Hacking What is the Best Cart $100 Can Buy?

[fixed]

So I have $100 to spend and I am looking for the best slot 1 flash cart in terms of:

- Reliability (How long it will last me)
- Easy to use
- DS game support
- Emulation
- Multimedia

I can't decide what to get as I am planning to include a 2gb micro-SD in the flash cart as well. I was thinking about the r4 or the CycloDS.

 

[roadbusta]

I would usually recommend Cyclo, however there seems to be a shortage. If you can't wait, get the R4. Both these carts are reliable, and easy to use, and great for multimedia. As for emulation. I

 

[sirAnger]

R4 and Cyclo are great options. Both have excellent ease-of-use, emulation, and multimedia compatibility.

Depending on what kind you get, the R4 has been reported to have some issues with the MicroSD spring. The R4 team replaced that casing with a new one that doesn't have a spring. The Cyclo has a little better compatibility in the realm of download-play, but they're about equal in single player and multicart multiplay.

In my opinion, Cyclo is the better card by a small margin, but it's also a bit more expensive and harder to find - most stores are sold out.

 

[cubin']

I recommend the Cyclo if money is not a problem. If you want to save a bit on a card that does almost everything the clyclo does get an R4

 

[KINGOFNOOBS]

Acekard + 2GB MicroSD

 

[Hiratai]

Acekard + 2GB MicroSD

RPG that is. Get a 4GB MicroSDHC on eBay.

 

[dexmix]

why do people not go with EZV? i need a flash cart, and i can't understand whats better about the cyclo and r4

 

[Hiratai]

why do people not go with EZV? i need a flash cart, and i can't understand whats better about the cyclo and r4

Cyclo has features. R4 just plays the games, which EVERY flashcart does.

EzV = Teh Ghey.

 

[dexmix]

why do people not go with EZV? i need a flash cart, and i can't understand whats better about the cyclo and r4

Cyclo has features. R4 just plays the games, which EVERY flashcart does.

EzV = Teh Ghey.

yeah that doesn't help me at all...
EZ3 owned all flashcarts on the GBA, and from the reviews - the compatibility for EZV is spot on. what are these great features that everyone talks about? the R4 doesnt seem to like homebrew, and the Cyclo doesn't boot linux.

i would get an EZV because of the 3in1, because its black like my ds lite, and i prefer the side loading MicroSD.
but if these other carts are better, i wish people would point out specifics.

EzV = Teh Ghey. just isn't specific.


does download play not work with EZV?

 

[sirAnger]

-Save for a few games, download play does not work with EZV.
-There is no official English EZ Flash forum, and communication from devs leaves a lot to be desired. (I should mention that the Cyclo Devs know customer service. They keep a close eye on their forums and answer user questions quickly and thoroughly.)
-As far as the 3-in-1 goes, Cyclo has native support, and R4 has support through 3rd party homebrew software at the very least (I'm not sure if they added native support - haven't been following those updates).
-EZV still requires DLDI pre-patching for homebrew, where R4 and Cyclo use automatic patching when the game loads.
-With a recent firmware update, Cyclo runs Linux fine.

Of the three carts discussed here, EZV is the oldest, and it shows in the feature list. Aside from pre-patching homebrew, the compatibility is on par with R4. Cyclo still has the best feature list and compatibility of the three, but again, it comes at a higher cost.

 

[RyuKakashi]

I personally recommend a CycloDS Evo with 4gb microSDHC if you've got 100$.
The features just keep growing and the future is promising, as it seems that they're working on real time saving(like save states). They've got perfect everything working, download play, wii connectivity, and there's never a problem with the save support and ARM7 stuff.
It does great with homebrew as well, and it has it's own little native DLDI thing. As for running linux, i thought i heard that linux worked on it? Besides, does it really that matter?

 

[dexmix]

i'm sold. now i just have to find one. thanks!


what do i need for browsing? or good GBA support.

i see some people recommend the ewin expansion as opposed to the 3in1.

GBA support is not really important. do people really use the ds for browsing?

 

[RyuKakashi]

If by browsing you mean opera, I dont recommend it on DS. It's quite slow and painful, but that's just my opinion.

 

[dexmix]

so basically all i really need is a CycloDS Evo.

don't care about rumble, browsing, or gba. i prefer the micro buttons and d-pad for gba anyway.

Where can i find a CycloDS Evo in stock?!?!? not too worried about price.

 

[jesterscourt]

CycloEvo + 2 gig MicroSD

Real Hot Stuff is the place I'd recommend, might be a few dollars more, but they are reputable, fast, prompt and actually will respond if you have any questions. Oh yeah, ship DHL. They won't mangle your packages.

 

[dexmix]

they're out of stock

 

[DarkAura]

If the Cyclo is out of stock, wait for new stock, or you can get an R4.

It's really easy to use, and skinnable, and just a great cart overall. Download play was fixed in 1.11, and can now hold 4 gig SDHC cards. Damn, I must have said that 30 times. And it's affordable.

 

[dexmix]

i've got an R4DS and a Sandisk 4GB microSDHC coming in the mail.


edit: damn! looks like i should have got the kingston sdhc... its class 4, the sandisk is class 2.

 

[johnchan]

i've got an R4DS and a Sandisk 4GB microSDHC coming in the mail.

I hope you're not planning to use that 4GB MicroSDHC with the R4DS - that would be a shame. Why? Because R4 does not support SDHC and never will without a hardware update, which would mean buying a whole new unit. If anybody tries to tell me that the R4 team will be adding SDHC support, please refer here and to the fact that nobody has heard anything further about SDHC on R4. If you want SDHC you should be buying some of the products which already support it, then you dont need to worry if and when it will be supported in the future.

 

[dexmix]

yeah i cancelled the order. i'll get a microsdhc when the cyclo gets back in stock.