Hacking Couple of questions on selected flashcards

[AxBattler]

Hello. Well, I've spent the last 5 hours or so reading various websites, comparisons and so on, but I am still having some difficulties deciding which flashcard to get.

I understand that the AceKard 2 is very popular, and it's very hard to argue at $11-ish delivered. With this in mind, most my questions are about this card:

1. I keep seeing posts praising AKAIO. What is AKAIO, and what makes it so awesome?
2. Other than DSi support, does the AceKard 2i introduce anything new to the AceKard 2? i.e. New functionality or problems. I have a DS Lite, but given how similarly priced the two are, I may just go for the 2i if it is the same/better simply with DSi support.
3. I know it's probably been beaten to death, and most people would say that it's comparing two products aimed at a different markets. Even so, at 5x the costs, does the CycloDS offer anything over the AceKard 2 other than real time saves and slow mo? I quite fancy real time saves, but not enough to justify the massive cost difference for something that will be obsolete if I ever end up with a DSi. But I would still like to know about other benefits the CycloDS may have.

Lastly, as I like the idea of real time saves, I also read up about the M3i Zero and the SuperCard DSONEi SDHC. They are more expensive, but still closer to the AceKard than the CycloDS, while supporting real time saves and slow mo. I have the following two questions:
4. This is a stupid one, but do I assume correctly that they will both work with a DS Lite?
5. Regarding the M3i Zero, what exactly is that Sakura thing. Is it in any way similar to the AKAIO?

Please keep in mind that I have never used a flashcard before.

Thanks for any replies

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

Hello. Well, I've spent the last 5 hours or so reading various websites, comparisons and so on, but I am still having some difficulties deciding which flashcard to get.

I understand that the AceKard 2 is very popular, and it's very hard to argue at $11-ish delivered. With this in mind, most my questions are about this card:

1. I keep seeing posts praising AKAIO. What is AKAIO, and what makes it so awesome?
2. Other than DSi support, does the AceKard 2i introduce anything new to the AceKard 2? i.e. New functionality or problems. I have a DS Lite, but given how similarly priced the two are, I may just go for the 2i if it is the same/better simply with DSi support.
3. I know it's probably been beaten to death, and most people would say that it's comparing two products aimed at a different markets. Even so, at 5x the costs, does the CycloDS offer anything over the AceKard 2 other than real time saves and slow mo? I quite fancy real time saves, but not enough to justify the massive cost difference for something that will be obsolete if I ever end up with a DSi. But I would still like to know about other benefits the CycloDS may have.

Lastly, as I like the idea of real time saves, I also read up about the M3i Zero and the SuperCard DSONEi SDHC. They are more expensive, but still closer to the AceKard than the CycloDS, while supporting real time saves and slow mo. I have the following two questions:
4. This is a stupid one, but do I assume correctly that they will both work with a DS Lite?
5. Regarding the M3i Zero, what exactly is that Sakura thing. Is it in any way similar to the AKAIO?

Please keep in mind that I have never used a flashcard before.

Thanks for any replies

1: AKAIO is a custom firmware for the Acekard. What makes it awesome is that it takes the good parts of the official ak interface, and improves it. And a lot more. It c an update via wifi for one thing. Lot more, but you'll have to find that yourself.
2: Acekard 2.1 and Acekard 2i are generally the same thing, just the 2i works on a DSi, whereas the Acekard 2.1 and below does not.
3: CycloDS doesn't have a DSi card out right now, so Iunno.
4: Yes.
5: I think the Sakura thing is...erm...iunno. Ask someone who has an M3i.

 

[Da-Bomb1]

1. AKAIO is an alternative firmware for the AK2 which is vastly superior. Better compatibility and a bunch of random, very cool features there, and, well, it's just better in just about every way.

2. Nope, it's the same thing, except with DSi support. Its build quality, though, is slightly reduced. Still basically the same thing though.

3. Well, there are other carts out there with some of the features the Cyclo has for less than half the price. I probably wouldn't go for the Cyclo, due to the rather insane price.

4. Yes, they work in a DS Lite.

5. Sakura is different from AKAIO because it's a completely different firmware, rather than just being pretty much the same thing improved. It's based off of Moonshell 2, has a much nicer interface (completely different.) and has some nice features. Overall, it's probably the best interface on a flashcart out there, I'd say.

Huh, I almost never answer questions like this.

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

Huh, I almost never answer questions like this.

That's why I usually do

 

[PettingZoo]

Eh, I have 2 M3 Reals and love them (Don't ask me why I have 2 lol) and a few other lower end type flashcarts and think that the M3 Real is a great choice. It pretty much does nearly all the features (Apart from Ingame Menu/Battery Saver/Misc.) of the Cyclo and has Sakura. Sakura is this. Sakura is the alternative firmware to the sluggish M3 Real Touchpod firmware and a few months ago (Correct me if I'm wrong o it was officially released in english (No more Japanese hacked version o. It has a ravishing GUI which there are many skins out there for, has sleek menu navigation and ROM/Media/Folder opening/launching. Personally it is my number 1 choice flashcart seeing as it is pretty reliable and sexy o:, though I do think if you want a good cheap flashcart which is packed full of features than go for the Ak2(i) or if you have money to burn than you might want to go for the Cyclo for all those tiny nifty features.

 

[AxBattler]

Thanks for the reply. Regarding point 3, in case I was not clear, I was assuming, based on comments that I have read that a 'CycloDSi' would probably require a new flashcard. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen but there is a risk that I may end up forking $60+ only to see a DSi compatible product in a few months time (or when/if I get a DSi). That's far more painful than replacing a $12 flashcard

My main question whether there are features CycloDS owners would miss if they ever end up having to use the AceKard 2.1 other than the commonly mentioned features of slow mo, and real time save

It may well be that someone will mention other features I am not aware of that'll makes it worth it's cost to me, but right now, the two features missing that I am aware of is worth perhaps $15-20 premium at most.

 

[clegion]

go ak2i a cyclo ds is not worth it for that kind of price
petting zoo where do you buy where your flash cart on oz ?

 

[Kalisiin]

Thanks for the reply. Regarding point 3, in case I was not clear, I was assuming, based on comments that I have read that a 'CycloDSi' would probably require a new flashcard. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen but there is a risk that I may end up forking $60+ only to see a DSi compatible product in a few months time (or when/if I get a DSi). That's far more painful than replacing a $12 flashcard

My main question whether there are features CycloDS owners would miss if they ever end up having to use the AceKard 2.1 other than the commonly mentioned features of slow mo, and real time save

It may well be that someone will mention other features I am not aware of that'll makes it worth it's cost to me, but right now, the two features missing that I am aware of is worth perhaps $15-20 premium at most.

http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/hb-ds-cycevo.html
They quote $44.97 on a Cyclo...and ships within 24 hours, according to their website...but never have dealt with them, dunno if they are any good...but you can't argue with 20 bucks cheaper for the same thing.

A quick Google search showed lots of places selling the Cyclo DS...for between 46 bucks and 53 bucks...so, 60 plus bucks...someone's charging too much!!

DealExtreme did not have any listing for the Cyclo, though.

 

[AxBattler]

Wow, fast replies. When I typed the last one, I was actually replying to the first reply I received. Thanks!

Apart from Ingame Menu/Battery Saver/Misc.

Is there a picture/good video that shows exactly what in game menu means? As I've never used a flashcart before, I am not entirely about the differences between the GUI. I sort of assumed that once you switch the DS, you get a selection of games stored in the Micro SD. And by pressing a combination of buttons in game, you have access to a menu where you can change the brightness/input cheat/save and so on. Or is the CycloDS the only one that can do that while playing a game?

And how does the Battery saver work? Is it something you enable, or is it that the CycloDS uses less power than other flashcart (something I have read)?

 

[DanTheManMS]

You're right in that when you power on the DS, you're presented with a list of games to run. This is the main menu that most people here are talking about (AKAIO, Sakura, etc). Once in-game, certain carts have in-game menus accessible with a button combination, but not all. The CycloDS Evolution has a full-out menu, while the Supercard DS just uses different button combinations for different functions (L+R+Start+DIRECTION usually). I don't know about most of the other flash carts when it comes to in-game menus. With regards to cheats, most flash carts have a global enable/disable, while the Supercard DS is the only one that can toggle individual cheats in-game (but managing the SCDS cheats is rather horrid so this isn't too big of a benefit).

You're right in that the CycloDS will never work on a DSi until they offer a brand new device.

Battery Saver is simply an option the CycloDS has to help improve battery life, though I believe it can potentially cause problems with certain games. In the past, the CycloDS was a battery hog, moreso than most other flash carts. With Battery Saver on, battery life is about the same as other flash carts (which is generally less than the battery life with official DS cartridges).