I guess I am not a total noob. I have used an R4 and owned briefly an EZ Flash IV. I also own two GBA flash carts (EZF IV and a 16 MB thing with internal memory).
I am planning on buying a flash cart from realhotstuff.hk which seems to be on the up and up from what I have heard said here and elsewhere. They are currently having a sale and the following flash carts have caught my eye and are within my budget:
Acecard 2i
Acecard 2.1
R4i
iSmart MM
I have quite a few questions some which apply to each cart and a few specific questions about the individual carts.
I am concerned about battery life as I know flash carts tend to drain batteries faster than most carts. My question then is which of these would have the least drain? My understanding is that I could use my GBA flash cart with internal memory with any of the above carts, is that correct? Is there any difference between these carts ability to play home brews? And lastly, can any of these be used for online play?
I am aware than the Acecard 2.1 and 2i are basically the same thing save DSi compatibility and load times which is a result of the DSi compatibility. My question about them is: How bad is the extra load times and is it just when the cart boots, when you boot up individual games, or both? I don't own a DSi right now so the compatibility thing is not an issue, although if the load times aren't too bad I might consider getting the 2i in case I get a DSi down the line.
The R4i SDHC is obviously the cheapest choice amongst those, but I am concerned by what seems to be a torrent of knock-offs. How serious of an issue is this in regards to actual usage?
As for the iSmart MM I know it is often compared to the hugely praised DSTWO and because of the current sale is actually in my budget, but what is it that makes it so great compared to other flash carts? Is it just the media player thing? Because I am not sure that is something that really interests me. Also I am aware that it has a GBA emulator, what is compatibility like on that? I couldn't really find much about it by Googling although that is not a huge issue since I own two different GBA flash carts.
Finally, are there any other concerns I should have with regards to any of those carts?
I know that's a lot and I appreciate in advance any help that you guys can give me.
I am planning on buying a flash cart from realhotstuff.hk which seems to be on the up and up from what I have heard said here and elsewhere. They are currently having a sale and the following flash carts have caught my eye and are within my budget:
Acecard 2i
Acecard 2.1
R4i
iSmart MM
I have quite a few questions some which apply to each cart and a few specific questions about the individual carts.
I am concerned about battery life as I know flash carts tend to drain batteries faster than most carts. My question then is which of these would have the least drain? My understanding is that I could use my GBA flash cart with internal memory with any of the above carts, is that correct? Is there any difference between these carts ability to play home brews? And lastly, can any of these be used for online play?
I am aware than the Acecard 2.1 and 2i are basically the same thing save DSi compatibility and load times which is a result of the DSi compatibility. My question about them is: How bad is the extra load times and is it just when the cart boots, when you boot up individual games, or both? I don't own a DSi right now so the compatibility thing is not an issue, although if the load times aren't too bad I might consider getting the 2i in case I get a DSi down the line.
The R4i SDHC is obviously the cheapest choice amongst those, but I am concerned by what seems to be a torrent of knock-offs. How serious of an issue is this in regards to actual usage?
As for the iSmart MM I know it is often compared to the hugely praised DSTWO and because of the current sale is actually in my budget, but what is it that makes it so great compared to other flash carts? Is it just the media player thing? Because I am not sure that is something that really interests me. Also I am aware that it has a GBA emulator, what is compatibility like on that? I couldn't really find much about it by Googling although that is not a huge issue since I own two different GBA flash carts.
Finally, are there any other concerns I should have with regards to any of those carts?
I know that's a lot and I appreciate in advance any help that you guys can give me.