EZV first impressions

sneef · December 28, 2006, 09:41:46 PM

Hey guys.

I got my EZV today, and I haven't done a lot of testing, but I thought I'd write a few thoughts, which I can add to later.

First of all, the build quality is really nice, and though the microSD slot is not spring-loaded, it is located on the side, so there is no chance of losing the microSD card.

The plastic feels sturdy, just like an original cart.

First game I tested was animal crossing (after updating to the latest kernel), and it worked, but performance was identical to my Supercard DS one. I was using the same kingmax 60x card, formatted to FAT with 64k clusters.

HOWEVER, there are 12 speed settings on this thing, and it defaulted to "4". I have only tested 4, 5, 6, and 8 so far on animal crossing. 4 and 5 worked pretty well. minor slowdowns only during the intro. very minor. But i got the same results on supercard DS one.

Give me some time to test more with other microSD cards, and at different speeds.

ALSO, this is only using clean roms. I have yet to test "hybrid" mode which is supposed to help performance on slower microSD cards.

I find it funny that all these companies tend to blame the media, when there really aren't that many choices out there in terms of speed. (yet)

OH, one more thing. Castlevania POR seems to work flawlessly so far, no patching necessary. NO freezing for me.

sneef · December 28, 2006, 09:53:59 PM

major edit! i didn't know that lower speed settings = faster speed! (why on earth would they measure it like that?)

with my microSD setting on 3, animal crossing performs really fast!

NICE!

UPDATE 2: patching with the "hybrid" patcher (ez5 client simple) produces the best result.

Patching is VERY quick, and can write direct to microSD. Patched games ignore the global microSD speed setting, and are optimized for any media.

I patched animal crossing, and it is identical to retail cart. it actually appears to load a bit faster than retail, but that may just be my imagination.

patching is painless, so I'll probably patch most games...

moviecouple · December 28, 2006, 10:39:38 PM

Sneef,

Thanks for the quick impressions. I am thinking about buying this one myself. A few things I would like to know before I make the leap.

1. Where did you get it?
2. Can you test out the Opera Browser? See if it works... or has glitches like
the SCDS1?
3. How is Ultimate Spiderman? Any freezes?

Thanks.

sneef · December 28, 2006, 10:42:11 PM

1. winsunx
2. i'll try in a while
3. i hate that game so i don't have it. i can look for it but i'm trying to flash my xbox 360 DVD drive right now. lol.

p.s. EZV is a winner so far. i love it! I was pretty shocked to see animal crossing running so well after patching the rom. Previously, only my g6lite performed that well.

moviecouple · December 28, 2006, 10:47:23 PM

The Opera Browser is a MUST... make or break for me.

Can you try out a few other games to make sure they perform right:

Club House Games
Metroid Prime Pinball
TH: Downhill Jam
Eragon

sneef · December 28, 2006, 10:53:31 PM

ok.. i'll do it later. xbox 360 is a delicate thing to be messing with. i'll do DS later.

tony hawk american skateland plays perfectly. just thought someone may want to know.

moviecouple · December 28, 2006, 10:58:41 PM

Sneef,

If all you do right now is check the Opera Browser for now... that would make my night.

moviecouple · December 29, 2006, 01:18:09 PM

Any news on the Opera Browser yet?

PharaohsVizier · December 29, 2006, 01:27:47 PM

U have an R4 to compare it with?

jbullfrog · December 29, 2006, 01:30:40 PM

Picture please?

Altor · December 29, 2006, 06:14:26 PM

OK, answer the only thing anyone cares about: Do supercard saves work?

sneef · December 29, 2006, 06:36:06 PM

sorry.. i'm at work (hawaii time zone = -10GMT) so i couldnt reply.

i can post a pic later.. there are pics on other sites like gbatemp and ezflash.sosuke.com if you need to see it now.

haven't tried the patched opera browser, and since i dont have the official ram pack, the normal rom doesn't work.. it boots fine, but has some error. I'm sure it will work. I'll try after work.

Supercard saves work.

it uses the standard 256kb saves.

frankly guys, this is my favourite cart now. I prefer supercard DS one's interface, but until the performance improves, i'm sold on the EZV.

PharaohsVizier · December 29, 2006, 06:42:59 PM

YAY go EZV! Loved their other carts. What is making me not buy the cart is that some people say that download play doesn't work. Is this true?

moviecouple · December 29, 2006, 09:06:58 PM

Well... I am very curious on the Opera Browser, but I am pretty confident it will work. I am also thinking about getting the R4. Realhotstuff should be getting it soon.

mavis · December 29, 2006, 10:59:45 PM

Sneef, thanks for the info. I have just ordered an EZ-V from winsunx but am thinking of emailing them to change to the R4 instead, since both are the same price. My concern is about download play ... Have you had a chance to test any games for this function?

Thanks again for the great info!