Hacking Yet another where do I buy thread ;)

[baz8755]

As I don't want to use gateway or risk bricking my 3DS I guess that the DSTwo and not the DSTwo+ is my best option.

As I am in the UK I am having difficulty finding a trustworthy reseller so was wondering what the lovely people on this forum would recommend.

Cheers

Baz

 

[CheatFreak47]

http://nds-card.com/ is who I ordered from, though I live in the United States.
It did take a bit to get here (~3 weeks or so) but I used their free shipping offer which means it wasn't exactly priority mail, lol.
It ships from China of course, so it'll take a bit, but the guys over at nds-card.com are trustworthy, especially if you're a GBATemp user.

Truthfully there's no negative to ordering a DSTwo+, the Plus models have better build quality and are effectively the same if the DSTwo is what you really want. Honestly the extra features of the DSTwo may be worth it to some people, however depending on who you ask getting a cheaper cart may be better in some cases, especially if you have a New 3DS with CFW, which you can use to run better emulators, like RetroArch.

I personally love my Supercard DSTwo+, though I don't actually use it's Gateway emulation features at all- no reason to when you have better free cfw alternatives such as Arm9LoaderHax + AuReiNAND.

Funnily enough, I actually have one of those weird versions of the DSTwo+ that actually shipped out as the Original Supercard DSTwo, in the standard DSTwo packaging and I didn't even know it was a plus until shortly before the Plus came out. And you wouldn't even know the difference.

 

[Osmosis]

Get the DSTwo+ !!!!

Hands down.

The old DSTwo doesn't really handle SNES as well as it should. The DSTwo+ just blows the old out of the water. Even though the + can also do 3DS, you're really better off Arm9LoaderHaxing your 3DS.

The DSTwo+ still holds up even without the 3DS ability. Makes for one little powerful retro cart. Thus not needing VirtualConsole on your 3DS. Plus you can play the rare ROM releases which Nintendon't doesn't intend on ever porting.

If wanting 3DS without hacking your system, go Sky3DS+.

You can go to their websites and look under RESELLERS link for a distributor nearest you. I personally buy from the Canadian supplier out of experience (USA here). As for UK sellers, I would ask someone who actually lives in the UK and see what they recommend.

Of course, NDS-Card.com is always recommended because they help sponsor GBATemp.net. So if you're going to drop extra on shipping, that's the safest bet.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Why don't you want the dstwo plus?

 

[Osmosis]

As I don't want to use gateway or risk bricking my 3DS I guess that the DSTwo and not the DSTwo+ is my best option.

As I am in the UK I am having difficulty finding a trustworthy reseller so was wondering what the lovely people on this forum would recommend.

Cheers

Baz

The DSTwo+ costs the same and is readily more available. The old DSTwo doesn't have the .3DS capability. But if you still want a DSTwo for the NES/SNES/BGC/GBC/DS emulation, go ahead and buy the DSTwo+ anyways.

The DSTwo+ can now handle SNES and other games at a much more sufficient rate. I highly recommend it. I know, I have the old DSTwo. I love it, but I'm actually considering a DSTwo+ at this point.

If you want .3DS games without hacking your system, then get a Sky3DS+ (orange buttons).

Otherwise, I recommend hacking your system. To do so you need firmware 10.7 or less.

Best wishes!! And happy gaming!!

 

[Mikemk]

The + has double flash and cpld, which improves emulator performance somehow (they never would give me a clear answer on exactly what it does), and reduces load times in games (loading the next level off the rom. Not loading roms off the SD)

 

[Osmosis]

The + has double flash and cpld, which improves emulator performance somehow (they never would give me a clear answer on exactly what it does), and reduces load times in games (loading the next level off the rom. Not loading roms off the SD)

More threads (what most PC users would call "cores"), more happiness.

As far as I can tell, it actually runs SNES (16-bit) games MUCH better even on an old 3DSXL. With the New3DSXL you have all the DSTwo+ cores AND the New3DSXL cores. Which is why the New3DSXL can play SNES VC games. The Old3DSXL cannot. HOWEVER, the O3DSXL can use the DSTwo+ to play SNES games!!! Yay!

Many of the emulators that DSTwo uses allow for you to select how many "threads" to use which can speed up or slow down a game. The DSTwo+ gives you more, while the old is limited to what it had.

More memory (not memory as in mSD memory), more games.

Another reason to buy both a New3DSXL & DSTwo+:

You A9LH the New3DSXL for CIA/3DS games and let the DSTwo+ run all your VirtualConsole games (even the ones they refuse to put on eShop). If you don't understand what I'm talking about, google "BS Zelda" or check out YouTube and search "ClanOfTheGreyWolf" and watch the entire playlist of "16-Bit Gems". There were SNES games that made it to other systems (Genesis, TurboGRFX-16) which were MUCH better than the SNES versions. BS games... well, you'll see. There's a Zelda game you just can't buy. Need I mention being able to play translated versions of all the NES/SNES/GB/GBC/GBA/etc. Japanese games we'll never see on the American market (Mother). Some made it to EU, but most of EU were US ports. However, sometimes the EU market got what the US didn't from Japan (Gaia Trilogy). Do watch "16-Bit Gems". It'll explain everything.

I love using a certain ROM emulator site for all my NES/SNES/etc. games. They even have a master pack for each system you can DL and then pick and choose your ROMs from it. Saves time. Again, google it. I can't name/link to it because of forum rules. So I won't. Before I used my PC to emu my games, but the 3DS & DSTwo changed all of that.

And yes, the DSTwo can play all of them. The DSTwo+ can do it better. Especially for the 16-bit games (SNES, TGFX16, GENESIS/MASTER DRIVE). You can even play MAME arcade games like X-Men and Turtles In Time from the arcade and not just the Nintendo ports. As for N64...

...I'm shocked that Superkard didn't focus on the N64 rather than the 3DS. They would have covered a market that nobody else has.

Ahh the N64... the birth of Smash Bros.

How many N64 spaceship controllers have I fixed just so ppl can still play it... (eBay, check it 4 cheap parts)

Hope this helps...

 

[Mikemk]

So much misinformation in this post!

More threads (what most PC users would call "cores"), more happiness.

Ok, but the DSTwo+ has the same single core CPU.

With the New3DSXL you have all the DSTwo+ cores AND the New3DSXL cores.

The DS2 runs in ds mode. When it's running, there is a 396 MHz MIPS core (not cores) belonging to the ds2, and the DS cores (67 MHz ARM9+33MHz ARM7). Also, due to the half quality SDK, only the MIPS core is usable by .plg homebrew (.nds homebrew only gets the DS cores).

Many of the emulators that DSTwo uses allow for you to select how many "threads" to use which can speed up or slow down a game.

Name one.

The DSTwo+ gives you more, while the old is limited to what it had.

Again, they're the same CPU.

If you don't understand what I'm talking about, google "BS Zelda"

There are no emulators available on either the DSTwo or 3DS capable of playing BS Zelda. If you have one, feel free to share.

To be clear to osmosis, the OP, and future Googlers: The DSTwo has 5 distinct pieces of hardware: CPU (used for GBA and SNES emulators, and a few rare homebrew), RAM (same use), CPLD (used for emulating a physical cartridge when loading nds ROMs, and maybe used somehow for accelerating the official emulators), flash (used for . . . something?), and microsd. The + version improves the CPLD, flash, and possibly faster RAM (though not more RAM). It also includes firmware enhancements in handling the microSD.

 

[Osmosis]

I'm glad you cleared that up.
The things I have to do to get a response around here..oh, and I brought traffic? Yay. I should play dumb more often. Then maybe some new software could get made to actually USE the damn core.

While I was being liberal in using lamen terms, I apologize if I happened to misdirect anyone's "understanding" of how the world works. Don't want to shatter anyone's dreams of what could be...

Name one that doesn't. I do it all the time. NES, SNES, GBA, DS. Sure, they're emulated threads, so now with twice the CPLID and FLASH...

...oh wait, sorry, I meant to say "four times the amount of flash"...

...there should be more emulated threads. So is it really a hardware problem? Or a software one?

Which goes right back to the N64 issue. I'm still shocked they didn't aim for N64 instead of hacki... no, don't want to step on toes... lobbing on GW.

CATSFC is a SNes9x emu. BS Zelda works on SNes9x. Maybe not the official version, at least not well, but now we have more to work with. Yet it all comes down to software which no one wants to make...?? It's almost like GW at this point. Soon...

In fact, prove to me it doesn't. Save me the time and money of having to buy a new DSTwo+. Please...

I even asked nicely.

Although, I am glad you chimed in. I was pretty close to actually buying a DSTwo+. So yeah, thanks... I can now take my $40 and go buy cotton balls to put on my fingers while typing in a GBATemp forum. Duly noted..

 

[Mikemk]

NES, SNES, GBA, DS. Sure, they're emulated threads

You're used a DS emulator on your DS?
Seriously though, we're talking about DS and DS2 emulators, not Windows emulators. Also, while tempgba and catsfc allow you to choose the clock speed, they're single threaded.

...oh wait, sorry, I meant to say "four times the amount of flash"...

Um, I'll give you that, not that homebrew can access it anyway.

...there should be more emulated threads.

Well, technically there's three threads, 1 on each CPU, 1 of which homebrew can use (2 in DS mode)

So is it really a hardware problem? Or a software one?

Neither. It's not a problem. Homebrew runs on bare metal. Trying to run more threads than cores just reduces performance.

Which goes right back to the N64 issue. I'm still shocked they didn't aim for N64 instead of hacki... no, don't want to step on toes... lobbing on GW.

I'm really not sure what you're talking about...

CATSFC is a SNes9x emu. BS Zelda works on SNes9x.

It's based on an early version of snes9x which was faster but had less compatibility. Most the bs zelda roms just hang at a black screen; a few get to the main menu and crash. Trust me, I've tried.

In fact, prove to me it doesn't.

Prove that what doesn't what?

Save me the time and money of having to buy a new DSTwo+. Please...

I even asked nicely.

Although, I am glad you chimed in. I was pretty close to actually buying a DSTwo+. So yeah, thanks... I can now take my $40 and go buy cotton balls to put on my fingers while typing in a GBATemp forum. Duly noted..

I would highly encourage buying the ds2+.

 

[Osmosis]

I would highly encourage buying the ds2+.

Why? So I can't play the games I actually want to play? I mean, you've pretty much laid it out. Not worth buying anymore. Besides, the cartridge itself is cheapo and doesn't make proper contact. So yeah...

Bigger CPLID, x4 FLASH, 32GB memory... all crap. Thanks! Not wasting my $40 anymore. You convinced me. I'm sure Superkard is proud of you.

Oh, and people who use a DS flashcart on a DS, not crazy. Neither are people who use a DS flashcart on a 3DS. Not sure what your problem is...

But hey, who the hell cares, it's a P.O.S. anyways...

"Why buy a Ford? Well, you can't screw in it because it's too small, the radio is crap, and it always breaks down...

...Buy our NEW crappy model now!"