Review: N-Card 16Gbit SLOT-1 (2GB)

[bandit]

N-Card 16Gbit SLOT-1 (2GB)
Manufacturer: N-Card (Chinese)
Site: Buy from SuperCardNDS
Price: $57.99

Overview : N-Card is a slot 1 device (no passcard required). It does not use any external storage cards such as microSD. There is a 1GB and 2GB versions.

Features :

• Same size as the Original DS Card. Same Manufacturing technology. Colours of case to choose.
• No FlashMe, No PassMe, No conversion anymore.
• Support clean rom, no transfer software need.
• NAND chip inside,provides your same experience of Original DS Card. Internal memory and comes with 8Gbit/16Gbit memory card (16 Giga bit = 2048MB).
• Low power consuming and long sustaining time.
• Support Moonshell and lots of homebrew which could patched with DLDI.
• Firelinke exclusive, your DS could be a Mouse or a game controller.

Quality/Usability : There have been a lot NAND memory Slot-1 flash carts such as DS Linker, DS Fire, Express Card, Ultra Flash Pro EX, MK5 GIGA, etc., but each has its own limitation as the internal memory is not upgradeable.

The packaging is pretty much similar with a cardboard box and inner plastic tray. The tray holds the Slot-1 N-Card, Slot-2 N-Card Flash Linker, USB cable and manual underneath the tray. No software CD was included but you can download the latest files from their website. Another alternative download location would be here. The manual is in Chinese so if you cant read Chinese, it would do you no good. Whats also weird is that the images they used in the instructions, they are either backwards or upside down.

Like all Slot-1 flash cards, it is identical is size to the original Nintendo game cards. It fits flush in the DS. Whats awkward is that the Slot-2 says NDS/NDS Lite but the design of the cartridge will only fit on a NDS Lite. But when placed in to Slot-2 of a NDS Lite, it fits flush with with the DS. The included USB cable is short. So if you have a USB port that is not close to you, you may either have to stretch or walk back and forth.

To transfer files to the N-Card, you will need to connect the USB cable to the flash linker. Once connected, turn on your DS. Your PC will not recognize it and you will be able to drag and drop files.

The GUI isnt the prettiest of things. The top screen displays the games information such as file name, file save, etc. The bottom screen displays icons of the games you have loaded onto the N-Card. If you dont like the background images, you can simply change them just like all other Slot-1 flash carts.

Every game loaded has worked fine. I did not notice any slowdowns or lags. I did however have problems with some homebrew. Hopefully the DLDI support would be better when new updates are released.

Conclusion : Overall, the N-Card 16Gbit SLOT-1 (2GB) is a decent product but falls short in some areas. The short length of the USB cable can be a turn off for some. Although it says NDS, the Slot-2 flash linker will only work with NDS Lites. Would of been nice if they included the GBA flash linker size but this would probably raise the price due to manufacturing costs. Transferring of files takes a little longer than any of the other flash carts. The upside is that it works with all if not most of the games available on the market. Considering this is a 2GB version, I would think this is enough space...for me that is. But for some, it may be too small and would prefer a flash cart with removable memory. But for the price of a N-Card, its fairly reasonable in price.

Please note that none of the "upgrade" products listed in this site are endorsed by Nintendo, Sony and/or Microsoft. DCEmu Reviews and DCEmu Network does not condone piracy. The primary functions of a "modchip" and/or "flashcart" are to allow you to play imported games and homebrew software that you legally own or simply just for experimenting with hardware. We in no way endorse piracy, and encourage all users to do the right thing and support the developers/manufacturers that support them. We do not take any responsibilities for any use outside of these parameters or where the use of such a device is illegal.

Images via comments

[Veskgar]

Another MicroSD slot 1 device huh? And from China? Stuff like this from China has been of poor quality in the past so I don't think I'll be getting this particular slot 1 device.

From what I have seen, it appears that the M3 simply is the best slot 1 solution currently.

I wanted a DS-Xtreme but they are too expensive and I think I'd prefer using a MicroSD memory card.

I'm in the market for one of these slot 1 solutions so if anyone can recommend their opinion of the BEST. I'd love to hear.

[bandit]

Another MicroSD slot 1 device huh? And from China? Stuff like this from China has been of poor quality in the past so I don't think I'll be getting this particular slot 1 device.

From what I have seen, it appears that the M3 simply is the best slot 1 solution currently.

I wanted a DS-Xtreme but they are too expensive and I think I'd prefer using a MicroSD memory card.

I'm in the market for one of these slot 1 solutions so if anyone can recommend their opinion of the BEST. I'd love to hear.

This does not use microSD. It uses internal NAND memory to store all data.

I do hope you know that all flash carts and stuff are made in Asia whether it be Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Philippines, etc. Just because the site is in Chinese doesnt mean its made in China specifically. M3 Simply, DS-Xtreme, R4DS, MK5 are all made in Asia. So if you dont purchase the N-Card because its made in China or Asia, and purchased a different brand, you're still buying from Asia. All these backup devices originated from Asia (probably from China) and still does.

The M3 Simply and R4DS are both the same just different packaging and name. The G6DS Real has been getting some play time on my DS lately. I'm waiting for my CycloDS Evolution to see how that competes.

[Veskgar]

Thanks for clearing all that up for me Bandit. I will be reading your reviews that you linked to above to learn more about these.

I'm just so used to hearing about garbage memory sticks coming from Asia and thought that there may be similar problems with certain flash carts.

Also, just looked into that CycloDS and that looks like it could be a winner also. The in-game brightness adjustment and stuff is definitely convenient.

[Tennisgy]

CycloDS just uses an AR cheat hook to do the ingame brightness, nothing special. Also, they have a 2GByte clone of this (DS-Fire card) at dealextreme for 42 bucks, and free shipping

[FEG]

A couple things I'd like to point out, if nobody minds:

The slow writing and short USB problems are easily fixed by switching to a different USB cord; it's a generic one used by a lot of mp3 players and some mobile phones.

Also, you can still use the linker with the old DS', but it requires that you take off the front of the cartridge.

[dragonplus.cn]

Tks

[Xgen001]

Another MicroSD slot 1 device huh? And from China? Stuff like this from China has been of poor quality in the past so I don't think I'll be getting this particular slot 1 device.

From what I have seen, it appears that the M3 simply is the best slot 1 solution currently.

I wanted a DS-Xtreme but they are too expensive and I think I'd prefer using a MicroSD memory card.

I'm in the market for one of these slot 1 solutions so if anyone can recommend their opinion of the BEST. I'd love to hear.

m3 simply is the same as an r4 and r4 is also from china. so basically, if you want anything pirated, china is the only way to go.

[Hazee]

Regrading the N card Save funtion i can't seem to get it to work everytime i save one game and play a differnt game one of the game files gets erased any ideas =\

[Hazee]

Btw i have the 1GB N card so i dunno if it is differnt, on the top is just a load screen on the bottom is the save screen from 1-6 and after you pick a slot loads the games you have uploaded soo help please =\