Hacking quick AK2 question

[golden]

I am planning on buying my friend a flash cart so he can play some games on it. I have decided to get him an AK2 because it is really simple, cheap, effective, and I have an AKRPG and they are very similar so I can help him with it. Now, the last thing I want to happen is it failing on him with those horrendous card errors that you have to send back to exchange. My question is that on Dealextreme they have two different items both AK2s the links are in order:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11811

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16142

what is the difference between these two items? the price is slightly different so they must have a difference between each other and is one safer to buy than the other? Which on is better overall and why? thanks in advance.

 

[Diablo1123]

One doesn't include a MicroSD if I remember correctly.

 

[Another World]

the ak2.1 will never have the errors the ak2 had. the green pcb has been fixed and the black pcb version is a new redesign. the one for 12.99 does not come with a msd reader. which isn't a bad thing, you are better off with a name brand reader like a kingston. wheather you get a green or black pcb is the luck of the draw. both will work the same way, and while the black is newer the green actually has a smoother insert and a better spring design. i've noticed that on the black the msd gets a little stuck if you don't push down and let it POP up on its own.

-another world

 

[DeMoN]

One doesn't include a MicroSD if I remember correctly.

Neither comes with a MicroSD but like Another World said, one doesn't even come with a reader (pretty much the only flash card that doesn't).

Get the newer one because the older batches of AK2s have pretty high failure rates.

 

[golden]

One doesn't include a MicroSD if I remember correctly.

Neither comes with a MicroSD but like Another World said, one doesn't even come with a reader (pretty much the only flash card that doesn't).

Get the newer one because the older batches of AK2s have pretty high failure rates.

that was what my question was asking, which one is the newer one?

 

[Another World]

they are both the 2.1.

the one for 13.24 comes with a msd card reader the one for 12.99 does not.

-another world

 

[golden]

ok thank you for the clarification.

 

[basicdim]

i'm a flash cart noob here. thankfully i found this site and has a great amount of useful info! so thanks for all the good information!

i usually read, search, and rarely ever post... (my 1st post). but i have a quick question. (sorry to hijack this thread).

is this the best course of action for me?
1) i gather the best place to buy an acekard is DX.
2) all acekards from DX is now 2.1? as they only state acekard 2.
3) a-data micro sdhc class 6 are the recommended choice (from newegg).
4) akaio should be used and the newest firmware to be added in the ak2loader folder.
5) if i need a cheat. get cheats here. and it doesn't matter which file .dat, .xml, etc.. as they all the same?

so is there anything i'm missing or recommend? i've been diligently reading the forum for as much info as possible before i buy. since i'm new to this thing i want to make sure i'm getting all this right... thanks in advance for your assistance!

 

[Bri]

Seems about right! Note that DX sells two versions, only one of which has a microSDHC reader (for about 50 cents more). Unless you already have a microSDHC reader, you'll need to make sure to get one.

There are actually two different "2.1" versions of the Acekard 2: the older ones with the green PCB that are the same as carts that were prone to hardware problems (presumably these are under more strict quality control so they shouldn't have the same problems) and the newer design with the black PCB (sometimes called the "2.1+") which are not prone to hardware problems. There are reports of DX slipping in carts with the green PCB instead of newer ones with the black PCB, so if you order you might want to add a comment that you want to make sure what they send you has a black PCB.

-Bri

 

[Joey90]

1) - Yep, DX is the way to go, so long as you don't mind 1-2 weeks shipping.
2) - All are 2.1, some are black, some are green, but all will work fine.
3) - Pretty much any branded microSD will be sufficient, DX do some, I'm not sure how the price compares with newegg.
4) - AKAIO is good, you only need to put the akmenu4.nds from the official firmware in the loader folder, and even then that is only for a select few games that need it.
5) - http://cheats.gbatemp.net/ I believe smiths/normatt recommended using USRCHEAT.dat due to it's smaller filesize, but CHEAT.dat and CHEATS.xml should also work

Good luck

 

[basicdim]

great! thanks guys for the help. just wanted to make sure i got everything right. placing my order with DX now!