I ordered my Acekard 2i on April 7 and just got it today via USPS (Santa Cruz, California), April 14. This is my first ever Flash Cart purchase since I just recently bought the DSi (US version). I have never owned a DS Phat or DS Lite, so this is a new and fresh experience.
I am using Firmware 1.3U.
Online Purchase:
My purchase came from Modchipcentral.com. I ordered the "acekard2i8gb" package that came with the 8gb Kingston MicroSD (JAPAN version confirmed!) which priced at $64.95 and shipping of $8.95, totalling $73.90 in the end.
Packaging:
It came in a big white envelop-ey thing and inside was a pack for the Kingston and a yellow envelope with the Acekard.
The Acekard packaging didn't come pre-assembled. The flash cart came in bubble wrap, I think, separate from the Acekard box (which was a flat carboardish cutout). The Acekard box was labled as Acekard 2 and not Acekard 2i, which I didn't care for. I would have tossed it out anyway.
The Acekard cartridge DID have an Acekard 2i Sticker on it, btw, as I heard some of you have a regular Acekard 2 sticker instead. On the blank side of the cartridge, there was no sticker, which I saw some of you have.
The Kingston MicroSD comes with an SD adapter and a USB 2.0 adapter. Quite handy, but I already have a 19-in-one media card reader.
Setting Up:
I'm quite tech savvy, so I found no problems setting up everything. Days beforehand, I've been setting up my folders and games so that they'll be ready for transfer. This includes the latest version of AKAIO, DS games, Homebrews, skins, etc., all organized into a folder ready to upload onto the MicroSD. I even ran Rominator to trim the NDS files so I can squeeze in as many games as possible. In the end, I have about 6.3gb of games crammed into the 7.3gb (true file-size) Kingston. If you are curious, I have about 130 DS games in there.
Anyway, the first thing I made sure to do was use the Panasonic Formatter software on the MicroSD. I kept the default settings and ran it. It was quick and easy.
The next part was kinda painful. I copied the 6.3gb of data to the MicroSD. This took around 10 minutes... Well, I guess that's not so bad, but I was excited and couldn't wait!
As soon as that was done, I plugged the the MicroSD into the AK2i cartridge. I pushed it down until it clicked. I know some people here have had trouble with the MicroSD and loose contacts, but mines clicked and fit in snug.
Running the Cart:
When I turned on the DSi, the Acekard registered and indeed it said Acekard 2i and not Acekard 2 like some have been seeing.
I ran the flash cart and AKAIO booted up without a hitch.
The first game I tried out was Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, since that seems to be the game that people have trouble with working with their MicroSDs. I only played to the first save point, but everything seemed to be okay. I also ran the homebrew software, Colors, which worked too. Last thing I tried running was Cooking Mama, which was when my gf snatched the DSi away to play... I'll do some more testing once she's done.
All-in-all, my experience has been a successful one.
I'm hoping this review and summary will help out new buyers out there. I can simply say that modchipcentral.com met my expectations. I can't say about other stores yet, but I did just order my second AK2i from Deal Extreme, so I'll see how that goes.
Last thoughts:
After I ordered, I read posts here saying that Class 6, 1-2gb MicroSDs would be needed to run the intensive games such as Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. I'm not sure, but I'm highly doubtful that my 8gb Kingston is a class 6, but ran Portrait of Ruin alright. That was a relief when I got it working.
Happy hunting!
Tuna
I am using Firmware 1.3U.
Online Purchase:
My purchase came from Modchipcentral.com. I ordered the "acekard2i8gb" package that came with the 8gb Kingston MicroSD (JAPAN version confirmed!) which priced at $64.95 and shipping of $8.95, totalling $73.90 in the end.
Packaging:
It came in a big white envelop-ey thing and inside was a pack for the Kingston and a yellow envelope with the Acekard.
The Acekard packaging didn't come pre-assembled. The flash cart came in bubble wrap, I think, separate from the Acekard box (which was a flat carboardish cutout). The Acekard box was labled as Acekard 2 and not Acekard 2i, which I didn't care for. I would have tossed it out anyway.
The Acekard cartridge DID have an Acekard 2i Sticker on it, btw, as I heard some of you have a regular Acekard 2 sticker instead. On the blank side of the cartridge, there was no sticker, which I saw some of you have.
The Kingston MicroSD comes with an SD adapter and a USB 2.0 adapter. Quite handy, but I already have a 19-in-one media card reader.
Setting Up:
I'm quite tech savvy, so I found no problems setting up everything. Days beforehand, I've been setting up my folders and games so that they'll be ready for transfer. This includes the latest version of AKAIO, DS games, Homebrews, skins, etc., all organized into a folder ready to upload onto the MicroSD. I even ran Rominator to trim the NDS files so I can squeeze in as many games as possible. In the end, I have about 6.3gb of games crammed into the 7.3gb (true file-size) Kingston. If you are curious, I have about 130 DS games in there.
Anyway, the first thing I made sure to do was use the Panasonic Formatter software on the MicroSD. I kept the default settings and ran it. It was quick and easy.
The next part was kinda painful. I copied the 6.3gb of data to the MicroSD. This took around 10 minutes... Well, I guess that's not so bad, but I was excited and couldn't wait!
As soon as that was done, I plugged the the MicroSD into the AK2i cartridge. I pushed it down until it clicked. I know some people here have had trouble with the MicroSD and loose contacts, but mines clicked and fit in snug.
Running the Cart:
When I turned on the DSi, the Acekard registered and indeed it said Acekard 2i and not Acekard 2 like some have been seeing.
I ran the flash cart and AKAIO booted up without a hitch.
The first game I tried out was Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, since that seems to be the game that people have trouble with working with their MicroSDs. I only played to the first save point, but everything seemed to be okay. I also ran the homebrew software, Colors, which worked too. Last thing I tried running was Cooking Mama, which was when my gf snatched the DSi away to play... I'll do some more testing once she's done.
All-in-all, my experience has been a successful one.
I'm hoping this review and summary will help out new buyers out there. I can simply say that modchipcentral.com met my expectations. I can't say about other stores yet, but I did just order my second AK2i from Deal Extreme, so I'll see how that goes.
Last thoughts:
After I ordered, I read posts here saying that Class 6, 1-2gb MicroSDs would be needed to run the intensive games such as Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. I'm not sure, but I'm highly doubtful that my 8gb Kingston is a class 6, but ran Portrait of Ruin alright. That was a relief when I got it working.
Happy hunting!
Tuna