Hacking 3DS decapping fundraising topic.

[doorbell8423]

Its about $400 to scan a layer, the SOC has X number of layers so $2000 is actually an optimistic estimate.

if it has X number of layers and one layer is 400$ (don't know why, because its just picture taking on microscopic level, that's what bugs me) than that means they can scan 5 layers max, what if there are 10 layers or more, does that mean they did al of that for nothing or 5 layers are Ok? but it would mean it's not complete picture of SOC...
And are their really intend to buy NEW 3DS, i mean used ones or even broken ones have Chip, right...?
I mean, i say this because they can save money for one more layer

 

[kehkou]

if it has X number of layers and one layer is 400$ (don't know why, because its just picture taking on microscopic level, that's what bugs me) than that means they can scan 5 layers max, what if there are 10 layers or more, does that mean they did al of that for nothing or 5 layers are Ok? but it would mean it's not complete picture of SOC...
And are their really intend to buy NEW 3DS, i mean used ones or even broken ones have Chip, right...?
I mean, i say this because they can save money for one more layer

If they decide they need more info or the SOC has more layers, they will decide if they want the remaining layers imaged, at which point they will prolly continue the fundraiser.

 

[doorbell8423]

Ok, but i still don't understand why is scanning a layer so expensive

 

[kehkou]

Ok, but i still don't understand why is scanning a layer so expensive

Its extreamly tedious work, removing epoxy WITHOUT damaging the chip, power consumption, labor, who knows what else. There are many of these firms so its easy to conclude that these are competitive prices.

 

[Thorhian]

Ok, but i still don't understand why is scanning a layer so expensive

Hmmm, where removing epoxy, probably using electron microscopes, and where cutting a transistor dense chip that has two ARM CPUs, a Pica 200 GPU, and probably other "stuff" packed into a "chip" about only several centimeters squared big on your 3ds mainboard. Check out this page and youll see how big that SOC is, and remember how many components are in there.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+3DS+Teardown/5029/2

Thats a lot of work to do on such a small thing, and its well protected by plenty of physical materials that could easily destroy whatever is inside the SoC if not removed properly. Your dealing with things at a very small scale, and its extremely delicate when compared to the scale of life we see the world in.

 

[Rydian]

Just to put it in perspective, transistors/gates on a CPU/GPU often number in the millions at the least, and their size is measured in nanometers. You do not want to scratch a raw chip, ever.

 

[Kakkoii]

Just to put it in perspective, transistors/gates on a CPU/GPU often number in the millions at the least, and their size is measured in nanometers. You do not want to scratch a raw chip, ever.

And not just that, you also have to work in a high grade dust-free environment, as even the smallest little particle of matter will create a huge blotch on the image. These are highly trained technicians/scientists working with very expensive tools and laboratories, it's not that taking the picture itself costs a lot of money, it's about helping pay for the expensive equipment, facility and personal that will be doing the job.

 

[Rydian]

Oh yeah, totally forgot it's gotta' be a hermetically-sealed environment and shit. Used to be that they'd have to wear full-on bodysuits in a clean room, but I think most things (in electronics at least) have moved to the box-with-attached-gloves-you-reach-into thing now since it's way less hassle.

 

[Pleng]

One thing to bear in mind is that PayPal are withholding quite a large percentage of the funds. Now the person running the decapping project has said he will cover this, but who knows if his financial situation may have changed in the mean time?

 

[Thorhian]

Oh yeah, totally forgot it's gotta' be a hermetically-sealed environment and shit. Used to be that they'd have to wear full-on bodysuits in a clean room, but I think most things (in electronics at least) have moved to the box-with-attached-gloves-you-reach-into thing now since it's way less hassle.

You mean inside a inert atmosphere containment? Yeah, Im not sure how that would play out, since you have to get so many different little micro tools in the containment. I wonder where we can find out what this company uses specifically...

 

[T3GZdev]

Hey Reggie, how is it going?

hi there samus aran.

cant wait to port my projects to 3DS when homebrew comes.
hopefully get to put together the 1st file browser.

 

[doorbell8423]

Oh wow, there are a lot of things to decapp (if that's how you spell it) a chip that small

hi there samus aran.

cant wait to port my projects to 3DS when homebrew comes.
hopefully get to put together the 1st file browser.

You make homebrew for 3DS? that's cool what do you got so far?

 

[T3GZdev]

You make homebrew for 3DS? that's cool what do you got so far?

actually i do homebrew for DS/DSi, but oneday 3ds.

 

[doorbell8423]

actually i do homebrew for DS/DSi, but oneday 3ds.

Ah man i cant wait for 3DS to be hacked.. i see infinite possibilities for homebrew.. and its quite powerful system with 3D screen and awesome sound.. aaand a cyrcle pad

 

[hisagishi]

Ah man i cant wait for 3DS to be hacked.. i see infinite possibilities for homebrew.. and its quite powerful system with 3D screen and awesome sound.. aaand a cyrcle pad

Thats what they said about the DS, to be honest the homebrew on it was pretty shit. Game controls were bad, graphics for most homebrew games was on par with lemmings, etc.

 

[T3GZdev]

Ah man i cant wait for 3DS to be hacked.. i see infinite possibilities for homebrew.. and its quite powerful system with 3D screen and awesome sound.. aaand a cyrcle pad

same here, i could improve sandbox engine dsi-hybrid so much, well it would be sandbox engine 3DS then lol.

Thats what they said about the DS, to be honest the homebrew on it was pretty shit. Game controls were bad, graphics for most homebrew games was on par with lemmings, etc.

& thats why i dev on ds/DSi primarily, i wanted to up the scales of what a ds/dsi homebrew could be graphics, control's, features, ect. as close to retail as possible. maybe even multiplayer.
also seems noone else is working on DSi.

 

[landmasta]

I hope you guys like dinars. It's good to know something like this is happening.

 

[BigMittens]

Whats the deal? It's been quite a while since we have reached $2000.

 

[Pedeadstrian]

Whats the deal? It's been quite a while since we have reached $2000.

You're as much out of the loop as everyone else is.

 

[BigMittens]

You're as much out of the loop as everyone else is.

Seems pretty sketchy to recieve $2000 dollars in donations and not give anyone an update on why there is delay (that there shouldn't be in the first place).