Hacking EZ 3 in 1?

[kevenka]

Is it true that you can only keep one gba game saved at time?*meaning you can only play 1 gba or it will delete after you play another*
Thanks,
Kevin

 

[DanTheManMS]

Yes, but the save data is backed up, plus you can store as many *.gba files on your slot-1 microSD card as you want. If you want a slot-2 device with its own memory card, you'd want to look away from the 3in1 and focus instead on devices like the M3 Perfect and EZ-Flash IV.

 

[Bri]

To clarify, the 3-in-1 can only store 1 save in its internal memory, but that save is written to a file on your slot1 microSD card and loaded from your slot1 microSD card the next time you launch the game.

What that means is that each of your GBA games will its own save file which will be kept updated and properly restored the next time you launch the game, even if you switch back and forth between different games.

-Bri

 

[kevenka]

Thanks Bri,
That was what I was looking for.
Compatibility wise though, is the 3 in 1 have any failure rates yet?

 

[Bri]

Do you mean is the 3-in-1 compatible with all GBA games? It should be compatible with most GBA games, but I'm not sure if there are any notable GBA games that don't work on it. You might do a Google search and see if you can find a compatibility list for it.

I also don't know how much compatibility is affected by the loader you use. It's possible that loaders like GBA ExpLoader might be able to patch certain GBA games that have incompatibilities to make them compatible with the 3-in-1 where they otherwise wouldn't be. If that's the case, compatibility would depend as much on the loader you use as the 3-in-1 hardware.

-Bri

 

[kevenka]

Yea, that's what I was asking about, how good is its compatability with gba games. (I'll google it up)

"GBA ROMs can be written to the PSRAM unless the ROM is larger than the 128 Mbit capacity and/or has a save type of 1 Mbit or larger. All GBA ROMs can be written into the 256 Mbit NOR flash memory."

Meaning that if I want to play a rom bigger than 128...I'll have to use the NOR flash memory?

 

[Bri]

Yup! It can be set up to be done automatically with GBA ExpLoader, but any rom bigger than 128Mbit (although I understand that there aren't that many GBA games that size) have to be loaded into the slow NOR memory (which can take up to 2 minutes). The good news is that once loaded into NOR, the game can be played as many times as you want without having to reload it.

Personally, I prefer the eWin 2-in-1 over the EZ 3-in-1 -- no NOR memory to worry about (the eWin has 256 Mbit of the faster volatile memory).

-Bri

 

[PS3sixty]

I got my 3-in-1 yesterday and I like it. The largest games I play are 16MB so I don't even need to use the NOR, plus I can use rumble without having to swap to my rumble pak. I can't even find a black ewin 2-in-1 for sale anyways.

 

[kevenka]

Well the 3 in 1 seems more popular...but I just want the GBA compatibility stuff...Should I just focus on the ewin though? I think I saw it had a bad review.

 

[SkankyYankee]

Well the 3 in 1 seems more popular...but I just want the GBA compatibility stuff...Should I just focus on the ewin though? I think I saw it had a bad review.

Most of the good GBA games are under 128 so having to use NOR memory for 2 games isnt that inconvenient. The rumble on the 3 in 1 is powerful, but it ends up buzzing louder than the normal one. The RAM pack can be used with snemulds as well.

 

[kevenka]

To tell you the truth, I don't really care about the rumble feature though, I mainly want the GBA compatibilty and any extra ram is bonus to me

(Still should lean towards EZ 3 in 1?)

 

[SkankyYankee]

i don't end up using it most of the time, maybe for pinball on low setting but not all the time. It also drains your battery a bit faster.

 

[kevenka]

Shanky, you got any personal opinions with how good the ewin 2 in 1 is with gba support?

 

[Fat D]

would the M3 Expansion Pack not be superior to the eWin one in every single category? more SRAM, RTC, comes with 3 replacement shells...

 

[kevenka]

Didn't know that but Bri earlier stated that he personally preferred Ewin 2 in 1 so I was just asking

I could truly care less about the rumble feature ^^

 

[Bri]

I prefer the eWin because 1) it has more volatile memory than the EZ 3-in-1 which is useful for playing larger GBA games and homebrew that can utilize the extra memory; 2) the lack of NOR memory makes the eWin easier to use (you don't have to worry about which memory you're using -- it's just simpler); and 3) it's cheaper (around $14).

That said, the EZ does have rumble and it can be argued that even a crappy rumble is better than no rumble at all. There is an eWin rumble pak available in a separate cart for like $4 that is better than the EZ 3-in-1 rumble though.

That said, the EZ 3-in-1 is a fine product and is definitely easier to get ahold of (particularly in black). Usually psxboy.com sells the eWin 2-in-1 but have been out of them for a couple weeks now.

I don't know much about the M3 expansion pack, but I don't think it's as well-supported as the EZ 3-in-1 and the eWin 2-in-1 (a lot of cart menu systems support these two GBA expansion carts and no others). I don't think the amount of SRAM is an issue in the slightest (it just means that a data file is saved on the microSD card instead of in SRAM memory to identify which game a particular save file goes to).

Note also that the amount of volatile memory is not of any interest to the Opera browser which can only access 8MB regardless of how much memory the expansion cart has. Homebrew, however, can utilize extra expansion memory if it is available.

-Bri

 

[kevenka]

Thanks Bri...but see...the only thing that concerns me isn't so much as the difficulty of messing with playing games, but more like, which one can actually play more roms. I want an Ewin b/c of how you describe it is more for gaming and homebrews...but if that's the case, why do so many people have an EZ 3 in 1 when apparently the rumble feature in that device isn't that great =/ and the Ewin seems to be better with the GBA?

Edit: Shouldn't it be like a 50/50 split with the amount of people getting expansion packs(B/c one seems to have the feature with the rumble pack while the other has better internal memory space for better gaming convenience)? Yet, so much more people have an EZ 3 in 1...Can anybody explain why?

 

[gratefulbuddy]

1. Availability
2. Ability to have game in NOR and not have to flash every time. Good if you will be playing one game on and off for a while.
3. More "features". People like features. Even features they will rarely or never use.

I have both and use 3n1s in both my DSLites. I would rather be able to use NOR. For the amount of time of spend flashing GBA roms the speed advantage of the EWIN is insignificant. And doubly so since I avoid flashing as often when using the NOR.

 

[Tanas]

Didn't know that but Bri earlier stated that he personally preferred Ewin 2 in 1 so I was just asking

I could truly care less about the rumble feature ^^

The rumble in the 3 in 1 is terrible anyway, when playing space invaders extreme the rumble is so noisy, it ruins the game.

 

[kevenka]

I suppose the reason not many people have ewin 2 in 1 isn't b/c its worse but b/c they can't find it anymore?