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[cobraxt]

Does anybody know how much the SuperKey affects battery life on the DS Lite compared to having a flashed system?

[FifthE1ement]

I haven't personally tested but according to others' posts it doesn't take away more then 15 mins of game time.

FifthE1ement

[ImmortalNinja]

Yes:

"These test were carried out using a supercard mini SD on DS lite with full brigthness and full volume through headphones leaving Mario Kart on the tilte screen:

Unflashed Lite - Original cart in DS slot: 5h 10 Mins
Unflashed Lite - SuperKey + Supercard sd: 4h 15 Mins
Flashed Lite - Flashme + cart in DS slot: 4h 24Mins
Flashed Lite - Flashme + empty DS slot: 4h 20 Mins.
"

From:
http://scdev.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4768&highlight=battery


Although the test is incomplete.
The battery does last longer if you remove the SuperKey after booting. But I was away at lunch when it powered off so I dont have the exact data for that.
This week I'm doing SuperCard Lite tests.

[cobraxt]

thanks, let us know how the sc lite performs.

[ImmortalNinja]

Latest test:
SuperCard Lite, Flashed, cart in DS slot: 4hrs 24Mins.

So looks like it uses exactly the same amount of juice as the mini.

KK

[cobraxt]

Hmm, thanks for the info. So it looks like all the people that say FlashMe saves much battery over SuperKey is wrong.

Wonder why this guy said flashing it helped the battery life with the G6 Lite by a lot:
http://www.jonsthoughtsoneverything.com/2006/08/01/flash-your-ds-lite-to-save-battery-life/

[ImmortalNinja]

I might be true because he's talking about the sleep mode.
I havent tested the sleep mode mainly because its a pain to figure out exactly when the DS will power off and frankly I dont think I can go so long without playing my DS.

But you'd think removing the superKey would result in the same power usage as having a flashed DS.....

KK

[gama]

Hmm, thanks for the info. So it looks like all the people that say FlashMe saves much battery over SuperKey is wrong.

Wonder why this guy said flashing it helped the battery life with the G6 Lite by a lot:
http://www.jonsthoughtsoneverything.com/2006/08/01/flash-your-ds-lite-to-save-battery-life/

From reading his blog, it seems that when the ds goes to sleep mode, a nopass device drains battery while original cart doesn't.

[sneef]

i dunno.. my original animal crossing cart drained my battery pretty badly last night while in sleep mode playing tony hawk on the supercard lite.

woke up 12 hours after putting it in sleep mode (only slept for 6 of those hours. I'm not that lazy) and played for about 10 more minutes on full brightness before my red light came on.  I had previously played (the night before) for about 1.5 hours on full brightness.  That's pretty bad battery drain in sleep mode, with an original cart in.

I've found this a few times, despite other people saying that their battery doesn't drain much in sleep mode. strange.

[chairman]

I used to run a superkey + supercard on my ds lite and it would be flat after 4hrs or so of use

Now with my flashed dsl, im getting a lot more then 4hrs use. I haven't timed it, but im guessing i get 8hrs +

[ImmortalNinja]

Hmmmm....
just did a new test on the unFlashed lite.
When I got to the supercard menu I removed the superkey.
This time the battery lasted 5h 47Mins as opposed to the 4h 15mins.
This seems like a very big difference to me, maybe I messed up the settings or got the batteries mixed up.
But for now it seems that removing the superKey after booting extends the battery life a lot!

KK

[ImmortalNinja]

Ahhhhhhh
ah d'uh.
PLugged the headphones in but didnt turn up the volume.
Will redo the test again tomorrow...
sigh
KK

[ImmortalNinja]

Ok did a proper test this time with all the same settings.
And it clocked in at 4hrs 22Mins.
So in summary so far:

All using the same SuperCard MiniSD and the same battery leaving SuperMarioKart
Full Brightness and max vol through headphones:

UnFLashed DS
Orginal Cart:                5hrs 10Mins
SuperKey in DS Slot:    4hrs 15Mins
SuperKey Removed:     4hrs 22Mins

FLASHED DS
DS Slot Empty:              4hrs 20 Mins
DS Slot with Cart:          4hrs 24 Mins
Using SuperCard Lite:     4hrs 24 Mins

So I conclude that having a flashed ds or superKey makes bugger all difference to battery life during normal play...for my DS.
I'm quite sure it makes a difference to the sleep mode though.
Not sure how I'm going to test that unless the difference is significantly different.....

KK

edit - Not as controlled as I would like, but I guess I could put the DS in sleep mode over night and then see how long the battery lasts coming back to the game in the morning.