Hacking A Guide for Buying Flashcarts

[Zarkz]

Many times I have looked at this forum and see this annoying question " What flashcart should I get?" and I have decided to make a topic explaining what I think are good for the prices

*NOTE* ALL Flashcarts on this list support MicroSDHC

Most Expensive : CycloDS - It may cost around $50, but it's features are well worth it in the long run

Above Average : Supercard DS One - From what I've heard and seen, this cart has more features than most carts, but not as many as CycloDS. You can get this for around $25

Cheap : AceKard 2 - From what I've seen and heard, this cart has basic features, but for around $12, it's a good cart for casual gamers. This is like the new R4, because of it's price and features, but it has microsdhc

Super Cheap : Top Toy DS (DSTT?) This Cart has basic features, and a below average menu, but that's a given, seeing it's low price of around $7, but fakes do exist

Carts NEVER to buy
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R4DS - This cart is discontinued, the only ones sold are clones, has no more updates, and is more expensive then AceKard 2, so its not worth it at all.
_____________________________________________

Places to buy from:
CycloDS : http://dealwoot.com/index.php?target=categ...category_id=168
Supercard DS One : http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5097
AceKard 2 : http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16142
Top Toy DS : http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15613

All have free shipping and are lowest price

EDIT 1 : Can a mod please fix the spelling of Flashcart in the title?

 

[rasputin]

Actually the supercard has the most features, though the features on the cyclo-ds are considered superior to the same ones found on the supercard and easier to operate, but then again some of these features have been on the supercard for a long long time like 'real time game guide', where as it's brand new on the cyclo-ds and clearly much better.

Cyclo-ds has 'real time cheats' missing from it's armoury, also I'm not sure about muti-save on the cyclo-ds, it didn't have it a while a go but it might have now.

 

[lancelotedge497]

I love the list. Very accurate and informative.
These were the exact flashcarts I was deciding on when I bought my first. All are very good.
(I bought me the CycloDS!)

 

[Zarkz]

Yea, I found which ones were reccomended and made a list, pretty effictive

 

[Bri]

The DSTT isn't recommended that often since it's only about $5 less than the Acekard 2 -- not really worth the savings considering the DSTT lacks some of the most basic features and important that every other flash cart has like alphabetic sorting of the games and folder support. It's menu also lags badly when you have a lot of games on your microSD card.

The SCDS1 gets a fair number of complaints from its owners about its rather sluggish and overly complicated menu system.

The Edge is recommended fairly often. It's comparable to the Acekard 2, but in my opinion its menu system isn't as nice as the Acekard 2's and it costs more than the Acekard 2. Still, it's slightly sturdier than the Acekard 2 for someone who feels really strongly about that sort of thing. If you can't tell, I prefer the Acekard 2, but the Edge is still worth mentioning.

Also of note, the Acekard 2 and DSTT you linked to do not come with a microSD reader. For about 50 cents more, you can get them with a microSD reader from Dealextreme. For someone looking to buy who doesn't already have a microSD reader, that's kind of important.

-Bri

 

[sj_wizard_94]

i was just wondering does the edge ds team release firmware updates often?

 

[Bri]

About as often as the CycloDS (that is to say, fairly often). Which lends credence to speculation that the Edge is a stripped-down clone of the CycloDS. The Edge's menu is nearly identical to the CycloDS (some believe the Edge team steals the CycloDS menu and modifies it slightly to remove some of the CycloDS functions that its hardware can't support).

-Bri

 

[Zarkz]

The DSTT isn't recommended that often since it's only about $5 less than the Acekard 2 -- not really worth the savings considering the DSTT lacks some of the most basic features and important that every other flash cart has like alphabetic sorting of the games and folder support. It's menu also lags badly when you have a lot of games on your microSD card.

The SCDS1 gets a fair number of complaints from its owners about its rather sluggish and overly complicated menu system.

The Edge is recommended fairly often. It's comparable to the Acekard 2, but in my opinion its menu system isn't as nice as the Acekard 2's and it costs more than the Acekard 2. Still, it's slightly sturdier than the Acekard 2 for someone who feels really strongly about that sort of thing. If you can't tell, I prefer the Acekard 2, but the Edge is still worth mentioning.

Also of note, the Acekard 2 and DSTT you linked to do not come with a microSD reader. For about 50 cents more, you can get them with a microSD reader from Dealextreme. For someone looking to buy who doesn't already have a microSD reader, that's kind of important.

-Bri

The other Acekard 2 isnt a 2.1
I think(not sure) the other dstt is a fake or sumthing

 

[Bri]

The Acekard 2 sold with the microSD reader should be an Acekard 2.1, although DX will occasionally slip in an older flash cart if they are trying to get rid of older stock. If they do that, you can return it for an Acekard 2.1 since the one they picture on that page is an Acekard 2.1 (you can tell from the black PCB).

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11811

The DSTT with the microSD reader shouldn't be a fake, although again sometimes people do receive fakes (it doesn't matter whether they order it with a card reader or not). Again, if you receive a fake, you can return it for a real one (and usually DX will let you keep the fake).

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10289

That said, don't get a DSTT. MicroSD reader or not, fake or not, the DSTT isn't worth the savings over other flash carts.

-Bri

 

[Slowking]

Actually the supercard has the most features, though the features on the cyclo-ds are considered superior to the same ones found on the supercard and easier to operate, but then again some of these features have been on the supercard for a long long time like 'real time game guide', where as it's brand new on the cyclo-ds and clearly much better.

Cyclo-ds has 'real time cheats' missing from it's armoury, also I'm not sure about muti-save on the cyclo-ds, it didn't have it a while a go but it might have now.
Well the cheats are Real Time in the sence, that you can turn them on and off in the ingame menu. Well atleast the cheat selection is designed the way that you can actually use it on the cyclo.

Afaik it hast multi save but it's pretty well hidden.
Btw. the Cyclo is the only card I know that has 100% Wii connectivity. And that's a major factor for me (I often use My Pokemon Ranch and Pokemon battle Revolution)

What really ticks me off about the supercard is, that they have a lot of features, but all those features, like the ingame guide and the cheat selection are pretty crappy and they never get improved. So you are stuck with beta features forever.
QUOTE(Bri @ Dec 12 2008, 04:19 AM) About as often as the CycloDS (that is to say, fairly often). Which lends credence to speculation that the Edge is a stripped-down clone of the CycloDS. The Edge's menu is nearly identical to the CycloDS (some believe the Edge team steals the CycloDS menu and modifies it slightly to remove some of the CycloDS functions that its hardware can't support).

And others (me) think that's it's a budget card made by the Cyclo-Team. Ofcourse they will never say it, since people would start demanding cyclo features for the EDGE. It's a very cummon practice that name brand producers have their cheap-brands on the side (often in the cheap brands there is even the same inside as in the expensive ones.

)


@The List
I really think that you should remove the DSTT and get the EDGE on there instead. The EDGE is a good thing if you want something that can be trown at walls and won't break, with a simple menu, if you buy it for a child for example.
The DSTT on the other hand really hasn't anything going for it. Everything it can do the AK2 can do better and more. And that little price difference shouldn't bother anybody.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Where's the M3DS Real on this list? It's a great average-priced card; right up there with the Supercard. For people who like attractive GUIs, this is perfect. I think it should be added to the list. Anyone agree?

 

[naveedy]

I totally agree, it needs to be on here.

 

[Bri]

Given that there's no official English release of Sakura yet (even though it's been out for many months now), I personally find it difficult to recommend that firmware at this time. I find Sakura to be highly over-rated in general, but I would hold off on any final judgment until an English version comes out.

At the moment, I don't think Sakura is a very good choice for most people considering the alternatives.

-Bri