Should I just buy a new flashcard?

If your 3DS is on 4.4.0-10 or you plan on keeping your 3DS up-to-date as new 3DS games come out, then yes, you should get a new flashcart because it is unlikely the Acekard will ever be updated to work on 4.4.0-10 or higher.

The R4i Gold 3DS (r4ids.cn) and Supercard DSTWO are, in my opinion, your two best options.

 

I dont see a bright future for any flashcard on 3DS. I have a DSTwo, and it is a great deal, but I dont know what will happen on oncoming updates. The safe way is to get a DS Lite. You can find used ones for around $ 55 I think.

 

If your 3DS is on 4.1.0-8 and you have no plans to update to 4.4.0-10 or higher, then you could just borrow another DS that your Acekard works on and upgrade your Acekard to work with your 3DS.

If you do plan on updating your 3DS or you don't have the ability to borrow another DS, then you might as well buy an R4i Gold 3DS or a Supercard DSTWO. It doesn't really matter which one since they both receive regular updates. The DSTWO has more features, but I would just get the R4i Gold 3DS since its less money and the DSTWO doesn't have any additional features I need.

 

If the only thing you plan on doing is playing roms or homebrew, the R4i Gold is the better deal. However, if you're interested in SNES/GBA emulation and other cool features, then the DSTWO is better.

 

The DSTwo has much more than just GBA/SNES emulation, it has realtime save/load (save state stuff), realtime RAM search and cheat changing, text-vewer while a game is running, slow-motion, and more.

The DSTwo also has advantages over all the other active flash carts in that it has a secondary update ability that can sometimes update even if the DSi/3DS was updated first.

 

The SuperCard DSTwo is your best 3DS option now that Ninty knows what they're doing.

 

http://www.nds-card.com/
http://www.zhuzhuchina.com/store/
http://www.modchipcentral.com/store/
http://www.realhotstuff.com/

 

Never update your 3DS before you know the cart's been updated.

 

No, since they will most likely update it you don't need the sd card because once the update is run it is on the card itself.
Not a good explanation but no, you don't need to buy an sd card.

 

I just think is should be noted that the original email they sent me cited shipping taking anywhere from 5-35 days. I don't know If it's because of the holiday season or what, but I'm on day 28 and no card so far. Prepare to be patient! Elsewise, it seems realhotstuff may be the better option as far as shipping goes.

 

So... Its like the cyclo Evolution except its compatible with 3ds.

 

Just jumping in -- I have a dslite and a acekard 2i, and now I just said screw it, I got a r4i 3ds gold - skipped the dstwo, no fan of the "it uses your battery" thing and I don't care for the extras it has... ordered from RHS got it real fast (east coast)

 

Big problem with nds-card.com is the poor customer service.
I have to email multiple times, and typically get no replies.
When ordering, while their site states the order ships in one day, it does not, and they may actually ship a week or two later. making excuses all the way.
also
http://www.zhuzhuchina.com/
seems considerably cheaper. Any one have experience with them?

ALSO...
they seem to have many versions of the R4i card, and it makes it confusing on what to order.
is type / version D better than A through C?
Is there an F or later?