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[FifthE1ement]

After my review of the SuperCard Lite the SuperCard team announced a black model of the SuperCard Lite and released it soon after. The new black model is a separate retail release of the SuperCard Lite and is not just a case modification, meaning you must buy another SuperCard Lite to get the black colored case. Why the SuperCard team decided to choose this upgrade path is unknown, but it has caused some angst among some early adopters that have black DS Lites. The SuperCard team also announced that they had modified the mold design for all new SuperCards so that they would fit better in the GBA slot of the DS. I recently received a new SuperCard Lite with the new mold design and decided to see if there were any differences between the two besides the obvious.

As most people know, when the SuperCard Lite was released it could be quite a pain to remove from your DS and the SuperCard team actually posted instructions on how to make the process easier on their website. Also, on many flashcart forums users started to complain of the tight fit and soon thereafter the SuperCard team announced the new color as well as the new mold.

The new mold design first started to appear on the black model SuperCard Lites and then soon after dealers began to report the new mold appearing on the white models as well. This newer mold shaves off a small section of plastic on the back of the SuperCard Lite and extends approximately a quarter inch up from the bottom contact pins. This shaved off section is designed to make the flashcart slide more easily into the Nintendo DS GBA slot. Currently all other “Lite” model flashcarts and even the GBA dust cover include this design feature and why it was missing on the first incarnation of the SuperCard Lite is anybody’s guess.





To test the new mold design I measured and used two original SuperCard Lites and one newer model with two Polar White DS Lites. Since the original SuperCard Lite had problems being inserted into the DS Lite one could easily think that the new design would correct this issue, right? No, the newer mold SuperCard Lite is .25mm thicker than the original version, which is just 7.5mm wide at the bottom, and is now almost twice as hard to get into the DS Lite. You wouldn’t think that 0.25mm could cause so much trouble but it’s the difference between a hard struggle and an easy slide. The older model SuperCard Lites are the same thickness throughout as the shaved bottom area on the newer mold model meaning that the SuperCard team added .25mm to the overall mold design. The thicker, newer mold SuperCard Lite actually makes the GBA slot bow out a small amount to where you can see darkness coming from the area just under the lip, where the previous mold design does not.

Also, it seems that the newer DS Lite colors, such as Onyx and Pink, have a slightly changed design mold in which the GBA slot is a tad bit larger allowing the SuperCard Lite to slide in much easier than the older Polar White DS Lite models. I hope that the new DS Lite design changes are implemented into the newer Polar White models but only time will tell.

The addition of the black model and changed mold design were not the only two changes made to the new SuperCard Lite. I also discovered that the microSD holder is approximately .5mm further down on the microSD adapter PCB making for better overall aesthetics and function. Now that the microSD holder is slightly further down on the PCB it allows the memory to be pushed deeper into the precut slot keeping the microSD more secure. This new layout also lets the microSD sit level and flush to the top of the slot making the difference between the old and new mold designs noticeable as the previous model SuperCard Lite had the microSD card sitting crooked and unleveled. With the microSD sitting deeper and more level it makes the SuperCard Lite more visually appealing. I’m not 100% positive if the microSD “level” problems on the original model SuperCard Lites are isolated to a few bad production batches, however, I doubt this is the case as most first model users have reported that their microSD cards are crooked.





While viewing the pictures, you can easily differentiate the old mold design from the new as well as observe how the microSD sits deeper and more level. Also, some SuperCard users have asked if they should consider getting a new mold design SuperCard Lite to replace their current model or if they should seek out the newer mold before making a purchase and to them I reply, “No!” In no way do I think that you should purchase the new mold design just to get the better microSD placement as the mold problem negative outweighs the placements positives. I also don’t think it’s necessary to search out either mold design if you are going to make a SuperCard Lite purchase as they both get the job done well and look great in your DS Lite doing it.





The only real improvements that can be made to further the design and aesthetics of the SuperCard Lite would be to correct the mold size issue and add a layer of gloss to the outside lip to make it more closely resemble the GBA dust cover. Other than the above changes to the color, mold and microSD PCB configuration the SuperCard Lite still functions as one of the best Slot 2 flashcarts on the market and is a very worthy purchase for any interested buyer.

This SuperCard Lite aesthetics update is in addition to my previously released SuperCard Lite review. You can find my review and guide, "FifthE1ement's Complete Guide to Flashcarts and Homebrew", on MaxConsole.net and many other respectable flashcart websites and forums. I would like to thank lenselijer, sonicwind, and onekelly for providing me with the high-res pictures used in this article.


Link to my orginal SuperCard Lite review by clicking below!

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=35982

FifthE1ement  

[onekelly]

Looks good!

[bionicspider]

The new SCLite molds are the batch that have the plastic shaved from the back, right?  My girlfriend's SCLite has that portion of plastic shaved off, but her microSD sits crooked like the previous mold designs.  At first I thought it was the way the microSD was situated inside the slot, but I can't seem to get it level and stop it from protruding a tad.

[kvnchg]

XD I have always wanted to know the difference between the new and old supercard lite cases. I bought mine from Hong Kong a month or 2 ago. It is a Chinese supercard lite with the new mold, because its back is shaved off and the SD card is straight (If only I have a camera). I am not sure it is true for all of the new molds to have even worse fitting problems.

“The thicker, newer mold Supercard Lite actually makes the GBA slot bow out a small amount to where you can see darkness coming from the area just under the lip, where the previous mold design does not.”

I duno, my supercard lite seem to fit pretty well. It’s tight of course but I don’t have that much problem inserting or removing it. Also for I can’t see darkness coming from the area just under the lip. But I think the biggest difference between the old and new supercard lite molds is probably that the new mold sticks out a bit more. As you mentioned “that the microSD holder is approximately .5mm further down on the microSD adapter PCB making for better overall aesthetics and function.” I believed this has caused the hole at the bottom of your supercard lite to be less deep.

Maybe my Supercard Lite is thicker. I duno, cause I don’t have an old one to compare, but after seeing many pictures of the old Supercard Lite in a DS, I am pretty sure the new one sticks out like 0.25mm more. I sanded the bottom of the hole at the bottom of my Supercard Lite. It fits just like the original dust cover now, other than being a bit tight. Oh well just trying to give as much info as possible XD.

PS. I don’t recommend sanding the bottom of the hole inside of the supercard lite. You need to unscrew it and take it apart and you need to sand it EVENLY or else it does nothing. I pretty much took apart and reassembled my Supercard Lite like 4 times doing it. Also it may be unsafe? I duno, it got pretty thin after I was finished with it.

Anyone know if someone was able to fit a Supercard Lite into the original NDS dust cover? I know it has been done with the EZFlash4Lite.

[moviecouple]

Man... that MicroSD card it sticking way out on the original version. I have 3 of the original and mine are perfectly flush to the board. Yes, they were hard to push in and pull out of the NDS Lite, but a little sandpaper modification went a long way.

[darkuni]

For what it's worth, I had a launch day White DS and got a Supercard Lite (white).  The SC was tighter than a 14 year old virgin from a convent school.  I bought a black DS Lite on launch day.  The SC fits it GREAT.  Easy in, easy out.  Feels like a different product - but it is the same SC.

What does this mean?  The black lite GBA slot appears to be constructed differently.

[darkunitzero]

For what it's worth, I had a launch day White DS and got a Supercard Lite (white). The SC was tighter than a 14 year old virgin from a convent school.

yes that but mines the jap one but we all know asian holes are tighter.

[FifthE1ement]

Lol, yes but I have also heard, before this issue, that the newer model SCL's had a bigger GBA slot. I got this infor from another forum and website saying they had modified the DS Lite just a bit.

FifthE1ement  

[darkunitzero]

yea i just checked my girlfriends us onyx black ds and it does indeed fit better then my ds lite. weird.

[schlagzeuger]

I got a new mould, and found it was a tight fit. I was amazed that it could be a better fit than the original, but knowing it's actually thicker overall makes sense. I also had a crooked SD slot in the new mould, the slot component was soldered to the board wonky. I've fixed mine by dwsoldering and gluing the slot to the PCB straight and also sanding the inside and back down. It's muck better now, but still needs a bit more sanding to make it an easier fit.

[janjanjan]

I just got a pink ds lite, and I want to get the supercard. Do you know if they will release a SC for pink? And when?

And then reading through your review and replies, my newer ds should fit better with the newer SC? And not require those extra sanding etc. that you mentioned?

[FifthE1ement]

I don't think they will be releasing anymore colors to come.

I think the SuperCard SL-1 will be the next announcement along with a across the board performance update with the new firmware and patcher program.

FifthE1ement  

[Omegatron]

man fifth thier really not making it very easy for you to keep up with reviews...

BTW...ROMMAN...ask ppl what they want, dont just make decisions on your own...Im sure your users play nds a lot more then you do...LOL

(aKa Supercard Rumble SUCKS)

[combustion88]

time to oder my black sclite, the white is an eyesore, tho I may wait until the rumble comes out... if it doesnt drain too much battery.

[The_Legend]

just got my SC Lite Mold V2, it it fitted pretty well on my DS Lite, didn't force it in at all. it's just a little troublesome to take it out, but if you do the left-right combo, there's no problem.

I also liked very much how I take the microSD (hell, when they say micro, they MEAN it! still chocked how a tiny thing like that can hold 2 GB of data :shock:) out, pretty easy and feels so safe. but it's terrible to take the microSD out of the SD Adapter!