getting endless promises for a Mac/Linux installer for the the updates (still non available) I got tired of their lies. I gave up on the DS-X at the end of spring; in fact I gave up on the DS altogether and gave it to a cousin. I am planning on getting a new one for the holidays but I'll be giving the DS-X a wide berth.

edit: i should mention that i specifically joined gbatemp to read the ds-x review. the site was swamped that day and was periodically made available only to members...


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## thegame07 (Dec 5, 2007)

Dib When was the last time someone got a reply that wasn't the repair tool or someone getting their unit replaced? Well the answer to that is last night! You may see the repair tool often as it solves alot of issues. I would also like to know why you think I just hit people with the repair tool as that claim is false. I have also clearly stated what ds-x-guru or the rest of the team does has nothing to do with me.


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## coops024 (Dec 5, 2007)

Voted good !

When all said and done (and I do agree with everyones comments)

This card cost me £70 and its saved me £100's (you all know what I'm talking about here)

I have played some real shit games released on the ds that I otherwise may have bought !

So far the DS-X (with all its lack of support) has played every game I've tried (admitted some with the arm7 fix and not tried Geo Wars yet )

But my first batch DS-X (along with The Game 07) has run like a dream ! It was the first slot 1 available and it did the job i paid for.

the lack of support and small memory has forced me to buy a CycloDs Evolution + 4GB class 6 Micro SDHC card as my new flash card but I will keep my DS-X and still use it ... and should a new Firmware come out then great ... If not then it was still a good purchase

Whilst I agree with pirating (as I see it as a victumless crime) I can see why the DS-X team wont do things just because someone wants a game for free ! It is a privelidge not a right ! we would do well to remember that ! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




And as a side note I bought an R4 for my friend for his birthday and the DS-X has had better compatability with single cart download play than the R4 ??? go figure ?

Just my 2 pence ! 

Let the Flaming begin


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## amptor (Dec 12, 2007)

DS-X seems kinda pointless when we have a lot of cards out now that come with USB adapters and also the AceKard RPG kills this, with USB and TF slot all in one.  However G6 Real is of course a better card too but has no USB port built in.


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