Hacking DsTwo vs Acekard

[kiafazool]

hey guys
can someone please list the pro's and con's of getting a acekard or a dstwo or do a comparison
i dont know what to get

 

[RupeeClock]

It's basically the difference between a standard package and premium.

Acekard 2i will get you basic ROM playback with only the standard cheats support and soft-reset, and excellent compatibility. This is cheap and effective.

The DS Two is a premium with many dedicated functions like real-time saves, real-time guides (.txt/.bmp), free cheats, video playback, GBA emulation, and soon SNES emulation. You pay more to get more.

I hope that helps, now use my affiliate link.

 

[Phoenix Goddess]

You could just look at the reviews of both on this site and see the full features of both, then decide what you'll be spending money on.

 

[iamthemilkman]

The DSTWO offers more functions, but I also found it to be more iffy with compatibility. While mostly everything worked well enough, games had more hitches. The firmware also doesn't seem as speedy as the latest AKAIO release.

If you just want the basic functions, go for an Acekard 2i. If you want a more flawed but beefier experience (like some GBA compatibility), go with the DSTWO.

Both are well supported. Neither seem to get as constant updates as Wood R4, however.

 

[RupeeClock]

The DSTWO offers more functions, but I also found it to be more iffy with compatibility. While mostly everything worked well enough, games had more hitches. The firmware also doesn't seem as speedy as the latest AKAIO release.

If you just want the basic functions, go for an Acekard 2i. If you want a more flawed but beefier experience (like some GBA compatibility), go with the DSTWO.

Both are well supported. Neither seem to get as constant updates as Wood R4, however.

Myself, I was thinking of getting a Supercard DS Two just for the benefit of GBA/SNES emulation, whilst using my Acekard 2i for actual DS games.

 

[kiafazool]

is it okay to buy from priceangels?
there is a reason why im choosing priceangels over shoptemp and it is that i need a hdmi cable and shoptemp doesn't have those

 

[tk_saturn]

Price angels are OK, but HDMI cables can be picked anywhere cheaply.

According to your signature you have a DS Lite. Remember the Acekard 2i etc can play GBA games on DS Lite with a 3in1, and should play the GBA games better as it's not emulating them. An Acekard 2i with a 3in1 is cheaper than the DSTWO.

If you plan on getting a DSi/ DSi XL, then get a DSTWO. Otherwise you can get an Acekard, and if you later decide you want to play GBA games you can get a 3in1.

 

[iamthemilkman]

The DSTWO offers more functions, but I also found it to be more iffy with compatibility. While mostly everything worked well enough, games had more hitches. The firmware also doesn't seem as speedy as the latest AKAIO release.

If you just want the basic functions, go for an Acekard 2i. If you want a more flawed but beefier experience (like some GBA compatibility), go with the DSTWO.

Both are well supported. Neither seem to get as constant updates as Wood R4, however.

Myself, I was thinking of getting a Supercard DS Two just for the benefit of GBA/SNES emulation, whilst using my Acekard 2i for actual DS games.

That's a very sound decision. Having a few carts is always a plus due to AP, too. Some get patches quicker.

 

[kiafazool]

Price angels are OK, but HDMI cables can be picked anywhere cheaply.

According to your signature you have a DS Lite. Remember the Acekard 2i etc can play GBA games on DS Lite with a 3in1, and should play the GBA games better as it's not emulating them. An Acekard 2i with a 3in1 is cheaper than the DSTWO.

If you plan on getting a DSi/ DSi XL, then get a DSTWO. Otherwise you can get an Acekard, and if you later decide you want to play GBA games you can get a 3in1.

i like the dstwo
but the problem is the price
anyone have coupons?

 

[tk_saturn]

You're unlikely to see any coupons. Where the DSTWO is still new, stock will still be in short supply.

There have been a few complaints in the Supercard forum, so i'd wait for atleast the 2nd-3rd batch so Supercard can iron out any issues as it's still a new cart.

 

[Pliskron]

The DSTwo is a completely different approach from the Acekard. The Acekard is tight, fast and every feature works perfectly. The DSTwo has many superb features that the Acekard dosen't have like RTS and it's advanced cheat functions but the Supercard is much more buggy. The DSTwo does however seem to have an edge on playing new releases without the need of updates.

 

[RupeeClock]

Price angels are OK, but HDMI cables can be picked anywhere cheaply.

According to your signature you have a DS Lite. Remember the Acekard 2i etc can play GBA games on DS Lite with a 3in1, and should play the GBA games better as it's not emulating them. An Acekard 2i with a 3in1 is cheaper than the DSTWO.

If you plan on getting a DSi/ DSi XL, then get a DSTWO. Otherwise you can get an Acekard, and if you later decide you want to play GBA games you can get a 3in1.

i like the dstwo
but the problem is the price
anyone have coupons?

If there were any Shoptemp coupons, they'd be on here.
The price will always be an issue since it's just an expensive card to manufacture and resell. Although other places sell them cheaper than shoptemp does right now that price difference might fade with time.

 

[kiafazool]

is ak2i safe to buy? (in terms of software wise, akaio and official firmware)

 

[tk_saturn]

is ak2i safe to buy? (in terms of software wise, akaio and official firmware)

Sure it's fine, as long as it's a genuine cart. There was only one person who claimed to have a clone from PriceAngels, and I think that was a misunderstanding. Otherwise you have ShopTemp where you'll know you won't get a clone from.

AKAIO is still in development and are now also releasing loader updates as new games are released, which should make it one of the most upto date. The official team are in hibernation though and have no reason to push out fresh firmware while AKAIO is around.

If you aren't familar with the Acekard, I have a guide http://gbatemp.net/t218103-updated-n00b-gu...up-your-acekard

 

[unopepito06]

I am in the same boat, and I am really torn. I decide I'm sure i want the Supercard DSTWO, then somebody says "It's buggy, and AKAIO is updated more", so then I think maybe I should get an AK2i, and wait for the next batch, as mentioned before. But what if the AKAIO team stop updating, then it's useless.

However, now some more iffy things have come to light about the DSTWO, including a possible chip manufacturing error. The AK2i is so cheap, I'll probably just buy one to carry me over until everything's ironed out. However, I forgot everything I read the other day about different stores and their shipping times, so I'm gonna have to go do some more research

Will probably end up going to Priceangels...

 

[anaxs]

It's basically the difference between a standard package and premium.

Acekard 2i will get you basic ROM playback with only the standard cheats support and soft-reset, and excellent compatibility. This is cheap and effective.

The DS Two is a premium with many dedicated functions like real-time saves, real-time guides (.txt/.bmp), free cheats, video playback, GBA emulation, and soon SNES emulation. You pay more to get more.

I hope that helps, now use my affiliate link.

he just put it in a nut shell for you

 

[coattails]

As an owner of both the Acekard2i and the DSTWO, I can safely say that I will never touch my Acekard again unless there is the unlikely situation that a game is not supported by the DSTWO but is supported by the AK2i.

While the Acekard is a phenomenal cart user-friendly cart for those looking for something that plays DS games, it really lacks in features in comparison to the DSTWO. Basically the only feature that it has over the DSTWO is Wi-Fi loader/cheat updating, which I have never used and will probably never find the need to (AKAIO hasn't updated its loaders for over 2 months now anyways). However, I do find it more user-friendly than the DSTWO, specifically the ability to list games by their 'Internal Names' and the ability to add a 'favourite' game shortcut to the root menu of your microSD.

The DSTWO is currently the commercial rom-playing flashcart with the most functionality and features. Even newer games like POP: The Forgotten Sands (which does not currently work with the Ak2i) work perfectly with this flash cart.

Save states are performed and loaded faster on this cart than any other, and it's surprising how useful the in-game menu can be when you want to check the time while playing a DS game. Although the GBA emulator for the DSTWO isn't perfect, it currently runs Fire Emblem and The Sacred Stones basically perfect with sound off, and it runs it with a slight frameskip with sound on. This trend generally applies to most GBA roms, and you can get basically perfect emulation with sound off.

The build quality of the DSTWO isn't the best though (the microSD slot is still miles better than the acekard). I've yet to have contact issues with my DSTWO like the ones I've had with my Acekard, but the DSTWO almost split into two when I took it out of its packaging since it's only held together by 1 screw. The cart is a bit thick.. and the only protection between the cart chips and the outside world is a small sticker. Some people have complained that it gets stuck in their DS slots, but I've had no problem with this happening and mine comes out just fine.

Lots of people have been complaining that a lot of the DSTWO's features are lacking... but I would rather underdeveloped features than non-existant features. The main features that people have been bitching about are e-book support, avi playback support, no current included snes emulator, and a lacking GBA emulator. I personally KNOW that all of these features will be fixed in the near future, specifically the first 3. GBA compatibility might be improved, but I doubt it will be able to play all games flawlessly without frameskip, ever.

Bottom-line: The DSTWO is a much better cart than the Acekard2i, although you could buy 2 Acekards for the price of 1 DSTWO.

This was written before AKAIO 1.7 though. With 1.7 out, I still believe that Acekard compatibility is just ON PAR with the DSTWO's. I also find that AKAIO 1.7's settings menu is a little buggy and it doesn't always save your settings now for some reason.

Bottom-bottom-line: The DSTWO has everything the Ak2i does, minus a few nitpicky things like listing roms by internal name, softresetting without using the touch screen, having rom shortcuts, or having a calendar in the main menu. The Ak2i doesn't have a lot of things that the DSTWO does like GBA emulation, an in-game menu (w/ clock), free cheat, real time guide, and exceptionally fast savestates. On top of that, SNES Emulation, PDF support, and DivX/XviD playback are still to come.

If you don't find any of the extra DSTWO features necessary, than the Acekard is for you. I just know that I'm probably never going to touch my Acekard again since I've gotten my DSTWO.

 

[Cortador]

As an owner of both the Acekard2i and the DSTWO, I can safely say that I will never touch my Acekard again unless there is the unlikely situation that a game is not supported by the DSTWO but is supported by the AK2i.

While the Acekard is a phenomenal cart user-friendly cart for those looking for something that plays DS games, it really lacks in features in comparison to the DSTWO. Basically the only feature that it has over the DSTWO is Wi-Fi loader/cheat updating, which I have never used and will probably never find the need to (AKAIO hasn't updated its loaders for over 2 months now anyways). However, I do find it more user-friendly than the DSTWO, specifically the ability to list games by their 'Internal Names' and the ability to add a 'favourite' game shortcut to the root menu of your microSD.

The DSTWO is currently the commercial rom-playing flashcart with the most functionality and features. Even newer games like POP: The Forgotten Sands (which does not currently work with the Ak2i) work perfectly with this flash cart.

Save states are performed and loaded faster on this cart than any other, and it's surprising how useful the in-game menu can be when you want to check the time while playing a DS game. Although the GBA emulator for the DSTWO isn't perfect, it currently runs Fire Emblem and The Sacred Stones basically perfect with sound off, and it runs it with a slight frameskip with sound on. This trend generally applies to most GBA roms, and you can get basically perfect emulation with sound off.

The build quality of the DSTWO isn't the best though (the microSD slot is still miles better than the acekard). I've yet to have contact issues with my DSTWO like the ones I've had with my Acekard, but the DSTWO almost split into two when I took it out of its packaging since it's only held together by 1 screw. The cart is a bit thick.. and the only protection between the cart chips and the outside world is a small sticker. Some people have complained that it gets stuck in their DS slots, but I've had no problem with this happening and mine comes out just fine.

Lots of people have been complaining that a lot of the DSTWO's features are lacking... but I would rather underdeveloped features than non-existant features. The main features that people have been bitching about are e-book support, avi playback support, no current included snes emulator, and a lacking GBA emulator. I personally KNOW that all of these features will be fixed in the near future, specifically the first 3. GBA compatibility might be improved, but I doubt it will be able to play all games flawlessly without frameskip, ever.

Bottom-line: The DSTWO is a much better cart than the Acekard2i, although you could buy 2 Acekards for the price of 1 DSTWO.

This was written before AKAIO 1.7 though. With 1.7 out, I still believe that Acekard compatibility is just ON PAR with the DSTWO's. I also find that AKAIO 1.7's settings menu is a little buggy and it doesn't always save your settings now for some reason.

Bottom-bottom-line: The DSTWO has everything the Ak2i does, minus a few nitpicky things like listing roms by internal name, softresetting without using the touch screen, having rom shortcuts, or having a calendar in the main menu. The Ak2i doesn't have a lot of things that the DSTWO does like GBA emulation, an in-game menu (w/ clock), free cheat, real time guide, and exceptionally fast savestates. On top of that, SNES Emulation, PDF support, and DivX/XviD playback are still to come.

If you don't find any of the extra DSTWO features necessary, than the Acekard is for you. I just know that I'm probably never going to touch my Acekard again since I've gotten my DSTWO.

That's pretty much what happened. I have an Acecard2i but still bought a DSTwo, and i'll probably not be going back to the Acecard.

 

[CannonFoddr]

^ totally agree with post of the post above by coattails -I also had/have a ak2i and now a DSTwo

One of the main reasons I brought the DSTwo was for the GBA emulation (on a DSi), Yes it's not perfect but you get that with any emulator for any system - but it does the job & does it quite well (even better support if you use the game_config.txt file)

I've have had some issues with the DSTwo, mainly with corrupted files on the MSD - but that could be anything, not because of the DStwo
(the MSD is ~2 years old now, & is constantly inserted/removed into flashcart so it could be on it way out, or it could be the MSD card reader that causing a problem), since the problem usually happens when transferring the MSD from PC to flashcard ( & yes - I DO use 'safely remove...' ), & the Homebrew support is also a bit flaky (especially if you run it as a plugin on a DSi)

Ok so it doesn't have the 'extras' yet of Video/Text support etc - but it does have moonshell as a stopgap for now, & those will turn up eventually - but overall I happy with it

@ unopepito06:

However, now some more iffy things have come to light about the DSTWO, including a possible chip manufacturing error.

Where did you read that ??? - I've not seen anything about that here or on the SC forums.

 

[Juanmatron]

Acekard2i: AKAIO
SuperCard DSTWO: GBA Emulation and good features.