Hacking Flashcart Suggestions

[Jamstruth]

A friend of mine at school wants me to buy and set up a flashcart for them and are willing to pay me for the trouble (I do love to profit from my nerdiness) but I'm not too sure of what flashcart I should say would be the best for them. They're running on a DSlite, looking for a 4GB MicroSD and probably to spend as little as possible.

He just wants something capable of running 90% of ROMs clean (he also wants Pokemon Black/White but I'll patch that up for him) but something cheap so SupercardDSTwo is out. I can easily recommend a SCDSOne(i) (assuming the i variant works on the DSlite) as I have one myself and it works perfectly but I know it isn't the cheapest. Having no experience with the rest of the carts I figured I would ask you guys.

For instance is it better to buy an Acekard 2.1 or an Acekard2i? He doesn't need any DSi support but does the old cart run a different firmware and been abandoned?
Also I know that the R4 is severely outdated and doesn't work too great but certain models have been given a new lease of life by the WoodR4 firmware. Which ones on Shoptemp support this and is the firmware as good as anything the Acekard or Supercard teams can come up with?
Are M3s still a viable option in the grand scheme of things? I've heard they're very slow to update firmwares etc.

I know there a lot of threads that ask this every single day but, hey, every person wants something different from their cart so the threads are justified...kinda.

Thanks in advance

 

[pichon64]

Cheap option: Shoptemp's R4 (R4 DS Revolution, 6 dollars) for using with Wood R4.
Little more expensive option: Acekard 2i (15 dollars) (just in case there's a future DSi, DSi XL, who knows?)

I would say M3i Zero, but they're so slowly these days...

 

[Lacius]

As far as I know, any R4 capable of running Wood R4 can't use an SD card larger than 2GB, so that's out. I would just go with the Acekard 2 or 2i.

 

[RupeeClock]

If he could settle for just 2gb memory I would be recommending the original $6 R4DS, but since he wants 4gb and as little spending as possible, Acekard 2i is definitely the best option here.

AKAIO 1.7.1 is very compatible, and with 1.8.0 hopefully around the corner, will just get better.

 

[The Catboy]

I would go with the R4 1.1 from shoptemp
http://shoptemp.com/products/R4-DS-Revolut...-Lite-p-29.html

 

[Jamstruth]

So for the Acekard the best firmware to use is AKAIO. Okeydokey, I'll have to find a decent download link to give him (probably the filetrip page)
Should I get the Acekard2i or just Acekard2? Acekard 2 will probably do since Shoptemp still have them listed and he's just got a DSL

 

[RupeeClock]

So for the Acekard the best firmware to use is AKAIO. Okeydokey, I'll have to find a decent download link to give him (probably the filetrip page)
Should I get the Acekard2i or just Acekard2? Acekard 2 will probably do since Shoptemp still have them listed and he's just got a DSL

Whether or not to get the 2i or the 2.1 is mostly an issue of build quality.
2.1 has a clipped case whilst 2i has a glued case. Some people seem to prefer either.

Actually, I very recently ordered a 2i, and I felt the build quality was actually much studier than ones bought about a year ago.

 

[Jamstruth]

That's the other thing. Need one that's got good support and build quality (don't want to just get him some cheap crap that'll break easy) with an easy to use interface. I'll be doing the initial setup for him but he'll need to be able to understand how to use the thing (not hard I know but it can be a bugger to explain some things)

If the Acekard2i is sturdier he'll be better with that. Might figure out how much a SCDSTwo costs in GBP just to give him the option. I mean I figured out that an SCDSOne with a 4gb SD card costs about £20 on Shoptemp (I paid £25 for just the cart from a British reseller) so price may not be as big an issue as I thought. But giving him the cheapest option should work out good.
Thanks for the help anyway, it seems Acekard is the way to go at the cheap end of the spectrum.

 

[RoMee]

the R4 with wood if he has a dslite
http://shoptemp.com/products/R4-DS-Revolut...-Lite-p-29.html
but if he has a DSi.. than get the acekard2i

I say the R4 first because the acekard needs that paper trick..so if you're buying it for someone who dosen't know about flash cart, than they might think you bought them a shitty cart
in other words, it's got to be ghetto rigged to be detected by the dsi

 

[RupeeClock]

the R4 with wood if he has a dslite
http://shoptemp.com/products/R4-DS-Revolut...-Lite-p-29.html
but if he has a DSi.. than get the acekard2i

I say the R4 first because the acekard needs that paper trick..so if you're buying it for someone who dosen't know about flash cart, than they might think you bought them a shitty cart
in other words, it's got to be ghetto rigged to be detected by the dsi

The paper fix should only be relevant for older Acekard 2i's, the one I got recently was study, and a pretty tight fit in my DS Lite.

 

[RoMee]

the R4 with wood if he has a dslite
http://shoptemp.com/products/R4-DS-Revolut...-Lite-p-29.html
but if he has a DSi.. than get the acekard2i

I say the R4 first because the acekard needs that paper trick..so if you're buying it for someone who dosen't know about flash cart, than they might think you bought them a shitty cart
in other words, it's got to be ghetto rigged to be detected by the dsi

The paper fix should only be relevant for older Acekard 2i's, the one I got recently was study, and a pretty tight fit in my DS Lite.

I don't really mind the paper trick, but someone new to flash cart would see it as crappy and "ghetto" rigged. I had this problem when I sold my acekard, the guy kept complaining that it don't work..so I just took it back.
and everyone I know with an acekard uses the paper trick

but I guess you can try it and hope it don't need the paper trick

 

[Jamstruth]

Sent him a list of the various options from cheapest to most expensive (R4, Acekard, SCDSOne,SCDSTwo). The rest of the carts are a bit iffy from what i've heard DSTT, EDGE and M3 (maybe not M3 as much but slow updates isn't good)

 

[pichon64]

... and everyone I know with an acekard uses the paper trick

but I guess you can try it and hope it don't need the paper trick

Sounds funny, but I have an Acekard 2i and a M3i Zero and I had to use the 'paper trick' with the M3i! Insane. The Acekard works like a charm.

 

[Ethevion]

I just got my Acekard 2i yesterday for my DS Lite and it works great. I ordered it flashed and all I had to do was put the games into the folder, very easy.

 

[Rydian]

The 2i's UI is very easy to use.

 

[Jamstruth]

Sent him a list of the carts and he's decided to go with the DSTwo. £30 for a flashcart that can emulate GBA and SNES well and a 4GB MicroSD isn't too bad going in my opinion. It'll also give me an excuse to try out the SCDSTwo emulators

 

[croagunk.master]

Get an acekard and put AKAIO on it. Awesome compatibility

 

[Nobunaga]

Well buy a DSTWO it s the best flash card so far :/

 

[haddad]

Out of the flashcards u listed there. Acekard is the best, but DS2 is highly recommended 0_o