M3 real battery and saves

[wiggy fuzz]

hi, all. i recieved my m3 real perfect bundle just last week, happy with it - but i've noticed a couple of things.

for most of the day i use the ds organize music player, and because the m3 real has a nice gba slot 2 device i keep that slotted in. but i noticed my ds battery while in ds organize only lasts for around half the day, after a full charge. with just the dummy filler or ram expansion pak i can last the whole college day and still have enough juice left for some nds carts.

another thing i've noticed is that some of my gba saves get deleted, though not in the "can't find save" way. i load up a game and find the "load game" is not there.

has anyone else experienced these things?

[DanTheManMS]

Slot-2 devices, most likely including the M3 Real's slot-2 expansion, are notorious for sucking battery life. All GBA cartridges use up some power just by being plugged in (minus the dust cover of course) but it's been suggested that slot-2 devices use up so much more because they contain RAM that requires lots of power even when it's not being used.

My slot-2 Supercard is the same way, and I can only get about 4 hours max on a full charge on my DS Phat. Even if I play my Mario Kart DS cartridge, just having the Supercard sitting in slot-2 reduces my battery life. Ejecting any devices you're not actively using is a good habit to maximize your battery life.