DS Flash Carts---A new thread

[rbudrick]

I know there's been plenty of threads about "which DS flash cart is better" in the past, but I figured I'd make a new one, since is seems there is finally some easy to use products out there that have been very simplified and much more compatible. It looks like there's several products out there for DS flash carts that work entirely in the DS slot without needing anything in the GBA slot to boot it.

We've got:
DS-Xtreme ($124.95) Built in USB port, has internal non-removeable 4gb (512MB)

M3 DS Simply ($44.95) Uses MicroSD cards

SuperCard DS-ONE ($50) (takes microSD cards)

R4-($44.95) Takes Micro SD cards)

Ninja DS- bulky because it takes regular SD cards, but is slot 1-only.

Ninja Pass ($54.95)-Takes MicroSD

EZ Flash V ($49.95)- Takes Micro SD

Coming soon?:
AceKard-takes MicroSD cards

MicroNinja -takes MicroSD cards

Did I miss any?


And the magic question is always "OMG! like wich 1's the best?!11!" But seriously...it's hard to choose. Does any have a distinct advantage or disadvantage? Should I wait for something else?

If I'm not mistaken, 512 megabytes (4 gigabits) is the most the DS can recognize, right? Or is it 4 gigabytes (32Gigabits)? Which of the above carts will support the maximum?

And forgive me for what is probably a stupid question, but I noticed that some of these claim "supports clean roms." Wazzat? On top of that, I remember a year ago that most cards only played homebrew and a select few hacked roms. Do the above units play commercial roms (hacked, not hacked, whatever).

Also, I remember back when passme was needed, if you wanted to save your game, you needed to attach a game with the same size save file to the passme or whatever. Is this even an issue any more?

Way too many questions, I know, but like I said, I thought it was about time for a new thread on this.

-Rob

[Jorpho]

There's really only one that supports non-micro SD cards, then?

[norkusa]

Good thread. I've been shopping around for a DS flash cart lately so hopefully I can get some good info here.

I've had my eye on the DS-Xtreme for a while, mainly because of it's ease of use and drag-and-drop installation. Now I see the M3 DS Simply that just came out which basically looks like the same card except that it uses MicroSD cards for storage.

So I guess my question is if there's any difference between the Simply and the DS-Xtreme besides the mini SD cards? Do you just drop your files into the SD card on your desktop and that's it?

[scooby105]

Get an R4 or M3 Simply. DS-Xtreme doesn't seem to update enough.

[rbudrick]

Aww, come on, Scooby, give us more detail than that!

Why? And why? Explain, por favor.

-Rob

[gamegirl79]

Is there a good flash cart that takes regular size SD cards? I noticed above that the Ninja DS uses them, but is it as good as say, the M3? I have a 2 gig SD card just sitting around and I'd like to do something with it.

[shadowkn55]

And forgive me for what is probably a stupid question, but I noticed that some of these claim "supports clean roms." Wazzat? On top of that, I remember a year ago that most cards only played homebrew and a select few hacked roms. Do the above units play commercial roms (hacked, not hacked, whatever).

Also, I remember back when passme was needed, if you wanted to save your game, you needed to attach a game with the same size save file to the passme or whatever. Is this even an issue any more?

Cleans roms would be raw dumps. Back when flash cards were new, the Neo Flash people figured out how to run commercial NDS roms through the gba slot. They encrypted the roms so that they would only run on their flash card. Transferring a clean rom back then wouldn't allow you to run it.

The current Slot-1 solutions have a passme feature built into the device. However, all of these lack gba support. If you still want to play gba games using the flash cart, you will need to get a Slot-2 solution such as the M3 Perfect and a Passme card.

The new passme's don't require any programming or settings that need to be adjusted. It's simply plug and play. They have also reduced the size of it to a standard NDS card so it doesn't stick out anymore.

I recommend getting the M3 Simply or M3 Perfect since they aren't limited by a fixed amount of onboard memory. They also update the firmware fairly frequently.

[dcescott]

Norkusa, my fellow mac user, what is compatable for us? BTW got the Dlink last week 2310, works great right out of the box, I couldn't believe it. My wii, ds and psp are wifi'd.
Anyhoo.
Which one? I know I am short of programs, very few are OSX native or built especially for us. Also do I need to get a card reader? I am assuming I am going to drop some dough to get the right hookups.

[norkusa]

Norkusa, my fellow mac user, what is compatable for us? BTW got the Dlink last week 2310, works great right out of the box, I couldn't believe it. My wii, ds and psp are wifi'd.
Anyhoo.
Which one? I know I am short of programs, very few are OSX native or built especially for us. Also do I need to get a card reader? I am assuming I am going to drop some dough to get the right hookups.

Looks like the DS-Xtreme would be the easiest to use on Macs. From the reviews I've read, it sounds like you just plug your USB into the card and then a directory shows up on your desktop where you can just drop the roms or whatever into. Here's the review:

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=content&itemid=239

I'm still trying to figure out if the M3 DS Simply is the same thing except for the Micro SD cards. If that's the case, I'd rather just get the Simply since it's dirt cheap and you can upgrade the memory on it yourself to whatever you see fit. Here's a review:

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=content&itemid=243

[dcescott]

Yeah the prices are hit n miss. If you get one post a thread or through this one, I'd like to see the results.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Yes, the M3 Simply and R4 (same card, just different skins on the interface) are fully drag & drop compatible, so they'll work with Mac or Linux or anything else with USB Mass Storage drivers. Of the current slot-1 cards, those are the ones I think look nicest. Compatibility with commercial DS games is pretty perfect, though download play for multiplayer or demos is problematic as it is with most DS flash kits, the interface is very skinnable and customizable and they seem to be quite well made and well supported.

The DS-X is also nice, though. Compatibility with commecial software is somewhat better--it has no download play problems form what I've heard--and its interface is even more customizable. The DS-X also has pretty much perfect support for homebrew, which is one area where the M3 Simply/R4 has problems--games or apps that require FAT access (i.e. use external files in addition to the main binary) won't work, though this won't be much of a problem with the new DLDI FAT lib, but for a handful of older apps that might not get updated, you'd be out of luck with an M3 Simply or R4.

The main difference between the two cards is obviously that the M3 and R4 take micro-SD and the DS-X has built in memory. External memory is definitely more flexible in the long run.

However, you have to keep in mind that better slot-1 cards than either of these will definitely be coming out in the future. That's just how the flash card market is. You have to be able to deal with that.

Personally, I think getting a slot-1 kit is a waste. GBA slot kits have the huge, huge added bonus of being able to play GBA stuff. There's so much GBA homebrew out there, it's sick. And of course the commercial games, too. Why turn your back on all of that when GBA slot flash carts are just as easy to use and no more expensive? A GBA slot cart and a NoPass device is the way to go.


...word is bondage...

[rbudrick]

I recommend getting the M3 Simply or M3 Perfect since they aren't limited by a fixed amount of onboard memory. They also update the firmware fairly frequently.

You are referring to the fact that they use MicroSD cards, right? What's the max they can handle?

Does it matter how much the DS can handle, since the firmware on any given flash cart is independant of the DS?

-Rob

[shadowkn55]

I know that the M3 Slim accepts the 4gb sd cards. Microsd cards in that size don't exist yet but compatiblity should be the same since the only thing that differs is the form factor.

Not sure how the DS addressing compability interacts with the limitations of the flash cart.

[rbudrick]

Isn't the M3 slim a Slot 2 (GBA sized) cart (see link)? This thread is about the slot-1 only carts.

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=31165

-Rob