It's not worth buying a DSTT for many reasons other than fakes.
The Acekard 2 is only about $5 more, but for that $5 you get a beautiful and responsive menu, alphabetized games, folder support, direct loading to a slot 2 GBA expansion cart, skin changes from within the menu, and many, many other features that the DSTT simply doesn't have.
-Bri
The Acekard 2 is only about $5 more, but for that $5 you get a beautiful and responsive menu, alphabetized games, folder support, direct loading to a slot 2 GBA expansion cart, skin changes from within the menu, and many, many other features that the DSTT simply doesn't have.
-Bri
Once you get over 20 or 30 games you'll care about alphabetizing. The point is that every other flash cart in existence alphabetizes games. The DSTT lacks some of the most basic features of other flash carts, whereas the Acekard 2 has lots of features and a much nicer menu system for only about $5 more.
$12.06 (free shipping) with a microSD reader: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11811
-Bri
$12.06 (free shipping) with a microSD reader: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11811
-Bri
For me it's a matter of perspective. I absolutely love the DSTT. It does what I want it to do, and does it well. Some people only want to play games. Why do they need to have folder navigation? My 3 and 6 year old do not need it, and I know a few adults who don't either. In the case of small children, it could be a detriment to have the card not boot directly to the list of games. For me the DSTT is fast, efficient, and very user friendly. For those who want a different menu system with folder support, there is YSMenu.
You can alphabetize games using the application Folder Sort. It takes just a few seconds, and can be done by simply right clicking the folder and choosing "Sort".
Speed does not seem to be much of an issue. Use the Panasonic formatter and there should be no lag at all. I have put about 40 games on a Micro SDHC card and the menu never lags.
This all said, I agree that the Acekard 2 is a great card. So is the M3 Real. I own these as well as several DSTT's. While I prefer the M3 Real*, the kids always want to use the TT's. So again, It's just a matter of preference, because in the end, they all do the same thing: Play Games.
*Even though I mostly use the M3 Real, I find myself most intrigued by the DSTT. Maybe bri does too, as he's always lurking around here....
You can alphabetize games using the application Folder Sort. It takes just a few seconds, and can be done by simply right clicking the folder and choosing "Sort".
Speed does not seem to be much of an issue. Use the Panasonic formatter and there should be no lag at all. I have put about 40 games on a Micro SDHC card and the menu never lags.
This all said, I agree that the Acekard 2 is a great card. So is the M3 Real. I own these as well as several DSTT's. While I prefer the M3 Real*, the kids always want to use the TT's. So again, It's just a matter of preference, because in the end, they all do the same thing: Play Games.
*Even though I mostly use the M3 Real, I find myself most intrigued by the DSTT. Maybe bri does too, as he's always lurking around here....
The DSTT was my first flash cart (the one I own is one of the originals), so yes it holds a special place in my heart. I was always hoping that the DSTT team would fix some of the more glaring shortcomings (how hard can it be to sort games?), but unfortunately they never did.
If you only have 30 games, it's not too slow if you use the Panasonic formatter. But if you start getting 50 or more it gets pretty darn slow. Try it with a full 8GB microSDHC card. Sure, you can use folder sort, but why should you have to when every other flash cart in the world sorts the games for you? Sure, you can use GBA ExpLoader to load GBA games to an EZFlash 3-in-1, but why would you want to when other flash carts launch GBA games straight from the menu? Sure, you can replace your skins manually and you don't have to do it from within the menu, but again why would you want to if you don't have to?
rom666 is correct that the DSTT might still be a good flash cart for young kids because it doesn't display folders. But for most people it's probably not the best choice, even at its low, low price. Even my 7 year old can navigate folders without any problems.
There are too many good flash carts starting at about $5 more than the DSTT to make the DSTT a worthwhile choice for most users. I'm still hoping the DSTT team will come through with a major menu upgrade that fixes the problems and once again makes the DSTT the great low-cost flash cart that it could be.
-Bri
If you only have 30 games, it's not too slow if you use the Panasonic formatter. But if you start getting 50 or more it gets pretty darn slow. Try it with a full 8GB microSDHC card. Sure, you can use folder sort, but why should you have to when every other flash cart in the world sorts the games for you? Sure, you can use GBA ExpLoader to load GBA games to an EZFlash 3-in-1, but why would you want to when other flash carts launch GBA games straight from the menu? Sure, you can replace your skins manually and you don't have to do it from within the menu, but again why would you want to if you don't have to?
rom666 is correct that the DSTT might still be a good flash cart for young kids because it doesn't display folders. But for most people it's probably not the best choice, even at its low, low price. Even my 7 year old can navigate folders without any problems.
There are too many good flash carts starting at about $5 more than the DSTT to make the DSTT a worthwhile choice for most users. I'm still hoping the DSTT team will come through with a major menu upgrade that fixes the problems and once again makes the DSTT the great low-cost flash cart that it could be.
-Bri
To me it's not worth it. first one I recieved was a fake. Got it replaced for free.. but the real one (Exactly the same as the new real one on the dstt website) I got is defective. Given up on them.
Im really happy with mine. I don't care about folder sorting anyway, as I always remove the game tags from its name. I got it because it supports download play very well, and supports every DS game.
It also loads very fast when formatted with the Panasonic Formatter, im running a Kingston Japan 4GB card.
Also, people say its bad because it has no folder support. Its not a major problem for me because I only use two homebrew apps, I don't mind them being stuck in with my retail games.
It also loads very fast when formatted with the Panasonic Formatter, im running a Kingston Japan 4GB card.
Also, people say its bad because it has no folder support. Its not a major problem for me because I only use two homebrew apps, I don't mind them being stuck in with my retail games.
Skyfallkavu said:
As does nearly every other flash cart on the market.
The point here is whether having game sorting, folder support, better skinning, direct support for a GBA expansion cart, a more responsive menu, multiple game save slots, and many other features available with the Acekard 2 (not to mention not having to worry about fakes or fake-killing firmware) are worth the extra $5 in cost of the Acekard 2 over the DSTT. I suspect that they would be to most people.
-Bri
Fakes are easy enough to pick out, and DealExtreme is good about replacing them for free, so that probably shouldn't be your main concern.
Is it worth it, though? Depends what your priorities are. As far as features are concerned, almost every card out there is going to play games and homebrew, which is probably what you plan to do with it. Everything after that I'd consider a frill... and it's these frills that separate a $6 card from a $50 one. These may manifest as slightly prettier menus, homebrew integrated into the firmware, folder navigation, special ingame features, savestates, or what have you. These things may be nice, but as far as I care, they're far from necessary, and I'd probably never use them. When people say sorting and folder navigation... or reskinning on the fly are worth an extra $5... well, starting from a $6 card, that's nearly doubling the price for something so simple. Personally, I'm buying the card to play games, not to stare at the menus (and as far as playing is concenrned, the DSTT is apparently one of the quickest around). The choice is yours, though.
To take this in a slightly different direction, though, I debated which to get between the Acekard and DSTT for a while, but finally settled on the DSTT. The thing that tipped me over the edge is something that people never seem to notice or discuss, but I think it's important to think about--build quality.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15613
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16142
If the pictures on DealExtreme are to be believed, as well as reports I've seen elsewhere, the build quality of the Acekard is severely lacking. Awkward clips with plastic shavings hanging out holding the shell halves together, messy injection points, strange texture, and slightly-off shape really bug me. I don't want to stick something like that in my expensive piece of consumer electronics. I can only picture it grinding or scratching every time it's inserted. The DSTT on the other hand, seems really close to an actual DS card (comparison here). Note that the Acekard 2i seems to fix this, but I'm not about to pay twice as much (almost four times as much as the DSTT, then) just for acceptable build quality. I don't even have or want a DSi.
I hope this has helped you think more about what you really need. I'm sure someone will disagree with me, but that's kind of the point--everyone has different priorities and needs when looking for a flashcard. You just have to figure out what your own priorities are.
Is it worth it, though? Depends what your priorities are. As far as features are concerned, almost every card out there is going to play games and homebrew, which is probably what you plan to do with it. Everything after that I'd consider a frill... and it's these frills that separate a $6 card from a $50 one. These may manifest as slightly prettier menus, homebrew integrated into the firmware, folder navigation, special ingame features, savestates, or what have you. These things may be nice, but as far as I care, they're far from necessary, and I'd probably never use them. When people say sorting and folder navigation... or reskinning on the fly are worth an extra $5... well, starting from a $6 card, that's nearly doubling the price for something so simple. Personally, I'm buying the card to play games, not to stare at the menus (and as far as playing is concenrned, the DSTT is apparently one of the quickest around). The choice is yours, though.
To take this in a slightly different direction, though, I debated which to get between the Acekard and DSTT for a while, but finally settled on the DSTT. The thing that tipped me over the edge is something that people never seem to notice or discuss, but I think it's important to think about--build quality.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15613
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16142
If the pictures on DealExtreme are to be believed, as well as reports I've seen elsewhere, the build quality of the Acekard is severely lacking. Awkward clips with plastic shavings hanging out holding the shell halves together, messy injection points, strange texture, and slightly-off shape really bug me. I don't want to stick something like that in my expensive piece of consumer electronics. I can only picture it grinding or scratching every time it's inserted. The DSTT on the other hand, seems really close to an actual DS card (comparison here). Note that the Acekard 2i seems to fix this, but I'm not about to pay twice as much (almost four times as much as the DSTT, then) just for acceptable build quality. I don't even have or want a DSi.
I hope this has helped you think more about what you really need. I'm sure someone will disagree with me, but that's kind of the point--everyone has different priorities and needs when looking for a flashcard. You just have to figure out what your own priorities are.
I've had 5 AK2.1s now (One I keep, 4 for others). The design/build quality of the plastic casing is certainly worse than a DSTT or others, but it has not caused me any issues whatsoever.
Unless you are seriously rough with the thing you should have no issues.
On top of that, the quality of the PCB, its components and their connections seem to be very poor in DSTTs, even legit ones. The AK2.1 on the other hand seems to have a much much lower failure rate, so just because the DSTTs case it a bit better doesnt mean it will be less hassles.
The one thing ive found that appears to be better in the DSTT is soft reset. With a fair few games on AK2 you must disable it as the game either crashes or does not boot. The latest tomb raider crashes after the end of the first level on AK2 if soft reset is enabled, it works fine on DSTT with soft reset.
Unless you are seriously rough with the thing you should have no issues.
On top of that, the quality of the PCB, its components and their connections seem to be very poor in DSTTs, even legit ones. The AK2.1 on the other hand seems to have a much much lower failure rate, so just because the DSTTs case it a bit better doesnt mean it will be less hassles.
The one thing ive found that appears to be better in the DSTT is soft reset. With a fair few games on AK2 you must disable it as the game either crashes or does not boot. The latest tomb raider crashes after the end of the first level on AK2 if soft reset is enabled, it works fine on DSTT with soft reset.
HI just like to say my point.DSTT even in fake form does what it should.I got 2 originals for my kids and about 10 of dealextreme which we cant tell if fake are real.They all do the same things for the kids play there favoret roms and are east enough for us perants to load the games on.
abroom, sure the fakes will probably operate just like a real one -- until you need to update the firmware beyond version 1.15. When new games come out and only the newer "fake-killer" firmware will play them, you'll be stuck with a fake. So far, there is only one obscure Japanese game that doesn't work with 1.15 but that's likely to change.
-Bri
-Bri
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Psionic Roshambo:
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Psionic Roshambo:
Some sort of police thing going on near me lol "Get out of the car with your hands up and walk backwards towards us" over a loud speaker thing
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like a 250 dollar kit back when DDR4 was Intel only
