Hello guys, I want to buy myself a 3DS console but I am not sure what I should buy. I am planning to buy a 3DS with a firmware equal to or below 9.2 for obvious reasons. At first I just wanted to buy a used old 3DS xl with an appropriate firmware, but (at least in my country) most used ones go away for around 50 euros less than a brand new one and afaik pretty much all new (old) 3DS XL's should have a good firmware so I thought I might as well buy a brand new one. However I just found somebody selling a N3DS XL which is 9 months old and according to him not used very often on firmware 9.0.0-20E for a kind of reasonable price as I guess he doesn't know how much his console is worth (the price is about the same as brand new N3DS would cost). Now I guess I should probably take the N3DS XL, but I am not really sure yet. The thing I dislike is that emunand is only supported up to 9.5. In general, is setting up a cfw on n3DS more difficult than on old 3DS? And is updating the emunand to 9.5 difficult in particular or risky? Like is it worth the hassle? I read through some guides for old 3DS and I have a basic idea of how to set it up and stuff, but are there any other problems which aren't solved for N3DS yet? Afaik one can also install a cfw on N3DS without any exploit game, right? Hope you can help me.
As I use to say, if you have the chance to get a N3DS with 9.2 or below, GET IT! If you can't, get a O3DS with 9.2 or below. It seems the hardest part of the search has already been cut for you since you know someone willing to sell one N3DS like that. So stop worrying about the other issues and get it. It's worth it. And it's not that hard to set up stuff for the N3DS. There's plenty of guides around, plenty of methods to do it (different entrypoints for CFW) and most of all, plenty of people who can help you once you have the console.
The 3D on the n3DS is just so much better, you'll be able to play n3DS exclusives, and use the CPU clock plugin in NTR to make certain 3DS games less laggy. Homebrew emulators run better as well. I would definitely go with the n3DS.
Thanks for the suggestions guys, gonna get the N3DS. For setting up the cfw this guide should be fine right? https://gbatemp.net/threads/tutorial-how-to-install-a-cfw-on-a-9-0-9-2-n3ds-without-cn-oot.398394/ Also which cfw would you recommend me? rxTools should suffice if I mostly just want to install unsigned cia's, right? What exactly is the rxtools devmode? And if I understand it right, I won't be able to install virtual console cia's or did I get something wrong (note sure what AGB and TWL is)?
rxTools is good but since the latest versions are only available as nighlies due to some features still not working on N3DS (nothing related to actual gaming), you might also want to check Reinand since it's the most recommended CFW for the N3DS
9.5 EmuNAND is not really a limitation. I have both an O3DS with 10.1 EmuNAND and a N3DS with 9.5 EmuNAND and I never have to use the O3DS. Right now, there are no games that do not run on 9.5, and both firmware and kernel version spoofing is implemented. That's not to say it will not become a problem in the future, but right now it is not an issue. If you are at all interested in homebrew, an N3DS is the only choice. The vast majority of Retroarch emulator cores only run at full speed on the N3DS, for example.
If i choose between o3ds and n3ds, I'd go for n3ds, it has double speed, exclusive games but today its risky to get a n3ds for cfw (below 9.2) and i wouldnt take the risk. Its up to you.
