Hacking Is R4DS and E-Z Flash 3-in-1 still the way to go?

[towers]

About half a year ago I started a topic asking for help with what to buy - I wanted to emulate SNES, GBA, maybe DS and Genesis - and also use DSOrganize and a web browser for checking my email. Unfortunately, my life situation changed and I wasn't able to spend the money, but I am now.

I got a lot of good replies, but that was a long time ago. I've got a DS Lite (v5 if it matters) and I'm also using a Mac these days. I feel like what I need may have changed.

So my new question is this: is the R4 and EZF3-in-1 still what I should be buying, along with a Kingston mircoSD card? And is there anything else I will need?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[cupajoe]

R4 and EZF3-in-1 will do all of your tasks just fine. Some might tell you to get the cyclo, which has more features, but R4 and EZF will do you just fine.

 

[TheWingless]

Most people nowadays say you shouldn't buy the R4 because of the lack of features and the price. It actually went up a couple of weeks ago (One place went up from about 40 to 50USD with the Cyclo being 3USD more). If you still want to buy something that is close to the original price/cheaper, you can get a TTDS, AceKard 2, or SCDS One. The Cyclo DS is also good but it's a bit more expensive. The EZ 3in1 is still good though. Kingstons are still pretty good, but if you get a 4GB card(won't work on an R4, but they will work on the other ones I listed) people say you should get an A-Data Class 6 from Newegg. I'm not sure about other sizes, but I don't think you need anymore than that.

 

[towers]

What's the difference between an R4 and CycloDS?

Also, I heard something about R4s messing up DSes... is it true?

edit: Oh, and will I need anything to connect the microSD card to my computer or does that come with the R4/EZ3in1/Kingston card?

edit2: Forgot another thing. I would prefer if these were on Amazon, because I don't have a credit card and can pay through my bank account, though it isn't necessary.

 

[towers]

Sorry about double posting, didn't want to edit again.

My DS Lite is also pink. Do EZ Flash 3-in-1s only come in black or white? Because that is all I am seeing. And how good of a store is this?

 

[TheWingless]

What's the difference between an R4 and CycloDS?

Also, I heard something about R4s messing up DSes... is it true?

edit: Oh, and will I need anything to connect the microSD card to my computer or does that come with the R4/EZ3in1/Kingston card?

edit2: Forgot another thing. I would prefer if these were on Amazon, because I don't have a credit card and can pay through my bank account, though it isn't necessary.
There are actually huge differences between an R4 and a CycloDS, though most features aren't required so that is why people also recommend the AceKard2 and the TTDS. The SCDSOne is also good. The CycloDS(and SCDSOne) has real time save which allows you to save anywhere, support for SDHC(4GB+ cards), an in game menu, and many more features. Their forum board is also active any you can request features and such. Most of these features aren't required, and that is why I recommended some other popular cards that are much better than the R4 and have less of a price tag.
The R4(and many others) come with a reader, though it is usually really bad, so you should probably use the SD adapter that comes with the microSD.
Not many flashcarts are sold on Amazon. It's probably best if you tired somewhere else. GameYeeeah is one of the recommended ones here, but I personally use www.realhotstuff.com. The price is a bit more expensive though, but the service and shipping speed is great(usually 3 or less days in US).

QUOTE(towers @ Apr 15 2008, 05:50 PM) Sorry about double posting, didn't want to edit again.

My DS Lite is also pink. Do EZ Flash 3-in-1s only come in black or white? Because that is all I am seeing. And how good of a store is this?

I'm pretty sure it only comes in white and black.

 

[towers]

There are actually huge differences between an R4 and a CycloDS, though most features aren't required so that is why people also recommend the AceKard2 and the TTDS. The SCDSOne is also good. The CycloDS(and SCDSOne) has real time save which allows you to save anywhere, support for SDHC(4GB+ cards), an in game menu, and many more features. Their forum board is also active any you can request features and such. Most of these features aren't required, and that is why I recommended some other popular cards that are much better than the R4 and have less of a price tag.
The R4(and many others) come with a reader, though it is usually really bad, so you should probably use the SD adapter that comes with the microSD.

Not many flashcarts are sold on Amazon. It's probably best if you tired somewhere else. GameYeeeah is one of the recommended ones here, but I personally use www.realhotstuff.com. The price is a bit more expensive though, but the service and shipping speed is great(usually 3 or less days in US).

When you say to use the reader that comes with the microSD, you mean the card right? Sorry for sounding dumb, but I want to get it all straight.

Right now I am looking at getting either an AceKard 2 or a CycloDS (probably the latter) and have some questions I haven't found answers to for either: can I put SNES/GBA/DS emulators on them? AceKard 2's site has pictures of DS emulators, so I know they can, and some of the CycloDS products say they can do GBA/DS, but not the CycloDS Evolution. Can they all do it? For reference, I was either going to use SnezziDS or SNEmulDS, but also wanted opinions on which one to use.

And if I got an AceKard 2 or a CycloDS, would I still need an EZ Flash 3-in-1 for DSOrganize and a browser, or would I be able to put that on the SLOT-1 carts?

 

[perimbean]

And if I got an AceKard 2 or a CycloDS, would I still need an EZ Flash 3-in-1 for DSOrganize and a browser, or would I be able to put that on the SLOT-1 carts?

Yup! You'd still need the EZ Flash 3-in-1 for the web browsing functions. The roms are actually residing on your TF/microsd cards in your Slot-1 carts.

 

[towers]

Alright, sweet.

I guess I really just need to decide between CycloDS and AceKard2.

 

[8v8t8r]

There are actually huge differences between an R4 and a CycloDS, though most features aren't required so that is why people also recommend the AceKard2 and the TTDS. The SCDSOne is also good. The CycloDS(and SCDSOne) has real time save which allows you to save anywhere, support for SDHC(4GB+ cards), an in game menu, and many more features. Their forum board is also active any you can request features and such. Most of these features aren't required, and that is why I recommended some other popular cards that are much better than the R4 and have less of a price tag.
The R4(and many others) come with a reader, though it is usually really bad, so you should probably use the SD adapter that comes with the microSD.

Not many flashcarts are sold on Amazon. It's probably best if you tired somewhere else. GameYeeeah is one of the recommended ones here, but I personally use www.realhotstuff.com. The price is a bit more expensive though, but the service and shipping speed is great(usually 3 or less days in US).

When you say to use the reader that comes with the microSD, you mean the card right? Sorry for sounding dumb, but I want to get it all straight.

Right now I am looking at getting either an AceKard 2 or a CycloDS (probably the latter) and have some questions I haven't found answers to for either: can I put SNES/GBA/DS emulators on them? AceKard 2's site has pictures of DS emulators, so I know they can, and some of the CycloDS products say they can do GBA/DS, but not the CycloDS Evolution. Can they all do it? For reference, I was either going to use SnezziDS or SNEmulDS, but also wanted opinions on which one to use.

And if I got an AceKard 2 or a CycloDS, would I still need an EZ Flash 3-in-1 for DSOrganize and a browser, or would I be able to put that on the SLOT-1 carts?

as of right now, i have the cyclo and can answer some of your questions concerning the cyclo, but not the acekard 2.
- the cyclo can play 100% (if not, then very close to 99.9%) of all homebrews that are currently available, including emulators for nes and snes. all you have to do is get them from gbatemp's download page and place it into the cyclo without any DLDI patching since the cyclo patches homebrews automatically.
-for GBA, there are no GBA emulators for the Ds, and I don't think there shall ever be one, so you'll have to go with an ezflash 3 in 1. The 3 in 1 is currently supported by the cyclo, you can enable rumble from the cyclo's menu, and you can use the opera browser without any additional patching to the rom.

 

[arsehat]

Also, I heard something about R4s messing up DSes... is it true?

That would be the Fake R4 "Upgrade II" ones that are in circulation at the moment. They're the same hardware as the n5 and e7 and there's even a fake R6 that's the same thing.

The deal there is that the n5/e7/"assorted fake" hardware has apparantly been blowing internal fuses in some consoles. Details are still sketchy about whether this is something that all of those carts are liable to do at some time in the future, or whether it's just defective carts that will do this. Personally, I suspect that it's just the duff ones - but there's been anecdotal evidence that these things use more power than the R4 does (reduced battery life), have been slower, have had something like a 20% defect rate for some shipments etc.

The real R4 is still a great little cartridge - it's a pity that the manufacturers have effectively priced it out of the market. They're rugged, reliable and proven - and in my opinion, the time has come for the R4 to take its rightful place in direct competition with the likes of the EZ-V (which there is still a valid niche for, despite what some might say). Personally, I prefer how the R4 works to the standard menu on the DSTT - when compared with YSMenu on the DSTT I think there are some things that YSMenu does better and some things that R4 does better. I'm still coming to grips with the AceKard 2 (mine arrived Monday, but I couldn't pick it up from the post office until yesterday morning) and it has some really cool features. It seems to have a few foibles, but that could just be taht I haven't got my head around it yet. The AK2 supposedly has some of the best built-in support for the EZ-Flash 3-in-1 though - don't know what Cyclo's GBA support is like though, and I don't have a 3-in-1 to check the AK2's GBA support with.

 

[towers]

Will the EZ Flash 3-in-1 and the CycloDS need separate microSD cards, or can they use the same?

 

[Destructobot]

The 3-in-1 does not have a memory card slot; all files are stored on the slot 1 cart.

 

[towers]

Oh, okay. It's all very confusing to me, but I think I got it now.

Thanks everyone!