Hacking Newbie Questions on G6/M3 - Recommendations, etc.

[xDRONEx]

I've read Fifth Element's [spelt differently I know] and I've just tried to read as much as I can on flash cards/carts/etc- but I'm still kind of overwhelmed and not sure what exactly is what.

Anyways...

Money isn't that big of an issue - if I'm going to get something I'd rather get the best one I can.

Anyways... Some questions.

I know I need a passme device [that plugs into the DS Cartridge slot (slot 1 right?)] to allow me to play DS games - regardless of what flashcart or whatever I go with. Does the passme device number (I know there's like passme 2, 3, etc] depend on the flashcart I go with, or the model of DS that I have?

I have an original DS system (NOT the DS Lite) - I bought it when it was very first released... so I have the earliest model possible or whatever. If I get a M3 or G6 or whatever - do I need a Passme 3? Or do I have to go and get an older version of the passme, since I do not have a DS Lite. If the passme 3 doesn't work and I need to get a older passme, if I ever do decide to get a DS Lite - does that mean I have to go and buy a passme3 then?

Also, whats up with the G6 LITE and M3 LITE or whatever. Is the GBA cartridge slot on the DS Lite smaller or something? Since I have an old model DS, can I still use the g6 or m3? I thought I read that they have some kind of catridge I could plug the flashcart into, and then I plug that cartridge into the GBA slot...? If so, is that the only way they'd work and fit in my old model DS? Also, since I have the old model DS - if I can get the m3/g6 lites to work - will they fit in the GBA slot fine or will they stick out? I thought that I've seen a pic of the M3 sticking out or something...

Basically, I want a flashcart that will run DS and GBA games as good as possible. I was leaning towards the G6, but I was reading about some kind of corruption problems some units were having and it was making me a bit hesitant.

I read that the M3 Lite model only works in DS Lites? It wont work/fit in my old model DS? I guess there's a larger model [does it work the same as the M3 Lite] that will work in my old DS... but if say I ever get a DSL, it's going to be all clunky and stick out [if it even fits] in my DS lite then right?

I have a lot of questions and i'm pretty confused... ahhh.. I appreciate any help.

So my main concerns:

If I have an OLD model DS, what passcard device do I need? Does it depend on the flashcart I purchase? If I ever get a DS Lite, do I have to go and buy a new model of passmecard or whatever to fit in the DS lite?

Since I have an OLD DS, will the M3 Lite [which uses sandisk memory cards right?] or G6 Lite fit? I know they fit in the DS lites... but do they fit the older model?

As far as compatibility of DS/GBA games, the g6/m3 are basically the same since they are run by the same company right? Do both m3/g6 run homebrew stuff like snes games and stuff? if not, doesn't matter - since I mainly care about GBA/NDS support.

I read that one of the, i guess, downsides of the m3 compared to g6 was that reading times were slower? what does that mean? slower to read/start the rom up? or does it actually effect the speed of the game when you're playing? like, does it load levels slower? or does all that mean it just loads up the run a little slower - and if so, how much slower?

Also, I read up about the DS-X... when does that come out? It doesn't support GBA games though, correct? It will leave the GBA slot free though, correct? So I could technically use the DS-X and have a GBA flashcart in the GBA slot without problems?

I'm waiting to see how the DS-X NDS compatibility turns out - and whether it plays GBA games... if its a not good.. then I was going to get a g6 or m3 lite i guess? but im not sure which will work on my old NDS model - and which would be able to work on a DS lite if i ever decide to get one. im just asking now so im more informed and stuff.

long post, i know - and i recycled my questions a lot... sorry

just kind of overhwhelming and confusing right now for me..

 

[tama_mog]

1st suggestion, keep reading, you haven't read enough.

1) If you have the original ds, you don't need passme devices 2+ (passme2, passme3 etc) so if you can find some older passme device for cheap, go right ahead, it'll work just fine. But all passme2+ will be backward compatible and all will work with your ds.

2) Yes the gba slot on the lite is shorter, so if you put a regular sized gba cart inside, it will stick out. A lot of devices will already fit your ds without getting the lite version, so you may want to take that into consideration.

3) Yes m3 lite and g6 lite are both designed to sit flush with the gba slot of the ds lite. However, g6 lite has a case that can adapt the pc board to the regular gba cart size (hence fit yours).

4) Yes if you get something like a m3 mini, or g6 regular 3rd gen, yes it will stick out if you get a ds lite.

5) Yes I personally have experienced corruption issues on the g6 lite, but never with the g6 3rd gens.

6) Yes compatability between g6 and m3 on nds/gba is near identical with just a couple exceptions.

7) The m3's new firmware has fixed a lot of speed issues and run just as good as g6 now most the times, so loading times or actual slow down in games is of little concern.

8) Read abotu DS-X here:

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=36934

9) DS-X will not suport GBA games and yes it's a slot 1 device so leaves the gba slot free. You can have both flashcarts without problems as long as you tell your ds which to boot up (although if you're doing this, you are assumed to be using flashme as your passme method, or else you need to give up the slot 1 to use a passme device).

Good luck and keep up the reading.

 

[xDRONEx]

Wow, thanks for the reply - you were very helpful.

A few more questions:

The g6 3rd gen - it will fit into my old DS obviously - but if I switch to a DS Lite, it will stick out right?

And you said the g6 lite comes with a little casing that will allow it to fit in older model DS's - but does the M3 Lite have that too?

 

[tama_mog]

yes the g6 3rd gen will stick out of your ds lite if you swtich.

The m3 lite does not come with the gba sized case.

 

[xDRONEx]

I'm waiting on the DS-X to make my ultimate decision.. but I might end up getting a DSL and a M3 Lite....

My questions though are... Supposedly the NDS and GBA compatibility are really good, but I was looking at the NDS compatibility on:

http://m3wiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

and I noticed one game people have mentioned as having problems with is Ultimate Spider-Man. Not that I necessarily want to play that game, but if it doesn't work how do I know games I will want to play might not work. Will Ultimate Spider-Man ever be playable? What if some new game doesn't work... will a new patch or something for the game loader come out to fix it? Thats important to me. Obviously someone probably can't answer that.. but I threw it out there.

Anyways, for the m3 lite...

I need to get a Mini SD card for that? Where do I buy those? How expensive are they? Are what is generally considered to be a good card?

So if I go with it, i'd need a m3 lite, a passcard3 or whatever... a mini sd card to put into the m3lite--- and dont i need a reader to read/transfer data between my PC and the sd card? where can i get those/etc? price?

I was looking at ordering possibly from realhotstuff - they seem to have it in stock, etc.

sorry for the noob questions again

 

[xDRONEx]

Also, specifically I was looking at the budle they offer of:

http://www.realhotstuff.com/lite-passcard-...ader-p-122.html

A question I have though is:

1 X Sandisk 1 GB microSD (comes with SD adapter)

What is the "SD Adapter"?

And what card exactly is the "Sandisk 1 GB microSD"?

I was looking at the card compatibility list on http://m3wiki.com/index.php?title=Media_Card

the closest card on there to "Sandisk 1 GB microSD" is the * Sandisk MicroSD Ultra II 1GB i guess? Since they're both 1 GB... but it isn't clear and they might even be 2 totally different cards.

Does anyone know how well the 1 GB SD Card on the realhotstuff deal they offer - how well it runs the castlevania test and just how well it performs overall?

thanks again o.O

 

[tama_mog]

Once, again all your questions are answered over and over again in the m3 adapter forums by just reading a couple posts. But I will oblige with some quick but to the point responses:

1) Yes Ultimate Spiderman poses a problem on all the flashcarts in fact, not just the m3....I believe the only one that's been proven to work is the ds link, which is a slot 1 solution (much like the ds-x is, except the key differences like memory expansion and passme, but that's another discussion in its own right). Will this pose a problem for future games? Most likely not, look @ how many games came out afterwards and all work with software updates, only way this can pose a problem is if games afterwards all employ whatever spiderman uses to mess with the flashcarts....and on a side note, the game does work, just missing some sound effects and can't watch the intro. As to whether the game will ever be playable, maybe, if more games employ similar problems it will force the m3 team to come up with a decent update to take care of the problem....but so far no one wants to go through the trouble of working it out for a 1 game, and an at best mediocre game @ that. So far you can already tell everything works with software updates except for a couple measely titles such as Ultimate Spiderman.
2) Do not mix the terms up, you need a micro SD, not a mini sd, very different cards.
3) Where to get micro sds, ebay, verizon wireless stores, newegg, try searching around the net, they are not hard to find.
4) Are they expensive, no they are not. You're looking @ around 2 gigs for $100 and 1 gig for $30-$50 pending on the deal you find.
5) You obviously need a way for the pc to put information on the micro sd cards, you will need a SD card reader.
6) An adapter is exactly what it sounds like, the micro sd will be put into the SD card adapter so that you can just read the micro sd like a regular SD card in a SD card reader.
7) What card exactly is sandisk 1gb microsd? This is pretty obvious, go to sandisk's homepage, they make only 2 types of sd cards, regular (the one you listed) and the Ultra II (higher speed).
8) You don't need an ultraII to get maximum speed on games with the new m3 firmware/software, (27a), if you read threads instead of just posting you'd see about 5-10 on the first page talking about how regular sandisk cards are good enough already to get a 5/5 on the castlevania test.

the bundle @ realhotstuff is fine, they are a great retailer. Please try to read more.

 

[xDRONEx]

Thanks for all of the help, you're truly a great member of this forum.

I'll try to do some more reading, sorry for all of the questions. I greatly appreciate your help though, I can't understate that enough.

 

[solojerry]

You probably meant overstate - but its much funnier this way