Hacking DSTWO battery killer

[el cut]

I have some issues

- DSTWO is a real battery life killer, especially in-game menu isn't economical.
- Moderately low battery life even not using Gba Emu

They say that the CPU is not running at all with NDS games but i don´t belive.

So, people what do u think?

 

[Zetta_x]

How old is the DS? Maybe the battery is running out of life?

What's the percentage difference in battery life between commercial games and the actual DStwo.

I think there are certain functions of the DStwo that require the CPU during playing DS games like real time save and free cheat functions. That's just a guess based on the functions of other flashcards.

 

[indask8]

The Extra CPU/RAM is part of the design of the flashcart, so even if it's not really in use, there is still some voltage going through.

 

[Overlord Nadrian]

The CPU is only really used when you pop up the in-game menu, or when you use the GBA emulator (and soon, when you watch videos), otherwise it just sits there, doing nothing.

 

[Zetta_x]

The Extra CPU/RAM is part of the design of the flashcart, so even if it's not really in use, there is still some voltage going through.

Are you sure that the voltage is being consumed though? I'm looking straight up at a light that is off and I am pretty sure it is not consuming any electricity. It may or may not be used as a medium for electric current, but if it is not using it's processing power, it won't consume any of that electricity. Unless electricity is consumed for the distance it must move, I haven't taken electromagnetism yet, but the electricity used by traveling would be minimal especially for such a small card.

 

[Terminator02]

I've never really tested anything, but I get fine battery life, if el cut could post how many hours he gets, how long he had his ds, etc.
I don't think the DSTWO is the problem

 

[el cut]

Hi, i have
1 nds lite 2 years.
1 m3 simply (wood r4) battery life - 9 hrs
1 SDtwo (nds mode) - 6 1/2 - 7 hrs
1 SDtwo (gba mode) - 3 1/2 - 4 hrs - I know this is normal.

I know my ds lite it's old and it´s few hrs, but i think theres no reason for that.


Sorry my english, not native.

 

[Zetta_x]

Yeah it would be nice if there was an extensive test and data was in percentage with respect to without the DStwo

Find how long it takes for the battery to die during a commercial game (call it X)
Find how long it takes for the battery to die during the DStwo (call it Y)

100% - ((X - Y)/X * 100)%

or

1 + ((X-Y)/X)

Example:
someone with a new DS
X = 8 hours
Y = 6 hours

100% - ((X - Y)/X * 100)% = 100% - ((8 - 6)/8 * 100)% = 100% - (2/8 * 100)% = 100% - 25% = 75%

=> You get about 75% or 3/4 the battery time with the DStwo compared to commercial games.

The reason why we have percentages because the battery wears out after a while, so people posting 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours may have several factors that aren't seen or calculated for. When you do percentages, we keep things proportional.

Take in example of someone who only has 4 hours of battery life on commercial games, we can expect them to have 3 hours of DStwo life keeping the same proportions.

Another way to look at this is to use this method to see the multiplier of battery consumed while using the DStwo keeping the same variables and examples:

1 + ((X-Y)/X)
1 + ((8-6)/8) = 1 + 2/8 = 5/4 = 1.25

So we can expect power consumption to be about 1.25 times as much as commercial games.

If someone really wants to know about how much less battery life you have, please charge up your DS all the way, time how long it takes for the battery to die on commercial games. Charge all the way back up, then use the DStwo and re-time. Post your results here. I need at least 15 people to do this to even draw a semi-accurate conclusion.

 

[Terminator02]

Thanks for that wall of text Zetta, lol, but seriously, he can barely speak english, is he supposed to understand that? and I might test it out, but I would just leave the games idle.

 

[Zetta_x]

Thanks for that wall of text Zetta, lol, but seriously, he can barely speak english, is he supposed to understand that? and I might test it out, but I would just leave the games idle.


QUOTE(PharaohsVizier @ Jun 30 2010, 02:05 AM) Errrr, it's not tough to understand. I don't think it was really necessary to type all that out zetta, most people understand the concept of percentage, not to mention it would have taken you all of 30 seconds to do that yourself with his results.

Oh snaps, I was just posting that in general to people reading this thread instead of him in particular, he posted within a minute I posted and completely didn't even see he responded lol. My post took at least a minute to type of hence I had not had the chance to read his post. I feel like I have to clarify myself whenever I attempt to explain anything since I have been on GBA temp, no point in stopping now

Judging by his post, it looks like there is a significant enough drainage in NDS mode. (75% the batterylife of an R4), maybe there is a failure of execution of the processor or maybe it's just designed to use more electricity?

 

[CannonFoddr]

If someone really wants to know about how much less battery life you have, please charge up your DS all the way, time how long it takes for the battery to die on commercial games. Charge all the way back up, then use the DStwo and re-time. Post your results here. I need at least 15 people to do this to even draw a semi-accurate conclusion.

Well I might try this - just to see how much I get, just not to sure I fancy hanging around waiting to see exactly when the battery dies (especially if it's possibly over 8hours)

Also a few ground rules need making such as....
> do you want us actually playing the games or just let it 'idle' ??
> what brightness level do you want us set it to ??
> Any particular GBA game

My suggestions are 'Idle' & 'Max brightness' (to find the SHORTEST battery life) but as for game - any1 knows a GBA that had long intro that repeated or one that known to have a drain on battery ??

 

[thegame07]

The battery lasts very long for me on my dsi XL. I can't tell the diffrence from using my other flash cards with it. My dsi XL is brand new though so the battery might just be perfect atm hence I don't notice it.

 

[el cut]

Thanks for that wall of text Zetta, lol, but seriously, he can barely speak english, is he supposed to understand that? and I might test it out, but I would just leave the games idle.

^^6 jeje i can read just fine, my problem it´s to speak/write, so jeje sorry.

So, i think i can just shut up and play. =D thx anyway.

 

[CannonFoddr]

Just a quick update (although the battery hasn't gone totally flat - yet)

DSi (fully charged), Brightness FULL, Volume LOW, running 'Metroid - Zero Mission' intro only (i.e. idling) with NDS-GBA on default settings (WiFi turned off)

Got red light after only ~2h30m - still waitng for flat battery even @ 3hrs

EDIT: Just got flashing red light @ 3h17mins; Just dies @ 3hrs20mins

 

[YayMii]

CannonFoddr, your results are approximately 85% of the DSi's battery life (according to Nintendo's official data, which says 4hours at full brightness).

That sounds pretty good

 

[CannonFoddr]

Further update....

DSLite (fully charged), Brightness FULL, Volume LOW, running 'Metroid - Zero Mission' intro only (i.e. idling) with NDS-GBA on default settings
Red Light @ 3hrs 10mins; DSLite died @ 4hrs exactly (well it was actually 4hr 00m 35secs)

Not sure where you (YayMii) got your Nintendo's official data info from - but the info I found is -
DSi battery life:

• Light Level Lowest: 9-14Hrs
  Light Level Low: 8-12hrs
  Light Level Med: 6-9Hrs
  Light Level high:4-6Hrs
  Light Level Highest: 3-4Hrs

DSLite battery life:

• Light Level Lowest: 15-19Hrs
  Light Level Low: 10-15hrs
  Light Level high:7-11Hrs
  Light Level Highest: 5-8Hrs

 

[gameguy95]

^that is total BS because i play my DSi on lowest light with volume off all the time and i still barely get over 5 hours

 

[CannonFoddr]

^that is total BS because i play my DSi on lowest light with volume off all the time and i still barely get over 5 hour

What's BS - My results or Nintendos specs ???
& are you using a genuine game or a flashcard ??

I've actually managed to find the Nintendo actual specs for each system and that also confirms what I've said above

 

[Windaga]

Those sound about right for me. I use my DSi on the second to highest Brightness setting, and I've gotten about 5 1/2 hours out of it before I get too afraid of it dying on me and run to the nearest charger.

My close friend on the other hand runs his at the brightest setting and just barely tops 3 hours and 35 minutes. Either way, your findings are pretty dead on. Thanks for the list : )

 

[YayMii]

Not sure where you (YayMii) got your Nintendo's official data info from - but the info I found is -
DSi battery life:
...
Light Level Highest: 3-4Hrs

Yep, that's the result that I got. I think I got it from Kotaku or something (they reported it as official).

BTW, we don't exactly know how much more battery it takes unless you test with a retail game on the same DSi.