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Main - ROM Hacking - Finally shopping for an SNES Flash Cart New thread | New reply


MathOnNapkins
Posted on 04-06-10 11:14 PM (rev. 2 of 04-06-10 11:19 PM) Link | Quote | ID: 129578


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(Thread is cross posted from RHDN, just wanted to widen my net for opinions)

I've finally got enough in the bank to where I feel comfortable splurging on a SNES Flash Cart for the easy of transporting my rom hacks and testing my modifications on a real SNES or clone. My old Game Doctor SF7 copier that I bought a few years ago still works, but it feels more like something i should keep as a collector's item than to use for rom hacking or homebrew. It's also painfully slow uploading a ROM, even with a parallel port connection, and using floppies hurts my soul anymore.

I started this thread to see if anyone had experiences with the SNES Flash Carts that are currently available, or if they knew of one I hadn't managed to find on my own. It seems that there are four commercial or quasicommercial SNES flash carts on the market right now:



Name: Tototek
Page: http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_8_11&products_id=39
Contents: Cartridge + Programmer Device
Price: $80

Pros:
-Price (but shipping might be high)
-Multiregion
-Can backup SRAM from normal carts
-Large ROM support (48 megabits)
-First to produce a product like this (that I'm aware of), thus might have more experience.

Cons:
-Programmer unit doesn't seem to have an enclosure, which risks exposure to static discharge or other mishaps.
-Clunky setup requires both USB and Parallel cables in order to supply power and flash the rom, respectively. (*facepalm*)
-Foreign language page (merely pointing out that it's hard to completely understand everything about their products with the slightly broken English that abounds on their pages)
-Requires software that may or may not work if I upgrade to a later Windows version.



Name: Mash-Mods
Page: http://www.mash-mods.com/products/snes
Contents: Flash Cart + Programmer Device
Price: $115

Pros:
-USB connectivity
-Can backup SRAM from normal carts
-Source code for upload mechanism is available

Cons:
-Programmer unit doesn't seem to have an enclosure, which risks exposure to static discharge or other mishaps.
-Seems to be Windows only (not that big a deal to me)
-Having to install an unfamiliar driver on my computer
-Cart will only work with one region that you specify at the time of ordering.



Name: Retrousb SNES PowerPak
Page: http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=84
Contents: Cartridge
Price: $135

Pros:
-No driver necessary on the PC, just a compact flash reader (easy to work around)
-Seems to support arbitrarily large ROMs (up to slightly less than 128 Megabits, but I'm not 100% sure of how it all works).
-Allows for a lot more storage than just 32 megabits or 64 megabits found in most other carts.
-Don't need to have a spare cable handy (though I'd need one for the compact flash card reader)
-Will install a DSP chip for you for extra charge
-Crossplatform simply b/c it requires no specific PC software
-The good reputation of the NES PowerPak by the same creator suggests that this product would also be of high quality.

Cons:
-TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE!!!! ( )
-Price
-Cart will only work with one region that you specify at the time of ordering.
-I don't have any Compact Flash cards (but they can't be that expensive)



Name: quickdev16
Page: http://www.assembla.com/wiki/show/quickdev16
Contents: Cartridge
Price: $120

Pros:
-Seems to have powerful live debugging functions (over RS232) not found in other solutions! Very tempting...
-Looks kinda cool
-Cross-platform compatibility (with a little elbow grease for Windows users)

Cons:
-Only 16 megabits of Flash ( )
-Website's pictures with lots of wires hanging out everywhere are a huge turn off, but only seem to come into play for using the RS232 debugging.
-Seems somewhat complicated to use compared to the other solutions (though they freely admit that on their site)




Personally, my pick would be the PowerPak at this point, but it's unavailable for who knows how long. Second pick would be the mash-mods one simply b/c it doesn't require the parallel cable that the Tototek cart requires for flashing. The quickdev16 seems cool as a development tool, but I'm really looking for a hassle free way of taking my hacks with me. The quickdev16 might be a purchase for a later date.... with debugger emulators being so good these days, it's almost not necessary to have a debugger for the real hardware.... but who knows, I might need it some day.


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Aaendi
Posted on 04-10-10 01:01 AM Link | Quote | ID: 129686


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I need one myself soon, to test Secret Agent Insane Maniac on real hardware.

blackhole89
Posted on 04-10-10 02:30 AM Link | Quote | ID: 129692


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Generally, I have little to add to your choices and comments. I personally would at least give the Tototek device equal consideration (due to the multiregion aspect, parallel port usage and dependency on old software not being much of a problem for me and large ROM support), but I reckon this might not be the same for you.

I think the static discharge point is one thing that's greatly exaggerated in terms of actual risk emanating from it.

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smkdan
Posted on 04-10-10 12:00 PM Link | Quote | ID: 129698


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Yet another price rise on the SNES Powerpak puts it at $140 now. I remember it being cheaper than the NES one some time back. It seems fairly quick to restock so you might not have to wait so long for one.

It seems ideal if you just want to sit down and play SNES games and definitely more usable than the first two you listed for testing. Unless I was doing some really in depth testing of some obscure SNES quirk (byuu stuff I guess) I'm not sure if a quickdev is worth it over just using a Powerpak. bsnes already provides a fantastic debugging/testing tool outside of testing on a SNES, I'd just do the occasional test on real h/w for the really uncertain bits of code like very carefully timed code to APU ports or something.

MathOnNapkins
Posted on 04-10-10 11:34 PM Link | Quote | ID: 129721


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smkdan: I think the price went up b/c the cart is now multiregion, and includes the DSP1 chip by default, rather than being optional.

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smkdan
Posted on 04-11-10 06:07 AM Link | Quote | ID: 129740


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Nice,didn't notice the updates at the bottom of that page.


Super Ciclone chip for both PAL and NTSC compatibility


Cool to see this is finally sorted out, I only just saw the progress they were making with this at nesdev.

Main - ROM Hacking - Finally shopping for an SNES Flash Cart New thread | New reply

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