Hacking A few questions about buying a new R4

[shadowsofsilver]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a new R4 (or really any flash cart) of some type, as my really old R4 doesn't work properly in my 3DS (contacts too short), and the one I just waited 2.5 months for is dead on arrival...

First off, I've noticed now that I've done research this time that most people prefer the R4i Gold from r4ids.cn. Is this the for sure best, or are there others just as good or even better?

Second, which site should I be looking at to buy one of these while not having to wait ages for shipping? I live on the east side of the US, and I can't be bothered waiting another 2.5 months for a card after the one I just bought doesn't even work.

Third, what's the ideal price range to be looking for when buying these days? The bad one I bought was only $12, but I don't really know what they go for these days, last time I bought a flash cart before this was in 2009 and it was around $20.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sleet]

R4ids.cn is considered the best in its price range. But I'm of the opinion that you can't go wrong with most cards on the market today.

You can find some decently priced cards on ebay by searching "3ds sdhc".

 

[helltoast]

you CAN go wrong with R4iSDHC.com flashcarts (Lite, Dual-Core, Gold Pro, Snoopy, Upgrade). avoid them at all costs.

nowadays you have two options: R4i Gold 3DS RTS from R4iDS.cn and DSTWO. DSTWO kills the 3DS battery twice as fast and it's 40 bucks. so, unless you're looking for a specific DSTWO feature, yes, the R4i Gold 3DS RTS is the best option at $16. you could also settle for a R4i SDHC 3DS RTS (WiFi) from R4i-SDHC.com if you can find one locally.

the thing about flashcarts is that most stores ship them from China, even the ones based on the US. there are exception of course, but I'm not aware of any. most of the ones sold on eBay are from R4iSDHC.com, too.

 

[shadowsofsilver]

R4ids.cn is considered the best in its price range. But I'm of the opinion that you can't go wrong with most cards on the market today.

You can find some decently priced cards on ebay by searching "3ds sdhc".

you CAN go wrong with R4iSDHC.com flashcarts (Lite, Dual-Core, Gold Pro, Snoopy, Upgrade). avoid them at all costs.

nowadays you have two options: R4i Gold 3DS RTS from R4iDS.cn and DSTWO. DSTWO kills the 3DS battery twice as fast and it's 40 bucks. so, unless you're looking for a specific DSTWO feature, yes, the R4i Gold 3DS RTS is the best option at $16. you could also settle for a R4i SDHC 3DS RTS (WiFi) from R4i-SDHC.com if you can find one locally.

the thing about flashcarts is that most stores ship them from China, even the ones based on the US. there are exception of course, but I'm not aware of any. most of the ones sold on eBay are from R4iSDHC.com, too.

Hm, two very conflicting answers haha

Thank you both for your responses.

What exactly is the major problem with the R4iSDHC.com carts? Do they have a tendency to die suddenly, corrupt sd cards, do they have shady business practices or?

 

[Sleet]

Hm, two very conflicting answers haha

Thank you both for your responses.

What exactly is the major problem with the R4iSDHC.com carts? Do they have a tendency to die suddenly, corrupt sd cards, do they have shady business practices or?

R4iSDHC.com cards have a time limit (current kernel is set for 2018). It's easily bypassed by setting the clock back, which you can do even if the time limit is reached, but still. They weren't the first team to implement it. Menu is pretty clunky and it can't see games more than one folder deep.

Despite these I haven't really had problems. You can dual boot or even primary boot YSmenu to make this stuff negligible. Primary boot YSmenu bypasses the time limit.

Edit: for your info, "dual core" cards from r4isdhc.com.cn, r4isdhc.hk, & r4isdhc.in are not the same. They run a WOOD-based menu instead of r4isdhc.com's TT one and it works really well. Pretty much exactly like R4iGold's, except no RTS. No time limit either. But DON'T try to run YSmenu (or any other kernel) on these. There is no reason to and they could brick.

 

[dpad_5678]

you CAN go wrong with R4iSDHC.com flashcarts (Lite, Dual-Core, Gold Pro, Snoopy, Upgrade). avoid them at all costs.

nowadays you have two options: R4i Gold 3DS RTS from R4iDS.cn and DSTWO. DSTWO kills the 3DS battery twice as fast and it's 40 bucks. so, unless you're looking for a specific DSTWO feature, yes, the R4i Gold 3DS RTS is the best option at $16. you could also settle for a R4i SDHC 3DS RTS (WiFi) from R4i-SDHC.com if you can find one locally.

the thing about flashcarts is that most stores ship them from China, even the ones based on the US. there are exception of course, but I'm not aware of any. most of the ones sold on eBay are from R4iSDHC.com, too.

Dual Core is great

 

[helltoast]

Hm, two very conflicting answers haha

Thank you both for your responses.

What exactly is the major problem with the R4iSDHC.com carts? Do they have a tendency to die suddenly, corrupt sd cards, do they have shady business practices or?

other than what Sleet mentioned above, wacky compatibility. I've seen members reporting issues with games that ran fine for others. Oh, and I think Pokémon B2/W2 has issues with YSMenu, but only when running it on R4iSDHC.com flashcarts.

can't attest for R4iSDHC.com.cn/hk/in but they all fall under the 'others' category and the biggest problem with these flashcarts is that you could get an infinitely better one for roughly the same price.

Dual Core is great

not for 10 bucks it's not. you can get a R4i-SDHC.com for that.

 

[cvskid]

http://www.modchipsdirect.com/r4i-3ds-r4ds-wood.html

 

[Sleet]

other than what Sleet mentioned above, wacky compatibility. I've seen members reporting issues with games that ran fine for others. Oh, and I think Pokémon B2/W2 has issues with YSMenu, but only when running it on R4iSDHC.com flashcarts.

can't attest for R4iSDHC.com.cn/hk/in but they all fall under the 'others' category and the biggest problem with these flashcarts is that you could get an infinitely better one for roughly the same price.

You're right, Pokemon has some save issue supposedly due to micro SD speed. I don't agree that R4iGold is "infinitely better" but it does have RTS. On nds-card.com it's a few bucks more than r4isdhc.com.cn. Depends what OP is looking for.

 

[Hking0036]

I've had no problems with the r4i where my sdhc has had compatibility problems and messed around with my mSD before. You can get an r4i for like $15, it's worth the extra money to me. I got mine off of modchipsdirect, they took a day to process my money but after they shipped it it showed up really fast, like 3 or 4 days.

If you want the "best" in terms of features go for a super card but unless you want to play a choppy gba/snes emulator just get an r4i.