Hacking Need some confirmation on what I need

[Jabberwhacky]

So I've been scouring these forums and others to find out just what I want to buy. Right now it looks like the M3 Lite is what I want to get, and I'd like some of you knowledgeable folks to verify my purchase. I do have a DS Lite, in case that's the first question

Things I think I need:
The M3 Lite with PassCard3 (like the one found here)
A microSD memory card (seems like the Sandisk Ultra II is a good choice, but there are a few others on Newegg that are highly reviewed too)
A memory card reader so I can actually put data on the disk (This guy is only 7 bucks, is that pretty much the best I can expect to find?)


Hopefully that's correct. I have a few other questions too, assuming this list is good:

1. What am I missing out on by going with the 2 slot mod instead of waiting on the new 1 slotters? I do want GBA compatability, but I also read someone mentioned something about a RAM expansion that goes in the GBA slot...can anyone elaborate on this? Sounds like something that may be a really useful upgrade I'd screw myself out of by filling that slot with the M3.

2. What site should I actually buy from? I can find the memory card and reader at Newegg, I've done lots of business with them before, but the M3 seems to be sold by random sites I've never even remotely heard of. Personal experience with a certain store/website would be really useful to me.

3. Do I even want the M3? From what I've read it seems to be the most reputable and useful, and I very much want to keep the add-on flush with my NDSL. I like the idea that it looks like a normal DS Lite but has a bazillion games

Any other solutions come to mind that might suit me? Price isn't a big issue, but I would rather not spend 200 if I could spend 100 for a similar product (for obvious reasons).

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[nintendofreak]

Yesss, that will be fine, you wont need to flash, but i suggest doing it anyway, that way you can recover from a bricking and such. But its rare- and something to consider later

1. Yeah, there is a whole wave of slot 1 flash carts coming out. The deal with them though is their price over $150+. Most people here dont have that kind of money (well i dont) and just prefer to stick with a gba based cart (it still gets the job done

) Generally speaking, SLot 1's cards have much better DS compatabilty just about 99.99999% This is not to say that the M3 does not have good compatability, but it will run just about every single game that is worth playing out there. Updates for it are readily avaliable too

Another thing about slot 1's is that they have 0 compatiability for GBA games (or at least for now). Since you want Gba games, id stick with the M3

2. Id say buying the memory from a reputiable dealer. There is sometimes memory that is dead and sometimes fake. Id suggest buying at a local retiailer (when theres specials

) or at newegg.com to prevent such issues.

3. The only other solution that i can recommend because I own it is the Supercard SD. Its in-expensive and runs homebrew perfectly. Im not too sure about gba compatabilty, but its said that it is less than that of the M3. Id stick with the M3.

 

[tama_mog]

1) So far slot1 hasn't shown higher compatibility compared to the top performers (nds speaking) for slot 2 (m3 and supercard). So far the RAM expansion is only used on the DS Opera browser and recently there's been a hack to use the browser with a slot1 card AND to use the m3 or the supercard as the expanded ram (simplified synopsis, read appropriate thread for more details). You're not missing out on slot 1 currently, they've yet to prove themselves. But I am confident that will come with time, complete compatibility for clean roms using slot 1.

2) I've heard and have had nothing but great service from www.realhotstuff.com. They offer a great 90 day money back warranty and also have decent prices.....and on top of that great response times in customer service and shipping. Can't really be beat....especially if you're in the US.

3) M3 is a good fit, but it really is your call on how important complete gba compatibility is to you, if that's not that important, then supercard is an awesome choice for DS games as well....but certain gba games fall short (due to internal memory quality). If you want a slot 1, that is fine but I would wait for a really good microsd solution slot 1 that's flush and supports clean roms close to 100%....that's a tall order to fill but it will happen probably sooner than all of us think.

 

[FuManChuu]

be cheap, get a supercard rumble... lose GBA compat... make the same mistake i did!

 

[Harsky]

The equipment that you mentioned there is good enough to get you going. I think the M3 is quite a good quality product which was worth the money. Been using my M3 CF for 10 months now and I haven't run into any major problems. I don't think you're missing much with a slot 2 flashcart. I still haven't been able to find one of those rumble packs in my store to experience it and I don't think I'll be using the browser when I already have a laptop with a wireless card.

 

[Jabberwhacky]

Thanks for the help everyone. I went ahead and ordered the memory and reader from Newegg and the M3 lite + passcard 3 from realhotstuff. I appreciate the responses!

 

[Jabberwhacky]

Hey I just wanted to jump in here and give an update. While this isn't M3 related, I feel it's worth nothing in case anyone else was going to buy from RealHotStuff. The first problem I encountered was that I never received an invoice from them. I got many other emails from them, like my sign-up confirmation and my support ticket change-of-status, but no invoice. Closest thing I got was a receipt from Paypal letting me know I had in fact had $104 taken from me. However, an email letting me know that the company who took my money was actually going to give me the item I paid for never got to me. They blamed hotmail, which is all well and good except that I received all their other emails and I check my junk mail daily (especially when I'm expecting a freakin' invoice for a hundred dollar purchase to make sure I'm not getting robbed).
The second problem is ongoing. I attached my shipping schedule below. I placed the order on the 14th and, as of today 6 days later, it hasn't even left the state yet. As comparison, the microSD card I bought from Newegg the very same day got to me....the next day, courtesy of UPS ground shipping. Now, part of that is because Newegg has a warehouse here in Southern California, and the other part is that they didn't sit on their ass doing NOTHING except watch the package gather dust. Notice the delivery date; thanks to their shipping schedule and apparently taking off the entire Thanksgiving weekend, my package will take almost 2 weeks to get across country. I'll give credit to RealHotStuff where it's due: they are very prompt in their response to my Support Ticket. However, the best they could do was tell me that I could return this and buy another one with a different type of shipping.
So in conclusion, if you do decide to use RealHotStuff, spend the money for higher level shipping (8 dollars would have saved me all this hassle, if only I had known their UPS ground was completely worthless) and don't expect your package any time soon.


Status: In Transit - Rescheduled
Rescheduled Delivery: 11/27/2006
Shipped to: GOLETA, CA, US
Shipped or Billed on: 11/14/2006
Service Type: GROUND
Weight: .50 Lb

Package Progress
Location Date Local Time Description
SECAUCUS,
NJ, US 11/18/2006 5:29 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
SECAUCUS,
NJ, US 11/16/2006 10:58 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
NEWARK,
NJ, US 11/16/2006 10:21 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
11/16/2006 8:08 P.M. PICKUP SCAN
US 11/14/2006 5:34 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

Tracking results provided by UPS: 11/20/2006 4:17 P.M. EST (USA)

 

[tama_mog]

funny, I'm in CA I always used USPS 1st class and from the day I order, I normally receive in 2-3 days.l....and this was for a total of about 5 orders I've placed with them with quick responses on all of them. Something went wrong I guess.

 

[kyosho]

kinda funny you live in Goleta. I graduated from UCSB about 2 years ago.

Anyhow, i just ordered from realhotstuff last night. I receive confirmation from "HEnry" that my order shipped via USPS Priority this morning.

I chose to NOT use UPS because they're retarded + the higher shipping costs. I was thinking of going regular first class mail, but I read that it takes a lot longer. So i went with Priority since that does give you confirmation and is fairly fast from my experiences (3-5 working days at the most).