Hacking AceKard 2i Purchase

[nPrime2000]

Hi, new to the forums and new to homebrew. Any help would be appreciated.

After debating between the Acekard 2i and the SCDS2, I think I'm going to grab the AK. $20 cheaper, better build quality, lots of support. Good call?


Now, I ONLY have a 3ds and no access to a DSlite. So pre-installed firmware is a must.

Is this site reliable? And does anybody know if it indeed ships with the necessary 3ds firmware compatibility?

http://www.realhotstuff.com/acekard-free-shipping-p-321.html

I would also like to put AKAIO on the card. Reading up on it suggests that it definitely adds functionality and compatibility. Can this be done without a DSlite?


Any comments, recommendations, etc. are very much appreciated. DANKE!

 

[Hakoda]

Yes, the site is very reputable.

Other members may not think so due to the fact that a while go they sold fake Acekards. However, this was not there fault; their supplier was misinformed. They no longer do this and the site is still a great place to buy from for a US-based store.

AKAIO is the software, its lies on the SD card so it can be installed from any computer. AKAIO will work so long as the bootloader is able to boot on the console.

 

[nPrime2000]

So I'm half way there :-) Is the advertised "Pre-updated for DSi v1.4.2 and 3DS v2.0" what I need then to play it on my 3ds? If it is, AKAIO should be no problem, correct?

I was also curious: How does the Acekard log on the 3DS? As a flashcart? As the individual games? Is this something to be concerned about?

 

[Hakoda]

So I'm half way there :-) Is the advertised "Pre-updated for DSi v1.4.2 and 3DS v2.0" what I need then to play it on my 3ds? If it is, AKAIO should be no problem, correct?

I was also curious: How does the Acekard log on the 3DS? As a flashcart? As the individual games? Is this something to be concerned about?

"Pre-updated for DSi v1.4.2 and 3DS v2.0" means that the Acekard's bootloader is up-to-date for those versions. However, I believe the latest DSi FW is 1.4.3 and the latest 3DS FW is 2.1. Luckily, the AK2i was not blocked in the transition between 3DS FW 2.0 & 3DS FW 2.1 so you're safe. The bootloader & AKAIO are independent; as I said before, so long as the bootloader works, AKAIO will launch.

As for 3DS logging, wait for someone who owns a 3DS to show up. I don't own one.

 

[nPrime2000]

Much appreciated! Happy with your Acekard 2i?

 

[Hakoda]

Much appreciated! Happy with your Acekard 2i?

I own only an AK2.1, which was the version before the AK2i that only works on DS Lites & DS Phats. The AK2.1 & AK2i still run the same version AKAIO, the only difference is that only the AK2i is compatible with Nintendo's latest lineup.

AKAIO is a wonderful software so yes, I'm very happy with it.

 

[nPrime2000]

Another quick question if its not too much trouble. I have a 4 gb micro sd. Is that sufficient or would your recommend bumping up to 8gb?

 

[tiggerlator]

Depends how many games you want on the card, 8gb is good for about 50 games.

 

[BenRK]

You can fit far more then 50 games on an 8GB card with or without trimming.

I personally would recommend going with at least an 8GB one IF you're going to put a lot of games on it as well as homebrew and multimedia. 4GBs will work perfectly fine as well.

 

[nPrime2000]

Nice. Maybe I'll just see how my 4gb treats me. Im not using it for multimedia, just DS roms.

 

[Themanhunt]

The DSTWO, imo, is the winner over the Acekard 2i. It has a few more features, especially a built in GBA/SNES emulator that runs of the cart itself and allows cheats to be used also.

 

[nPrime2000]

The DSTWO, imo, is the winner over the Acekard 2i. It has a few more features, especially a built in GBA/SNES emulator that runs of the cart itself and allows cheats to be used also.

Yeah, it was definitely a tough call. I was thinking SCDS2, but high price, cheaper build quality, and a wealth of features I didn't need, plus better compatibility through Acekard and Akaio pushed me toward Acekard 2i. I've already played SNES games and GBA games to death. I want to experience the DS library :-)

 

[Themanhunt]

Build quality is better with the DSTWO. Plus because it is bigger the chance of a contact issue is greatly reduce. But agreed, the price is quite high.

 

[nPrime2000]

Build quality is better with the DSTWO. Plus because it is bigger the chance of a contact issue is greatly reduce. But agreed, the price is quite high.

Weird. Most of the reports I read and videos I saw suggested the build quality in the DS2 was lacking. Held together by a jewelers screw, no glue, can pop open. And so big that it can get logged in the system. Acekard was more to actual DS size and was glued together and wouldn't pop apart.

Guess we'll see :-)

 

[loco365]

As for 3DS logging, wait for someone who owns a 3DS to show up. I don't own one.

It will log as the exploited game that the loader uses. Right now, it is DORASU, and will show up as that in the play log.

 

[nPrime2000]

Lots of love for the SuperCard. Is it really worth paying double the Acekard?

 

[Another World]

completely different cards, completely different category, can't compare the two.

acekard is an excellent choice and the akaio firmware has close to a 100% compatibility for roms and homebrew. scds2 offers onboard ram and cpu which allows for gba, snes, mame, atari, and other emulation. it also have more options like in-game guide, real time save, slow-motion, fuzzy cheat finder, etc. it has a high compatibility but i've always been able to find things that don't work on it.

it comes down to if you want to pay for to get more and if you will even use the extra features. so instead of asking do some research on what the SCDS2 offers. the more you read the less you have to ask and the easier it is for us to give you a straight answer.

give this a read: http://gbatemp.net/t232281-supercard-dstwo-review

*note that the video software was never reviewed, i ran out of time.

-another world

 

[Saralizy]

Much appreciated! Happy with your Acekard 2i?

Yes,as i am a student,i don't have enogh money to choose a superard dstwo though i know it is a wonderful card.However after i choosed my ak2i,i am happy with it as it works flawlessly on my DSi console...lollollol....XXD....

 

[nPrime2000]

completely different cards, completely different category, can't compare the two.

acekard is an excellent choice and the akaio firmware has close to a 100% compatibility for roms and homebrew. scds2 offers onboard ram and cpu which allows for gba, snes, mame, atari, and other emulation. it also have more options like in-game guide, real time save, slow-motion, fuzzy cheat finder, etc. it has a high compatibility but i've always been able to find things that don't work on it.

it comes down to if you want to pay for to get more and if you will even use the extra features. so instead of asking do some research on what the SCDS2 offers. the more you read the less you have to ask and the easier it is for us to give you a straight answer.

give this a read: http://gbatemp.net/t232281-supercard-dstwo-review

*note that the video software was never reviewed, i ran out of time.

-another world

Appreciated. The problem is I've been through these forums a hundred times and its hard to find a definitive answer. I know what both offer, but I only want to buy this once. I admittedly won't use half the features on the DS2, but I appreciate that the DS2s hardware is also 2 years newer. So it potentially has more room to grow. I have also read that the DS2 emulates more memory heavy DS games (like metal slug) faster. Is that true?

Also, I'm getting mixed reports on the build quality. I really don't want a half assed card that's going to fall apart or not connect (and definitely not come out of the 3ds)

Hence, I am torn. lol

 

[Another World]

if you aren't going to use the extra features then don't buy it. it sounds like you want high compatibility and the basic things to make gaming fun (like cheats, soft-reset, etc), which means you should grab the acekard and use akaio.

materials used on most flash kits after the r4 are crap. they use cheap plastic. but that cheap feeling doesn't mean the card isn't going to work correctly. the problem with the 2i is that the shell is poorly designed and causes some contact issues. you may get a 2i and have to use the paper trick for it to work. with the scds2 i've never had a contact issue.

if there is a version of metal slug that runs in the scds2 mame4all port, then yes it probably runs faster then using the neods emu. i can't confirm because i haven't messed with mame4all since beta testing it.

if you get a 2i make sure you get the hwid 81. email your reseller and make sure that is what they are stocking. you can't update the hwid44 for dsi firmware v1.4.3 and 3ds firmware v2.1

-another world