Hacking Modchip vs. Softmod

[Tidus755]

Hey, I'm new to the Wii hacking forums but I have a little background information regarding it.

I was just wondering, which one would be best in terms of usability and functionability?

I am well aware that soft-modding your Wii is less expensive and you do not need to open your console, but at the same time, compatibility issues may happen.

I'm well aware that this question is nooby and most likely often asked on the forums, so if you're tired of answering those types of questions, please link me to a thread where you can read the pros and cons of softmodding, versus chipping your Wii.

Thank you very much for your time,

Tidus755

 

[tj_cool]

The only real disadvantage of softmodding is that discs read at lower read speed (no problem for usb loading)
Compatibility is at least 99%

 

[Tidus755]

The only real disadvantage of softmodding is that discs read at lower read speed (no problem for usb loading)
Compatibility is at least 99%

Does that affect the gameplay greatly? Is it even noticeable?

By usb loading, you mean playing with a usb key or with an external hard-drive?

Thanks!

 

[FiveseveN]

The only real disadvantage of softmodding is that discs read at lower read speed (no problem for usb loading)
Compatibility is at least 99%

Does that affect the gameplay greatly? Is it even noticeable?

By usb loading, you mean playing with a usb key or with an external hard-drive?

Thanks!

I have yet to really notice any issue with a Softmod during gameplay.

My vote goes to Softmod!

 

[tj_cool]

Does that affect the gameplay greatly? Is it even noticeable?

By usb loading, you mean playing with a usb key or with an external hard-drive?

Thanks!

You don't really notice the lower read speed when playing
Maybe theres a little slowdown on movies and when loading something, but it won't be much

USB loading means that you put your games on an external USB device and play games from there
Without ever inserting a disc

 

[Reboot]

Load times are slightly longer on some games, but not outragious at all. Really only going to notice if you've played the game on an unmodded wii.

But as said, usb loaders (using a usb key or external drive) makes this a non-issue. I highly recommend looking into it, as a large hard drive can be bought for the price of 1 new game, well worth it.

 

[Tidus755]

Does that affect the gameplay greatly? Is it even noticeable?

By usb loading, you mean playing with a usb key or with an external hard-drive?

Thanks!

You don't really notice the lower read speed when playing
Maybe theres a little slowdown on movies and when loading something, but it won't be much

USB loading means that you put your games on an external USB device and play games from there
Without ever inserting a disc

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

What format must the USB drive be? FAT, FAT32 and/or NTFS?

Thanks again hehe

 

[tj_cool]

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

What format must the USB drive be? FAT, FAT32 and/or NTFS?

Thanks again hehe

Its not that simple to load games from USB
To do it, you'll have to format it to WBFS, a special file system that is only used for games, no other stuff.
Any USB loader can format the device to WBFS for you.

To add games from your PC to the drive, use a WBFS manager

 

[ddetkowski]

a 320 gb external drive is about 69.99 at best buy.
that will hold all the games you'll ever want.
also, use Wiiflow, its terrific!!!!!

Softmod!!!

 

[Fat D]

The games themselves are stored in a special format called WBFS for most USB loaders. FAT format (both FAT16 and FAT32) will not work due to file size being limited to 4GB, whereas NTFS is just too complex.

 

[playallday]

At Canada Computers you can pick up a 1TB Sata 7200RPM hard drive for $85. Then you can buy a Sata to USB converter for under $15. That would hold over 200 games.

 

[WiiPower]

You have to differ between:
softmod(discs)
cioscorp
usb loader

sodftmod(discs) and cioscorp:
Freaking slow reading speeds. For most games it's acceptable, but for Metroid for example it's ridiculous.

cioscorp:
Compatibility ~99%

softmod and usb loader:
Awesome region free compatibility*. Compatiblity ~90-95%

usb loader:
Really fast reading speeds, way faster than retail disc.

Keep in mind that new Wiis can't read DVD-Rs with softmods(but usb loaders work fine...).



*You can get the region free capability with cioscorp or a modchip too, but you have to use a loader for this

 

[XFlak]

WiiPower, I had no idea new wii's couldn't play DVD-Rs. Can these new wii's play DVD-R's using a usb loader (to either play or copy the game). Do DVD+R's work?

 

[WiiPower]

Like i said, usb loaders are fine on these Wiis. It's only the latest Wii revision and i think the flatcable mods don't work either on these.

 

[XFlak]

sorry to bug u again, but I am worried you misunderstood me and I just want to confirm. I wasn't asking if a new wii can play games off of a usb device.

Is this statement correct?
new wii's cannot play dvd-r's via a backup loader channel or the disk channel (w/ cioscorp), but I can insert a DVD-R in the very same wii and run usbloader_gx (or w/e) and I will be able to play/copy the disk

 

[xzxero]

incorrect..

newer wii's like these cannot read dvd-r's at all, unless it is a modchip [excluding flatcable mod like drivekey or flatmii]
but usb loaders work just fine.

softmods: dont have to change any hardware or install anything extra, just change and add to the wii's operating software and you can accomplish what modchips do.

hardmods: dont not have to do anything whatsoever besides install the chip correctly onto the wii. They're pretty sick if you know how to do it. It enables dvd+-r's to read at 6x

 

[WiiPower]

No way to get such a Wii to do anything with a DVD-R more than seeing that there's "some disc". If having a DVD-R in the drive works on the games that check for a disc in the drive, i don't know. (required for example for Metroid games with cIOS before rev12).

 

[1ronlung]

I follow the scene sporadically and am chuffed I went to the hassle of getting a hard mod 'cos soft mods weren't out then.

The amount of arseing about with IOSs, especially designed updates, etc that are required to keep your soft mod going ....
All I have to do is stick a disk in the drive and go ('though I have to admit - I must keep an eye out for 4.2)

If time is worth more than money, go for the hard mod. If you want a hobby and don't mind keeping on top of this stuff, soft mod

 

[XFlak]

incorrect..

newer wii's like these cannot read dvd-r's at all, unless it is a modchip [excluding flatcable mod like drivekey or flatmii]
but usb loaders work just fine.

softmods: dont have to change any hardware or install anything extra, just change and add to the wii's operating software and you can accomplish what modchips do.

hardmods: dont not have to do anything whatsoever besides install the chip correctly onto the wii. They're pretty sick if you know how to do it. It enables dvd+-r's to read at 6x

that's what i figured wiipower meant, just got confused... still one Q though, can the new wii's still play backup games using a DVD+R disk?

 

[WiiPower]

I follow the scene sporadically and am chuffed I went to the hassle of getting a hard mod 'cos soft mods weren't out then.

The amount of arseing about with IOSs, especially designed updates, etc that are required to keep your soft mod going ....
All I have to do is stick a disk in the drive and go ('though I have to admit - I must keep an eye out for 4.2)

If time is worth more than money, go for the hard mod. If you want a hobby and don't mind keeping on top of this stuff, soft mod

All the IOS hassle is for modchip or cioscorp people. Most people who just want usb loaders and the games that work on usb loaders, just need a cIOS and a loader.