What size SD?

mavis · January 17, 2006, 08:46:17 PM

Just wondering - I've got a couple 128MB SD cards laying around, and a 256MB too. How many games (NDS) will I be able to fit on a 128 or 256MB SD card? I'm thinking two or three on a 128MB card, is that fairly reasonable?

I want to buy a 1GB SD card but the fast (10Mbps+) cards are REALLY expensive here in Tokyo, so I want to kind of check out my slower (good brands, Toshiba, etc - but, slow) SD cards first to see if I get slow downs and stuff. I'm just wondering what to expect in terms of capacity (games per card) ...

Any ideas?

kraken · January 17, 2006, 09:19:31 PM

The biggest DS games are 64MB, the smallest less than 8MB. Expect around 2-4 DS games to fit on the 128MB card.

I don't think the speed of the card is that important for anything besides streaming video. I have 2 normal 1 gig PNY cards and the only time ive noticed slowdown is the intro to castlevania.

taiq · January 18, 2006, 03:16:51 AM

There are 128MB roms (RE: Deadly Silence and Feel the Magic 2 come to mind).

Most games will be either 32 or 64 MB, though.

mavis · January 18, 2006, 05:03:31 PM

Thanks for the replies!

I guess I'm a little confused, if most games are 32/64 MB, why were some people complaining about the Supercard not being able to handle 256MB games? There aren't any 256MB games, from what I gather, are there ... ?

sirec · January 18, 2006, 05:49:33 PM

it depends on what the game is there are some 1 gig ones out which are around 130 mb , bio hazard or the new resident evil one is around 135 mb so it wont stick on the card,

most cards are 32mb from what i have noticed some good ones are a little higher but its looking and testing and also what your likes and that are.

mavis · January 18, 2006, 06:55:11 PM

Quote from: "sirec"... there are some 1 gig ones out which are around 130 mb

OK, this is what I'm confused about. How is a 1GB game only 130MB? You're saying the size of the game is 130MB or is it 1GB?

pixie · January 18, 2006, 07:02:15 PM

The size of GBA and DS games are usually given in megabit. 1000 megabit (1 gigabit) is approxamitely 130 megabyte.
The storage capacity of SD cards are given in megabytes. Therefore your 128mb SD cards would not be able to hold a 1gbit DS game, but your 256mb ones would.
There are so far only two 1gbit DS games, The Rub Rabbits and Biohazard DS.

mavis · January 18, 2006, 07:11:29 PM

OK, I got it. So when people were complaining about the Supercard not being able to play 256Mb+ games, they actually meant 64MB+ or whatever ... Makes much more sense now.

Anyway yesterday I 1) bought a 1GB 40x SD card and 2) took apart my Supercard and painted it metallic silver (to better match the DS). So I should be all set - decent capacity, decent speed, and a SC that matches my DS!

Thanks again for your help!! / mavis

MAD2X · January 18, 2006, 09:30:49 PM

I was thinking about spay painting my supercard silver too, and try to hide those screws somehow, how did it turn out? I would be scared the paint would all chip off.....

mavis · January 19, 2006, 12:00:44 AM

Quote from: "MAD2X"I was thinking about spay painting my supercard silver too, and try to hide those screws somehow, how did it turn out? I would be scared the paint would all chip off.....

The side with the decal looks weird because it's totally plain now. But the other side looks good, which was more important to me anyway (that's the side I'll always see when I'm using the DS) ... I'll post some pics in the next few days if you want.

I'm worried about the durability too, I tried to get some vinyl dye (which is what I've heard works best with cheap plastics) but couldn't find any at the shops close to my house here in Tokyo. I ended up getting car touch-up paint, intended for use on fenders/side mirrors, etc - the plastic parts on a car. I did five or so light coats, and it turned out fairly well. I did the inside as well as the exterior, so I used a little tape as an insulator in one place, although most of the little circuit board doesn't touch the casing at all because the SD mechanism is raised on one side, and the RAM+IC chips on the other - it should be ok, I hope. And unless you were familiar with the Supercard to begin with, it doesn't look like it has been painted, even upon close inspection.

Anyway, I'll test it out tonight and report back.

satanduck · January 19, 2006, 01:44:41 AM

Quote from: "mavis"OK, I got it. So when people were complaining about the Supercard not being able to play 256Mb+ games, they actually meant 64MB+ or whatever ... Makes much more sense now.

Anyway yesterday I 1) bought a 1GB 40x SD card and 2) took apart my Supercard and painted it metallic silver (to better match the DS). So I should be all set - decent capacity, decent speed, and a SC that matches my DS!

Thanks again for your help!! / mavis

I believe when they complained about not being able to play >256M (megabit) games is when they have it patched as "Run from SC" because this option loads the game in to the internal SC memory that was originally meant for GBA which only has addressable space of up to 256M.