DSi Flashcarts - A quick overview of what IS available

zektor · May 02, 2009, 01:32:44 AM

Hi all! After years of working my tail off in the retail sector, they stuck it to me and let me go like I was nothing...heh. In light of my unemployment, I have a lot of free time now and have decided to delve once again back into the DS flashcart world with the release of the new DSi. Don't worry about me, those retail bastards are now paying my unemployment

So, to take some time off and relax abit, I purchased a light blue DSi last weekend (I know this is like an Easter color, but for some reason I am drawn to it!) and of course wanted to give some of the current DSi compatible cards a whirl. Here is what I have played with so far:

Acekard 2i
EZ-Flash Vi

I had updated the firmware of the DSi immediately after purchase, to of course obtain the free 1000 points for the store and to be able to download the free Opera browser. You CANNOT do any of this until you perform the initial update...which is currently 1.3U (in the USA that is..where I reside)

Fortunately, BOTH of the cards listed work fine with 1.3U firmware. They may not work in later firmwares, but I plan on disabling the Wi-Fi and using the cards for now. When future firmware updates come about and I get word that these cards still function, only then will I update further. I would suggest anyone purchasing a DSi to do the same. But again, you CAN update to 1.3U thus far without worry.

The Acekard arrived first and it works just like the old Acekard most of you know. I am not going to get into specifics on these cards or how they operate, most people are aware. I mainly wanted to express build quality and the fact that they do work. The build quality of the Acekard is OK, but not particularly great. It feels a bit cheap, but at least it is not held together by clips. The device does have the spring load...which I personally HATE. It works fine, but it just feels like that spring is going to pop one of these days. All aesthetics aside, it works and works well. I have not had any loading issues with games (although some homebrew did not work) and everything is zippy. They do have to remove some of the non-specific DSi options (like slot 2 icons..etc) and perhaps create a DSi specific kernel, but teh DSi is new and this is understandable. At least it works!

The EZ-Flash arrived a few days later. This is built WELL. It feels much more solid and does not have a spring laod mechanism (yay! Although I am probably a minority rooting for this). It also works well, but the loader takes time (moonshell based) and many of the options again are geared toward the DS. Many of the options do nothing when touched on the DSi, so apparently the loaders are right now just quick hacks of the older loaders. The games load fine, and some homebrew that did not work correctly on the Acekard works here (namely Jenesis!). But, I do have an issue with the card. Seems it does not register as being inserted sometimes. It could just be that the card is defective, and if it continues to occur I will have to contact RHS (great people, order from them and you can rest easy that if you have a problem they will do you right) and get an exchange. Otherwise, another pretty darn solid cart.

I ordered a DSTTi and plan on ordering the new iTouch and will conduct a little coverage on these in this thread when they arrive. I swayed away from ordering the R4i, as there have been talks of it being an unofficial (fake) product, but if anyone has any info regarding this it would be much appreciated. Feel free to add any DSi flashcart related news/opinions here! I would love to hear your experiences! What will be needed in the future is a listing of compatible/incompatible homebrew...as I am finding some things work and some don't, and it is different on each of these cards.

zektor · May 02, 2009, 05:30:14 PM

DSTTi arrived today!

Well, the build quality is a milestone better than the Acekard, and a few notches above the EZ-Flash. Still has the spring load, but this one feels ok. All of the homebrew that didn't work on either the Acekard or the EZ-Flash did work on the DSTTi, which make s me pretty happy

Yes, same old menu issues with no real way of organizing from within the DSTTi, but this never really bothered me. I just want stability and reliability, and the DSTTi seems to hit the mark. And best of all, the cart has pin guides! When in the world did it happen that these manufacturers thought it was an ok idea to remove the pin guides from their carts? You know, the grill type portion of plastic strips that reside on top of the pins on actual DS carts. The Acekard has two (?) and the EZ-Flash has none. People complain on and off that these cards randomly cannot be seen inside of the DS (like the EZ-Flash issue I am having right now) and it is probably because of the stinking missing pin guides. Hooray for the DSTT people to actually keep with the standards of a DS cart!

The real downside to the DSTTi is the fact that the loader has not been updated for four months. The team is not as on the ball as the others, and that is troublesome. Not that I am expressing anything new here, I am sure other DSTT owners have been frustrated with that for awhile now. I found GTA Chinatown not to work initially, but luckily a replacement of the usrcheat.dat fixed it right up.

This card is solid. Works great on the DSi unit with 1.3U, and I have had no disappearing cart issues. I can recommend it absolutely!

Solarpolitiks · May 02, 2009, 06:04:54 PM

Great reviews man! I was looking into getting the DSTTi although I have heard that there are already clone floating around. Where did you purchase yours from?

zektor · May 03, 2009, 01:47:40 AM

Quote from: Solarpolitiks on May 02, 2009, 06:04:54 PM
Great reviews man! I was looking into getting the DSTTi although I have heard that there are already clone floating around. Where did you purchase yours from?

RHS of course

The DSTTi's sold there are real, and this can be tested with the software included with the DSTTi software downloadable from the official site. Apparently, if you load this software on a fake or clone, it'll zap the card rendering it useless. I ran it on the card I received from RHS and of course it gave me the green light and said the card was "Real" when running the software

If RHS ever does sell clones or fakes, they make it a point to tell the customer of such. I wouldn't order from anyone else personally.

Solarpolitiks · May 03, 2009, 12:10:47 PM

Quote from: zektor on May 03, 2009, 01:47:40 AM
Quote from: Solarpolitiks on May 02, 2009, 06:04:54 PM
Great reviews man! I was looking into getting the DSTTi although I have heard that there are already clone floating around. Where did you purchase yours from?

RHS of course The DSTTi's sold there are real, and this can be tested with the software included with the DSTTi software downloadable from the official site. Apparently, if you load this software on a fake or clone, it'll zap the card rendering it useless. I ran it on the card I received from RHS and of course it gave me the green light and said the card was "Real" when running the software If RHS ever does sell clones or fakes, they make it a point to tell the customer of such. I wouldn't order from anyone else personally.

Alright thanks man. I normally have been goin to DX just because there prices normally cant be beat but if there is ever a risk of getting a clone I dont wanna buy from DX considering there is hardly any way of telling from there "description"

zektor · May 03, 2009, 08:00:42 PM

Yeah, while DX does have some very cheap prices, I would not put it past that a fake or clone slips in there somewhat often. I hear many people speak of getting clones...and I just don't get WHERE they are coming from. But again, DX seems to be a popular place to order...so maybe they are coming from there. I don't know for sure, but I would rather not take the chance

RHS is priced very fairly, and best of all (for me at least) is that they are located right here in the USA. Products arrive very quickly because of this. We're talking days as opposed to weeks.

DeVS · May 03, 2009, 08:13:21 PM

Damn brother, glad your gonna be aound again, but hate to hear why. I have the Acekard 2i and love it so far. Stable, fast OS, and I like that I can update the software for it through wifi.

Solarpolitiks · May 03, 2009, 10:24:30 PM

Quote from: DeVS on May 03, 2009, 08:13:21 PM
Damn brother, glad your gonna be aound again, but hate to hear why. I have the Acekard 2i and love it so far. Stable, fast OS, and I like that I can update the software for it through wifi.

Yeah the AK2i is good but I just want something to hold me over until the SC team or the Cyclo Team make something.

zektor · May 04, 2009, 12:31:17 AM

Quote from: DeVS on May 03, 2009, 08:13:21 PM
Damn brother, glad your gonna be aound again, but hate to hear why. I have the Acekard 2i and love it so far. Stable, fast OS, and I like that I can update the software for it through wifi.

Yeah, what are you going to do. I guess it is inevitable when you work in retail. I was a salary based Store Manager with steady yearly increases over five years. Guess it is just easier for them to can me and pay some nobody 1/4 of what I made....and mule him just the same. CVS was the company btw

Anyway, yeah, I do like the Acekard 2i as well. The menu is FAST and hands down the best I have seen on any card. It works well and I had very little problem with it (except it would NOT work with Jenesis or ApprenticeMinus...which is an awesome SMS emulator) but it did work fine with every rom I threw at it. I am not very big on emulation older game systems on the DS these days anyway, but much rather would like to see it do what it does best....play DS games. And, it does

The only thing that worries me regarding the card is how it feels. It definitely does not feel as sturdy as the EZ-Flash, and even the EZ-Flash does not feel extremely solid. The DSTTi so far wins in the sturdiness feel factor, but of course time will tell on all of these to see if they stand the test of time.

dantheman · May 04, 2009, 04:59:50 PM

I've heard reports that older versions of jEnesisDS work on the Acekard 2i (I think v0.6 is the one reported to work).

fexo · May 05, 2009, 04:40:13 AM

There are a couple of in depth reviews on the DSTTi and AceKard DSi at TehSkeen (what homebrew works etc). It states that much of the homebrew does not work with the DSTTi.

I now have both of these from DX (I'm in the UK). The DSTTi is genuine according to the check from the software.

I certainly don't like the way the chip protrudes on the AceKard; the DSTTi is totally flat.

Solarpolitiks · May 05, 2009, 07:47:30 AM

Quote from: fexo on May 05, 2009, 04:40:13 AM
It states that much of the homebrew does not work with the DSTTi.

Meh... Hopefully that is fixed because that would be a huge deal breaker for me. As far as what you said about the chip behind the sticker I agree. The SCDS One has it and I find it annoying. I may pick up a new flashcart considering I just sold my PSP and plan on getting a DSi soon. (My lites triggers are dieing)
EDIT:
zektor did you get the free screen protectors with your purchases from RHS? If I get those then the price will pretty much match those of deal extreme along with faster shipping.

zektor · May 05, 2009, 11:49:25 PM

Yes, the screen protectors and cleaning cloth came with every order from RHS. As a matter of fact, in occasions where I ordered two cards, they sent along two sets of these

I am not so sure on the non-homebrew capability those reviews express. The DSTTi is basically exactly the same as the former card, which was just fine with homebrew. The things that I have tried all worked....including the aforementioned Sega Master System emulator that did NOT work on the previous two cards. I'll have to really delve into homebrew on the card when I get the chance. I know it can use the Genesis and SMS emulators perfectly thus far, which of course is a great thing!

As for the Acekard protruding chip(s), you got an old batch. The latest Acekard 2i is flat like the DSTTi.

Solarpolitiks · May 06, 2009, 11:31:36 AM

Well I ordered my AK2i (Didnt end up getting DSTTi) last night along with an aluminum case for my DSi. I noted I wanted DSi screen protectors so maybe I will get some.

zektor · May 13, 2009, 12:53:38 PM

The iTouch2i arrived the other day. AGAIN with manufacturing these cards without the plastic guides on the pins. What gives?

Anyway, this is the slowest of the bunch. It seems like it takes an eternity to get into the main menu, games menus, load a game....ughhh..

I admit, I didn't test this for very long. Minutes to be exact. Does it work? Yes, I used it on a DSi, it sees the card. I loaded a game (Rhythm Heaven) and it worked and saved. But, the damn thing is just too slow to boot and navigate, and there really is no excuse for it in this day and age. Maybe it will be fixed in a future software update, but I'll probably sell it off before that happens!

Sorry for the short review on this one, but it's sluggish nature just turns me off. There are many options out there, so if the M3 team (these are the guys responsible for this, correct?) wants to at least remain a contender they absolutely need to streamline the software. As it stands now it just plain sucks. Sad, but true.