Hacking GBA Expansion worth getting?

[Synchromatic]

The original setup that I have is an original R4 and the 3-in-1. I ordered an M3i Zero off of DX, because the R4 is getting incredibly outdated for me. I read that Rudolph's gbaexploader does not work with the M3i, without a patch. Are there any benefits on the M3 GBA Expansion over the 3-in-1 that would make me spend the money on it?

 

[dhjohn]

Well, compatibility is near perfect, and games can be loaded from the menu. Also, it has cheats (assuming you have a cheat file for that game), and rts (though rts doesn't work with all gba games).

~dhjohn

 

[Synchromatic]

I heard that there is no NOR on the expansion. I think I'll hold off on getting it, unless something major happens, because I do plan on also getting a DSi eventually. Thanks for the insight though.

 

[dhjohn]

Yes, there is no nor, so you have to load the game each time you want to play it. Games do seem to load faster then when I was using Akaio and the 3in1, so its not too bad unless the game is really big.

Also, there should be an older version of GBAExploader that doesn't have the M3 line locked out, though I've never tried it myself. I sold my Ackard and 3in1 to a friend when I got the m3i.
~dhjohn

 

[Joe88]

there is a patch you can use to remove the M3 block on newer versions

you should really get a m3 real/zero to take advantage of all the features though :|

 

[Synchromatic]

there is a patch you can use to remove the M3 block on newer versions

you should really get a m3 real/zero to take advantage of all the features though :|

Wait, do you mean the GBA expansion? I already said that I was getting an M3i Zero.

 

[Joe88]

then yes, its worth getting imo

has a bit of extra features:
Real Time Clock
Real Time Save
GBA Cheats
Built in Loading Support
32MB of RAM (the regular EZ Flash [not +] only has 16M to my knowledge)

 

[Archimdae]

"I ordered an M3i Zero off of DX" "Are there any benefits on the M3 GBA Expansion over the 3-in-1 that would make me spend the money on it?"

I'm confused, you ordered an M3i Zero and are asking about the GBA Expansion packs which can't be used on DSi because there is no GBA slot... Am I just completely missing something?

 

[Todderbert]

"I ordered an M3i Zero off of DX" "Are there any benefits on the M3 GBA Expansion over the 3-in-1 that would make me spend the money on it?"

I'm confused, you ordered an M3i Zero and are asking about the GBA Expansion packs which can't be used on DSi because there is no GBA slot... Am I just completely missing something?

Yes, he is most likely going to use it on a DS lite.

 

[dhjohn]

"I ordered an M3i Zero off of DX" "Are there any benefits on the M3 GBA Expansion over the 3-in-1 that would make me spend the money on it?"

I'm confused, you ordered an M3i Zero and are asking about the GBA Expansion packs which can't be used on DSi because there is no GBA slot... Am I just completely missing something?

The m3i can be used on a DS lite/phat though, which is what I do most of the time.

~dhjohn

 

[terminator99]

I am currently using M3i on my Ds lite, I have a folder For NDS roms and a folder for my GBA roms, i just discovered if i put my M3 lite in my slot 2 without any memory and i boot a GBA rom from my M3i using sakura..........it works fine, i did,nt expect it to work cos i thought i needed to use memory in the M3 lite so it could act as a expansion pack.

 

[Synchromatic]

then yes, its worth getting imo

has a bit of extra features:
Real Time Clock
Real Time Save
GBA Cheats
Built in Loading Support
32MB of RAM (the regular EZ Flash [not =] only has 16M to my knowledge)

Okay, I think you've convinced me on getting it

Maybe I'll give the 3-in-1 to my brother or something.

QUOTE(Reru @ Sep 19 2009, 12:40 PM) "I ordered an M3i Zero off of DX" "Are there any benefits on the M3 GBA Expansion over the 3-in-1 that would make me spend the money on it?"

I'm confused, you ordered an M3i Zero and are asking about the GBA Expansion packs which can't be used on DSi because there is no GBA slot... Am I just completely missing something?

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I have a DS Lite.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

The original setup that I have is an original R4 and the 3-in-1. I ordered an M3i Zero off of DX, because the R4 is getting incredibly outdated for me. I read that Rudolph's gbaexploader does not work with the M3i, without a patch. Are there any benefits on the M3 GBA Expansion over the 3-in-1 that would make me spend the money on it?

Well with an M3i Zero and M3 GBA Expansion, I don't think you'd need GBA ExpLoader anyway... the M3 slot-1 cards have native support for the M3 GEP, so you should just be able select the GBA ROMs from your M3i Zero's menu.

I use the M3 GBA Expansion with ExpLoader on my CycloDS, and personally I think it's a much better solution (for me, anyway) than the 3in1. I don't care about rumble, so that one deficiency it does have is meaningless for me... the real-time-clock (and in a device that's only $20, to boot) is great for me since I play both Pokemon Ruby and Emerald. And since I like to change games reasonably frequently, I couldn't really care less about the lack of NOR memory. If I'm in a case where I have a DS game that interfaces with a GBA game in the slot-2, I'll just dust off the original cartridge, update its save with the most recent one in ExpLoader, and use that.