Hacking 1 slot or 2 slot?

[PeterFile]

I've decided to get the ex-4 deluxe and the R4.

^^ If I can't emulate snes/nes/gb/gbc/gba with these, I'd be so grateful if someone pointed it out before doing so.

Thanks for all your help, with out you guys I would still be in the dark.

If you're looking to do that, then just get a slot 2 device. It'll emulate SNES, NES, GB, GBC, GBA and the DS. You'll also be able to use DSLinux, plus use the extra RAM the slot 2 device gets you, and run all the other homebrew. The only real reason why you'd want a Slot 1 and Slot 2 would be to run the Opera browser, and for the 3in1 you can use rumble. To be honest, just take my advice and get a slot 2 device - you save money on things that you won't end up using much.

 

[Kuromadoshi]

Ah, then the slot 1 is basically a plus for people who want to use it between gba and ds?

And which slot 2 do you think I should get? Thanks.

 

[PeterFile]

I don't know what you mean by use it between DS and GBA, but if you want GBA emulation, then i'd recommend the M3 Lite (that's if you're using a DS Lite). If you're not too fussed about GBA, then i'd go with the Supercard Lite (again - if you've got the DS Lite). If you're using a DS Phat, then go with the Supercard Mini-SD, or the M3 Mini-SD. The same goes across all their slot 2 ranges - M3: GBA, DS, and homebrew and Supercard: DS, homebrew and poor GBA support compard to M3.

If you're into GBA and homebrew that uses the RAM (DS Linux for example) then stay away from the Supercard Rumble range and the M3 Professional range, as they have had the RAM removed so they can't run GBA games or use the added RAM.

If you decide to go with a Slot 2 device then you'll need a Pass Card device also. They won't set you back too much money. Myself, i've got a Neo MK4-Mini. Check the review page (http://gbatemp.net/?dynamic=8) and scroll down to find the passcard reviews.

 

[Kuromadoshi]

Now i'm really confused...

What is a passcard needed for?

And slot-2 is the gba slot, and slot-1 is ds slot right?

o.O; so... I always thought the ds-slot cards were more capable than the gba-slot cards because they were more advanced.

But if a 2-slot can emulate all those systems, AND run dslinux, what's the point of a slot-1 card besides the opera browser?

 

[Kuromadoshi]

Is there a list of slot-1 features and slot-2 features somewhere?
It'd help if I knew what I was talking about

 

[PeterFile]

I don't know of such a website, but i'll try and expain it. A passcard goes in the Slot 1, so that what's in Slot 2 can run in DS mode. You take out the passcard, and the flashcard will boot in GBA mode. You put in the flashcard and and the flashcard will boot in NDS mode.

The advantages of Slot 1 cards are that you don't need to buy a passcard, and with most cards it runs clean nds roms - you don't have to patch the roms before hand; just put the rom onto the micro-sd card and you can run it. However, with a Slot 2 card you need to patch the rom before hand, put the outputted file onto your card and you run that. Another advantage is that it frees up the Slot 2 for extra things to put in there, for example the rumble pack and the Ram cartridge that the Opera browser uses.

 

[Kuromadoshi]

Oh I see, so the passcard is only needed with slot-2, in order to have it boot in ds mode? And the difference between slot-1 and slot-2 is that you don't have to modify the roms in order for them to work on slot-1?

and a passcard frees up the slot-2 for those extra things right?

Also, I don't care for the rumble feature, so is the 3-in-1 still superior without it?

I also have a dslite, so I was wondering what slot-2 cards are the best for it that don't stick out of the slot.

thanks for all the info peterfile

I'd be so grateful if you could pm me an im or something so we could talk realtime. if not, you've been a great help.

 

[Kuromadoshi]

Wait, if the slot-2 requires a passcard,

Can I use any slot-2 if r4ds is in at the same time?

 

[Little]

The R4 has built in passcard... you can select "slot-2" from the R4 menu and it will boot the slot 2 =)

 

[Kuromadoshi]

ah thanks. ^^ So does the ex-4 deluxed and r4ds sound like good choices?

 

[georaldc]

Here's my take on this: I have an r4 already and that gives me near perfect ds emulation. I was thinking of getting an m3perfect and pairing it with my r4 but that thing costs some money. Then I found out about the ez 3in1 expansion. Very very cheap and works just like a slot 2 card, except it doesn't have any slot for memory cards. Instead it uses the microsd connected to your slot1 card (my r4). Slot2 cards have their own slot for memory, so having a slot2 card paired with a slot1 means you will need a separate sd card for both carts (more memory).

Another problem (not sure about this, people correct me if I'm wrong) is that it can only hold 1gba game at a time. You need to run an application on your r4 to access the gba roms placed on the r4 microsd, then choose what you want to play. The app will flash (or copy) the game chosen into the 3in1 expansion card's internal memory, w/c as said earlier can only hold one game. It then stays on the 3in1's memory, making it act like a real gba cart. If you wanted to play another game, you have to run the app again in your r4 to reflash/recopy a new gba executable (gba game, gba homebrew, emulator, etc) into the 3in1's internal memory, deleting the previous game. Flashing can take a couple of seconds depending on the size of the gba game you are copying over. With slot2 cards, you just need to copy the gba games you want into the slot2's sd card and run them off from there. Execution is a bit faster but I still prefer the 3in1 expansion due to costs. Again, Im not really sure if that's how the expansion pack works because I just ordered mine yesterday, I just read some reviews about it.

 

[Kuromadoshi]

I see... So the r4ds also acts as a passcard, leaving me the choice of a slot-2 to choose from. Many people say the 3-in-1 is a good choice, because of the rumble feature.

I don't really care for the rumble feature, unless it works with snes roms which I doubt it does.

(If i'm wrong, please tell me cause that would be amazing if it did

)

So at this point I am 100% definatelly going with an r4ds, but I'm torn between what I should get for slot-2.

All I use is a dslite, and I don't want it to stick out of the ds-lite.

If someone could please list the dslite slot-2 cards that go the best with r4ds, I would be so grateful.

thanks again.