Gaming So many options...so confusing :-s

[dsixl]

hi guys,

First of all let me thank you for a brilliant forum. I'm glad I found you guys as i was feeling my head was gonna explode.

I've just bought 3 dsi xl consoles for the kids and damn are they hard to please, lol. I'm ok with computers, but not very good with consoles, so after some searching around i've realised that if i wanna more "ahem ahem" games, i'd have to get a special card. Now there are tons of different cards and if you search around, you realise that many sites recommend different brands. This has really baffled me and i'm hoping a popular site like yours will be able to point me to the right direction and recommend me a card which is future prove too, so that when i'm ready in a week or two, i can take the plunge to update the dsi xl's. Btw, I have firmware 1.4E on them.

Anyway here is what i'd like to know:-

1. Are there any disadvantages in m*d*ing a dsi xl? i.e. do we lose any features such as internet etc?
2. Currently what is the best/future proof card as of today? How much should it cost? Any recommended places to buy?
3. Is there an easy guide that i can follow to do the m*d?
4. Once i've done the mod, will i be able to play DS games on a DSi XL?

Sorry for so many questions, but i'd rather post them under one thread, than seperately.

Thank You Very Much!

 

[ShadowSoldier]

1. Are there any disadvantages in m*d*ing a dsi xl? i.e. do we lose any features such as internet etc?
- No need to mod a DSi XL, a simple card that doesn't require any modding at all is perfect, and no you don't lose internet or any other features.

2. Currently what is the best/future proof card as of today? How much should it cost? Any recommended places to buy?
- Assuming you don't have another DS or have access to a DS lite, the DSTWO. It plays any games right away without having to worry about patching or updates or anything. It comes with some great features such as Gameboy Advance emulation, and SNES emulation. It's a bit pricey. But if you don't have another DS [preferably a lite] then it's you're best choice. It's a bit pricey, but in the long run, it pay's off. It's $35.00. The best place to buy, which I think, is ShopTemp only because of the quality. And you don't risk getting a fake or anything. If you were in the states, I'd say RealHotStuff, but I'm guessing you're not. You will also need MicroSD cards. And assuming they're for your kids, a simple 1gb, maybe 2gb works just fine.

DSTWO @ www.shoptemp.com

3. Is there an easy guide that i can follow to do the m*d?
- You just put the MicroSD into your computer, and it's all drag and drop. No software or anything needed. Flashcards these days are really easy to use.

4. Once i've done the mod, will i be able to play DS games on a DSi XL?
- Yes. As I said, the DSTWO plays all the newest games without trying to patch the game or anything, it automatically patches and plays no problem.

 

[pocchama1996]

If you want to go all out and get a card that plays DS games flawlessly and also supports GBA and SNES then get Supercard DSTWO
If you want one that plays all DS games flawlessly but not GBA/SNES but is significantly cheaper get Acekard 2i

1. Using a flalshcart doesnt require that you mod your ds
2.Supercard DSTWO is number one at the moment, its about 40 dollars, Shoptemp is reliable but pretty slow if in USA if your in the USA id reccomend realhotstuff.com they deliver in 2-4 days free shipping and only charge like 5 bucks more for their stuff.
3.Its just drag the firmware and some games to a microsd and put it in your flashcart and put that in your ds. Its not rocket science.
4.yes duh you could play ds games on a dsi xl even without a flashcart

 

[pocchama1996]

we posted nearly the same stuff only you did it faster and neater. I am disappoint in myself.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

we posted nearly the same stuff only you did it faster and neater. I am disappoint in myself.

you just got ninja'd.

 

[Rydian]

1 - There's no actual modding done, no change to the DS/i/XL is needed, at all. It's all in the cart, which you use just like a normal game cart.

2 - Acekard 2i or Supercard DSTwo. I'll post a chart lower.

3 - Depends on the cart you get. For the DSTwo, it's minor. For the Acekard 2i you'll need it to be flashed to work on a DSi XL (this is flashing of the cart, NOT your system), most places such as shoptemp.com (this site's partner store) offer to do the flashing for you (you can't do it on a DSiXL yourself) for a buck or two.

4 - Yes. However the flash carts work in DS mode, so while you can play DSi-enhanced games, they will only work as if they were being played on a DS, and you cannot play DSi-only games. This is the way it is across the board.

And now my copy-paste.

You have two choices for carts that have proper support/updates.
[*]Acekard 2i

• Price: $16 from shoptemp.com
• Rank: Mid-range card for people that want to play lots of games on a DSi/XL with some extra features.

[*]Supercard DSTwo

• Price: $35 from shoptemp.com
• Rank: Pretty much the ultimate card right now.

• DS / DS Lite
  The card will work on an original (fat) DS or a DS Lite.
• DSi / DSi XL
  The card will work on a DSi or DSi XL as well.
• Game Updates
  Firmware updates are what let cards play newer games, these are the life-blood of the card.
• SDHC
  SDHC refers to SD cards larger than 2GB (gigabytes). If there's no SDHC support, you can only use SD cards up to 2GB.
• WiFi Update
  The Acekard 2i can update it's cheats (and get minor bug fixes) over WiFi without having to connect to a computer.
• Clean Mode
  The DSTwo has special features to ignore AP in most games, letting you play them without having to wait for a firmware update first.
• RTS
  The Real-Time Save (Save State) function lets you save and reload your game progress at any moment you wish.
• In-Game Guide
  You can pull up text files and images in-game, in order to check a walkthrough or map you downloaded at any time during a game.
• Slow Motion
  The card lets you slow down the game speed as you wish.
• In-Game Cheats
  The card lets you create and modify cheats while the game is running.
• Special Homebrew
  The card has multiple pieces of special homebrew, such as it's own GBA and SNES emulators, as well as text/PDF reader and video player.
• Battery Life
  Unfortunately the DSTwo's extra CPU and RAM (which give it the special features) eat into the battery life a bit.

If you don't like referral links, the non-ref versions are here.
R4
Acekard 2i
Supercard DSTwo

 

[pocchama1996]

we posted nearly the same stuff only you did it faster and neater. I am disappoint in myself.

you just got ninja'd.

and now we've both been 1-upped by Rydian

 

[dsixl]

well thank you so much guys for a super fast responses. I'm really grateful for your help.

A couple of things though...

1. Even though i've bought it for the kids, i plan to put plenty of adult games, emulators etc on it, so will a 8gb card be sufficient?

2. I'm happy with paying a premium for the SuperTwo, but will this mean that i will have to buy a card for each individual dsi or can i use the same card with the 3 xl's?

3. I live in the UK, but i noticed shoptemp are selling in dollars...are they based in america?

I'm off to sleep, but will check in the morning for your replies.

many thanks again!

 

[Rydian]

1 - Yes, my 8GB card fits over 80 games on it (your mileage may vary because the sizes of games very a lot).

2 - Like I said it's all in the cart, you can stick it in any DS model and it'll function just fine.

3 - No, based in china (where flash carts are made). You can change the currency and paypal automatically converts of course.

 

[pocchama1996]

1. Yes I have an 8Gb and I have 86 ds games and 50+ GBA/Snes games
2.You can use the same card for each Dsi xl but then theyd have to learn sharing and taking turns and not be able to play multiplayer with eachother
3.Shoptemp is based in Shenzhen, China actually

 

[ShadowSoldier]

1. Even though i've bought it for the kids, i plan to put plenty of adult games, emulators etc on it, so will a 8gb card be sufficient?
- 8gb will be more than enough. I have a 2gb bought, and I have 21 games installed. Of course they're all trimmed to save space, but you would likely do that as well.

2. I'm happy with paying a premium for the SuperTwo, but will this mean that i will have to buy a card for each individual dsi or can i use the same card with the 3 xl's?
- You can use the card in any system. If the kids don't mind sharing, one DSTWO will be good enough.

3. I live in the UK, but i noticed shoptemp are selling in dollars...are they based in america?
- That's just the currency, for you, the price would be £22.22. You can see the flags on the right above "bundle it"
And as Rydian has posted, you can get it flashed by ShopTemp for 2 bucks more if you're unsure of what to do.

 

[exangel]

3.Shoptemp is based in hongkong actually

I don't mean to nitpick this detail. I just thought they were based out of Shenzhen, China. Hong Kong is very close to Shenzhen, which may have something to do with postal services shipping through Hong Kong. If they really are based out of Hong Kong, then nevermind.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

3.Shoptemp is based in hongkong actually

I don't mean to nitpick this detail. I just thought they were based out of Shenzhen, China. Hong Kong is very close to Shenzhen, which may have something to do with postal services shipping through Hong Kong. If they really are based out of Hong Kong, then nevermind.

The package I got said "Shenzhen, China" when I got my R4 last week.

 

[tlyee61]

yeah i recommend an acekard or supercard dstwo because they are usually the first cards to get updates for new games (or in case of the dstwo auto-patching)

happy gaming!

 

[dsixl]

Thanks again guys...couldn't go to sleep, lol!!! It's 1:30am here!!

Unfortunately, I'd have to get 3 supercards + 3 microsd cards (8gb).
Roughly this would cost me:-
supercard + flashing = $36 + shipping = $8 = $44/£29
microsd (8gb) = £9
SUB TOTAL = £38

so i'd have to pay £38 x 3 = £114!!!

ps: DEFINATELY OFF TO SLEEP, LOL! Take Care!!!

 

[pocchama1996]

3.Shoptemp is based in hongkong actually

I don't mean to nitpick this detail. I just thought they were based out of Shenzhen, China. Hong Kong is very close to Shenzhen, which may have something to do with postal services shipping through Hong Kong. If they really are based out of Hong Kong, then nevermind.

My bad. I'm used to most things from China being from Hong Kong so I just assumed.

 

[Rydian]

so i'd have to pay £38 x 3 = £114!!!

Still way less than the price of buying all the games.

 

[exangel]

Thanks again guys...couldn't go to sleep, lol!!! It's 1:30am here!!

Unfortunately, I'd have to get 3 supercards + 3 microsd cards (8gb).
Roughly this would cost me:-
supercard + flashing = $36 + shipping = $8 = $44/£29
microsd (8gb) = £9
SUB TOTAL = £38

so i'd have to pay £38 x 3 = £114!!!

ps: DEFINATELY OFF TO SLEEP, LOL! Take Care!!!

If all three cards are for your children, I'd say that you should get preflashed Acekards. Since you are familiar enough with the consoles to know about the DSi firmware updates and their potential to break compatibility with flashcarts, you would still be able to update the Acekards in the future as long as at least one of your XL's is still running compatible firmware. I got a DSi XL on day one (March 28) and an Acekard 2i not long after, and when 1.4.1 DSi firmware came out in September, I just stayed out of the DSi Shop until I found the info on flashing the update on the Acekard 2i. When I confirmed I successfully updated it myself (a different icon displayed in DSi Menu), I then updated my XL's firmware to regain access to the DSi Shop.
DSi Shop is the only feature that is locked when your firmware is not up-to-date.

If at least one of the cards is for yourself as you've described, I'd get the DStwo for yourself and two acekards for your kids. And if you're familiar with computers as you've described I don't think that you'd need to pay for flashing service to the DStwo (the DStwo can self-flash regardless of DSi firmware compatibility, according to everything I read before ordering one for myself).

You probably don't need to get 8 gig mSD's for your kid's flashcarts either. I have an 8 gig that's about 60% full and I still don't even have save files yet for most of the games (I haven't even gotten around to launching them yet). When you find information about roms, the rom sizes are usually measured in bits, not bytes as you'd be accustomed to as a computer user. I have roms from 2MB to 256MB in my Acekard, but roms that are larger than 128MB are uncommon. Unless your kids want to have fairly complete RPG collections accessible all of the time, 4GB should be more than enough for them. Even though many NDS roms are 128MB as well, when trimmed (dummy data removed precisely with a trimming tool) they can be considerably smaller. One game backup I had (can't remember specifically which though) was 128MB untrimmed but just under 70MB after trimming.

I would recommend taking a look at tk_saturn's very detailed Acekard 2i guide before spending over a hundred pounds on the whole deal:
http://gbatemp.net/t218103-updated-n00b-gu...up-your-acekard

edit: removed a word left-over from rephrasing a sentence

edit2: I wanted to mention, as I have before when recommending the AK2i to other DSi XL users, that the contact issues mentioned in the guide are a known problem, and I did have contact issues with my first Acekard in my DSi XL. I did the under-PCB paper trick and later added a small strip of scotch tape to the bottom label-side of the cart, but I have a second Acekard 2i now, and it works perfectly in my DSi XL with no modification/fiddling whatsoever. I think the the contact issues are less common than they seem based on the information on the GBAtemp Acekard forum because problems are just more frequently discussed so that they can be solved. ShadowSoldier said in another thread a while ago that he never had contact issues with his AK2i in his DSi XL either.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I'm curious as to why you would get 8gb. If it's children, 2-4 gb is more than enough room if you trim the roms.

 

[Omninox]

Thanks again guys...couldn't go to sleep, lol!!! It's 1:30am here!!

Unfortunately, I'd have to get 3 supercards + 3 microsd cards (8gb).
Roughly this would cost me:-
supercard + flashing = $36 + shipping = $8 = $44/£29
microsd (8gb) = £9
SUB TOTAL = £38

so i'd have to pay £38 x 3 = £114!!!

ps: DEFINATELY OFF TO SLEEP, LOL! Take Care!!!

if you don't mind me asking, where are you getting your micro sd cards from? the ones on shoptemp are for £14, which is kinda pricey and would take quite a white to arrive :S