The bestest SNES flash cart?

[Redifer]

So what's the best SNES flashcart? I hear good things about the SD2SNES (besides the idiotic name) but I don't think it's sold any more. I hear they made maybe 50 of 'em and then just stopped. There's the Super Everdrive but I hear it's super slow and supports barely any games because it doesn't have extra chips that the SNES requires to function reasonably well due to its cripplingly slow hardware. I think there is also something from Retro USB which I know nothing about.

[Ziggy]

Luckily I've already written up a comparison of SNES flash carts!

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 44&t=36353

I don't know what the current deal is with the Sd2Snes. I've heard there hasn't been updates for it for a while now. I haven't looked into it much since it's been released.

If I were to choose one right now, I'd probably go with the Super PowerPak from Retro Zone. If money is an issue, you can probably hunt for a used Super Everdrive on forums, or get the TotoTek one (you need a parallel port though).

If you have any questions, let me know!

[Redifer]

Thanks for the write-up! I do have a couple of questions about the Power Pak:

-How fast do games load compared to the Super Everdrive?
-On the Retro Zone site, it says: "File display does NOT sort alphabetically. Sorting would slow down file browsing. Use a drive sorter app to sort files on your CF card." Seriously? Surely the SNES is fast enough to sort titles. The Genesis and TurboGrafx Everdrives have no issue with this. And what is a "drive sorter app"?

[Hobie-wan]

Maybe it sorts by timestamp? If so using a touch utility would work.

[zephemeros]

The sd2snes is still being produced and sold. It's also still being actively worked on by ikari_01 (the creator) to this day. It's now manufactured by Krikzz and you can currently buy one from various different stores such as stoneagegamer and retrogate (supply doesn't exactly meet demand though so it can be a bit hard finding one in stock)

I ordered one from retrogate.com about a month ago and it just got here yesterday. Needless to say it's extremely impressive and definitely worth the $200 I payed to get it. ROMs load -instantly-, more expansion chips are supported than with any other snes flash cart (with even more on the way as ikari_01 develops the software), and the menu is very organized and intuitive.

I did more of a write-up on an almost identical topic on a different forum:
http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/8775/ ... -powerpak/

This 42-page forum topic on Assemblergames.com also contains quite a bit of information if you're willing to dig through it: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/sh ... mming-soon

sd2snes website: sd2snes.de

Hope this clears things up a bit.

[Redifer]

That definitely helped. I didn't know SD2SNES's were still being produced. But your experience has shown me otherwise. Thanks for the links!

[Ziggy]

And what is a "drive sorter app"?

It's just a small little utility that will sort files on a drive. They're really easy to use. I have the NES PowerPak and I found a free sorter app to use with it. It's simple. If you load some new ROMs onto the memory card, just run the sorter app (which only takes a few seconds to sort). I suppose it's one extra step then having the system do it for you automatically, but I don't mind. It doesn't take much effort.

The sd2snes is still being produced and sold. It's also still being actively worked on by ikari_01 (the creator) to this day. It's now manufactured by Krikzz and you can currently buy one from various different stores such as stoneagegamer and retrogate (supply doesn't exactly meet demand though so it can be a bit hard finding one in stock)

I ordered one from retrogate.com about a month ago and it just got here yesterday. Needless to say it's extremely impressive and definitely worth the $200 I payed to get it. ROMs load -instantly-, more expansion chips are supported than with any other snes flash cart (with even more on the way as ikari_01 develops the software), and the menu is very organized and intuitive.

Ah, OK. Good to know. I guess I heard some misinformation from a couple of people. I was very excited for the Sd2snes when it was announced, so it's good to know that it's still actively being developed.

@ Redifer: That being the case, my first choice would be the Sd2snes. It's a steep price, and the most expensive SNES flash cart to date, but I think it's worth it. One thing I really like about it is that it supports DSP games without needing the DSP chip from an authentic cart. This is untrue for the PowerPak, which comes with a DSP chip preinstalled and you don't have the option not to have it.

[Redifer]

My SD2SNES has just been shipped from Retrogate. It usually takes over a week but less than 2 to get here. Gotta get a SNES cart ready. I know I need to file the underneath to allow for the two extra connections to the cart slot, but where exactly does the SD card go on top? I might have to wait and see which side on the top of the cart I need to file.

[pvt_awol]

^

Which chips are still not being supported? (I only ask because, the BEST games that I don't own, or can't afford, seem to be the ones with the damn chips....)

[sevin0seven]

Which chips are still not being supported? (I only ask because, the BEST games that I don't own, or can't afford, seem to be the ones with the damn chips....)

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