New Review - AceKard

[jpxdude]

Costello: Thanks for replying, it could possibly be down to the type of SD card

I am fully aware of the 3 speed settings, but this still doesn't change the performance of many games I've personally tried with it even on the latest firmware.

When you do review the microninja, please can you test out Ouendan and Animal Crossing? Those 2 in particular don't just suffer speed issues on the NinjaDS, but are buggy/crash in play negligent of media used. It'd be interesting to know if these issues would be resolved by then.

 

[Costello]

The battery test we are currently performing is:
- DS: fat, fully charged
- Game: Metroid Prime Hunters
- Part of the game: intro (looping)
- Brightness: normal
- Sound: maximum

With the exact same conditions, on the same DS, the DS-X lasted between 7:30 and 8 hours.
Let's see how the acekard performs

We'll run another test on a DSLite later.

 

[Hooya]

The battery test we are currently performing is:
- DS: fat, fully charged
- Game: Metroid Prime Hunters
- Part of the game: intro (looping)
- Brightness: normal
- Sound: maximum

With the exact same conditions, on the same DS, the DS-X lasted between 7:30 and 8 hours.
Let's see how the acekard performs

We'll run another test on a DSLite later.

Just out of curiosity, how long does the genuine cart last?

 

[cheesyPOOF5]

Costello: Thanks for replying, it could possibly be down to the type of SD card

 I am fully aware of the 3 speed settings, but this still doesn't change the performance of many games I've personally tried with it even on the latest firmware.

When you do review the microninja, please can you test out Ouendan and Animal Crossing? Those 2 in particular don't just suffer speed issues on the NinjaDS, but are buggy/crash in play negligent of media used. It'd be interesting to know if these issues would be resolved by then.

Awesome!

 

[larvi]

How's the save speed, I wonder if the AKFS helps with that at all? Take pokemon d/p for example, saving takes quite a while on my SC since it saves directly to the SD card, but on my EZ flash it's pretty much instantaneous, but doesn't save directly to the SD card. Is the save time on the AceKard noticeably quicker than with super card, etc? Otherwise there doesn't appear to be much of a point to using the proprietary system.

 

[Costello]

The battery test we are currently performing is:
- DS: fat, fully charged
- Game: Metroid Prime Hunters
- Part of the game: intro (looping)
- Brightness: normal
- Sound: maximum

With the exact same conditions, on the same DS, the DS-X lasted between 7:30 and 8 hours.
Let's see how the acekard performs

We'll run another test on a DSLite later.


Just out of curiosity, how long does the genuine cart last?

That's a good question, we will try it.
We should also try other linkers and report it in the slot-1 comparison.

 

[cory1492]

costello: my DSLink dosn't detect save types, instead it patches the save routine to use their chip (be it flash, eeprom or otherwise) and always creates a 520K file regardless of the save type (though, I haven't tried all that many games on it).

Just out of curiosity, something of an annoyance I have had with the DSLink which doesnt have a spring mechanism on the micro slot, is it possible to eject the SD out of the AK (considering the cart is a little bit more wedged in there, is it possible to activate the SD eject instead of the DS slot eject)? And could that be the purpose of the cut-away, to ensure the micro doesn't bind in that instance?

edit:/ as always, excellent review (for those of us who like to read more than just the final point value). Thanks for always taking the extra time to test thoroughly.

 

[ChowMein]

nice review, very in-depth as is usual with most gbatemp reviews

 

[Costello]

Cory, it doesn't really matter how the different linkers proceed (detect save type or not), what matters is that the user doesn't have to look for the save type himself.
In a context where we would have only few solutions on the market, it wouldn't really matter.
But in the current context where were have lots and lots of different solutions, you've got to be better than the others if you want to win this little war. And asking the user to find the save type is such a hassle (it isn't a hassle per se, but compared to what the others have to offer).
It doesn't matter how they allow the user not to have to enter the save type himself, but they've got to get rid of this problem anyway, somehow.

 

[cory1492]

However the DSLink detects the save types, it doesn't use a proprietary file system, etc... The comparison is easy.
If it did, it would make properly sized files wrather than backing up the entire 4Mb save chip for every game.
QUOTECory, it doesn't really matter how the different linkers proceed (detect save type or not), what matters is that the user doesn't have to look for the save type himself.

It does indeed matter. AK doesn't require you to tell it what save type for EVERY game, does it? Meaning to me at least, that there is some type of database or method that it uses, and that the software just doesn't know everything... yet.

In a context where one is using the initial release of essentially a chinese language software, such things should be expected. I personally don't care for the hassle of picking through all the options in M3's game manager (guessing which each one might mean) to find out the game won't even start using those particular options, and having to go through it all again (though compared to its initial release, it is much more intuitive a year or more later now that they made better "default" options into a db), perhaps 3 or 4 times before a game will work. Much simpler to pick a save type than those M3 options, as there are far less save types than there are M3 patcher options, and it doesnt require you to go back to the patcher in the PC.

edit:/ also have to also remember, the AK doesn't analyze the ROM before sending to examine things at all. So problems like saver detection and d/l-play are going to be in the hands of the kernel programmers. Have any of the chinese marketed carts had a perfect kernel on their initial release? The "perfect" product says 30+ releases means... no.

 

[robbierotten]

The battery test we are currently performing is:
- DS: fat, fully charged
- Game: Metroid Prime Hunters
- Part of the game: intro (looping)
- Brightness: normal
- Sound: maximum

With the exact same conditions, on the same DS, the DS-X lasted between 7:30 and 8 hours.
Let's see how the acekard performs

We'll run another test on a DSLite later.


Just out of curiosity, how long does the genuine cart last?

That's a good question, we will try it.
We should also try other linkers and report it in the slot-1 comparison.

I can tell you answer right now 'Hooya'... no where near 7.5-8 hours on a ds phat with full volume.... that ole ds-x is a wonder cart!!!!!!!!!!!!!! change it's score to ten quick

 

[stop_loading]

I'll take this over ds-x anyday, 100% compatibility

 

[stinkingbob]

DS-X is today for the NDS as the X-ROM was for the GBA.
Both groundbreaking. Both revolutionary.
Go DS-X!!

 

[CCNaru]

Peresonally I think I expected too much from AceKard...this dissapoints me too much. I'll have to hold out on buying this...that new NinjaDS solution looks exciting, though...

and does the DS browser work?

edit2: im retarded lol

 

[stop_loading]

DS-X is today for the NDS as the X-ROM was for the GBA.
Both groundbreaking. Both revolutionary.
Go DS-X!!

wow a ds-x fanboy

ds-x is pointless, you spent over $120, have unupgradeable 512mb memory, have no gba support, and heck more or less the same compatibility as the top slot 2 solutions, what's the point of slot 1 solution if it required continuous nitpicky update for their roms just like slot 2 solution

i would rather get m3l/scl, it's cheaper, you use microSD which can be used elsewhere, and heck the same compatibility as DS-X

acekard on the other hand, definitely has a point, it boosts 100% compatiblity and future proof (untill proven otherwise), now that's an advantage over slot 2 solutions

 

[fishsticks]

I thought it was rather interesting how the Kingston 1GB MicroSD card is rated a 3, when the Sandisk Ultra II, which is faster, is rateda 7. Does that means that there will be no slowdown using the normal speed Kingston MicroSD? Can someone give it a whirl, considering the kingston card is about half the price of the sandisk ultra.

 

[cenotaph]

DS-X is, as AceKard, based on a brilliant concept but lives up poorly to it. 512M will be too little in the long run. And for those believing themselves to not be dependent on patches or firmware upgrading when using the DS-X, I seem to recall a firmware upgrade not long ago correcting some ROM (in)compatibility issues... (the DS-X still does patching if I remember correctly, it just does it on the fly).

I'd also say DS-X rides a fair amount on the hype of it being the "first slot one flash card" and has a price thereafter.

As for the AceKard... I'd really like to see someone testing Castlevania with a microSD card rated at 3 to see if there are slowdowns in the intro. I'm still interested if it'll be as cheap (~$50) as some have claimed.

 

[CCNaru]

Price will be a big selling point, since I chose SC cause of the price...and a ds-x fanboy has a valid reason to be...excluding the filesize limit and the high-price, it's an excellent slot-1 solution...

 

[CronoTrig]

DS-X is today for the NDS as the X-ROM was for the GBA.
Both groundbreaking. Both revolutionary.
Go DS-X!!


wow a ds-x fanboy

ds-x is pointless, you spent over $120, have unupgradeable 512mb memory, have no gba support, and heck more or less the same compatibility as the top slot 2 solutions, what's the point of slot 1 solution if it required continuous nitpicky update for their roms just like slot 2 solution

i would rather get m3l/scl, it's cheaper, you use microSD which can be used elsewhere, and heck the same compatibility as DS-X

acekard on the other hand, definitely has a point, it boosts 100% compatiblity and future proof (untill proven otherwise), now that's an advantage over slot 2 solutions

Wow, an AceKard fanboy. Do you realize how stupid you sound? AceKard has the same (few) problems DS-Xtreme has: slowdown in SOME games and non-working download play in SOME games. Not TRULY 100% compatible. DS-X is also future-proof (until proven otherwise); have you seen any new games not working on it? That's what I thought. Now please take your bashing elsewhere, maybe go bash your head on the wall or something.

 

[martin88]

I thought DSX has no slowdowns?

If it does, does that make G6 Lite the only cart with no slowdown at all and the closest thing to a real cart?